ALGORITHMIC INFLUENCE AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN DIGITAL COMMUNICATION

This article investigates the relationship between algorithmic influence and individual freedom of choice in digital communication. It focuses on recommender systems, attention-based platform design, personalized information flows and the social conditions of meaningful agency. Using conceptual analysis and a comparative reading of scholarship on network society, algorithmic visibility, surveillance capitalism and information ethics, the study distinguishes technically available options from genuinely informed choices. It argues that digital autonomy is not secured merely by providing users with multiple alternatives; it also requires transparent mediation, contestable automated decisions, data protection and the ability to encounter diverse perspectives. A human-centered framework combining institutional accountability, platform design and digital literacy is proposed. The research is theoretical and does not claim original experimental measurements.