Regulate Social Media to Mitigate Societal Harm [Video]

This brief is part of “Election 2024: Policy Playbook,” a series by Rice University and the Baker Institute that offers critical context, analysis, and recommendations to inform policymaking in the United States and Texas.

• As social media has evolved, and as increasing examples emerge of its harm to vulnerable individuals, public concern over its adverse societal impact continues to grow.
• In less than 30 years, social media has changed the way the world communicates and consumes information and become a vehicle used to hurt, traumatize, and even kill.
• Despite these recognized challenges, there is no agreement on how social media speech should be regulated.
• Recent Supreme Court rulings suggest a misunderstanding of how social media platforms operate, yet there are solutions to address the underlying issues.
• Effective changes to social media policies are likely to come from citizens rather than from lawmakers or the courts.

As with many other vexing societal problems, the social media question ended up on …