A bipartisan bill could end the best and worst feature of social media: the algorithmic timeline.
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The bill would force social media services like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to offer a simple chronological timeline as an alternative to the algorithm-created streams optimized to keep users engaged and excited.
The idea is that users can choose to move away from these opaque and potentially manipulative content feeds and regain some measure of control. But will it work? After all, there’s a reason these platforms are so popular: people like what they see.
"The main goal of the algorithm is to help people see the most engaging content that's relevant to them. This is a benefit because it keeps people interested in the app, which means they stay longer," former social media manager Hayley Kaye told Lifewire via email. "The opposite is true for chronological feeds. If the feed is always chronological, it gets boring because not everything online is exciting or relevant to you."
