ABSTRACT

This study examines support for regulation of and by platforms and provides insights into public perceptions of platform governance. While much of the public discourse surrounding platforms evolves at a policy level between think tanks, journalists, academics and political actors, little attention is paid to how people think about regulation of and by platforms. Through a representative survey study of US internet users (N = 1,022), we explore antecedents of support for social media content moderation by platforms, as well as for regulation of social media platforms by the government. We connect these findings to presumed effects on self (PME1) and others (PME3), concepts that lie at the core of third-person effect (TPE) and influence of presumed influence (IPI) scholarship. We identify third-person perceptions for social media content: Perceived negative effects are stronger for others than for oneself. A first-person perception operates on the platform level: The beneficial effects of social media platforms are perceived to be stronger for the self than for society. At the behavioral level, we identify age, education, opposition to censorship, and perceived negative effects of social media content on others (PME3) as significant predictors of support for content moderation. Concerning support for regulation of platforms by the government, we find significant effects of opposition to censorship, perceived intentional censorship, frequency of social media use, and trust in platforms. We argue that stakeholders involved in platform governance must take more seriously the attitudes of their constituents.

摘要

本研究探讨了对平台监管和平台监管的支持，并提供了对公众对平台治理的看法的见解。虽然围绕平台的许多公共话语在智库、记者、学者和政治行为者之间的政策层面上演变，但人们对平台监管和平台监管的看法却很少受到关注。通过对美国互联网用户的代表性调查研究（N = 1,022），我们探讨了平台支持社交媒体内容审核以及政府监管社交媒体平台的前因。我们将这些发现与对自我 (PME1) 和他人 (PME3) 的假定影响、第三人称效应 (TPE) 和假定影响 (IPI) 学术影响的核心概念联系起来。我们确定了社交媒体内容的第三人称感知：感知到的负面影响对他人比对自己更强。第一人称感知在平台层面上运作：社交媒体平台的有益影响被认为对自我比对社会更强。在行为层面，我们确定年龄、教育程度、反对审查制度、以及社交媒体内容对其他人的负面影响（PME3）作为支持内容审核的重要预测因素。关于政府对平台监管的支持，我们发现反对审查制度、感知到的故意审查制度、社交媒体使用频率和对平台的信任有显着影响。我们认为，参与平台治理的利益相关者必须更加认真地对待其选民的态度。