72% of Americans say social media companies have too much political influence

Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by apatheticonion on Friday July 24, 2020 @06:10AM (#23937691)

It blows my mind. The US has an international reputation for being pro-corporate so from the outside, it makes sense that social networks get away with the lack of accountability they have.

However, a large portion of humanity use social networking tools so US legislation has a direct affect on everyone and potentially (inadvertently) it has an effect on the democratic processes of other nations.

At what point does it become an international issue?

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Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by raxxorrax on Friday July 24, 2020 @06:25AM (#23937777)

As someone not from the US, I am so glad that the networks are located there.

The US also has a pro-freedom reputation and that is currently really valuable. I never held back with criticism towards the US and won't do so in the future, but on this issue I would staunchly run with the worst hillbilly rednecks you can imagine firing freedom bullets in every direction without an ounce of shame.

Democracy has nothing to do with content restrictions.

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Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by kypro on Friday July 24, 2020 @06:41AM (#23937874)

I kind of agree. If these social media sites were located in Europe I expect it would be much worse.

I live in the UK and here we have thought police units who will knock on your door to "check your thinking" if you post jokes that are too controversial. While it's obviously a problem that billion dollar foreign internet companies are regulating what we can say online they are at least, for the time being, more aligned to the values of free-speech than many European governments.

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Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by bzb3 on Friday July 24, 2020 @09:21AM (#23939122)

Thanks for posting this. Every time I hear of someone saying that there should me more Internet services based in Europe, I cringe. And I say this as a European.

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Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by Kaze404 on Friday July 24, 2020 @08:15AM (#23938558)

I can sympathize with this point, but let's not pretend that this "freedom" represents democracy any better. What we've seen in the past decade regarding the impact modern advertisement has on elections and public privacy to me is a testament to social media in the current state being anything but benefitial to democracy.

That said, I don't have a solution.

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Re:72% of Americans say social media companies have too much... by kobalsky on Friday July 24, 2020 @10:46AM (#23940127)

Cold war CIA wouldn't have dreamt with the power that social networks, streaming sites and tech companies have over electoral processes in other countries.

I live in a small city in the ass end of the world, but my local politicians, who live a few miles from my home, fork money (a lot of money) over to FB and Google so I can see their ads. They have a huge impact on who gets elected.

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