"...given their tremendous size and importance as platforms for free speech, companies like Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Twitter shouldn't try to be guardians of what Waldron calls a "well-ordered society"; instead, they should consider themselves the modern version of Oliver Wendell Holmes's fractious marketplace of ideas -- democratic spaces where all values, including civility norms, are always open for debate."
"Last year, after the French government objected to the hash tag "#unbonjuif" -- intended to inspire hateful riffs on the theme "a good Jew ..." -- Twitter blocked a handful of the resulting tweets in France, but only because they violated French law. Within days, the bulk of the tweets carrying the hashtag had turned from anti-Semitic to denunciations of anti-Semitism, confirming that the Twittersphere is perfectly capable of dealing with hate speech on its own, without heavy-handed intervention."
Those who try to remove this hate speech have been criticized from left and right. At Slate, Jillian York writes, "While the campaigners on this issue are to be commended for raising awareness of such awful speech on Facebook's platform, their proposed solution is ultimately futile and sets a dangerous precedent for special interest groups looking to bring their pet issue to the attention of Facebook's censors."
It hardly seems right to qualify a group fighting hate speech as an "interest group" trying to bring their "pet issue" to the attention of Facebook censors. The "special interest" groups she fears might apply for protection must meet Facebook's strict community standards, which state:
While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.
If anything, the groups to which York refers are nudging Facebook towards actually enforcing its own rules.
Sean will be finishing up a six-month research internship in August. He's looking for a job that involves research, writing and public policy. Check out his resume and writing samples and e-mail him at: seanadrianmc@gmail.com