Social Media Censorship In America

Most who argue against censorship believe that it goes against a person’s right to freedom of speech. Within this argument, most people wonder “just when, and on what grounds, the state is justified in using its coercive powers to limit the freedom of individuals” (West). When thinking in this mindset, individuals tend to antagonize the government, because they come to believe that it suppresses their individuality and fail to consider the fact that it unites people who share its similar beliefs. As a result of the recent spike in technology and use of the Internet, the public must continually alter its definition of freedom of speech and expression. As the media offers more and more methods of communication, many of which are relatively self-regulated by users, more methods of expression develop, which may render other forms of expression obsolete, or even socially unacceptable (Qazi). Without understanding how much freedom of speech one is entitled to, one may never hope to defend that freedom if it ever comes under attack. Because technology develops so quickly that one definition will hardly suffice for a short period of time, people will find it increasingly difficult to understand how much right to expression they are allowed and will therefore fight for any and all that they may attain, never considering the benefits of censorship in the slightest. In America especially, people idealize the idea of democracy, the investigation of truth, and independence (Fieser). In

No one wants to watch a video of people getting hurt and be manipulated into doing others work. That is why there are rules in place and why censorship exist, to keep the internet safe from such videos or pictures. A great example of why we need censorship is cyberbullying or cyberterrorism. If we did not have censorship in place this would get out of control and cause chaos. However, censoring to the point where people have no right to the freedom of speech is taking it to far. China has almost done this by removing almost all forms of communication besides texting, calling, and e-mailing. Their lastest move was the removal of the WhatsApp, it was a very popular app in China because of how well it was for communication and sending out information for others to see. While they did not fully remove the app from its place, they did however, reduce the usage by disrupting the videos, video chat, and picture function to the point of the app not being useful. WhatsApp is an app that was founded by Facebook and is now being censored by the Chinese. WhatsApp was Facebooks way in getting back into China, but because of government trying to get rid of it, the company has taken a major blow. Facebook only stake in the country is the Colorful Balloons app. This event has many featured articles that are relevant to the issue such as the “China Blocks WhatsApp, Broadening Online Censorship.” At first, users of the app were having disruptions when sending voice

     Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the

In my own experiences, I think censorship is important to our society. Censorship is not only impacting our world right now but impacting our beliefs on whether or not we post things on social media like our Snapchat and Instagram accounts where everybody like our mutual friends and families sees. Sometimes, personally, on my social media account, I see many of my friends posting fights, nudes, and more that people do not want to see popping up on their social media feeds. It’s stupid to post things online and you know what is right and wrong doings.

Censorship within the United States is not only an immoral and "big-brotherly" practice, but also an insult to each and every one of those who call themselves US citizens. Every day, censors attempt to sanitize TV, radio, music, print, and even the Internet. In their infinite wisdom, they deem what should and should not be viewed by John Q. Public. Censors succeed in suppressing our free spirits and restraining our thoughts in virtually every medium.

The media could be determined a tremendous and powerful weapon. If used properly, it can provide society with great benefits, but if used in negative ways, it can destroy. In a modern world where information can spread as fast as wildfires, a reason to monitor or limit types of media appear rational, but along with that, irrational cases still exist. This argument has circled in the United States for a while and a decision needs to be made. Parents and citizens around the United States think concerningly about what our eyes witness on the news, in stores, on billboards, etc. When the government determines what appears in the media, it not only belittles citizens, but it denies the First Amendment, which states the basic rights of an American. Censorship of the media, as displayed in 1984, clearly exhibits the violation of the First Amendment, rightfully given to the citizens of the United States, by the founding fathers of this country.

Censorship in America is about the freedom of speech. And how people in America are limited the freedom of speech people who are Muslim can’t draw a picture of Muhammad. If Muhammad knew who drew his picture then the person would get executed. In America people are limited the freedom of speech. In schools people try to block out what other people are saying. Kids in schools are proble scared about what other people

Imagine a scenario where Kanye West is in his Los Angeles home with his wife and daughter and the police knock on his door. They arrest him based on exposing the American population to vulgarity, indecency, racist and sexist comments that offend many people. The government does not want America to be subjected to this type of music and turn the American culture into something more bigoted than it already is. However, a situation like this would never occur in the present day American society. That does not mean it could not happen in the future. Many American citizens are promoting censorship to an extreme that it could possibly become a reality. The American citizens claim that censorship is needed to shelter America’s citizens, but

Why is it that it takes gruesome violence for people to be entertained by television content? This kind of diversion could be having an effect on the minds of the children that are watching. Citizens of other countries are openly opposed the grisly material broadcast daily on American television. What average Americans can find enjoyment in viewing on television is extremely strange to members of foreign countries. Has it not become clear that constant blasting of savage images is taking effect on people, mainly Americans? Morality in American society is decreasing rapidly, and the best way to curb this social decline is to censor violent and sexual content on American broadcast television.

