Skip to content
Navigating a New Political Landscape: View real-time updates about the impact of and Northeastern's response to recent political changes.
Apply
Stories

Is there such a thing as a safe algorithm? Talk of Facebook regulation gathers momentum.

People in this story

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University
Stock photo of the Facebook App on Wednesday Oct. 13, 2021.

Since Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee, came forward with troubling information about the far-reaching harms caused by the company’s algorithms, talk of potential regulatory reforms has only intensified.

There is now wide agreement among experts and politicians that regulatory changes are needed to protect users, particularly young children and girls, who are vulnerable to mental health problems and body image issues that are tied to the social media platform’s algorithms. Several changes have been bandied about, from amendments to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act—the law that governs liability among service providers, including the internet—to transparency mandates that would give external experts access to the inner workings of tech companies like Facebook.

But, given the expectation of free speech online, lawmakers will have to get creative. One potential solution is to create a new federal agency charged with regulating the social media companies, as was done with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but it raises questions about how the political process, and the parties’ different ideas about privacy and free speech, would come to bear on such an effort, say several Northeastern experts.

Continue reading at News@Northeastern.

More Stories

Police responders at the aftermath of Swedish school shooting.

Sweden’s deadliest mass shooting highlights global reality of gun violence, Northeastern criminologist says

02.05.2025
Huthi fighters stand guard around newly-released Yemeni prisoners wait to be united with their relatives, in Sanaa on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Northeastern students wanted information on the Yemen conflict. So they went straight to the ambassador.

02.05.2025
The Center for International Affairs and World Cultures hosts a panel with a pair of scholars on the future of the Middle East peace process. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

After ceasefire deal, how can mediators create a lasting peace in Gaza? Experts unravel the task

02.05.25
All Stories