Lacking a "public" internet, users are always going to have their expression beholden to the standards of some private entity. Even if you self-host, your ISP reserves the right to define their own idea of "abuse".

Where on the internet can I be assured of protection against censorship? I can't think of anywhere.

The public continues to fund the internet in a variety of ways (not just the original ARPANET, but rights-of-way to fiber etc etc) yet has no guarantees of power of expression.