Mainstream Platforms and the Standard of Governance: Neutral Security Approach

Abstract

Chapter 4 delves into mainstream platforms. Since 2016, major social media platforms have progressively established a standard for governing hate speech, which I have called the Neutral-Security Approach. This model interprets hate speech from a neutral standpoint, prioritising the role of security and safety in online spaces over combatting discrimination. It relies on a definition of hate speech as a direct attack against individual users, employing a mix of automated and human moderation to maintain a hostility-free environment. This approach, grounded in the dual principles of freedom and security, marks a novel shift in the hate speech debate by assigning regulation the primary role of ensuring safety, as opposed to the historic task of combatting discrimination. Therefore, given that these platforms are private entities regulating public discourse, this raises critical questions about the implications of prioritising platform security over societal anti-discrimination efforts and about the way this specific approach has gained public and institutional legitimacy. In light of this, this chapter explores the implementation, rise and consolidation of the Neutral-Security Approach by large platforms from 2016 to 2019. Drawing on Foucauldian governmentality, it examines how the preference for balancing freedom with safety has led to a governance model focused on controlling content circulation. This analysis considers four key concepts – production, scarcity, accumulation and diversity of content – using censorship as a case study. Additionally, this chapter investigates how external regulatory bodies, especially in Europe, are legitimising this governance model. In conclusion, this chapter critiques the effectiveness of the Neutral-Security Approach in addressing discrimination, suggesting that it fundamentally fails to tackle this issue, echoing Simone Weil's perspective on governance inadequacies.

Citation

Otero, P.V. (2024), "Mainstream Platforms and the Standard of Governance: Neutral Security Approach", Platform Governance and Social Justice (Digital Activism and Society: Politics, Economy And Culture In Network Communication), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 41-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-104-620241004