The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World

by Andrew Doyle

The complacency of the Trump administration meant that he left office in 2021 with big tech still enjoying the protections afforded by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was introduced in 1996 so that companies could moderate user posts without being legally defined as publishers. This was especially important when it came to online comment sections, where it would be unjust to hold news outlets culpable for illegal or libellous content uploaded by users. While this provision was therefore necessary, the act could easily have been amended so that its protections only pertained to illegal content. This would have meant that platforms such as Twitter and Facebook could not simply remove posts because they disagree with the opinions expressed or because they find them offensive. The common practice of banning gender-critical feminists, for instance, shows how social media platforms are happy to engage in partisan editorialising even where no law has been broken. If this is how these companies wish to behave, then they should be legally defined as publishers and held accountable for all content on their site, just like any other media outlet.