Cutting Edge Computing

Free Speech and Social Media October 29, 2020

The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have dramatically changed how we communicate with others today versus two decades ago (I’ve done talks on how we communicate with others; here is an example – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gby8XGUbieA&t=3s). This trend has led to discussions and accusations concerning how much freedom these online platforms give us to express our views.

In many cases, people express their positions as they believe them based on how they have evaluated the evidence they have seen. In other cases, people selectively edit evidence and sometimes make up evidence, and, well, tell lies to promote a particular point of view. I confess that I don’t understand this mindset; “the truth shall set you free” (yes, and I know whose motto that is – the CIA).

But many of us have the belief that we have the fundamental right to say whatever we want on social media. That’s what the Constitution is all about right? Even our politicians believe that.

Um, no.

The Constitution is an agreement between the Federal government and the people; not between individual people, or between corporations and people (legally, a corporation is considered to be a person under U.S. law). That means that the likes of Twitter and Facebook have wide discretion on what content they allow to remain published on their platforms. Only the Federal government is bound by the First Amendment.

And Section 320 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 absolves those companies that provide a platform for user-generated content from being responsible for untrue or made-up claims. Individuals bear some responsibility for honestly trying to be truthful, because of libel and slander laws, but these tend to be applied with a light touch in practice. We as a society want people to speak out.

Now, you may believe that anything should be allowed to be published, thanks to the First Amendment, or because you are fundamentally opposed to censorship of any kind. There is something to be said for such a position, from an individual liberties point of view, even though it’s not covered by the First Amendment.

Now, I come from a publications background, back when publications were printed on paper, and I still have the strong belief (possibly old-fashioned) that anything that is published should be vetted by those responsible for publishing for truth and accuracy. I think that Facebook and Twitter take far too many liberties with the truth in the name of freedom of expression. While we shouldn’t go around spouting First Amendment protections for anything we say, people should take some responsibility for publishing truth, rather than known lies or absurd rumors.

But this is a hard problem with no clearly right answer. Mostly people need to internalize that publishing known falsehoods on social media platforms and promoting them is childish and petulant. And even if you honestly believe some of the absurdities making the rounds, give yourself a reality check before you propagate some of the dubious or clearly false information out there.