Free Speech and Non-State Censors
J.P. Messina · 2023
Abstract “Free Speech and Non-State Censors” marks the book’s substantive introduction. It begins by describing the phenomenon of private censorship and the crisis of free speech that many believe it generates. It then offers a conceptual analysis of censorship, which shows that talk of censorship by non-state agents need not involve any conceptual confusion. Next, the chapter turns to offering a pluralist account of the harms and wrongs of censorship, which vindicates the idea that private censorship can compromise our information environment. Having established that contemporary concerns about the impact of private power on our atmosphere for speech and discussion are well founded, the chapter turns to arguing that such private power demands a separate treatment from state censorship. The chapter concludes by laying out the plan for the rest of the book.