From the platform that once called itself “the free speech wing of the free speech party” these new tools mark an incredible turn of events for the company that just two years ago famously wrote Congress to say it would do everything in its power to uphold the right of terrorists to post freely to its platform. What does Twitter’s new interest in hate speech tell us about the future of free speech online? Indeed, from its inception a decade ago, Twitter has done little to address the problem of hateful and abusive speech on its platform. This is intriguing in that it reinforces the role economic realities play vis-à-vis free speech and the resources that internet companies expend in addressing abusive use of their platforms. However, it is critically important to draw a distinction between speech and the ideas being expressed through that speech.

Source: Forbes February 17, 2017 04:52 UTC