Technoliberalism for the people: Popular discourses about governance on Archive of Our Own

Abstract

This article situates ongoing debates about the governance policies of Archive of Our Own (AO3) in the context of the ideological tradition of technoliberalism, which links internet technologies with liberal ideals such as freedom of speech and individual choice. While often seen as a movement of the mid-2000s which swiftly gave way to straightforward corporatism, technoliberalism survives as a popular discourse in the AO3 debates, where popular rhetoric incorporates liberal defences of free speech and individual choice. Modern technoliberal arguments have developed in response to their critics, emphasizing individualistic content controls as an opportunity for self-expression and as protection from a historical tradition of censorship in fandom spaces.