Imagine waking up trying to access your favorite website blocked nationally. While this might seem extreme and unrealistic in the united states it a reality in many places. While we are protected by first amendment rights to free speech censorship of certain websites or the ability to share your ideas blocked or removed. Censorship can negatively affect the media we access and what we are allowed to say or do.
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites overwhelmingly lean moderate or liberal. As a user who leans liberal I didn’t have a problem with this until I noticed how people with conservative opinions be shunned. While I don’t agree with their political stance, I do believe they deserve an equal opportunity to do so. This of course without the spread of fake news and harmful, abusive rhetorics. Censorship in some cases can be damaging and limits out first amendment right. However, opening the door to one case can lead to all of our voices being muted. Social media has allowed movements to gain attention and awareness to a broader audience. Would Black victims get their mention without public online outcry? If censorship of social media platforms continues to rise, voices of more vulnerable groups are at risk of being muted. Even when now more than ever voices that did not have platforms have the ability to express online with the potential to share globally.
As discussed in previous modules media platforms can easily remove your ability to have your identity online. Hosting your own site for your own individual profession or personal use can help combat censorship. But also stress the importance of free speech. Digital spaces are an open marketplace for thoughts, ideas to be said and shared with everyone. If that were to disappear our voices go with it. The transparency and access of the internet is needed and necessary as it functions for users.
Others argue that censorship help combats harmful activities online and helps stop fake news. Properly educating ourselves and others to be more media literate and understand proper online etiquette is valuable. Censorship puts people in a have or have-nots situation and displays who’s ideas and information is worthy over others. But, if we strive to view sharing information and ideas as open and do our own due diligence in understanding the core values of free speech and civil discourse. otherwise we put ourselves at risk of our basic rights being limited or infringed upon. While in some cases that are harmful to society at large is understandable but creating a new precedent of removing people’s thoughts and ideas that follow guidelines and terms of service of platforms is dangerous.
I believe this is dangerous as it can cause a new norm where the internet is no longer used by all.
