REGULATING SOCIAL MEDIA: FACEBOOK, TIK-TOK AND GOVERNMENTAL INTERESTS

Literature of any kind – philosophical, scientific, fictional, etc. – has revealed for thousands of years the human need to live in communities, seeking to establish relationships that are as mutually beneficial as possible with all other members of society.

This desire is instinctively understood from the first months of life, and this phenomenon can be observed in any living being – animal or plant – because in the absence of communities of the same species, there is no future; reproduction ceases, leading to inevitable extinction. Communities, once formed, have an interest in expanding or improving the quality and well-being of their members. Thus, economic development programs can be created, which will succeed if there is social harmony within the community.

Social harmony can be fostered through certain types of policies that encourage not only pragmatic connections between people but also entertainment and coexistence based on mutual support. The 21st century has brought to the forefront a unique form of community, namely the electronic, transnational one, which allows for human connections at an intensity and scale unprecedented in history.

These communities aggregate on social networks, and certain legal situations in recent years compel a response to the question: can these entities be regulated, and if the answer is affirmative, based on what principles?

This text will seek to provide an introduction to this debate, in relation to a decision recently adopted by the U.S. judiciary regarding one of the most important social networks, namely TikTok.