“Social Media Platforms: Public Square or Private Property?”
To Protect Free Speech, Social Media Platforms Must Stop their Overreach by DAVID KEATING Assaults on the culture of free speech grow by the threatens to stifle important debates about unsettled day. Unfortunately, much of the assault is coming from issues. In fact, this has already happened. the major social media platforms. Early in the pandemic, Facebook and YouTube The power of our democracy and the genius censored claims that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated of our First Amendment is from a lab leak in China, a our recognition that no single theory that remains plausible authority can dictate what is true. to this day. And, of course, We work out our disagreements Twitter and Facebook restricted through speech, publishing, and the New York Post’s reporting organizing into groups. about emails on Hunter Biden’s For centuries, reaching laptop in the leadup to the others with our views was 2020 election, claiming they difficult work, and in many were the product of foreign respects it still is. But thanks to misinformation. After the social media, most Americans election, the emails proved to can publish anything and be authentic. theoretically reach millions of Many Democrats have fellow citizens and even much of encouraged this trend towards the world. censorship. Recall that thenAs noted by the U.S. Supreme White House Press Secretary Court, social media platforms Jen Psaki urged “faster action David Keating “for many are the principal against harmful posts” and sources for … speaking and suspension of accounts across listening in the modern public all platforms. The Biden square,” where Americans share Throughout history, free Administration created the vital information and express so-called “Disinformation speech and open debate their opinions. Governance Board” before have been society’s best Social media allowed disbanding it in response to more Americans to engage in tools for discovering the public outrage. public speech than ever before, Many Republicans say truth and managing our but like past revolutions in they oppose censorship but disagreements. communications technology, want to repeal Section 230, it also triggered a backlash. which immunizes social media Politicians, media outlets, or companies from liability for activists increasingly pressure posts by users. That would companies to censor speech they deem false or likely result in even more censorship from platforms misleading, or simply oppose. Lately, much of this eager to avoid costly litigation. It would also make it speech concerns issues related to elections and the effectively impossible for new social media companies COVID-19 pandemic. to take down the incumbents. Certainly, you can find false claims about both What to do? topics online (and off) with ease. Yet the platforms’ Let’s stipulate that there are no easy answers. But judgments are far from infallible, and their heavy hand (cont’d on next page) RIPON FORUM August 2022
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