Is algorithmic reform possible? Theorizing the double ideological strata

Abstract Numerous stakeholders, including critical scholars, and digital-rights NGOs, contend that social media platforms operate as sites where the libertarian goal is illusory (the “false consciousness thesis”). However, I show that libertarian promises and corporate-algorithmic control coexist as a double ideological strata, wherein freedom and autonomy are articulated on the surface while governance operates underneath. Moreover, although the majority of libertarian voices criticize political initiatives that interfere with digital conversations between users, they make no mention of similar control exerted through corporate-algorithmic mechanisms. By emphasizing relevant Gramscian and Althusserian tensions regarding the techno-material role of ideology, I use Meta’s ambivalent rhetoric and TikTok’s algorithmic personalization as case studies to discuss the existence of a double ideological strata, which highlights the coexistence of an ambivalent framework: an explicit endorsement of user autonomy and free flow of information and an implicit framework that legitimizes corporate sovereignty and algorithmic control, thereby limiting user freedom.