A letter responding to a Guardian editorial on Russian threats argues that disinformation is just one symptom of a wider failure to regulate social media platforms that now function as critical national infrastructure.
Broader harms beyond disinformation
The letter, written by Aneet Morar, says the harms are evident across a wide spectrum. Engagement-driven feeds are damaging young people's mental health, and the same amplification mechanics that carry foreign propaganda also accelerate far-right radicalisation at home.
The letter references analysis of disorder in Belfast and Southampton, and notes that new wearable devices, such as Meta's smart glasses, make recording people without their knowledge or consent a routine part of life.
Need for enforceable duties
While the government must step up its response to disinformation, the letter argues this alone is not enough. Platforms that profit from spreading harmful content need to face real consequences, including enforceable duties of care, penalties proportionate to their scale, and transparency about how their algorithms decide what people see.
Morar, who has spent their career in the payments industry, says infrastructure operating at this scale would never be allowed to run without clear rules, independent oversight and liability when things go wrong. There is no good reason to hold platforms that shape what millions of people believe to a lower standard.
Tackling the root cause
The letter concludes that tackling the Kremlin's bot armies matters, but until these platforms are held responsible for what they amplify, across every segment of society, society will keep treating the symptoms rather than the cause.
