Trump’s new social network needs the tech law he hates – The Week Magazine

TRUTH Social, former PresidentDonald Trump's "free speech" social media platform, is set to launch on Feb.21.Part of the popular crusade against "Big Tech tyranny," TRUTH promises to be an oasis of unrestricted political speech. But the platform's recent decision to use auto-moderation bots, as well as its oddly restrictive terms of service, suggest Team Trump has perhaps developeda newfound appreciation for both the virtue and necessity of Section 230, the law which enables platforms to choose the content they host. TRUTH Socialwon't realizeits vision of freewheeling free speech.But itwill serve as a much-needed reminder of the value of that law.

Devin Nunes, the former GOP representative-turned-Trump Media CEO,said on Wednesdaythat TRUTH Social will be the most "family-friendly" social media site on the market. This means it intends to moderate content that offends social conservatives even more heavily thanits Big Tech rivals do.To this end, TRUTH alreadyenlistedHive, a Silicon Valley AI company, to auto-moderate"hate speech, spam, pornography, and bullying." This is the same technology used by Facebook and Twitter, and for good reason.

Prior attempts at creating "free speech" platforms, like Parler and Gettr, became sooverrun with offensive junk they became practically unusable.The reasonthat TRUTH Social can work with Hive and maintain a "family friendly" environment isbecause Section 230 gives them the freedom to do so without facing liability the very law that Trump (as well as nearly five dozen bills in Congress) wants to repeal.

Other examples of speech that runs afoul of TRUTH'sterms of serviceincludecontent that "disparage[s]"Trump Media and content that "annoy[s]" Trump himself. Curiously,TRUTH users may also be banned from the site for"excessive use of capital letters."TRUTH has the right to make all these rules precisely because of the Section 230 protections Trump tried to nix while president.

Manywho oppose Section 230 claim it allows "stifling of free speech." Speaking fondly about the launch of TRUTH Social this week,Fox host Maria Bartiromosaid"we're living in the worst period of political censorship in American history."But TRUTH Social's own willingness to remove and curate contentillustrates the paradox of that complaint.

Without the immunity from liability for user content that Section 230 provides, platforms would likely remove even more controversial content to avoid costly lawsuits. Absent 230's protections, offensive content would flood platforms and push many users away.

In short, thanks to 230's immunity from liability for leaving stuff up, TRUTH may host its users' controversial views. And it can remain "family friendly" thanks to 230's immunity from liability for taking things down. TRUTH's unusual terms of service highlight another benefit of 230: enabling platforms to create cohesive online communities of like-minded individuals, which, in this case, may mean those who do not annoy Donald Trump.

TRUTH Social insists it will not moderate based on political viewpoint, yet defining hate speech, spam, and bullying is an inherently political task. Many conservatives on Twitter have been deplatformed for purposely misgendering transgender users, which Twitter classifies as hate speech. TRUTH is unlikely to consider erroneous pronouns hate speech but may instead choose to ban users for phrases like "ACAB" or comments about white fragility. Rather than moderatelesscontent than Big Tech or achieve some fantastical conception of neutrality, then, Section 230 allows TRUTHto create moderation rules better suited to the political views of its user base.

That's a good thing, and adiverse public is best served by a diverse array of products. For example, Section 230 allowsPopJam to maintain an enriching art-sharing community for children by exerting a heavy hand over inappropriate content. HuntingNet fosters a valuable niche platform for its users by excluding animal rights posts. Ravelry, a progressive knitting site, excludes pro-Trump political content which, the users determined, interfered with their enjoyment of the site.

Likewise, TRUTH Social will provide a somewhat moderated environment where anti-vax views are welcome but "excessive use of capital letters" is not.TRUTH Social shows that even Section 230's most consistent detractor will leverage its protections to create the platform that best serves its users. That is a ringing endorsement of keeping thelawaround, whatever Trump himself may say.

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Trump's new social network needs the tech law he hates - The Week Magazine