Algorithmic Neutrality and the Fallacy of a “Free and Open Internet”

[Commentary] Facebook is reportedly tweaking its algorithm to favor live video, and is primed to pay celebrities significant sums of money to broadcast on the service. At the same time, the social network, which boasts 1.6 billion users worldwide, has rolled out a new “like” mechanism that allows you to more fully express your emotional reactions to the posts you encounter.

On one hand, we can argue that these moves enhance the consumer experience and increase our odds of connecting with relevant content. On the other, these algorithmic “tweaks” pull us deeper into a world of Big Data and Big Analysis — what Michael Fertik (and others) call the reputation economy — the full impact of which we’ve yet to understand.

In today’s Internet ecosystem, priority is given to those who pay to get to the front of the line. Whether you’re a small business trying to gain new customers, an individual blogger looking to expand your platform, or a large conglomerate seeking to edge out your competitors, you can get placement in front of more eyeballs based on your willingness and ability to pony up the cash. In fact, while the Internet is unquestionably a place with low barriers to entry, provided you have broadband access, (which is far from a foregone conclusion for many people), expressly because there are so many people and platforms online, “pay for priority” is becoming the norm if you want to be seen and heard. If the goal is to leverage web-based technologies to benefit society, then we must consider what it takes to fully enable the Internet’s potential — to make sure that this powerful platform can benefit all people, and not just a well-connected, monied few. And unless we’re angling for our kids to live in a dystopic 1984 Matrix Terminator hybrid reality, we’ve got to start being real about how technology is changing and what it means for us as a society. Most of all, we have to put ultra-partisanship and super-stylized rhetoric to the side to figure out how we can pave the way for a truly universal Internet experience for all people.

[Kristal High Taylor is Editor-in-Chief of Politic365]