Nicholas Carr writes:

There are several ways to decipher intent in social media communications. Some are straightforward. Certain platforms, like YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Clubhouse, operate largely as broadcasting channels, while others, like Messenger, Zoom, and Facetime, are used mainly for personal conversation. Many platforms, Snapchat being a prominent example, offer users different modes of communication, some geared to personal speech, others to public speech. On platforms where personal and public speech are intertwined, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the intent of the communicator can often be gauged through proxies such as numbers of followers, views, likes, or comments — measures that all the platforms track meticulously. An Instagrammer with a hundred followers can be assumed to be engaged in conversation; an Instagrammer with a hundred thousand followers is a broadcaster. Most major platforms also now have formal programs for attracting and rewarding “influencers” and other popular content creators. Such programs offer another way to identify those engaged in broadcasting.

It will never be possible to draw a bright line between personal and public speech on social media. When all types of speech go through the same medium, some confusion is inevitable — and in many cases welcome. A witty or cutting remark shared among friends on Twitter may go viral, turning into public speech and granting the speaker a few moments of fame (or infamy). Nor is intent always clear-cut. Someone posting selfies to a small group of Instagram followers may be motivated by a desire to become a fashion influencer. The exceptions will always be there, but they don’t matter much when it comes to questions of governance. They don’t change the fact that most social media content can, by dint of its intention or its reach, be categorized as either personal speech or public speech. Social media companies themselves routinely sort content into the two categories, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly, as they seek to fine-tune their programming and boost their fortunes as broadcasters. The public can do the same sorting.

Disentangling personal speech and public speech is clarifying. It reveals the dual roles that social media companies play. They transmit personal messages on behalf of individuals, and they broadcast a variety of content to the general public. The two businesses have very different characteristics, as we’ve seen, and they demand different kinds of oversight. The two-pronged regulatory approach of the last century, far from being obsolete, remains vital. It can once again help bring order to a chaotic media environment. For a Congress struggling with the complexities of the social media crisis, it might even serve as the basis of a broad new law — a Digital Communications Act in the tradition of the original Communications Act — that both protects the privacy of personal correspondence and conversation and secures the public’s interest in broadcasting. [Continue reading…]