Your "For You" feed feels personal, but it's shaped by powerful algorithms and, increasingly, by government rules. In this lesson, we'll explore how different governments are trying to regulate these platforms and what it means for our culture. We'll look at two major examples from 2024 and 2025: one from the United States and one from the European Union.
Who controls your feed?
Our online experience is a mix of personal choice, algorithmic suggestions, and government regulations.
Warm-up (5 mins)
Think about your favorite social media app. In pairs or small groups, discuss this question:
“What is one way algorithms have changed culture in my city or country?”
Think about music, fashion, news, local businesses, or even language. Be ready to share one interesting idea with the class.
Input: Two Approaches to Regulation (10 mins)
Governments around the world are creating new rules for social media platforms. These rules, often called regulations, can have a huge impact on what we see and create online. Let's look at two different approaches.
Briefing 1: The United States’ “Divest-or-Ban” Law
In April 2024, the United States passed a law targeting the popular video app TikTok. The law stated that its parent company, ByteDance, had to sell its U.S. operations by a deadline in April 2025, or the app would face a ban in U.S. app stores. U.S. lawmakers argued that the app posed a national security risk. On the other hand, the company claimed that a ban would violate free speech. After the Supreme Court upheld the law in January 2025, the deadline passed, leading to a series of complex legal challenges and negotiations that continued to unfold throughout the year.
Briefing 2: The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA)
The European Union has taken a different path. Instead of targeting one company, their Digital Services Act (DSA) creates a wide set of rules for all major online platforms. The DSA's main goal is to create a safer digital space by protecting users' fundamental rights.
For example, in April 2024, the EU launched an investigation into a new app feature called TikTok Lite, which rewarded users for watching videos. Regulators were concerned that the feature was potentially addictive and had been launched without a proper risk assessment, especially for younger users. The EU alleges that the company failed to provide enough safeguards. This approach appears to be more focused on process and user protection across the entire industry, rather than on the nationality of the company's owners. It is likely that we'll see more actions like this under the DSA.
Language Focus: Reporting, Hedging, and Contrasting
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