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Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — the Strategies of Operators and the Tactics of Users

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SOCIAL MEDIA GOVERNANCE: PLATFORMS IN CONFLICT — THE STRATEGIES OF OPERATORS AND THE TACTICS OF USERS. Andrew Quodling B Creative Industries (Honours I) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Digital Media Research Centre Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology 2019 Keywords Platform Governance Social Media Platform Politics User Tactics Content Moderation Online Harassment Facebook Twitter Google+ Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — The strategies of operators and the tactics of users. i Abstract The growth in availability, affordability and accessibility of internet services in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in the use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The political conflict and activism both on and against social media platforms have become a more frequent occurrence as their user bases grow and diversify. Conflicts between users and platform operators have involved their attitudes and policies towards issues as diverse as censorship, privacy and surveillance, images depicting breastfeeding, images depicting nudity, pornography, hateful speech and threats of physical harm — with many conflicts garnering coverage in mainstream media. This project investigates conflicts in which users of social media platforms have dramatically different political views and expectations than the operators and designers of their platforms by analysing the different ways in which users have negotiated differences of power and political disputes on social media platforms in several case studies. It has highlighted regular areas of conflict or tension, the strategies that platforms use and the tactics that users deploy to negotiate these conflicts. By interrogating the power structures and political conflicts of social media platforms, this research has discovered how platform operators attempt to govern users through policy and enforcement strategies, and how users interact with platforms during conflict and by identifying themes in user actions during conflicts. Through analysing the interplay of these strategies and tactics, this thesis also illustrates some of the challenges of governance in globalised, digital spaces like internet platforms. ii Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — The strategies of operators and the tactics of users. Table of Contents Keywords .................................................................................................................................. i Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... iii Statement of Original Authorship ............................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. vi Content Notice ...................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Significance and Scope ............................................................................................................. 4 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................... 7 Understanding Unequal Power Conflicts .................................................................................. 7 Contextualising Platforms and their Politics ........................................................................... 11 Platforms and Strategies ......................................................................................................... 32 Users and Tactics .................................................................................................................... 61 Platform Governance .............................................................................................................. 84 The Role of this Research Project ........................................................................................... 93 Chapter 3: Research Design .................................................................................... 95 Chapter 4: Case Study One: Facebook and Breastfeeding Photographs ......... 119 Platform–Political Tensions ..................................................................................................119 Platform History and the Conflict ......................................................................................... 133 Governance Context .............................................................................................................. 145 Perspectives of Conflict and Governance ............................................................................. 160 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 169 Chapter 5: Case Study Two: Google+ and “Real Names” ................................. 173 Platform–Political Tensions ..................................................................................................173 Platform History and the Conflict ......................................................................................... 188 Governance Context .............................................................................................................. 194 Perspectives of Conflict and Governance ............................................................................. 198 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 202 Chapter 6: Case Study Three: Twitter, Abuse and Harassment ....................... 204 Platform–Political Tensions ..................................................................................................204 Platform History and the Conflict ......................................................................................... 214 Governance Context .............................................................................................................. 226 Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — The strategies of operators and the tactics of users. iii Perspectives of Conflict and Governance ............................................................................. 240 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 250 Chapter 7: Discussion ............................................................................................ 263 Strategies .............................................................................................................................. 263 Tactics .................................................................................................................................. 267 The Interplay of Strategies and Tactics ................................................................................ 275 Chapter 8: Conclusions .......................................................................................... 290 What happened next? Addenda to the Case Studies ............................................................ 291 The Limitations of this Research, and the Timeliness of this Investigation ......................... 305 Shocks & Exceptions ........................................................................................................... 306 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 313 iv Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — The strategies of operators and the tactics of users. Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: QUT Verified Signature Date: March, 2019 Social Media Governance: Platforms in Conflict — The strategies of operators and the tactics of users. v Acknowledgements To my supervisors, Axel Bruns, Stephen Harrington, and Nicolas Suzor: Thank you. Along this academic journey, you've each been invaluable sources of support and guidance, and have been essential to my development as a researcher. This thesis would not have been possible without your generous insights and your enduring support. To Emma Potter-Hay: Thank you. I couldn’t possibly have had a better colleague to share offices with. I have valued our far-ranging discussions, our arguments and our moments of shared vulnerability in the great, challenging and often daunting PhD journey. It has been an honour to share mine with you. To Scarlett Hawkins: Thank you. Your care, candour, support, and friendship has been invaluable to me on this academic
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