Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content
This paper presents the results of a thematic analysis of hearings held before the US senate in 2017 with representatives of social media companies and close coverage from industry groups of advertising boycotts of social media. In response to the public pressure, social media companies increased th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society
2019-03-01
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| Series: | Internet Policy Review |
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| Online Access: | https://policyreview.info/node/1393 |
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| author | Stephanie Hill |
| author_facet | Stephanie Hill |
| author_sort | Stephanie Hill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents the results of a thematic analysis of hearings held before the US senate in 2017 with representatives of social media companies and close coverage from industry groups of advertising boycotts of social media. In response to the public pressure, social media companies increased their investment in machine learning and human moderation to remove inappropriate content and increased transparency initiatives. The two scenarios indicate the importance of content to questions of platform governance and the ability of the advertising industry to act as a platform regulator. This paper uses the political economic analysis of Harold Innis and theoretical work on the megamachine as a framework for understanding how governance may be enacted through commercial systems before and around government policy tools. It argues that social media companies’ actions indicate an expanded role for marketing and advertising as governors of media content delivery, resulting in the efficient administration of advertiser concerns while democratic representatives take a comparatively slow road. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b730ff7d68a9473f91c762eb12e53fa0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2197-6775 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-03-01 |
| publisher | Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Internet Policy Review |
| spelling | doaj-art-b730ff7d68a9473f91c762eb12e53fa02025-08-20T02:46:43ZengAlexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and SocietyInternet Policy Review2197-67752019-03-018110.14763/2019.1.1393Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media contentStephanie Hill0Ryerson University & York UniversityThis paper presents the results of a thematic analysis of hearings held before the US senate in 2017 with representatives of social media companies and close coverage from industry groups of advertising boycotts of social media. In response to the public pressure, social media companies increased their investment in machine learning and human moderation to remove inappropriate content and increased transparency initiatives. The two scenarios indicate the importance of content to questions of platform governance and the ability of the advertising industry to act as a platform regulator. This paper uses the political economic analysis of Harold Innis and theoretical work on the megamachine as a framework for understanding how governance may be enacted through commercial systems before and around government policy tools. It argues that social media companies’ actions indicate an expanded role for marketing and advertising as governors of media content delivery, resulting in the efficient administration of advertiser concerns while democratic representatives take a comparatively slow road.https://policyreview.info/node/1393Social mediaGovernanceAdvertisingMegamachine |
| spellingShingle | Stephanie Hill Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content Internet Policy Review Social media Governance Advertising Megamachine |
| title | Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content |
| title_full | Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content |
| title_fullStr | Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content |
| title_full_unstemmed | Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content |
| title_short | Empire and the megamachine: comparing two controversies over social media content |
| title_sort | empire and the megamachine comparing two controversies over social media content |
| topic | Social media Governance Advertising Megamachine |
| url | https://policyreview.info/node/1393 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephaniehill empireandthemegamachinecomparingtwocontroversiesoversocialmediacontent |