As X and Meta create sweeping changes around what can be said online, the relationship between free speech, community moderation, and brand safety hangs in the balance. For companies and people working in the marketing sphere of social, a tense uncertainty looms over how speech will be governed during Trump's second administration.

Community guidelines and deregulation: While deregulation may seem liberating, NeoReach CEO James Michalak argues that the absence of moderation holds danger for users: "The biggest risk to regulation is no regulation," Michalak says. "Communities have a very difficult time policing themselves in terms of things like hate speech. Mainly because those communities have become echo chambers—not really by fault of the platforms, but just by human nature. You engage with people that have similar viewpoints, and if you do that enough, some style of discussion becomes the norm and not the exception."

NeoReach is a tech-enabled influencer marketing agency helping influencers seamlessly search, manage, and track user-generated content campaigns. It works with the world's most famous brands like Honda, AirBnB, and Amazon to deliver memorable social experiences through top content creators.

Misinformation and brand safety: Diminishing community guidelines creates heightened concerns over misinformation "I think that does cause an issue for misinformation," NeoReach's CMO Steph Payas notes. "We do need some moderation and moderators within those platforms to ensure that things are going smoothly."

This extends to brand safety, as companies rely on social media to convey their messages without distortion. "From a brand safety side of things, I think it is important to have some moderation and moderators within those platforms to ensure that messaging is getting across the way it's intended to," she says.