Invisible, Impenetrable, Unapproachable

How to perfectly manage a social media market

… and why your main feed features a personal little executive floor

The bosses behind the internet platforms are the actual “store managers” of the digital supermarket. People like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk shape the way information is shared, filtered and evaluated worldwide. But their creation of the most important communication channels of our time also ultimately earns them billions in profits. The platform TikTok plays a special role here: even though Shou Zi Chew is the company’s official representative, TikTok’s way of processing data actually supports the economic and political goals of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The power of these companies can, in fact, also be used to support democratic movements, if people connect with one another in a quick and uncomplicated way. At the same time, debates like the one over Brexit or in US politics show how platforms can massively influence public discourse by means of targeted algorithms, blocking or push content. The decision about who does or does not appear in your news feed lies with just a few bosses and their algorithms.

Unlike elected politicians or company heads in Germany and Europe, who are subject to state supervision, users of the major platforms in the US and China have scarcely any influence on their guidelines or decisions. But whoever controls the architecture of the news also makes decisions about the spreading of truth and lies, trust and doubt, hate and love. Thus, platforms often operate non-transparently and without any real accountability—even though a living democracy requires transparent structures, clear rules and independent access to information. For precisely this reason, it is up to us to demand regulations and develop models that design digital spaces in a fairer and more democratic way.