A Rare Win for Free Speech? The Stanford Internet Observatory Closes

A seeming win for this site's readers and other opponents of censorship. But is the win illusory?

Last night, a story by Platformer — the home of Zoë Schiffer, who authored the Extremely Hardcore book about life “inside Elon Musk’s Twitter” — made a blunt announcement. The Stanford Internet Observatory, she and Casey Newton wrote, is being “dismantled”:

After five years of pioneering research into the abuse of social platforms, the Stanford Internet Observatory is winding down. Its founding director, Alex Stamos, left his position in November. Renee DiResta, its research director, left last week after her contract was not renewed. One other staff member’s contract expired this month, while others have been told to look for jobs elsewhere, sources say. 

After sources in and out of government confirmed the Platformer report, opponents of digital censorship across the Internet were quick to celebrate. Ohio congressman Jim Jordan, whose Judiciary Committee and Weaponization of Government staff conducted crucial investigations revealing that the “Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO)… worked directly with the Department of Homeland Security” on speech issues, cheered a BIG WIN, adding, “Free Speech Wins!”

Though I never like to celebrate anyone losing a job and want to offer a note of caution below, Racket readers should know they played a role in this news. Real-world results in this business don’t come around often, and if this is an ending to this story, it’s worth remarking upon: