Rights Against Speech

John SamplesWhy do social media companies have the right to suppress speech on their platforms? In the United States, theymay do so because the U.S. Supreme Court has said the First Amendmentdoes not apply to private companies. But the companies want more than sheer discretion, and they seem unwilling to say, “we’re maximizing shareholder value which requires suppressing speech.” Indeed, they seem to want an answer to the question: whyshould we suppress speech?This desire for a broader foundation for content moderation has led Facebook to the door of the United Nations and international law. Need to ban “hate speech”?Article 20 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights requires it. And not just of governments. Facebook has signed theGuiding Principles on Business and Human Rights which requires businesses to “respect” human rights.Susan Benesch treats the issues implicit in mixing content moderation and international law in her essay “But Facebook ’s Not a Country: How to Interpret Human Rights Law for Social Media Companies. ” The “human rights law” she would have platforms adopt may be found in Articles 19 and 20 of theInternational Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. Benesch argues that “human rights law,” (hereafter IHRL) suitably modified, can improve and legitimate content moderation. I have my doubts.International human rights does have a First Amendment of sorts. Article 19 of the ICCPR states:Every...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 6, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: John Samples Source Type: blogs