Free Speech and Internet Regulation

The article analyses free speech and internet regulation. Governments have come up with new regulatory proposals for privately-controlled platforms virtually overnight in contrast to their traditional hands-off approach to platform regulation. The Internet Safety Report in the UK, the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market and the US President’s Memorandum on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods, and a slew of other regulatory proposals, were produced within an extraordinarily short space of time. In particular, free speech has always required public forums to flourish, but shaping these forums to the challenging contours of today’s online world presents unique challenges. Social media forums serve as the prime source of knowledge and human thought for many users and have taken on the identity of ‘the modern public square’, as noted by the US Federal Supreme Court.