During the years of the industrial age freedom of speech was a “right” protected by the founding documents of the republic.
During the Information Age freedom of speech is a “service” provided in accordance with the terms of service and discretion of the entities that provide us connectivity (public utility), the platforms we distribute our data (SaaS), and the infrastructure those platforms lease to power it (IaaS).
As we transition our humanity into cyberspace, we also transition governance from a freely elected government to the global entities that maintain these platforms and infrastructure.
Will the future lead to an age where end users are governed by a term of service or will the republic and its free people continue to govern over those entities that maintain the worlds cyberspace?