Question A:
The potential for consumers to be harmed by digital platforms’ use of their personal data is sufficient that they would benefit from laws assigning them some kind of default control rights over their data.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Question B:
The risks of harm from use of social media services - such as harm to mental health, exploitation of children, and more - are now high enough that society would benefit from federal regulations setting safety standards and creating a process of compensation for harm by digital platforms.
Responses
Responses weighted by each expert's confidence
Question A Participant Responses
| Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
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 Daron Acemoglu |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Mark Aguiar |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Joseph Altonji |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Alan Auerbach |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 David Autor |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It may be difficult to make this work, but the current configuration is deeply problematic, subject to abuse, and seemingly getting worse in real time (witness Meta's recent sleazy behavior).
-see background information here |
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 Abhijit Banerjee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Dirk Bergemann |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Marianne Bertrand |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Markus Brunnermeier |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Judith Chevalier |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Agree though implementation is challenging.
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 David Cutler |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Darrell Duffie |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Aaron Edlin |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Consumers currently trade their data for use of services. A mere default allows consumers to continue to make this trade.
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 Barry Eichengreen |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Liran Einav |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Ray Fair |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Edward Glaeser |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Pinelopi Goldberg |
Yale | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Michael Greenstone |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Oliver Hart |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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If control is sufficiently important to platforms they can always buy it back from consumers
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 Bengt Holmström |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Key to do it selectively, weighing private vs social benefits and also what can be effectively anonymized.
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 Caroline Hoxby |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Hilary Hoynes |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Erik Hurst |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Kenneth Judd |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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We already have some protection. Other than enforcing existing laws, it is unclear what else is possible. Current AI tools are able to learn much from an individual's ordinary internet activity. See work of Michal Kosinski at Stanford GSB.
-see background information here |
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 Steven Kaplan |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Some rights might be ok, but laws often can be harmful like the GDPR rule in Europe that destroys immense value.
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 Anil Kashyap |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Need to realize that GDPR had many unintended consequences, so care is needed.
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 Pete Klenow |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
 Jonathan Levin |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The details of such a law would matter a lot.
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 Eric Maskin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 William Nordhaus |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Maurice Obstfeld |
Peterson Institute for International Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Parag Pathak |
MIT | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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 Larry Samuelson |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 José Scheinkman |
Columbia University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Specially the right to be informed and the right to rectification at no-cost.
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 Richard Schmalensee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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It is hard to see this being a bad thing, but creating a regime that actually benefits consumers would not be at all simple.
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 Fiona Scott Morton |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Carl Shapiro |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Robert Shimer |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Stefanie Stantcheva |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 James Stock |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Nancy Stokey |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Chad Syverson |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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 Richard Thaler |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I agree with this in theory, but in practice, GDPR in the EU seems to just produce sludge. If you reject the default cookies you often get sent down a rabbit hole. One click opt out would be good, or a phone setting even better.
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 Christopher Udry |
Northwestern | Bio/Vote History | ||
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When's the last time you read the "terms and conditions" when you installed software?
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 Ivan Werning |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Privacy its breaches are an important issue (and do involve some externalities, e.g. if I provide my friends on a social network) and competitive issues (price discrimination). Less obvious though what the right solution is that does not introduce too much friction in the market.
-see background information here |
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Question B Participant Responses
| Participant | University | Vote | Confidence | Bio/Vote History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Daron Acemoglu |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Mark Aguiar |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Joseph Altonji |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Alan Auerbach |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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David Autor |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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We now have clear evidence that Instagram in particular harms the well-being of young women.
-see background information here |
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Abhijit Banerjee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Dirk Bergemann |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Marianne Bertrand |
Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Markus Brunnermeier |
Princeton | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Judith Chevalier |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Some safety standards seem appropriate but liability structures that create more platform liability for user generated content have important costs and benefits.
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David Cutler |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Darrell Duffie |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I'm highly uncertain how to do this without significant adverse consequences. So far, GDPR regulation in the EU has not gone very well.
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Aaron Edlin |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The harm is substantial beginning with addiction and effects on attention spans. Regulation and increased liability would be good steps forward.
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Barry Eichengreen |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Liran Einav |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Ray Fair |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Edward Glaeser |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Pinelopi Goldberg |
Yale | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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Michael Greenstone |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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I think the answer depends on the form of the "safety standards" and the "process of compensation for harm"
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Oliver Hart |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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This will give them better incentives than now to monitor what is on their platforms
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Bengt Holmström |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Caroline Hoxby |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Hilary Hoynes |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Erik Hurst |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Kenneth Judd |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Is there beneficial regulation consistent with our freedoms? AI is often doing analysis that people do themselves. The difference is that AI can analyze and remember larger amounts of data. How can we control AI without controlling normal human interactions?
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Steven Kaplan |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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This is not an easy problem to solve. Mandating a legal solution will reduce innovation and move toward European-type solutios that do not work.
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Anil Kashyap |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Pete Klenow |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Jonathan Levin |
Stanford | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Eric Maskin |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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William Nordhaus |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Maurice Obstfeld |
Peterson Institute for International Economics | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Parag Pathak |
MIT | Did Not Answer | Bio/Vote History | |
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Larry Samuelson |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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The evidence of the dangers of social media is now compelling enough to prompt action.
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José Scheinkman |
Columbia University | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Richard Schmalensee |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Well-designed regulations and a capable agency could benefit consumers, but there are many ways for regulation to go wrong.
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Fiona Scott Morton |
Yale | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Carl Shapiro |
Berkeley | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Robert Shimer |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Stefanie Stantcheva |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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James Stock |
Harvard | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Nancy Stokey |
University of Chicago | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Chad Syverson |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Richard Thaler |
Chicago Booth | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Like the previous question it is hard to answer this in the abstract. yes, there are probably some regs that would have benefits>costs but how to know in advance that this will be true.
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Christopher Udry |
Northwestern | Bio/Vote History | ||
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Creating the regulations will be hard, and there is not a lot of convincing evidence on some of the potential harms, but there are some that are serious, well-documented and with unclear legal frameworks.
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Ivan Werning |
MIT | Bio/Vote History | ||
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A market full of externalities via social interactions and evidence of negative effects justifies some thoughtful regulation, especially for non adults to help parents.
-see background information here |
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