 Free
Speech
Gosh, as I’m writing this I
really feel like I’m getting sucked in again. When we
returned to Japan I made a deal with myself not to get crazy
over the happenings in America anymore….what was the point?
We have no intention of ever stepping foot on American soil
again. Then, within a week, the capitol building was stormed
by Trump supporters, and Twitter finally deleted Trump’s
account, hopefully for good. The next thing I knew, I found
myself back to writing again. The events of this week simply
could not be ignored. I already wrote about the storming of
the capitol building,
full text here, and now I feel the
need to say something about the first amendment and
censorship. |
 First
Amendment
There’s a lot of talk now about whether or not Twitter had
the right to delete Trump’s account, and if Facebook is
within its’ rights to flag and delete his posts, and suspend
his account. I believe both companies are well within their
bounds to do both. Before you call me out on this and saying
America will soon become another China, consider the
following.
This is the exact wording of the First Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Note that the protections of free speech apply to Congress
and Government. There is no mention about individuals or
private companies such as social medias companies like
Twitter and Facebook. |
 Relieving
Stress
It was 2016 and we were already planning to return to
America. The wheels were already in motion, I was selling a
property and purchasing a property, both located in San
Diego County in California. This was all being orchestrated
online. During these negotiations, we followed the 2016
presidential elections results, also online, and watched in
disbelief as Trump was elected president. I was freaked out,
to say the least, to think I was moving back soon after this
guy would become president. I began
writing about current events, making
Trump memes and posting on news
articles to vent and relieve post election stress. |
 Bias
At some point I posted a comment on, what turned out to be,
a conservative online newspaper. I can’t remember the name
of the paper, but a day after posting, my post had been
removed. I reposted only to find the post removed again the
next day. I sent a letter to the editor, who was also the
owner of the newspaper, asking about the deletion. He said
my post was deleted because he didn’t agree with my views. I
sent an email to this guy saying he should keep his paper
unbiased, present both sides, and reinstate my post, He
replied and basically said no way, tough shit. Was I
pissed….hell yeah, was there anything I could do about
it….hell no…Why? Because it was his newspaper, his game,
case closed. Such as it is with Twitter, Facebook, and any
of the other PRIVATE social media companies.
Consider this. Friends, a couple, come to my home for a meal
and to share some wine together. At some point during the
course of the evening, and maybe after a bit too much
Cabernet, one of them says the holocaust never
happened....one of the many conspiracy theories circulating
around. After a heated discussion, I ask my friends to
leave. Is that censorship? Maybe, but again, my home, my
game, case closed. My home, in this case, is my private
social platform which I can extend to friends in whatever
way I see fit.
Keep in mind that when you join a social media site you are
agreeing to THEIR terms and conditions, like it or not. Once
you press that "I accept" button, you agree to guidelines of
behavior prescribed by that particular company. Go outside
THEIR boundaries of acceptable behavior and you can expect
to be flagged, reprimanded, and possibly deleted.
What about a restaurant operating in a state which allows
smoking? A restaurant within that state makes the decision
to not allow smoking. A customer comes in and begins
smoking. The restaurant asks that customer to leave because
there is no smoking allowed and it is bothering the other
customers. Is it wrong to ask the customer to leave?....NO.
Their restaurant, their game, case closed. |
 Censorship
Most social media companies have a built in check and
balance system. Inappropriate posts can be flagged by the
online communities. Get enough flags and your post may get
deleted, get even more flags and you might find your account
terminated. These companies are for profit, PRIVATE
companies, and are well within their rights to remove posts,
and close accounts. Think of it as these companies
exercising THEIR freedom of speech protections under the
First Amendment. A prohibition of these companies being
allowed to censor their communities by the government would
then be a violation of the First Amendment to the
Constitution.
People who join social media communities need to keep this
in mind. If they have conservative views, belief in
conspiracy theories, and hate, they should realize all the
Facebooks out there have every right to take action if they
feel the need. Those who don’t like it can take their hate
somewhere else….plenty of platforms out there that will
allow them to be heard….UNFORTUNATELY. |
 About
Time
Anyway, this is my opinion. Quite honestly, recent moves by
Twitter and Facebook are too little, too late. Trump should
have had his accounts deleted years ago before he was
allowed to do the damage he did. This was not going to
happen though as long as Trump was president and could pass
regulations that would have severely damaged these companies
and reduced their profits. Social media companies allowed
Trump an open forum which resulted in the loss of many
American lives, due to conspiracy theories, misinformation
about the virus, and most recently the instigation of the
storming of the capitol building. Although I applaud Twitter
and Facebook for their recent actions, I can only say….WHAT
TOOK YOU SO LONG. |
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Additional Reading |
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