US actor Jeremy Allen White has called for greater safeguards on social media platforms, describing their potential as “scary” without regulation. The 35-year-old stars in the upcoming thriller The Social Reckoning as journalist Jeff Horwitz, who teams up with Facebook employee Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) to expose the social network’s most guarded secrets.
A call for third-party regulators
Reflecting on the film’s message, White told the Press Association: “There needs to be more safeguards with all of these companies. I don’t mean to bully Facebook – all of these massive tech companies need more safeguards.”
He drew parallels with other regulated industries: “For air travel, there’s third-party regulators. For pharmaceuticals, there’s third-party regulators. There should be a third-party regulator for these big companies. I hope there’s conversation around things like that coming out of the film.”
Hope for a cultural shift
Asked whether social media could become more than a tool frequently used to fuel misinformation and hate, White said: “I hope so. I hope for young people there’s a backslide where it becomes fashionable to avoid all this stuff.”
“I was born in 1991, so I remember a world without all this,” the actor added. “I think for people my age, there’s a hyper awareness. There is something cool about having a certain amount of distance from social media. I hope that young people now can share that. It’s all moving so fast, and it is scary what it could become if there is no adjustment or regulation for it.”
Gala screening and cast
White attended the gala screening at the Curzon Mayfair in London on Tuesday, wearing a beige suit jacket over a white shirt, with a black tie and black trousers. He was joined by co-star Madison, who wore a ruched lime green gown with a long train, and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who wore a grey suit.
The film, written, directed and co-produced by Sorkin, is based on the 2021 true story centred on the Wall Street Journal’s expose The Facebook Files, while drawing on the power of social media to spread misinformation. Sorkin created it as a companion piece to his 2010 drama The Social Network.
Sorkin described the spread of misinformation on social media as “the last thing we need right now”, and told PA: “I don’t think we can put the toothpaste back in the tube. But what we can do is pass laws.”
The film also stars Jeremy Strong as tech mogul and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Wunmi Mosaku, Billy Magnussen and Betty Gilpin. The Social Reckoning will be released in cinemas across the UK on October 9.