Censorship is definitely a thing in a lot of parts of America; however, it’s not all bad censorship. For example, anti-abortion groups protest at public and private colleges using large, noticeable, graphic signs which most either ignore or attempt to take them down by force, which, although it sounds like illegal censorship, is legal because the 1st amendment does not protect provocative speech. In the video, a private college was shown which limited certain groups’ flyers and posters to one corner of the whole campus; they are completely within their rights to do that because they do not receive state funding so the first amendment does not apply to them. Finally, when Charlie Hebdo was attacked, a writer held a “Draw Muhammed” contest in Dallas which led to a shooting and her disappearance. Many people believe the things they do can not be censored because they are protected by the first amendment, but they are not because they are either provoking, the place they are at is not state funded, and people they are intentionally offending are not going to leave them alone.

There are various reasons as to why censorship is used. They include: security purposes, prevent hate speech, to protect vulnerable communities and also to counter unethical religious and political views. Censorship is currently being used for both political and social purposes. Most of these reasons for censorship are not absolute because they hinder people’s freedom of expression and speech. This confirms my argument that censorship is bad in the modern world. Despite some aspects considering censorship to be good, there are several aspects that promote my argument that censorship is bad thus its advantageous nature.

Have you ever heard the word, censorship? If not, this is what it means. Censorship is the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts. That is what people are trying to do to videos of stunts on YouTube, and they shouldn’t.

Censorship may be protection from inappropriate materials, but it also limits free speech. For the limitation of free speech, it is reasonable why people are emphatically against censorship. It is understood that there is a need to filter some of the materials released in today’s society, but too much is being done by people who have no right meddling with everyone’s rights. Civilization has always been plagued by a never ending battle being fought over what is deemed right and wrong. In today’s culture, censorship oppresses everything in the media. From movies and music to television and even news stories, most of the content viewed today has been filtered one way or another. Restrictions have been in place since early societies have been

Social media should not moderate the comments or points of views from society due to the fact that everyone has the right to express what is on their mind. The U.S. created the First Amendment which protects the freedom of expression in essence, giving society the ability to state their opinion without fear of retribution. It is difficult to think of negative, hurtful, and spiteful comments being protected by the freedom of speech. The information and posts on social media has such a great influence over the population of the world, however it is important to remember that trolls as well as their comments should be taken lightly yet respected because it is their own opinion. Nonetheless people have become highly sensitive to trolls or any comments in which they might not agree with. Additionally it seems that trolls have a strong hold in social media yet, who are these trolls? Trolls make heinous comments on social media and are thrilled to keep anonymity as their profile. People who are behind an electronic screen are not always the most transparent and credible commentators. Many will argue that censorship is needed in social media as it could prevent excessive negativity online. Although this may have a case, if people allowed censorship of harsh and hateful believes what else will be censored in the future. Censorship in social media has the potential to create a deceitful view of society.

Walk into a library, you have a computer, you are most likely carrying a phone, at home, you most likely have a computer, laptop, tablet, or even all three. This shows that we have social media access at the tip of our fingers, making it so easy to open up the site or app and just type out a phrase or paragraph, letting hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions, of people know what you think. Back then, it was harder to let the nation know what you were thinking, and it took even take months before everyone knew, versus today, where the nation might know by the end of the day, and it’s because of this that companies regulate what their users are posting, attempting at keeping the online world free from threats, hate, harmful words, and more. Rutenberg quotes Jeffrey Goldberg as he says, “At a certain point I’d rather take myself off the platform where speech has become so become so offensive than advocate for the suppression of that speech” (2). Twitter also said that “everyone on Twitter should feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs, but behavior that harasses, intimidates or uses fear to silence another person’s voice should have no place on our platform” (Rutenberg 2).