I can see it from the point of view of e.g. a politician, where reduction in reach has a direct impact on the number of votes they can expect. Disadvantaging one is as good as giving advantage to the rest, and in the context of politics that would be problematic even if a court ordered it.
That's not to say Fediverse-style moderation would solve this. I don't really know what the solution is for algorithmic feeds. Personally I'd rather go back to lightly-federated or unfederated forums, but that idea seems sadly unpopular.
Right and I'm not a fan of algorithmic feeds at all. Social media users broadly are happiest with a basic chronological feed composed only of who they follow. That's why every social media platform starts with that, then adds algorithmic feeds when they want to attract advertisers and after they feel their users are "locked in" enough.
Especially when engagement is the primary metric, which incentivizes our worst attention-seeking behavior. Well thought out, nuanced posts get lost in the ether. Hot takes, trolling and extreme positions get pushed to the top.
Reddit and HN mitigate this somewhat with the downvote system, which is hardly perfect, but at least means negative feedback is not given a positive weight in rankings.
That's not to say Fediverse-style moderation would solve this. I don't really know what the solution is for algorithmic feeds. Personally I'd rather go back to lightly-federated or unfederated forums, but that idea seems sadly unpopular.