Around the world, there is ongoing debate over the extent to which speech should be regulated for the common good. On the one hand, restricting speech in certain contexts can provide key benefits, such as protecting minorities from harm and preventing extremist organizations from recruiting and spreading dangerous hate speech and misinformation. On the other hand, freedom of speech is a fundamental right of individuals to express their opinions and present meaningful political and social discourse.
Facebook has been a key battleground in this debate. As Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a statement detailing the corporation’s intended framework for content governance, “One of the most painful lessons I ve learned is that when you connect two billion people, you will see all the beauty and ugliness of humanity.” Indeed, since nearly its founding day, the company has struggled with the degree to which it bears responsibility for the content that its users post on the platform, includ