Brazil’s recent ban of X may seem antithetical to Americans’ notion of the First Amendment and the idea of the internet as a “marketplace of ideas” where the good ultimately overshadows the bad and the ugly. But experts at Northeastern University say the vision of the internet as a libertarian, transnational free-speech zone where only the best ideas rise to the top is increasingly being questioned — even in the United States. “Increasingly, we’re seeing an evolution. Courts are rethinking libertarian free speech paradigms — rethinking this very expansive understanding of free speech online,” says Elettra Bietti, assistant professor of law and computer science at Northeastern. “We have moved from a very libertarian, very hands-off approach to an increasing appetite for regulation in the digital economy.”
Claudia Haupt, a professor of law and political science at Northeastern University, concurs. “I think after January 6, you could see that there were some voices in the U.S. who said that maybe it’s a better idea to regulate speech on platforms more strictly,” says Haupt, who researches comparative online speech regulation. She also notes rampant online dis- and misinformation during COVID. “There is so much misinformation about things about science, and the truth isn’t what usually emerges,” Haupt says.
