Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 52 (2020) Crime as Cognitive Constraint Introduction Is Facebook’s role in the spread of incitement in Myanmar criminal? In 2018, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM) described Facebook’s “significant role” in the spread of incitement to discrimination and violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims. 2 Although the FFM described in detail the speakers’ responsibility for the Facebook posts, the precise nature of Facebook’s responsibility in moderating (or failing to moderate) harmful content was unclear. Facebook’s tragedy in Myanmar is a striking example of how international law’s current regimes of responsibility for incitement to genocide results in a gap. The extant regime, with its focus on states and natural persons, is incapable of fully accounting for the different actors and technologies involved in the rich and complex narrative of mass violence. One popular response to the lack of corporate liability is to expand domestic and international prosecution of legal or juridical persons. 3 However, by evaluating the role of social media platforms in the spread of incitement, particularly the damage wrought by Facebook in Myanmar, this article hopes to contribute to that literature by showing how crime can operate as a cognitive constraint in appreciating different modalities of corporate involvement in situations of mass atrocity. By emancipating ourselves from this dominant cognitive frame, we can imagine a broader network of international liabilities. One possibility is tort. For this purpose, Facebook’s ban of Myanmar’s commander-in-chief from the platform 4 merits further consideration. It remarkably embodies a regulatory paradox, where the traditional roles of regulator (state) and regulated entity (non-state) are reversed. This article examines the implications of the exercise of this awesome power in articulating an international tort liability and establishing a related mechanism. --2. Human Rights Council, Rep. of the Independent Int’l Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/39/64, ¶ 74 (Sept. 12, 2018) [hereinafter FFM Report Summary]. 3. See, e.g., Oliver Salas, Corporate Liability of Energy/Natural Resources Companies at National Law for Breach of International Human Rights Norms, BUS. & HUM. RTS. RESOURCE CTR. (Dec. 31, 2011), https://www.businesshumanrights.org/sites/default/files/media/dissertation_finaldraft.pdf [https://perma.cc/T4Y2-GFJ3]. 4. Removing Myanmar Military Official from Facebook, FACEBOOK, https://about.fb.com/news/2018/08/removing-myanmar-officials/ (last updated Dec. 18, 2018). 144