Internet architecture poses existential risk to democracy

While tech platforms treat misinformation as a content moderation challenge, this paper correctly identifies the business model of surveillance capitalism as the core pathogen, though it stops short of offering a concrete, politically feasible blueprint for rebuilding a democratic public square. Algorithmic feeds designed to maximize engagement naturally amplify outrage, meaning content-level moderation is a temporary band-aid that fails to address underlying structural incentives. Ultimately, regulating platform architecture rather than speech may be the only path forward that preserves free expression while protecting democratic integrity.