Ofcom, Elon Musk, and the future of the social platform marketplace

Earlier this year, riots broke out across the UK, fuelled largely by misinformation and inflammatory discourse on social media. 

At the time, it was unclear who bore responsibility: did the brunt of the blame fall on certain accounts and creators, or do social platforms need to take a firmer approach to content moderation? This conversation is not new – CEOs, from Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew – have sat before Congress numerous times in pursuit of the answer. 

Yet in October, the UK regulatory body of communications industries Ofcom has come out with a more decisive answer than the litigation-based US system could perhaps be expected to. According to Ofcom, there is a “clear connection” between the violent disorder and posts on social platforms. 

The social position 

Social platforms have long walked a delicate tightrope – benefitting from cultural and political relevance but pointing the finger of responsibility for the downsides at users themselves. CEOs have generally argued that social apps are merely platforms for expression, and thus have no moderative responsibilities.They have even argued that they have a responsibility not to moderate so as to protect freedom of speech. 

Yet this Ofcom ruling points to a different perspective and it is one that might become more relevant as social platforms increasingly try to become entertainment platforms (with all the increased average revenue per user that comes alongside – see our upcoming “Social forecast” report for more). 

Social platforms are in a competitive environment with changing goalposts, as users increasingly turn to them for entertainment instead of just social networking. There is a huge opportunity for growth in the overall market – but no one platform is guaranteed to realise it. Indeed, as regulators turn their sights to these platforms and their very real social and political impacts, it is likely that some platforms will stand to benefit, while others could get tripped up. 

Politics by other means 

Not all platforms are politically equal. Elon Musk is perhaps the strongest example of a deliberately political agent. In August, he took to his platform, X, to suggest that “civil war is inevitable” in reference to the riots, and he is now on the campaign trail alongside Donald Trump (who owns his own social platform, Truth Social). TikTok is not without its share of controversy simply by nature of its parent company, ByteDance, and its relationship with the People’s Republic of China. Meta, on the other hand, seems interested in keeping as far away from politics as possible, having rolled out a ‘no political content by default’ update around the same time as the TikTok hearings. Yet this neutrality is not guaranteed, with the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018 looming darkly in the company’s history. 

In today’s digital-first environment, social platforms are the first-port-of-call for most people when going online. They are where users discover news and discuss implications. Social creators are replacing news anchors as the new messengers for breaking topics. The average Gen Z-er could likely tell you at least 10 influencers they follow to keep up to date; they probably would not  be able to name nearly as many traditional journalists. 

Traditional news media was by no means impartial, but editorial statements went a long way towards defining what a publication stood for and what kinds of opinions might sway its coverage. Social platforms, on the other hand, claim impartiality, but in effect have as many biassed editorial bents as they have users, as a result of personalised algorithms. For some, suspicions are often raised that those algorithms are being tweaked to favour some perspectives over others. Either way, challenges are emerging to the hands-off approach, with greater demands for transparency. 

What comes next 

The role social platforms play now is far removed from the community notice boards they once were; they are now places for the distribution of information and entertainment once reserved for specialised institutions. There is a huge opportunity here for established platforms to grow their revenues and users as a result. Equally, however, it comes with the challenge of navigating new regulations and responsibilities, and ceding ground to new challengers. X experienced this in Brazil, where its temporary ban has resulted in skyrocketing Bluesky downloads in not only Brazil itself but also regional neighbours and other Portuguese-speaking markets.

The Ofcom ruling comes on the heels of the Brazil ban, ongoing US proceedings on whether or not to ban TikTok, and EU condemnation of Elon Musk himself. The laissez faire attitude towards platform development is a thing of the past; with new opportunities, come new responsibilities.