Governance of AI-Generated Content: A Case Study on Social Media Platforms

TL;DR

This paper examines how 40 social media platforms govern AI-generated content, highlighting current practices, gaps, and the need for comprehensive policies and user education to ensure responsible use.

Contribution

It provides an empirical analysis of existing governance policies for AI-generated content across major social media platforms, identifying gaps and suggesting improvements.

Findings

Most platforms focus on moderating AI-generated content that violates rules.

Fewer platforms address ownership and monetization issues.

Over two-thirds explicitly describe governance of AI-generated content.

Abstract

Online platforms are seeing increasing amounts of AI-generated content -- text and other forms of media that are made or co-created with generative AI. This trend suggests platforms may need to establish governance frameworks, including policies and enforcement strategies for how users create, post, share, and engage with such content to encourage responsible use. We investigate the governance of AI-generated content across 40 popular social media platforms. Just over two-thirds explicitly describe governance of AI-generated content spanning six themes. Most platforms focus on moderating AI-generated content that violates established content rules and discloses AI-generated content. Fewer platforms -- those that are focused on creativity and knowledge-sharing -- address other issues such as ownership and monetization. Based on these findings, we suggest stakeholders and policymakers develop more direct, comprehensive, and forward-looking AI-generated content governance, as well as tools and education for users about the use of such content.