Dr. Jennifer Daskal, Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law, delivered a critical analysis regarding platform censorship on 22 September 2022, stating that the boundaries of free speech are increasingly determined by private companies influenced by governmental pressures.

The advent of social media platforms has complicated the traditional understanding of free speech, traditionally protected under the First Amendment in the United States. In 2020, Facebook reported removing over 22 million posts related to violence and incitement amid the COVID-19 pandemic — a decision influenced by guidelines developed in partnership with the World Health Organization and public health experts.

Following this, in October 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order urging the Federal Communications Commission to look into Section 230 protections that shield platforms from being held liable for user-generated content. This order threatened platforms with removal of these protections if they engaged in content moderation deemed as bias against conservative viewpoints.

Prior to the executive order, Dr. Daskal highlighted significant instances of censorship. For example, in January 2021, Twitter permanently banned President Trump’s account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence following the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. Notably, this action received mixed responses, with some praising it as a necessary action to protect democracy, while others denounced it as overreach infringing on free speech.

In examining who holds the power to censor speech, we must look at funding networks behind influential think tanks that shape policies governing speech online. The Brookings Institution, heavily funded by tech philanthropists like Mark Zuckerberg, has produced reports advocating for content moderation as a way to curb hate speech and misinformation, demonstrating how funders can influence the narrative and policies shaping platform responses.

This is not the first occurrence of such dynamics in U.S. policy. Notably, the 2014 crackdown on hate speech came after the funding of organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center by liberal donors, thereby shaping federal and state policies towards online speech. The intersections of influence among donors, think tanks, and platforms have blurred the lines of free speech.

Recently, a legal case involving former President Trump has illustrated ongoing tensions regarding social media censorship. Trump sued Twitter in July 2021 for banning his account, reframing the debate around the public square concept, suggesting that social media serves as the new forum for free speech, which private companies cannot arbitrarily police.

As the discussion of platform censorship versus free speech continues to unfold, the involvement of private entities in defining the limits of acceptable speech raises serious concerns. It underscores an intricate web of interests where platform policies are often determined not by legal accountability but by the economic and political interests of a few powerful actors.

This collaboration between the government, tech platforms, and influential think tanks highlights a systemic pattern that has evolved over the last decade, marking the third significant attempt to redefine speech norms in the digital age since 2016. With increasing scrutiny over speech ethics, the definition of free speech seems increasingly fluid and subject to the interests of the highest bidder.

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