How Speech Is Moderated Online in the US
Photographer: Andrew Brookes/Cultura/Getty Images
When the World Wide Web opened for public use in 1991, its enthusiasts proclaimed a new era of unfiltered free expression. That was before the internet in general, and social media platforms in particular, proved to be such effective places to spread misinformation about important matters such as Covid-19 and vaccines, disinformation (intentional falsehoods) about politics and elections, plus all manner of conspiracy theories and hate speech, including harassment and bullying. Social media platforms have faced enormous scrutiny over which content they silence and which they amplify. Given a chance to weigh in, the US Supreme Court let the status quo stand for now.
No. The First Amendment to the US Constitution bans censorship by the government, not by private companies such as providers of social media platforms. Plus, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 gives broad protection to online gathering places such as Twitter Inc. and Meta Platform Inc.’s Facebook from liability for defamation or harassment, along with leeway to moderate discussions and remove or leave up posts.