http://theyoungcons.com/video-blog/2013/1/2/next-time-youre-on-twitter-be-thankful-youre-not-french
Next Time You're On Twitter, Be Thankful You're Not French
Every loyal internet user knows that crazy people pop up everywhere online.
Social media outlets like twitter give people a platform to present
ideas, express opinions, and communicate with others all over the world.
However, there's also a dark side to twitter. Internet trolls prowl the
popular social media platform looking to start up controversy. This is
particularly common in the political realm where extreme liberals and
conservatives alike look to take cheap shots at their opponents without
actually having to formulate an argument.
Furthermore, twitter gives us glimpses of swaths of humanity we would rather not see on a daily basis. And by "swaths of humanity," I mean rabid Justin Beiber and One Direction fans. Honestly, has a day ever gone by when something along the lines of #ILoveJustinBeiber or #OneDirectionFollowBack hasn't been trending? Say hello to our future uninformed voters, America.
Apparently France has had it up to here with the insanity that takes place on twitter. France's Women's Rights Minister (Really?? I digress...) Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has suggested that "hateful tweets are illegal" and the government should step in to regulate what can be said and what can trend on the social media platform. This pro-censorship movement might have legs in socialized France, but for many Americans, it seems utterly ridiculous.
Yes, there are hateful tweets on twitter. People say insane things, what are you going to do? Twitter monitors threats and abuses of its policy and usually takes swift action. However, in most cases, free speech is free speech, no matter how hateful or insane it might be. Do I truly hate rhetoric from anti-semetic neo-Nazis or hard core white supremacists? Of course I do, However, as long as they don't include direct threats, they're covered under the First Amendment. There are limits to free speech (think "fire in a crowded theater" analogy) but these limits don't even touch most of what is said on twitter and other social media platforms. The First Amendment was designed for situations like this. Regardless of how you might feel about the statements of others, banning them outright is down right illegal.
...in America at least. In this country, we have a long tradition of respecting free speech (with a few dark marks of course). The French don't have that luxury. They lack the essential liberty written in to the US Constitution and the freedoms that we enjoy everyday. While I believe the suggestion to "regulate" twitter is absurd, it certainly doesn't surprise me. We are talking about the French after all.
Free speech as a whole guards liberty and produces wisdom, even when you might not like everything that is said. On that note, I'll leave you with this:
Furthermore, twitter gives us glimpses of swaths of humanity we would rather not see on a daily basis. And by "swaths of humanity," I mean rabid Justin Beiber and One Direction fans. Honestly, has a day ever gone by when something along the lines of #ILoveJustinBeiber or #OneDirectionFollowBack hasn't been trending? Say hello to our future uninformed voters, America.
Apparently France has had it up to here with the insanity that takes place on twitter. France's Women's Rights Minister (Really?? I digress...) Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has suggested that "hateful tweets are illegal" and the government should step in to regulate what can be said and what can trend on the social media platform. This pro-censorship movement might have legs in socialized France, but for many Americans, it seems utterly ridiculous.
Yes, there are hateful tweets on twitter. People say insane things, what are you going to do? Twitter monitors threats and abuses of its policy and usually takes swift action. However, in most cases, free speech is free speech, no matter how hateful or insane it might be. Do I truly hate rhetoric from anti-semetic neo-Nazis or hard core white supremacists? Of course I do, However, as long as they don't include direct threats, they're covered under the First Amendment. There are limits to free speech (think "fire in a crowded theater" analogy) but these limits don't even touch most of what is said on twitter and other social media platforms. The First Amendment was designed for situations like this. Regardless of how you might feel about the statements of others, banning them outright is down right illegal.
...in America at least. In this country, we have a long tradition of respecting free speech (with a few dark marks of course). The French don't have that luxury. They lack the essential liberty written in to the US Constitution and the freedoms that we enjoy everyday. While I believe the suggestion to "regulate" twitter is absurd, it certainly doesn't surprise me. We are talking about the French after all.
Free speech as a whole guards liberty and produces wisdom, even when you might not like everything that is said. On that note, I'll leave you with this:
"Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech." -Benjamin Franklin
