Speech

Pavel Durov was arrested at a Paris airport. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was reportedly accused of failing to mitigate the misuse of his platform for criminal activities. His platform called Telegram is the Russian equivalent of Facebook. It is used by 900 million people including many in Ukraine who use it to maintain contact with relatives who have fled the country. The app is known for its high-level encryption and limited oversight on what its users post, which makes it highly susceptible to disinformation, conspiracy theories, hate and other harmful content. Americans should be concerned because of the threat to free speech. Note that disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate are protected by the US First Amendment. Other harmful content is not explained. Durov’s detention raises questions about whether tech bosses should be responsible for the content on their platforms which has been in the news in the US regarding social media. The first question that should be asked is who determines what content, if any, should be banned. Recall that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. The laws are clear regarding free speech. Companies and private employers are able to regulate speech on their platforms and within their workplace since the First Amendment only applies to the government. The next move is into the gray areas where the courts decide, for example, in the case of New York v Ferber(1982) the court ruled that child pornography was not free speech. Since France does not have a First Amendment Durov cannot depend on the courts to come to his aid.