The first speaker in a series of SPLS talks. Professor Tom Tyler will be sharing his results of several studies that articulate and test the viability of a self-regulatory approach to managing online content and suggesting heightening user voluntary rule following through enhancing the legitimacy of platforms.

Discussions about whether and how to regulate the content of interactions on online platforms are everywhere. This reflects the reality that for most platforms content management has been an afterthought left largely in the hands of technical units focused upon the maximum use of automated content review. As platforms have increasingly had to give more attention to content issues they have often drawn from legal models that emphasize sanction based strategies (taking down content; suspending accounts; excluding users).

In this talk, Professor Tyler will present the results of several studies that articulate and test the viability of a self-regulatory approach to managing platform content. This approach is built around heightening user voluntary rule following through enhancing the legitimacy of platforms, their rules and their procedures. The results of several studies support the usefulness of this approach in shaping user behavior, suggesting the value of broadening the conceptual framework within which online content regulation is addressed.