The first amendment of the United States of America states that "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." This only restricts the government from censoring the public, private institutions however can censor their users as they wish. This constricts the users from expressing their ideas and beliefs, thus dwindling the power of their first amendment right. I can understand the want to expand the first amendment to also include private companies, but that creates new issues. Companies that censor are trying to protect their public image and reputation and allowing anything and everything to be said on their website or platform could tarnish their image. People are allowed the right to think and say what they want, but this poses a threat to companies success thus the need for censorship. Sometimes restrictions can be a good thing as it causes the public to be more focused in on one concept or idea rather than the infinite anything. In conclusion I believe that companies have the right to how they want to be perceived through censorship. Even if this does limit some free speech online, there are many other places people can voice their opinions.
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/United_States_of_America_1992
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-ongoing-challenge-to-define-free-speech/in-the-age-of-socia-media-first-amendment/
No comments:
Post a Comment