Social media should be regulated

Is Mark Zuckerberg an alien or a robot? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Is Mark Zuckerberg an alien or a robot? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Experience Staff, twitter.com/LMC_experience

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg found himself in an uncomfortable position Tuesday, April 10 when he was made to testify to the Senate in Washington, DC regarding the issue of data collection. Not only have over 87 million people had their information exposed to questionable sources, but also it opened the door for many users to be exposed to propaganda during the 2016 presidential election.

Unfortunately, this isn’t just a problem specific to Facebook. Twitter is heavily criticized for some of the same things Facebook has done regarding its users privacy, such as allowing Russian bots to influence its users and refusing to suspend accounts supporting things like “white nationalism.” Sites like these are allowed to get away with this for now, because the government does not regulate Twitter, Facebook or even Google, the world’s most popular search engine according to tech site, Lifewire.

Some might argue people voluntarily use these sites and that social media is not a necessity and therefore need not be regulated.

But social media is an important tool that has helped shaped our society since its inception. It helps us connect with friends, family, community members, political figures and celebrities and is key to modern widespread news circulation.

Regulation could not only protect users from the spread of online hate, but also foreign political propaganda.

Facebook is in the spotlight right now, but CEO’s of other social media platforms need to be on their toes. Other forms of media are regulated seemingly for the greater good, so why not social media?