Social media websites have been very cautious shutting down suspected terrorist’s accounts in the past. However, facing intense government and public criticism, Facebook, Twitter and Google have now stepped up their efforts to shut down militant social media accounts. While this is the right course of action, the social media giants have expressed a variety of fears in doing so.

All of the websites have done everything in their power to ban accounts that violate their terms of use. For example, Facebook banned the account of Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino shooters. Beyond this, they all need official court orders to take down an account, or they may face an unwanted legal battle. While the high potential for lawsuits poses a threat to social media companies, the much greater threat lies within government scrutiny. While they have mostly complied with Western governments’ wishes concerning militant accounts, the social media websites express a very real concern: that ultimatums may start to pour in from governments all around the world.

Governments punishing social media websites that go against their wishes are nothing new, as Turkey demonstrated a few months ago by banning Twitter and Youtube. While Western governments are unlikely to block websites, other governments around the world may not be so hesitant. Large portions of social media users live in areas subject to social media censorship put in place by their governments. Should the governments choose, they may ban Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site that does not cave in to their wishes. Not only does this hurt the citizens of that country, but the website itself, who may lose out on millions of dollars in revenue.

The recent efforts to crack down on terrorist accounts, while certainly the right move, have demonstrated that social media websites may be influenced by governments. Companies have voiced their concerns about this potential issue, but only time will tell whether or not social media websites may be influenced by all governments around the world.