Attempts by the Right and Left to use Government to Regulate Speech on Social Media are Unconstitutional

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President Trump recently called for the Administration to create a panel to investigate claims of bias against conservatives on the part of social media companies. Activists and policy makers on both the right and the left have called for government regulation of content on social media, an idea that raises significant constitutional concerns.

CEI Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews said:

“Activists and policymakers on both the left and right have called for the government to step in and regulate speech on social media, albeit for different reasons. President Trump and some conservatives want the government to enforce political neutrality on private entities like Facebook and Google while people on the left want these platforms to ban speech with which liberal activists disagree. 

“Ironically, despite both sides saying they want to take power away from social media giants, these unconstitutional attempts to regulate free speech will only entrench the companies’ power by making it more difficult for new competitors to challenge them. Government should stand aside, allow companies to run their private platforms as they see fit and allow people to decide which platforms deserve their time, attention, and money.”

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