Who Do You Sue? State and Platform Hybrid Power Over Online Speech
An essay examining the effect on free-expression rights when platforms such as Facebook or YouTube silence their users’ speech
This essay closely examines the effect on free-expression rights when platforms such as Facebook or YouTube silence their users’ speech. The first part describes the often messy blend of government and private power behind many content removals, and discusses how the combination undermines users’ rights to challenge state action. The second part explores the legal minefield for users—or potentially, legislators—claiming a right to speak on major platforms. The essay contends that questions of state and private power are deeply intertwined. To understand and protect internet users’ rights, we must understand and engage with both.
Daphne Keller
Director of Program on Platform Regulation, Cyber Policy Center and Lecturer, Stanford Law School
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