Platform Governance and Social Justice - (Digital Activism and Society: Politics, Economy and Culture) by Paloma Viejo Otero (Hardcover)

About the Book

Identifying four traditional approaches that have underpinned hate speech regulation in the contemporary digital landscape, Paloma Viejo Otero proposes a fifth approach called the Social Justice Approach (SJA), an original contribution to the field of research.

Book Synopsis

Platform Governance and Social Justice outlines principles and mechanisms social media platforms have adopted to govern hate speech, exploring how a social justice approach to hate speech regulation would effectively reduce the circulation of harmful content targeting historically oppressed groups. Focusing on the two interrelated topics of hate speech and platform governance, Paloma Viejo Otero pursues how platform governance (policies, regulation, moderation) are supported by different ideals and approaches to hate speech.

Identifying four traditional approaches that have underpinned hate speech regulation in the contemporary digital landscape, Otero proposes a fifth approach called the Social Justice Approach (SJA), an original contribution to the field of research. Combining interviews with CEOs of platforms that are guided by policies, compared to conventional commercial platforms such as Facebook, and interviews with users/participants on these platforms, SJA is presented as a possible alternative to the dominant policy position of platform governance.

Could an SJA approach possibly reduce the circulation of harmful content directed at marginalised and oppressed groups and subjects? Otero answers this question and more as social media's influence and popularity continues to grow.

Review Quotes

In an age where digital platforms wield unprecedented influence over our lives, Platform Governance and Social Justice presents a compelling case of critical inquiry and theoretical innovation. In this groundbreaking work, Paloma Viejo Otero delves deep into the intricate web of power dynamics and ideological frameworks that underpin platform governance and moderation systems.

At its core, the strength of this book lies in its original theoretical approach, which skilfully unpacks the genealogy of platform governance. By tracing the historical roots and ideological underpinnings of these systems, Viejo Otero offers readers a profound understanding of how platforms have come to control and steer online discourse and user behaviour.

Platform Governance and Social Justice prises open and questions the power structures and systems of control that platforms have designed and implemented. Through meticulous analysis and incisive critique, the book exposes the often-hidden mechanisms through which platforms shape our digital experiences and influence societal norms.

What sets this book apart is its comprehensive examination of the digital platform ecosystem, considering both mainstream and 'Alt Tech' platforms. In essence, Platform Governance and Social Justice offers a timely and indispensable contribution to the field. With its rigorous scholarship, nuanced insights, and thought-provoking analysis, it constitutes an original contribution to ongoing debates and will inspire further research in the realms of platform governance and critical digital media studies. Viejo Otero has crafted an important work that not only sheds light on the present state of digital platforms but also offers a roadmap for envisioning more equitable forms of digital governance. The book will be indispensable for both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as for researchers in platform governance.

We have been waiting for this book for years. The debate on the role and responsibility of platform for hate speech has been waging widely and wildly. This book finally lays the foundations to hold this debate in informed ways. What are our concepts of hate speech, and how do they relate to freedom, security and justice? And how have platforms been able to shape and shift our understanding of these concepts? Viejo Otero unfolds this trajectory with vivid language and a sharp eye for the complexities and power structure involved in this debate. This book with its typology of approaches of hate speech regulation will be the key reference for research on hate speech and platform governance in the next years.

About the Author

Paloma Viejo Otero is a Researcher with an interest in the areas of platform governance, and social justice. She has been awarded by Alliance YUFE to work as postdoctoral researcher at Professor Dr. Christian Katzenbach's lab "Platform Governance, Media, and Technology" at the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI), University of Bremen, Germany.