Protecting Public Figures Online: How Do Platforms and Regulators Define Public Figures?

Abstract

Public figures are subject to higher rates of online abuse than other users in part because many digital platforms have significantly higher thresholds for intervening in cases of public figure abuse. Internationally, this higher rate of abuse has led to substantial impacts on public figures’ wellbeing and withdrawal from public life. This article presents findings from a study of platform policies to understand how platforms and policy stakeholders define public figures. Key findings included (a) public figures are ill-defined in platform policies, (b) policies often collapse distinctions between traditional public figures such as politicians and entertainers, emerging public figures such as influencers, and involuntary public figures such as a celebrity's family members; and (c) policies fail to acknowledge the diverse resources and institutional support enjoyed by different types of public figure. The article draws on applied cultural theory to unpack the challenges and consequences of inadequately defining public figures.