Dear Jeff Sessions and conservatives, don't mess with Google, Facebook or Twitter

Google, Facebook, and Twitter have no incentive to inject bias in their platforms, because consumers across the political spectrum use social media and discriminating against any of them could drive people away. Consumers would be substantially worse off if social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter were broken up. Their value to consumers derives in no small part from the fact that they allow people to communicate with their friends and families with a single click.

If policymakers are genuinely concerned about the value internet platforms are providing to their consumers, the answer is not to demand that they prioritize political neutrality in their search results. That would necessarily force them to de-emphasize other factors such as timeliness, relevance and accuracy, which consumers tend to favor. Instead, policymakers should allow businesses to determine the best way to serve their customers. The Justice Department should back off its unseemly political attacks on social media platforms, and policymakers should continue to employ a light-touch regulatory approach, so consumers can benefit from the platforms’ continued growth and innovation.

[Daniel Castro is vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and director of its Center for Data Innovation. Michael McLaughlin is a research assistant at ITIF.]