As the various social media act more and more as the distribution platform for news, as well as for other content produced by their users, their ability to both protect freedom of speech and protect their users from hate speech are increasingly called into question. Syed and Smith point out that social platforms don’t typically create speech but provide a venue for their users’ expression. Therefore they earn their users’ trust through how they manage “our own collective expression”.

So far, the companies haven’t been enough transparent about their processes, the writers argue, which has led to inconsistencies in how their policies are applied. To counter this, they propose First Amendment principles as the foundation on which to build more transparent policies.

Last week Facebook and Twitter, among other tech companies, committed to new EU rules to combat hate speech. Previously, Facebook has faced significant criticism for the practices behind its Trending Topics section.

Syed’s and Smith’s piece was mostly met with positive reactions. Whether it leads to concrete action on the social platforms’ part remains to be seen.