Blog 1: Freedom of Speech in Social Media

-
For over a decade, social media platforms have been transforming our society in a way that nowadays it is difficult to imagine life without them. Social media platforms became powerful communication tools for an enormous forum without frontiers where, in an open environment, we not only can connect with family and friends, but also with groups of diverse interests to express and share information, our opinions, beliefs, emotions, and causes to mention some. The powerful impact of social media platforms is still shaping many aspects of life, culture, education, and politics. And how this would not happen as Facebook has 2.6 billion active users, and Twitter with its 330 million active users is now the preferred platform for domestic and international politics?

Obviously, these social platforms have certain rules in order to maintain people's interaction and participation in public chats as safe and sound as possible. Countless users from the general community, public figures, and some elected officials have reacted with hostility while facing their posts flagged or removed, or their accounts suspended if Facebook or Twitter consider the content of those posts show hate speech or safety concerns such as violence, harassment, abuse, self-harm, terrorism, sensitive media, or illegal activities. Most users rarely find themselves in that situation. Most users align to those rules out of common sense and respect for one another and do not deem that their freedom of speech is restricted. However, a number of users consider that the First Amendment right of freedom of speech is violated when private companies like Facebook or Twitter regulate their posts on their platforms. Anyway, who would like to browse a newsfeed full of such content?

It is important to remember that the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech only from government actors, which means that privately owned social media sites can filter posts and even remove a person from their platform if they deem there is a reason to do it. As private corporations made out of people, Facebook and Twitter are treated like a person in the eyes of the law, and this means that these corporations have rights protected by the First Amendment and for this reason the government cannot regulate social media, and neither elected officials (government actors) who use their social media accounts as public forums to engage with millions of followers cannot block people who express criticism or opposite points of view. One thing I have for sure is that if we allow the government to regulate social media then our confidence to freely post on social media would be decreased.

Image source: https://plainsailing.online/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/social-media-2690966_1280-e1516733851115.jpg

Sources:
  • https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/27/trump-twitter-court-ruling-284632
  • https://pacificlegal.org/officials-who-block-people-on-social-media-violate-the-first-amendment/
  • https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/why-government-should-not-regulate-content-moderation-social-media
  • https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules
  • https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Blog: My Online Presence

-
Image
    In almost thirty years, the rise of technology related to media and communication has been impressive. The birth of the World Wide Web started with one site in 1991. Today, the number of available websites reaches over 1.74 billion with 59 percent of the global population as active users. The internet and mobile technology innovations contributed to have in 2020 about 2.95 billion people around the world using social media and yet this number is constantly growing, and an expanding amount of 4.41 billion available apps in Google Play and Apple's App Store combined, and with them, digital technology has prompted a change on norms and the way of life to billions of people.     Actually, the technology of today is so interlocked with us as individuals and as a society that it works as part of ourselves to expand our communication capabilities and outreach potential without frontiers, bringing numerous advantages that impact our culture, lifestyle, economy, education, politics, awa
Read more

EOTO 1: Motion Pictures

-
Image
Introduction     In over one century, motion pictures have transformed the world, developing into the most popular and influential media of the 20th century and beyond, with great impact on cultures, societies, politics, and arts, as motion pictures achieve widespread presence to be viewed not only at movie theatres, but also on television broadcast, streaming services, and digital technology that constantly reach millions of people day after day.     Motion pictures, also called films or movies, became a form of art. Motion pictures emerged at the end of the 19th century and were quickly recognized as perhaps the first truly mass form of entertainment. Movies connect people with appealing stories about shared interests, dreams, or concerns, allowing people to perceive the world and understand others through a combination of art, talent, industry, and technology. The Beginning of Motion Pictures Muybridge & Marey     In the 19th century, motion pictures resulted from experimenting
Read more

Blog 5: The Stifled Opinions of Dissent

-
Image
The voices rarely heard in mainstream news, the thoughts hardly found in the internet search engines or in social media newsfeed, and all types of expressions promoting views that can be perceived as radical, unpatriotic, or overcritical are destined to become the stifled opinions of dissent. These are small factions that defend unpopular principles and viewpoints against the ones of prominent organizations that have extensive power in the government system holding a widespread influence on society. Examples of such voices can be the webpages or social media portals of libertarians, socialists, or American conservatives, or those from anti-war movements particularly in times of war. The question is if the First Amendment protects them. The First Amendment protecting the freedom of expression has been tested in numerous occasions. In times of war or internal social turmoil, people who dare to express ideas that challenge the government have faced repression, censorship, and severe jail
Read more