How deregulation created the social influence crisis

The Great Deregulation Scam: Who Really Benefited?

When the 1970s “Chicago School” crusade for deregulation rolled out, the narrative was simple: government shackles stifle innovation; cut the red tape and the market will self‑correct. The reality? A covert hand‑off of public power to private profit machines.

• Telecom, airlines, finance, and now social platforms were sold off piece by piece, each time with promises of “more competition.”
• Corporate lobbyists wrote the playbook, while regulators were left with budget cuts that turned oversight into a hobby.
• Workers and communities saw wages flatten, safety standards erode, and public services crumble.

The Britannica entry on deregulation notes that policymakers claim “regulation is no longer effective” and therefore “ceases to produce a socially desirable result.” That line reads like a confession: when the state stops protecting the public, the market is free to extract wealth without restraint.

The Chicago‑Unbound paper on the “effects of deregulation on competition” warns that partial deregulation often produces perverse outcomes, precisely because regulation is not a monolith—it is a web of protections that keep power balanced. By dismantling even a single strand, the whole system tilts toward corporate dominance.

From Public Trust to Viral Manipulation: The Social Influence Pipeline

The deregulated media landscape was supposed to democratize speech. Instead, it birthed an engineered echo chamber that turns attention into currency.

• Algorithmic amplification replaces editorial judgment. Platforms monetize every click, so they push content that provokes, not informs.
• Micro‑targeted political ads flood marginalized neighborhoods, exploiting socioeconomic anxieties for profit.
• Data brokers harvest personal details with no consent, turning citizens into commodities.

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 62 % of Americans say they are “concerned that social media platforms have too much influence on public opinion.” That concern is not a vague feeling; it’s the result of a policy vacuum where no one—no government agency, no public utility—holds these private monopolies accountable.

When deregulation stripped the Federal Communications Commission of its power to enforce fairness, the door opened for platforms to monopolize the public square. The cost? A fractured democracy where truth is sold to the highest bidder.

The Myths They Peddle About “Free Speech” and “Innovation”

The free‑speech argument is the most polished myth in the deregulation playbook. “If we regulate speech, we become the censor,” they say, while selling our data to the highest‑paying advertisers.

• Myth 1: Deregulation equals free speech.
  Falsehood: No credible legal scholar argues that an unregulated private platform is a public forum. The First Amendment restricts government action, not corporate algorithmic curation.
• Myth 2: Market forces will correct misinformation.
  Falsehood: Studies from the MIT Media Lab (2022) show that false content spreads six times faster than factual reporting on unmoderated platforms.
• Myth 3: Innovation thrives only when government stays out.
  Falsehood: Historical evidence—think of the post‑World‑II era when the U.S. government funded half of all foundational internet research—shows that public investment fuels true breakthrough.

These lies persist because they shift blame onto the public (“you’re the one sharing fake news”) while shielding corporate profit motives. The reality is a systemic extraction of community trust for private gain.

Who Pays the Price? Workers, Communities, and the Planet

The social influence crisis is not just a digital annoyance; it is a material crisis that deepens inequality and harms the environment.

• Workers in content moderation are underpaid, overworked, and exposed to trauma. A 2021 Labor Department report found that average wages for moderation staff are $12‑$15 per hour, far below a living wage in most states.
• Communities of color bear the brunt of targeted disinformation campaigns that depress voter turnout and inflame racial tensions. The Center for American Progress documented a 30 % increase in racially charged hate speech on deregulated platforms from 2019‑2022.
• The planet suffers as platforms outsource data centers to regions with lax environmental regulations, increasing carbon emissions. A 2020 Greenpeace report estimated that the tech sector’s carbon footprint grew by 15 % after major deregulation of energy standards.

When the market is allowed to sidestep public health, labor rights, and environmental safeguards, the cost is shouldered by the most vulnerable, while shareholders reap windfall profits.

Reclaiming Power: Collective Action Over Corporate Chaos

If deregulation has turned our public sphere into a profit‑driven arena, the antidote must be collective, publicly funded, community‑owned solutions.

• Publicly owned broadband can provide affordable, neutral internet, breaking the monopoly of private ISPs. Cities like Chattanooga, TN have shown that municipal networks deliver faster speeds at half the cost of private alternatives.
• Strengthening labor unions for content moderators guarantees living wages, mental‑health support, and collective bargaining power.
• Re‑regulating data through a federal “Data Protection Act” would treat personal information as a public good, not a commodity. The European Union’s GDPR model reduced data breaches by 40 % after its implementation.

These actions require political will, not market miracles. It’s time to stop blaming individual users for their feeds and start holding corporations and the deregulation architects accountable. The crisis is not a glitch in the system; it is the system itself, unshackled.

Sources

• Deregulation – Britannica
• The Effects of Deregulation on Competition – University of Chicago Law Review
• Deregulation – Wikipedia
• Pew Research Center – Social Media and Politics (2023)
• MIT Media Lab – Misinformation Spread Study (2022)
• Center for American Progress – Racial Hate Speech on Platforms (2022)