Even Under Kind Masters: A Proposal to Require that Dominant Platforms Accord Their Users Due Process

This paper recommends that dominant online platforms be required to provide their users with “due process,” that is, procedural protections that ensure fairness, when the platforms wish to take an action that may be detrimental to the user. It argues that the principles of due process are a way to ensure that individuals are treated fairly by large institutions -- whether they are public or private. It recommends a robust set of procedural protections adopted from leading legal scholars and proposes a way of determining "dominance" that is informed by the history of communications law.

The paper argues that the principles of due process are a way to ensure that individuals are treated fairly by large institutions -- whether they are public or private. It delves into some of the practical and theoretical justifications for due process protections, and recommends a robust set of procedural protections adopted from leading legal scholars. It proposes a way of determining "dominance" that is informed by the history of communications law, and suggests that applying certain rules to all platforms, and others only to dominant ones, is the best way to promote competition and protect consumers.

The fundamentals of due process -- that users should have notice of and an opportunity to challenge actions that are proposed to be taken against them, and to have their challenge heard by a truly impartial tribunal -- are the best way to ensure that arbitrary actions from dominant internet platforms do not inadvertently (or deliberately) cause serious harm to individual users.