Deplatforming and deplatformization as governance strategies

This chapter examines deplatformization as an internet governance strategy utilized by major tech companies; their aim is to keep the platform ecosystem clean of toxic content while consolidating their power as designers, operators and governors of that same ecosystem. Deplatformization, as distinct from deplatforming, entails a systemic effort to push back entire platforms to the fringes of the ecosystem by denying them the infrastructural services needed to function online. We identify several deplatformization strategies, using Gab as an example of a platform that survived its relegation to the margins, and subsequently tried to build an alternative at the edge of the mainstream ecosystem. Evaluating deplatformization in terms of governance, the question that arises is who is responsible for cleansing the ecosystem: corporations, states, civil society actors or multiple stakeholders acting together? Understanding the implied governance of deplatformization is imperative to assess the higher stakes in future debates concerning internet governability.