‘Filter Bubble’ author Eli Pariser on why we need publicly owned social networks

Given the phenomenon it describes, it’s perhaps appropriate that the concept of “filter bubbles” has turned out to be so polarizing. To believers, it’s self-evident that social feeds mostly show people news that confirms’ users prior beliefs, encouraging partisanship and tribalism. To skeptics, the phenomenon describes behavior that has little to do with tech and algorithms — and, they say, there’s evidence that platforms like Facebook and Twitter introduce people to a broader set of views than they might otherwise encounter.

To internet activist Eli Pariser, who coined the term and wrote a book on the subject, questions about how tech platforms are reshaping public life remain as relevant as ever. In a new TED talk, Pariser says social...

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