--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When controversial speech can be taken…" description: "\"When controversial speech can be taken offline through pressures on private intermediaries without any kind of due process, that is something we need t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/rebecca-mackinnon-1815_about_when-controversial-speech-can-be-taken-o_1745567.png" --- # When controversial speech can be taken offline through… ![“When controversial speech can be taken offline through pressures on private intermediaries without any kind of due process, that is something we need to be concerned about.” quote by Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/rebecca-mackinnon-1815_about_when-controversial-speech-can-be-taken-o_1745567.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/rebecca-mackinnon-1815_about_when-controversial-speech-can-be-taken-o_1745567.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/rebecca-mackinnon-1815_about_when-controversial-speech-can-be-taken-o_1745567.png) > “When controversial speech can be taken offline through pressures on private intermediaries without any kind of due process, that is something we need to be concerned about.” [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She warns that private platforms can suppress speech without due process, posing a risk to free expression. **In simple terms:** Private platforms can silence speech without legal safeguards. Key Takeaway Advocate for transparent, fair content moderation policies. Themes free speech digital rights platform power due process Mood cautious urgent Type analytical activist When to use this quote - Policy advocacy - legal reform - public awareness campaigns - platform accountability Key Concepts Censorship corporate governance civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can ensure due process online? - How to prevent abuse of platform power? A Different Perspective Balancing moderation of harmful content with free speech is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Controversial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial/) [Controversial Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controversial-speech-1501560/) [Due](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/due/) [Due process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/due-process/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Pressures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressures/) [Pressures Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressures-private-1558637/) [Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private/) [Private Intermediaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private-intermediaries-1558639/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Taken Offline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-offline-1558638/) [Through](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/through/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) ## Related quotes > [I can imagine Iceland becoming a good place to run a controversial Web site. But... Iceland may find itself forced to defend controversial speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-zuckerman/i-can-imagine-iceland-becoming-a-good-place-to-run-a-controversial/) [Ethan Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-zuckerman/) > [I have never knowingly made a non-controversial speech in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-have-never-knowingly-made-a-non-controversial-speech-in-my-life/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“the First Amendment exists to protect controversial speech, not speech we love that ruffles no feathers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-controversial-speech-not-speech/) [Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/) > [While American intellectual property deserves protection, that protection must be won and defended in a manner that does not stifle innovation, erode due process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/while-american-intellectual-property-deserves-protection-that/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Any new legal measures, or cooperative arrangements between government and companies meant to keep people from organizing violence or criminal actions, must not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/any-new-legal-measures-or-cooperative-arrangements-between-government/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [In China, the problem is that with the system of censorship that's now in place, the user doesn't know to what extent, why, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/in-china-the-problem-is-that-with-the-system-of-censorship-that-s-now/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [I'm ready to accept the pressures of captaincy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-m-ready-to-accept-the-pressures-of-captaincy/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [The pressures are intense, because the rewards for success and the penalty for failure are more and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hansen/the-pressures-are-intense-because-the-rewards-for-success-and-the/) [Alan Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hansen/) > [I was affected by the harshness of government, the reality of 16-hour days, and the pressures of modern communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blunkett/i-was-affected-by-the-harshness-of-government-the-reality-of-16-hour/) [David Blunkett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blunkett/) > [“As a king can wear a crown, a crown can also weary a king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/as-a-king-can-wear-a-crown-a-crown-can-also-weary-a-king/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > ['Prom' is a movie that follows a bunch of high-schoolers' lives leading up to the prom, the climax of the movie. It focuses all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-monaghan/prom-is-a-movie-that-follows-a-bunch-of-high-schoolers-lives-leading/) [Cameron Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-monaghan/) > [“I wish I had more breaks in life, rather than life breaking me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/i-wish-i-had-more-breaks-in-life-rather-than-life-breaking-me/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [If there is one thing French Muslims want, it is to be rid of the daily pressures imposed on them by Islamic fundamentalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/if-there-is-one-thing-french-muslims-want-it-is-to-be-rid-of-the/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [I'm not very well known. However, the more well known you get, the more people are going to have expectations of you. Although that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-hawkins/i-m-not-very-well-known-however-the-more-well-known-you-get-the-more/) [Sally Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-hawkins/) > [I was putting all those pressures on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-gainsbourg/i-was-putting-all-those-pressures-on-myself/) [Charlotte Gainsbourg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-gainsbourg/) ## More by Rebecca MacKinnon > [If China someday gains a more fair, just, and accountable system of government, it will be due to the hard work and efforts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-china-someday-gains-a-more-fair-just-and-accountable-system-of/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [In January 2012, Google Plus started to roll out support for nicknames and pseudonyms, but those registering with a name other than their real-life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/in-january-2012-google-plus-started-to-roll-out-support-for-nicknames/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [It becomes dangerous for somebody who doesn't want their boss to know their sexual preference to use online networks to push for laws supporting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/it-becomes-dangerous-for-somebody-who-doesn-t-want-their-boss-to-know/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [If high-tech companies are serious about doing the right thing, they can join together and lobby for more transparency and accountability in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/if-high-tech-companies-are-serious-about-doing-the-right-thing-they/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Any new legal measures, or cooperative arrangements between government and companies meant to keep people from organizing violence or criminal actions, must not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/any-new-legal-measures-or-cooperative-arrangements-between-government/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Every news organization needs a social media strategy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/every-news-organization-needs-a-social-media-strategy/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Professional camera crews are rarely there when a bomb goes off or a rocket lands. They usually show up afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/professional-camera-crews-are-rarely-there-when-a-bomb-goes-off-or-a/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Google's entire business model and its planning for the future are banking on an open and free Internet. And it will not succeed if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/google-s-entire-business-model-and-its-planning-for-the-future-are/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [A number of countries, including Russia and China, have put forward proposals to regulate aspects of the Internet like 'crime' and 'security' that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/a-number-of-countries-including-russia-and-china-have-put-forward/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [You don't have to be a nerd or a programmer or a network engineer to make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/you-don-t-have-to-be-a-nerd-or-a-programmer-or-a-network-engineer-to/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [A moral argument about whether censorship is good or bad deteriorates quickly into accusations about who is more or less patriotic, moral, pious, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/a-moral-argument-about-whether-censorship-is-good-or-bad-deteriorates/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [There's a real contradiction that's difficult to explain to the West and the outside world about China and about the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/there-s-a-real-contradiction-that-s-difficult-to-explain-to-the-west/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [The relationship between citizens and government is increasingly mediated through the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/the-relationship-between-citizens-and-government-is-increasingly/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Consistently, Baidu has censored politically sensitive search results much more thoroughly than Google.cn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/consistently-baidu-has-censored-politically-sensitive-search-results/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Human rights in cyberspace are really no different from rights in the physical world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/human-rights-in-cyberspace-are-really-no-different-from-rights-in-the/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) [Explore all 206 Rebecca MacKinnon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. 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