Social media in the post-Trump world

FOLLOWING the deadly siege on the Capitol building in Washington DC on Jan 6, technology giants cracked down on tens of thousands of extremists and conspiracy theorists. The purge's most famous victim was former United States president Donald Trump, who was banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram "due to the risk of further incitement of violence", as Twitter put it.

It is an odd point in history where private companies have to be relied on to control elected public officials. Corporations are censoring the leader of the free world, with general approval.

Yet for a long while, social media companies have insisted that they are merely "platforms" for users to express their views. Those companies are reluctant to make rules to determine which type of views are acceptable and which are not. Remaining impartial is good for business, allowing for a wider user base, but is important also from a legal perspective. If a company makes it clear that it does not moderate content, then it decreases the scope for lawsuits about bias, and distances itself from responsibility for user comments.