Freedom of Speech Everywhere Except on the Internet
Freedom of speech is one of those great perks to living in a country like the United States. You can walk down the street and verbally bash that annoying co-worker of yours without being reprimanded or arrested. But when you then try to do the same thing on the Internet, it’s a whole different ball game.
A recent article, published by the Associated Press on Yahoo News, talked at length about how public online spaces don’t carry speech rights saying,
Companies in charge of seemingly public spaces online wipe out content that’s controversial but otherwise legal. Service providers write their own rules for users worldwide and set foreign policy when they cooperate with regimes like China. They serve as prosecutor, judge and jury in handling disputes behind closed doors.
Awaiting Comments in Moderation
Some might argue that you are not free to speak your mind on the Internet, that things aren’t what they seem. After all, everyone has differing opinions on a wide variety of topics, and someone who has just written an article or blog and wants to promote it is more than likely not going to publish negative comments from other readers. It simply seems to be a fact of life where the Internet is concerned.
There is also the issue of minors having access to TONS of material via web surfing. As hard as parents may try to set up parental controls on their computers, things always leak through. This is something that AP writer, Anick Jesdanun brings up, stating:
While mindful of free speech and other rights, Yahoo and other companies say they must craft and enforce guidelines that go beyond legal requirements to protect their brands and foster safe, enjoyable communities-ones where minors may be roaming.
The thought behind this is that these “guidelines” help to make the Internet experience more positive for everyone. Thinking about it this way, I pose the question,
Do we really have freedom of speech on the World Wide Web?
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I guess we have that fredom! If you really want to say something - you’ll find the way.
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