I’ve also pondered over this recently. Many social media companies have incentives that are unaligned with their platform users’ best interests. For example, creating more engagement through polarizing or negative content, trying to maximize the time people are glued to screens to eke out ad money, the turning around to sell or exploit personal data.

Frustratingly, they almost have a legal fiduciary duty to behave this way as currently structured, as their only mandate is to increase value for shareholders. Negative externalities on users, employees, or society at large are not relevant to decision making at all.

The conclusion I found is that the only ethical solution would be to create a cooperative public benefit corporation. With that structure, the company has a mandate to do right by their customers, their employees, and society as a whole in measurable ways.