allen
2mo ago
This is roughly where I land with Section 230. The intention was to allow large tech companies (and small blogs, etc.) to host user comments without taking on liability for hosting illegal or defamatory content. Maybe I'm reading between the lines too much here, but the intent appeared to be to shield companies who had user-generated content from liability for content they didn't control.
As large companies work more and more toward controlling what users can say on their platform, the argument could be made that they are getting closer and close to editors, who choose what content goes in their paper. And if you're picking and choosing who can say what on your platform, and are telling users "you can't say this, it's misinformation", it sounds like editorial activities, and it certainly seems like platforms should have the capability (and as such, the responsibility) to police libelous and other content.
Were I able to dictate my preference to the big tech companies, my idealized solution would be a situation where the tech company itself doesn't police anything stricter than US guidelines, but provide an API for third parties to review and filter posts that users can subscribe to. You want to hide all posts with profanity? Choose that provider. Want to hide all posts with misgendering? There's a filter for that too. But then the user is doing the "editing" rather than the platform.
This is a good point that I hadn't previously considered. They had a previously designed compliance tool available to them, and in that case, why not use it to make their platform a better and more pleasant place (however they define it)?
If I'm looking to consume or ingest information (or keep up with friends), this is the way to go. The downside for companies is a lack of discoverability, which limits the time you spend on their platform.
I'm sure a large chunk of especially social media company's desire to curate/editorialize user content is a desire to keep users cozy, and incentivize time spent on the platform.
More options
Context Copy link