Opinion: The platforms must take responsibility for their power

As the technology platforms have come to shape public discourse, the flow of information and the functioning of democratic life, they can no longer plausibly disclaim responsibility for their effects, this commentary argues, and the time has come for them to accept the responsibilities that accompany their immense power.

The platforms had long positioned themselves as neutral conduits, mere technology companies hosting the content and activity of others, resisting responsibility for the consequences of what flowed through their systems. That posture had grown increasingly untenable.

The platforms' algorithms and design choices shaped what billions of people saw, read and believed, influencing public discourse, the spread of information and misinformation, and the dynamics of political and social life in ways that carried profound consequences.

The scandals and controversies surrounding the misuse of data, the spread of misinformation, and the effects of the platforms on everything from mental health to democracy had made clear that their influence was neither neutral nor consequence-free.

Accepting responsibility, the argument goes, would mean acknowledging the platforms' role in shaping public life, taking seriously the harms associated with their systems, and accepting meaningful accountability, transparency and, where appropriate, regulation.

The question of the platforms' responsibility had become one of the central issues of the digital age, as society grappled with how to address the power of companies that had come to mediate so much of public life. This commentary contends that the platforms' continued attempts to disclaim responsibility were no longer credible, and that accepting the responsibilities commensurate with their power was both necessary and overdue, a position that would resonate in the intensifying debates about the role of the platforms in society.