A Quick Note on Regulating Algorithms

Don't expect cabbage and organic nuts in your nearest sweetshop.

If people knew anything about social media and their habits, they'd realise there's a huge component of self-regulation here too. Grow up and regulate your own search and viewing habits. Know your own knowledge bubble. Hear the electronic echo. Whatever. Don't expect the state to spoon the 'right' content into your social media feed. That's pretty much what regulating an algorithm means. To argue that the state should regulate the algorithms used by software companies is to head in the direction of internet totalitarianism.

That’s one argument anyway. The other: what do we have government for if not to regulate things? We regulate the quality of our food, why can we not regulate the quality of our information? But then we just get back to whole discussion around self regulation. You’re free to eat as many BigMacs as you like. And that’s the way it is with your online consumption habits too.

Honestly, I’m not sure where I stand.

GS