Studying Platform Governance of Hate Speech

The study of platform governance involves the analysis of a multitude of ‘infinitesimal techniques’ that platforms employ to influence our lives and entails comprehending the knowledge and intentions underlying these techniques. Drawing from Foucauldian studies, ‘infinitesimal techniques’ (Finlay, 2015) encompass every element identifiable within and by platforms, which, arranged in a particular way, lead to a suitable end. From a button on the left side of the screen, passing through the fabric of relationships with stakeholders, to a large set of public statements held by platform leaders, all the elements we can identify are governing techniques that wield power and unveil, for example, the foundational philosophies internally held by platforms, the significance they attribute to user engagement or how they adapt to external regulations. Fundamentally, following Foucault (2007) and Miller and Ross (2008), I argue that identifying all possible techniques created by platforms and understanding the knowledge shaping those techniques reveal the underlying intentions of platforms and the manner in which they govern our lives. It is acknowledged that not all techniques have governing intentions; nevertheless, they govern.