Lewandowsky, S. (2026). Internet platforms must be held accountable for their actions. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aee9835
Summary
This commentary by Stephan Lewandowsky argues that internet platforms bear substantial responsibility for the global retreat of democracy and must be held accountable for their role in enabling authoritarian trends. Positioned within broader debates on democratic backsliding, the piece synthesizes warnings from multiple independent research institutions and connects contemporary U.S. political developments — notably over 2,300 documented actions by the second Trump administration said to echo authoritarian regimes — to a wider global pattern of democratic decline. While acknowledging that the causes of this decline are complex and multifaceted, the author identifies platform dynamics as a key contributing factor and frames platform accountability as central to any defense of democracy.
Key Contributions
- Frames internet platform accountability as central to defending democracy.
- Synthesizes warnings from multiple research bodies about global democratic backsliding.
- Connects contemporary U.S. political developments to broader authoritarian patterns worldwide.
Methods
An opinion/commentary piece rather than an empirical study. The argument draws on prior research, including a historical analysis previously conducted by the author and colleagues, and cites documentation by a British academic cataloguing over 2,300 actions by the second Trump administration as potentially threatening American democracy.
Findings
- Independent research institutions have repeatedly warned of democratic retreat worldwide.
- More than 2,300 administration actions have been catalogued as potentially threatening American democracy.
- Historical analysis by the author points to structural factors driving authoritarian trends (specifics not available from the abstract).
Connections
As an anniversary-essay-style critique of platform power, this piece sits alongside other reflective commentaries on platforms’ societal role such as Baym2026-tr and Marwick2026-ss. Its accountability framing resonates with work on platform governance and the epistemic risks platforms pose to democratic institutions, including Bak-Coleman2026-mk and de-Vreese2026-zx. The concern with platforms as a channel for misinformation and authoritarian influence also connects to Farkas2026-lr.