Is it time for social media platforms to become infrastructure?

“Should billionaires with fortunes equivalent to some national GDPs be in control of these data and communications empires? Wealthy owners ran media empires in the past, problematical enough in the age of print. But now, online media and social media platforms inhale extraordinary amounts of user data while also possessing the means to control and manipulate local to global discourse. We’ve all seen how swiftly “free speech” slides into and is used as an excuse for disinformation. Internationally, no government or regulator has shouldered responsibility for addressing the power of ownership, this most worrying of all developments. Perhaps the time has come to reclassify the big news and social media platforms as infrastructure, subject to greater public obligations and ownership and operational restrictions.” The Irish Times

The Hill: “Our nation runs on “critical infrastructure.” For those not familiar with the term, there are 16 sectors — including communications, health, banking, energy, and transportation — deemed so vital to the security and effective operations of our nation that they bear the official critical infrastructure designation. We believe social media has reached the stage where it should now be designated as critical infrastructure.”

Maybe?