Event Detail

Does the right to free speech apply against social media content moderation? Some argue that social media platforms are like newspapers, which are totally free to “edit” what users say in their private venues, not at all constrained by speakers’ free speech claims. Others argue that social media platforms are like public utilities companies, which owe customers fair terms of service, including some free speech protections. Still others argue that platforms are “the modern public square,” and that the right to free speech applies just as robustly against social media companies as it does against the state. I argue that none of these models work. Instead, I claim that platforms are hybrid spaces, combining private services with the distinctive public function of hosting mass democratic discourse. I advance a novel democratic account of free speech that explains when and why platforms must respect users’ rights to engage in political discourse and how this can be balanced against the need to moderate mis- and dis-information.