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- Title
If a Social Media Platform Was an Intersection, Should Contract Law or Free Speech Have the Right-of-Way With Respect To User Content?
- Authors
HILDEBRAND, JASON R.
- Abstract
On January 6, 2021, in the wake of the Capitol Hill uprising, Facebook suspended then-President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, citing the contract law principle of breach of contract for violating each company's terms of service; namely, Community Standards and Community Guidelines, respectively. Similarly, on January 8, 2021, Mr. Trump's Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, was permanently suspended for violating the platform's Glorification of Violence policy. This left many asking whether the First Amendment's free speech clause, instead of contract law, should control user content on digital platforms. Put another way, if a social media platform was an intersection, should contract law or free speech have the right-of-way with respect to user content? This paper argues that while free speech has garnered significant attention recently, contract law properly has the right-of-way when it comes to controlling user content on social media platforms. In addressing the right-of-way question, this paper looks at arguments favoring contract law, arguments favoring free speech, and the available roads ahead.
- Subjects
SOCIAL media; CONTRACTS; USER-generated content; META Platforms Inc.; FREEDOM of speech; TRUMP, Donald, 1946-; X Corp.; RIGHT of way; BUSINESS enterprises
- Publication
Journal of Business & Technology Law, 2023, Vol 18, Issue 2, p171
- ISSN
1941-5788
- Publication type
Article