Death threats, on the face it, appear to be exactly the sort of content that an online platform ought to censor – or ‘moderate’, as the preferred and obscuring term has it. Surely it is impermissible to threaten someone’s life and surely it is appropriate for online spaces like Facebook – or now Meta – to remove such speech.
But what if the statement isn’t really an urge towards violence, nor a declaration of one’s intent to kill? Sometimes, when people make death threats, say to dictators, might that really be more of a political slogan or a form of critique? What if there is no intent behind the threat, and the target isn’t in danger? And ought online platforms care about such nuance when thinking about what to leave up and what to take down.
We are joined by Jeffrey Howard, who is Associate Professor in Political Philosophy and Public Policy, and director of the Digital Speech Lab, and Sarah Fisher, a Research Fellow.
Mentioned in this episode:
UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy offers a uniquely stimulating environment for the study of all fields of politics, including international relations, political theory, human rights, public policy-making and administration. The Department is recognised for its world-class research and policy impact, ranking among the top departments in the UK on both the 2021 Research Excellence Framework and the latest Guardian rankings.
Taking Offence
The State of US Politics
Resisting Colonialism
Honouring the Career of Professor Albert Weale
The Impact of Banning Protests
How Can We Fix Our Democracy?
Political Constitutionalism and Referendums: The Case of Brexit
Democracies and LGBTQ Rights
Military Technology and Intelligent Warfare
What Can Democracies Learn From Dictatorships?
The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit
Brexit and Northern Ireland
Do Higher Benefits Encourage Immigration?
The Politics of Ordinary Hope
The Politics of the European Court of Human Rights
The Politics of the European Court of Justice
The Role of Praise
Twitter, the Online Safety Bill, and Free Speech
Democracy in the UK – with Gina Miller
The Precautionary State
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free