Wilhoit's Law

Updated 05 Sep 2026

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What it is
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  A characterization, attributed to Frank Wilhoit, of a rule-based system built around one asymmetry: there exist in-groups whom the rules protect but do not bind, and out-groups whom the rules bind but do not protect.
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Intuition
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  The rules aren't applied evenly — one group gets the benefits without the restrictions, and another group gets the restrictions without the benefits.
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How it works
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  Identify a system of rules (legal, corporate, social).
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  Check who the rules restrict versus who they protect.
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  If those groups differ — some get protection without restriction, others restriction without protection — the arrangement fits this pattern.
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Example
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  The article applies this to corporate platforms: companies want freedom to do anything on their own platforms (protected, not bound), while users are restricted from doing things the platform doesn't want, like building interoperable tools (bound, not protected).
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Related
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  Regulatory Capture
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What it is