No Ref in the Ring: Algorithmic Editorship and the Future of Social Media Regulation beyond the Online Safety Act 2023

Social media’s arrival to the news-sharing sphere introduced capabilities for anybody with an internet connection to publish to millions, and the viral misinformation surrounding gold medallist boxer Imane Khelif shows that mass communicative power can be abused. This article argues that media law must evolve to oversee platform system-design and challenge the algorithms which incentivise sensationalist or misleading content through virality. The editorial role assumed by algorithms is invisibly impactful, outmanoeuvring regulation under the guise of neutrality and creating an accountability gap which self-regulation has little incentive to fill. In evaluating the regulatory stance of the Online Safety Act (OSA) 2023, it becomes clear this legislation is unsuitable to reduce the viral spread of misinformation due to its hesitation to confront legal but harmful content. Despite OSA’s shortcomings, its implementation marked a legal shift: system architecture is now subject to regulatory scrutiny. For a rapidly developing industry, system-design regulation offers the most future-proof and transparent avenue to ensure responsible dissemination of user-generated content. As such, three system-design proposals are explored, inspired by principles of existing media regulation, to assess their potential in translating onto social media platforms.