IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/ejlwec/v50y2020i3d10.1007_s10657-020-09653-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Optimal social media content moderation and platform immunities

Author

Listed:
  • Frank Fagan

    (EDHEC Business School)

Abstract

This article presents a model of the lawmakers’ choice between implementing a new content moderation regime that provides for platform liability for user-generated content versus continuing platform immunity for the same. The model demonstrates that lawmakers prefer platform immunity, even if incivility is increasing, if the costs of implementing a platform liability regime are greater than the costs of enforcing status quo law. In addition, inasmuch as implementation of a platform liability regime is coupled with new speech restrictions that are unconstitutional or prohibitively costly, lawmakers prefer immunity, but platforms are free to set strong content moderation policies consistent with existing law.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Fagan, 2020. "Optimal social media content moderation and platform immunities," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 437-449, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:50:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10657-020-09653-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-020-09653-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10657-020-09653-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10657-020-09653-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ronald H. Coase, 2022. "The Market for Goods and the Market for Ideas," Econ Journal Watch, Econ Journal Watch, vol. 19(1), pages 166–175-1, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Koo, Wesley W., 2024. "Hybrid governance of platform entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    2. Yassine Lefouili & Leonardo Madio, 2022. "The economics of platform liability," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 319-351, June.
    3. Alain Marciano & Antonio Nicita & Giovanni Battista Ramello, 2020. "Puzzles in the big data revolution: an introduction," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 339-344, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nelson, Jon P., 2001. "Advertising Bans, Monopoly, and Alcohol Demand: Testing for Substitution Effects Using Panel Data," Working Papers 1-01-1, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Economics.
    2. Julia Rothbauer & Gernot Sieg, 2013. "Public Service Broadcasting of Sport, Shows, and News to Mitigate Rational Ignorance," Journal of Media Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 21-40, March.
    3. Djankov, Simeon & McLiesh, Caralee & Nenova, Tatiana & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "Who Owns the Media?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(2), pages 341-381, October.
    4. E. Pasour, 1985. "The public interest and rent seeking," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 527-529, January.
    5. Matthew Gentzkow & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2008. "Competition and Truth in the Market for News," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 133-154, Spring.
    6. Wang Ning, 2018. "Law and the Economy: An Introduction to Coasian Law and Economics," Man and the Economy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Berggren, Niclas & Nilsson, Therese, 2016. "Tolerance in the United States: Does economic freedom transform racial, religious, political and sexual attitudes?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 45(S), pages 53-70.
    8. Octavian-Dragomir Jora & Matei Alexandru Apavaloaei & Mihai-Vladimir Topan & Tudor-Gherasim Smirna, 2022. "The Market for Ideas and Its Validation Filters: Scientific Truth, Economic Profit and Political Approval," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 24(Special16), pages 884-884, November.
    9. Yi Xiang & Miklos Sarvary, 2007. "News Consumption and Media Bias," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(5), pages 611-628, 09-10.
    10. Isaac Ehrlich & Dunli Li & Zhiqiang Liu, 2017. "The Role of Entrepreneurial Human Capital as a Driver of Endogenous Economic Growth," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(3), pages 310-351.
    11. Muthoo, Abhinay & Francesconi, Marco, 2006. "Control Rights in Public-Private Partnerships," CEPR Discussion Papers 5733, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Garcia Pires, Armando J., 2014. "Media diversity, advertising, and adaptation of news to readers’ political preferences," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 28-38.
    13. Yalcintas, Altug, 2010. "The ‘Coase Theorem’ vs. Coase theorem proper: How an error emerged and why it remained uncorrected so long," MPRA Paper 37936, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Pasour, E. C., Jr., 1990. "Agricultural Policy Analysis: Problems And Opportunities," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 29(4), December.
    15. Valentiny, Pál, 2018. "Coase-kép másképp: középpontban a közszolgáltatások [Coase otherwise: Public utilities]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(4), pages 346-381.
    16. Sherwin Rosen, 1997. "Austrian and Neoclassical Economics: Any Gains from Trade?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 139-152, Fall.
    17. Anna Kerkhof, 2020. "Advertising and Content Differentiation: Evidence from YouTube," CESifo Working Paper Series 8697, CESifo.
    18. Budzinski, Oliver & Stöhr, Annika, 2019. "Public interest considerations in European merger control regimes," Ilmenau Economics Discussion Papers 130, Ilmenau University of Technology, Institute of Economics.
    19. N. A. Dentchev & A. Heene, 2003. "Reputation management: Sending the right signal to the right stakeholder," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/175, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    20. Slawomir Czech, 2020. "Introduction to the new Catallaxy: debating economics in 21st century [Nowe Catallaxy: dyskurs ekonomiczny w XXI wieku]," Catallaxy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 5(2), pages 49-60, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social media; Fake news; First amendment; Section 230; Communications Decency Act;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K16 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Election Law
    • K23 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Regulated Industries and Administrative Law
    • K24 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Cyber Law
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:50:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s10657-020-09653-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.