Social Media and the Public Interest

Excellent and vital.

This market failure is so deep, Napoli argues, that it cannot be solved by conventional antitrust or other competition policies. Instead, he argues, Americans must embrace rigorous regulation of social media platforms so that they are made to serve public purposes.

C. W. Anderson, author of Rebuilding the News: Metropolitan Journalism in the Digital Age:
While "public interest analyses" are common in the discussion of communications technology, television, and journalism, such analyses have not usually been used to frame algorithmic platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. For that reason, Social Media and the Public Interest is a major contribution to the literature on communication, regulation, and digital media.

Seth C. Lewis, University of Oregon:
While recent episodes have raised questions about algorithmic manipulation and discrimination, what remained missing was a truly comprehensive account, one that not only synthesizes the state of affairs but also offers a conceptual framework for interpreting these developments in light of public policy, news values and ethics, and the future of the public sphere. This book bridges that gap.

Siva Vaidhyanathan, author of Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy:
Napoli takes up the daunting challenge of lassoing and taming the wild social media beasts that have wreaked so much havoc in democracies around the world. This book is bold, clear, and necessary. Readers of this book will gain a deep historical understanding of the complex relationship among social media platforms, news producers, citizens, and the state.

danah boyd, author of It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens:
Drawing on the history of U.S. media regulation, Napoli offers an insightful framework for reimagining how social media can serve the public interest. Social Media and the Public Interest is an essential text for policy makers and those struggling to reduce the harm of caustic content and misinformation.