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Social media algorithms, in their commonly known form, are now 15 years old.
They were born with Facebook’s introduction of ranked, personalised news feeds in 2009 and have transformed how we interact online.
And like many teenagers, they pose a challenge to grown-ups who hope to curb their excesses.
It’s not for want of trying. This year alone, governments around the world have attempted to limit the impacts of harmful content and disinformation on social media – effects that are amplified by algorithms.
In Brazil, authorities briefly banned X, formerly known as Twitter, until the site agreed to appoint a legal representative in the country and block a list of accounts that the authorities accused of questioning the legitimacy of the country’s last election.
Meanwhile, the EU has introduced new rules threatening to fine tech firms 6% of turnover and suspend them if they fail to prevent election interference on their platforms.
In the UK, a new online safety act aims to compel social media sites to tighten content moderation.
And in the US, a proposed law could ban TikTok if the app isn’t sold by its Chinese parent company.
The governments face accusations that they are restricting free speech and interfering with the principles of the internet as laid down in its early days.
In a 1996 essay that was republished by 500 websites – the closest you could get to going viral back then – US poet and cattle rancher John Perry Barlow argued: “Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.”.
Adam Candeub is a law professor and a former advisor to President Trump, who describes himself as a free speech absolutist.
Social media is “polarising, it’s fractious, it’s rude, it’s not elevating – I think it’s a terrible way to have public discourse”, he tells the BBC. “But the alternative, which I think a lot of governments are pushing for, is to make it an instrument of social and political control and I find that horrible.”.
Professor Candeub believes that, unless “there is a clear and present danger” posed by the content, “the best approach is for a marketplace of ideas and openness towards different points of view”.
It is correct to infer that the text discusses social media algorithms, their impact on user interactions, and their evolution.