ABSTRACT
Digitization is changing the world, not only in terms of communication, commerce, education, governance, and labor but also in terms of censorship, surveillance of people, and the protection of fundamental political rights and freedoms. Questions about the role of private corporate actors have gained relevance in the light of these digital developments. This is an investigation into the political and legal responsibilities of companies as a new frontier of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in times of digital technologies. CSR is no longer just linked to the marketing strategies of companies: it is now regulated via rules with legal force. With an interdisciplinary approach, the investigation builds on typical cases of manifestations of and reactions to dissent in different jurisdictions to discuss the new roles that companies may be required to assume under an expanded vision of CSR. The chapter’s overall aim is to discuss the practical functioning of one of the dimensions of corporate responsibility, and how this starts to incorporate political requirements with a particular focus on either protecting or censoring political dissent. The cases involve manifestations of individual and collective dissent, and the reactions of companies and for-profit organizations. These companies and organizations reacted, voluntarily or because they were forced to do so, to political dissent that gained great media visibility and caused controversy and social polarization.
