Moderating Content Moderation: a Framework for Nonpartisanship in Online Governance
MODERATING CONTENT MODERATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR NONPARTISANSHIP IN ONLINE GOVERNANCE EDWARD LEE* Internet platforms serve two important roles that often conflict. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other internet platforms facilitate the unfettered exchange of free speech by millions of people, yet they also moderate or restrict the speech according to their “community standards,” such as prohibitions against hate speech and advocating violence, to provide a safe environment for their users. These dual roles give internet platforms unparalleled power over online speech—even more so than most governments. Yet, unlike government actors, internet platforms are not subject to checks and balances that courts or agencies must follow, such as promulgating well-defined procedural rules and affording notice, due process, and appellate review to individuals. Internet platforms have devised their own policies and procedures for content moderation, but the platforms’ enforcement remains opaque—especially when compared to courts and agencies. Based on an independent survey of the community standards of the largest internet platforms, this Article shows that few internet platforms disclose the precise procedural steps and safeguards of their content moderation—perhaps hoping to avoid public scrutiny over those procedures. This lack of transparency has left internet platforms vulnerable to vocal accusations of having an “anti-conservative bias” in their content moderation, especially from politicians. Internet platforms deny such a bias, but their response has not mollified Republican lawmakers, who have proposed amending, if not repealing, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act * Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law; Founder, The Free Internet Project. Many thanks to helpful comments from Kathy Baker, Felice Batlan, Sungjoon Cho, Eric Goldman, Hal Krent, Nancy Marder, Blake Reid, Mark Rosen, Alex Boni-Saenz, Chris Schmidt, Stephanie Stern, Eugene Volokh, and participants of faculty workshops.
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