What Platform Operations Are We Regulating? Platform Product Features, Content Removal, and Content Amplification | Center for Internet and Society

This discussion, excerpted from my Who Do You Sue article, describes the specific functions of online speech platforms that could potentially be affected by new regulation. It calls out in particular the differences between regulating platforms’ removal of online content versus regulating their ranking or amplification of that content. Many discussions of platform power over online speech and information fail to distinguish between, and account for, these two separate functions. The excerpt below focuses on what I call “must-carry” claims – arguments that the law should limit platforms’ power to prohibit or discriminate against certain content under their Terms of Service or Community Guidelines. But the product details it reviews are relevant for any laws that shape platforms’ interaction with user content. I sketch out potential models for such laws, designed to address major platforms’ function as de facto gatekeepers of online speech and information, here.