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arXiv · 2506.12604

Selling Certification, Content Moderation, and Attention

Heski Bar-Isaac·Rahul Deb·Matthew Mitchell
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Abstract

We introduce a model of content moderation for sale, where a platform can channel attention in two ways: direct steering that makes content visible to consumers and certification that controls what consumers know about the content. The platform optimally price discriminates using both instruments. Content from higher willingness-to-pay providers enjoys higher quality certification and more views. The platform cross-subsidizes content: the same certificate is assigned to content from low willingness-to-pay providers that appeals to consumers and content from higher willingness-to-pay providers that does not. Cross-subsidization can benefit consumers by making content more diverse; regulation enforcing accurate certification may be harmful.

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econ.TH

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BibTeXRIS

Heski Bar-Isaac, Rahul Deb, Matthew Mitchell. 2025-06-14. Selling Certification, Content Moderation, and Attention. https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12604

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