📣 [Analysis] Internet Consolidation Opened the Door to Censorship - Elaine Ou

Elaine Ou outlines how the centralization of providers across the internet stack has led to increased government intrusion on free speech. Because most of the internet passes through a narrow funnel of platforms, like Twitter and YouTube, Ou contends that government control over content is as easy as a phone call to one of these providers. The public also has sway over what is posted online, with "online mobs" pressuring platforms to remove content that offends them. If governments or the public are unsuccessful in going after the top of the stack online users have gone after infrastructure providers, like hosting services, to censor content. Where politics and technology meet, a reactive culture is found. Ou believes that regulatory clarity can help define free speech codes for platform users, but alternative systems must be allowed to breathe.

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