Free Speech And Hate Speech: Another Reckoning For Social Media Companies

Coca Cola, Target and other major companies have recently limited or stopped advertising on Facebook. Those boycotts are part of a campaign designed to pressure the social media company into cracking down on hate speech on its platform.

YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, and others have all taken action in recent weeks to block white supremacist groups and restrict hate speech. But who defines what is hate speech? Do these restrictions run contrary to our constitutional right to freedom of speech?

Does the First Amendment also guarantee freedom of reach — to have our voice amplified by technology and algorithms? Do some social media platforms not only allow hate speech, but incentivize it?

We tackled these important questions with Daphne Keller, platform regulation director at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, Louise Matsakis, staff writer at Wired and John Matze, CEO of Parler.