Social Media and the Public Interest: Governance of News Platforms in the Realm of Individual and Algorithmic Gatekeepers

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the basic contours of how the notion of the public interest is taking shape in the realm of social media. Drawing upon social media governance discourse and research on the dynamics of how social media platforms are being used in the dissemination and consumption of news and information, this paper argues that a preventative and individualist model of the public interest characterizes the social media space. This paper then considers the broader implications of this emergent model of the public interest in social media governance.