ABSTRACT
As social networking sites are private corporations with their own commercial goals, they can allow anybody who so wishes to use their platforms. In the context of terrorist content, such platform providers have faced real difficulties in applying their moderation policies in a way that does not amount to censorship or infringement of people’s right to freedom of expression. A user who possesses a sphere of influence or credibility must be particularly mindful of their duty to report responsibly: the very fact that Urban took to social media to report the news and did not have his tweet deleted or censored is a powerful argument in favour of freedom of expression online. This chapter explores that the result of increased focus on the postings coming out of their social media accounts has meant that social media companies and states alike have been deploying measures to shut down accounts in a bid to frustrate propaganda distribution mechanisms.
