Enough Is Enough — Tech Companies Need to Step Up and Protect Minority Voices Online

By Jacqueline Galeno-Escobedo

The alarm goes off again. A weary hand slams the clock for the final time and aching feet are slowly dragged from the comfort of a warm bed to the chilly floor. The teenage boy’s body is still tired, pleading for rest and restoration; still exhausted from the graveyard shift that ended a few hours earlier. Like his parents, he refuses to succumb to fatigue and starts getting ready for another day of work. This is the typical morning of many immigrant children. Most of them have to balance work and school while the majority of their peers only have to balance classes and extracurricular activities. There are very few places where this story would be valued and celebrated, but he can find a platform online.

Companies have an important role to play in maintaining the internet as a safe haven in which people can express themselves and tell their own stories. The internet is oftentimes one of the only places where underrepresented populations can speak freely, seek opportunities, and pursue equality. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2015, about one-third (34%) of online Hispanics and 38% of blacks use Instagram to share their experiences. A March 2018 study also revealed that a staggering 49% of Hispanics report that they use WhatsApp compared with only 14% of whites and 21% of blacks. People of color disproportionately rely on these apps and other internet platforms to share stories that have not been embraced by traditional media outlets.

So, what are companies doing to ensure that their online platforms remain a safe space for underrepresented voices? Instagram rolled out a new update in May 2018 which, among other things, makes it possible to remove hateful comments that are “threats to a person’s well-being or health.” Fellow Instagram users are also given the ability to hide those comments which attack a person’s looks or character. Social media platforms need to make these kinds of updates because, too often, people from underrepresented communities that rely on social media platforms to voice their opinions are met with a barrage of hateful comments. And while we live in a country that values the First Amendment, and free speech in particular, these protections are not absolute. There is a reason that we are prohibited from yelling “bomb” on an airplane or “fire” in a movie theater. We need companies to implement similar safeguards that protect minority voices online. Further, we need those safeguards to be tested regularly to ensure that they are in fact effective in reducing hate speech. Without enforcement, these regulations will ring hollow.

Case law has established that certain types of speech will not be tolerated. For example, even though offensive speech is protected no matter how repugnant to one’s sensibilities, the Supreme Court has decided that hate speech that amounts to a true threat cannot be afforded any type of First Amendment protections. Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 359–60 (2003). Whether the statement amounts to a true threat is determined by whether a reasonable person familiar with the context of that statement understood it to be a “serious expression of an intent to do harm.” United States v. White, 670 F.3d 498, 509 (4th Cir. 2012). Intimidating speech is also exempt from any First Amendment protections. It is considered a true threat when directed at a person or group of persons “with the intent of placing the victim in fear of bodily harm or death.” Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 at 360. Good corporate citizens have an obligation to incorporate law into their policies.

Online hate speech is an ever-increasing problem that needs to be addressed. According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2017, 41% of Americans have been on the receiving end of online harassment and an even larger percentage (66%) has witnessed it directed at others. The survey also found that 18% of Americans have been subjected to particularly severe forms of harassment online such as physical threats, harassment over a sustained period, sexual harassment, or stalking. It does not help that since the Trump administration took office, more and more racists and bigots feel safe to “come out.”

Hate crimes increased the day after President Trump won the election. Within his first week, “over 400 racist, sexist, or xenophobic incidents were recorded, most of them against groups President Trump viciously denigrated during his campaign including people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and immigrants.” In fact, there were more hate crimes reported on the day after the election (November 9th) than any other day of 2016. From January 2016 through June 2017, Univision “received nearly 200 reports of hate and bias perpetrated against [its] readers and viewers, who have been the victims of racist slurs and harassment, intimidation, vandalism and even assault.” According to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, in 2017, hate crimes motivated by racial or ethnic bias were the most common, and African Americans remained the most targeted group, representing 23 percent of all hate crimes reported in major cities. Most disheartening is “massive under-reporting” in the immigrant, disabled, transgender, homeless, and Muslim communities for fear of retaliation from police. Clearly, our underrepresented communities are vulnerable and need additional protections to safeguard their rights to free speech, especially online.

Hate speech has harrowing effects. In an article by Naomi Elster published in April 2017, she stated that there is evidence that “hate speech predicts violence; groups with heightened exposure to hate speech are more likely to commit suicide; and it causes what scientists call a ‘dehumanization effect’ which makes it easier for people to justify suffering and harm caused to another human being.” Again, populations targeted by hate speech are suffering and tech companies are uniquely positioned to help. They need support to protect their voices online. They need protections from companies that have the power to do so. Leaving them unprotected only breeds injustice.

We must call upon technology providers and social media platforms to help eliminate hate speech. The first step in eradicating hate speech is recognizing that it exists and ensuring that there is no space for it, especially online. We must hold social media companies to a higher standard. We must urge those companies to actually enforce their terms of service to limit the amount of threats that are spewed online. Additionally, users that post hateful content should be banned from their platforms.

Online hate speech is a problem that companies are equipped to help solve. The question remains why some have not made it a priority.