The Role of Social Networks in the Creation of Democratic Opinion

The importance of "virtual" publics is growing in the age of the ubiquitous Internet. This is a new space for democratic debate, and it provides new channels for content dissemination for all actors. It also applies to the "average citizen," who, regardless of time or place, has the ability to influence public opinion formation at the micro level through social networks and the personal public sphere. As a result, social networks create a virtual space in which individuals can grow socially and communicatively, as well as participate in democratic opinion formation. However, there are risks associated with such a broad range of potential. In addition to government intervention, measures taken by social network providers ("platform operators") can limit an individual's freedom of communication. The following article is intended to provide a look on the Internet's new structural change in the public sphere and social networks. Therefore, the issue of whether and to what extent a platform operator may enforce communication standards in "his" social network in a democratic social order is addressed. The article concludes with a summary of the viewpoints supported by the arguments presented in the previous parts of the paper.