I've run a niche "social media" site for 12 years. There is no tightrope. The problem is that these large platforms want the benefits of scale, without being responsible for dealing with the problems of scale. It is imminently possible to build a thriving social media site that enforces standards of behavior. HN is a good example. However, it is work to actually enforce those standards. It takes leadership. Facebook, Twitter, etc, are not interested in providing that type of leadership, and would likely require both a huge economic investment, and a significant change in business strategy.
Exactly this. They want both control, and ability to wash their hands, while running their operations at scale. There is the famous saying, "time, quality and cost, choose two". There is a similar "social media law" I believe, that is yet to be stated, but where scale is one parameter.
The point is who gets to decide the standards of behavior?
There are tons of laws restricting what standards can be. Fair housing act. Education, phone service are examples of things that can’t be arbitrarily denied because people providing disagree with who you are, what you belief, or what you do (excepting illegal activity).
Many argue the Internet and some of these services should be added to that list.
