Two professors at San Francisco State University invited Palestinian feminist and militant Leila Khaled to a Zoom class on Sept. 23 titled “Whose Narratives? Gender, Justice and Resistance.” ... Zoom cancelled the event, later explaining that it was in violation of the company’s terms of service. Facebook deleted the event page the day of the panel, stating that the content violates its policy of “prohibiting praise, support and representation for dangerous organizations and individuals.” Approximately 23 minutes into the talk, YouTube also stopped the livestream and disabled the registration link.

... A month since the SFSU webinar, Zoom censored two more Palestine-focused university events. These incidents are a reminder of the powerful yet shameful role big tech companies play in silencing voices of political dissent and erasing the narratives of marginalized communities. It also emphasizes the pressing need for companies like Zoom to publicly commit to respecting freedom of expression.

... [G]iven the nauseating imbalance of power between tech companies and users, the stories of oppressed communities are often silenced with no access to remedy or an ability to counter the decisions of these platforms — outside the occasional public shaming.

No platform wants to be accused of supporting terrorists. However, there is no universal definition of terrorism, and governments around the world have intentionally and systematically utilized vaguely-written terrorism charges to crack down on all forms of dissent...

... According to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, corporations like Zoom have the responsibility to respect the human rights of their users, including the right to freedom of expression. It’s time Zoom updates its terms of services to respect and protect academic freedom and the right to free expression of all of its users against the whims of governments and pressure groups.