In a recent blogpost on 'The Digital Constitutionalist', Dr. Hadassa Noorda and Jessie Levano share their thoughts on how the working mechanisms behind social media platforms may affect individual liberty. Whereas it is generally acknowledged that social media may negatively impact our freedom of thought (including our ability to make free and informed decisions), they suggest that there might be more at stake here.

Although a large number of social media users signal to be dissatisfied with the amount of time they spent 'mindlessly scrolling' through their newsfeed or 'recommended for you'-pages, they seem to be unable to resist the temptation, and to do and act otherwise. This apparent dissonance between will and action is a complex phenomenon which renders individuals to be 'trapped by the algorithm'. Building on Dr. Noorda's prior work on 'exprisonment', the post argues how this form of restriction of liberty should be considered alongside risks pertaining to freedom of will. With reference to the philosophy of Harry Frankfurt, it is further suggested how restoring the balance between the 'mindless scroller's' first and second order volitions might consequently result in them breaking free from their algorithmic prison cells, as well.