Is Deplatforming a Form of “Freedom of Association”?

Many people are critical of social media sites banning the president for the events of last week.

Critics span the political divide, ranging from those who see this as an assault on free speech to those uneasy at the prospects of tech companies, Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey deciding what people can or can’t say. Though I’m sympathetic to some critiques of the ban, I think they highlight some glaring contradictions.

We live in a society where the market is sanctified. We’re terrified of government bigger than a cow, but allow corporations to grow the size of megalodons; companies too big, wealthy and powerful to fail. And then when the market makes a decision to moderate itself, we are reactively fearful of bigness and centralized power, shocked to realize that the market’s wisdom isn’t so grand.

Debates about free speech versus censorship often become trapdoors leading to slippery slopes. Absent of any analysis of power dynamics, free speech fundamentalism becomes a defense of hegemony — like saying if someone yells at you and interrupts you every time you try to speak, it’s fine because they are “technically” within their rights. Our laws and government treating Donald Trump like any other citizen is the right thing to do. A social media platform treating his speech like anyone else’s seems, with all…