Shield harmony but don’t wield a sword against dissent

The 6 January incident in Washington DC and its aftermath online can be seen as pivotal events informing conventional wisdom about social media regulation. First, with the exception of free speech absolutists, most people now agree that some level of content regulation is necessary to combat ‘fake news’ and hate speech. Second, many people think that the ‘de-platforming’ of ex- President Donald Trump and Parler is proof that social media is “too powerful and biased”, and needs legislative intervention. The tools largely chosen by social media behemoths—labelling questionable posts, and exercising some measure of control over how posts go “viral”—are not modern-day licensing laws, but merely control the amplification of posts. In trying to stop the miasma of online disinformation, the state must not punish social media companies for their success based on an incomplete understanding of power.