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platforms that carry ideas. Media pluralism, therefore, is a source of resiliency
against propaganda, demagoguery, and extremism coming to dominate
democratic discourse. Thus, in most liberal democracies, print media have not
been subject to extensive content regulation because these markets are usually
decentralized and competitive. In contrast, broadcast media, and in particular
TV, have been much more highly regulated everywhere because of the formerly
oligopolistic or monopolistic position of broadcasters. Today, one could argue
that internet platforms like Google and Facebook occupy a position similar to
that of legacy television networks: Because of their scale and reach, decisions
that they take with regard to content moderation are far more consequential
than for print media. An alternative to state regulation of content would
therefore be antitrust actions designed to increase the number of platforms
and reduce the reach of the current internet giants.
Social_Media_and_Democracy