I have an unnatural want to understand things extremely deeply so here are the "rules"... The "rules" that we all must abide by on this platform are outlined, and they constitute "terms of service" (tos) within the steemit tos we agree by using the platform to be subject to the "rules" of JAMS https://www.jamsadr.com/jamsfoundation/ and any escalated (legal) dispute will be heard in courts (filed only in the state and federal courts located in New York County) - this of course is not a common scenario (as far as I can tell) and most disputes (if any) will be resolved by "whitnesses". In terms of steemit inc having the ability to censor content that does not strictly break a "law", this is clearly possible and can be done with no reason expressed or otherwise, meaning that if pressure was placed on steemit to say censor "news" regarding a geopolitical event than steemit would have absolute power to revoke access to steemit for any reason it saw fit. The general idea is to have witnesses take care of disputes, and if witnesses make an "error" of judgement, this would again be resolved by arbitration by JAMS and failing that the courts of NY county. The issue that arises on any social media platform (especially one set up like steemit) is who decides to intervene and regarding what content. FB for example has a very pro western approach to content censorship, as will steemit in time. Do I see a more "free" platform here, no. In fact I see the exact same degree of ability of censorship as with any other social media platform owned and operated by a US corporation. Is this a big deal, no not yet. And it may possibly emerge as a more "free" platform. It is of course too early to determine whether or not it will.
ALSO to quote steemit:
"Is there an Etiquette Guide for Steemit?
There are no official rules for participating on steemit.com, but one of the users 
RE: Are there "rules" on Steemit?