Organizations can control your "Freedom of Speech"
Surfing on the Web one day, you encounter a post on Facebook that is very offensive to you. You report the post to the Facebook team, who take the post down. The person who made the post cries out that Facebook has violated their right to free speech and threatens legal action if the post is not restored.
This scenario isn't exclusive to the Internet; you can see it in places like malls, coffee shops, grocery stores, and business workplaces too. The claim that "Facebook violated my free speech" may sound like a threat, but it's actually very cute when I hear it made as it has no legal merit whatsoever.
The term "free speech" comes from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which also establishes freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The amendment has been very important in the history of this rather young nation. Specifically, the amendment reads:
What can you do if your Facebook post is removed? Popular social media websites usually have internal policies that govern what types of speech can and can't be posted to their sites. Facebook has created a nifty page here that entails what Facebook should be used for.
For example, among its many policies, Facebook disallows the posting of hate speech. Specifically, the policy reads:
This post was inspired by this Wikipedia page, which entails Wikipedia's position on vandal editors who submit inappropriate unencyclopedic content who claim violations of free speech.
This scenario isn't exclusive to the Internet; you can see it in places like malls, coffee shops, grocery stores, and business workplaces too. The claim that "Facebook violated my free speech" may sound like a threat, but it's actually very cute when I hear it made as it has no legal merit whatsoever.
The term "free speech" comes from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which also establishes freedom of the press and freedom of religion. The amendment has been very important in the history of this rather young nation. Specifically, the amendment reads:
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.The important phrase to note is "Congress shall make no law..." The First Amendment was written to prevent the government from making laws that limit one's ability to express themselves. Facebook and your neighborhood restaurant are private organizations governed by the business executives thereof. The manager of your local mall can therefore regulate what can or cannot be posted on their bulletin boards and whether or not people can come into the restaurant to demonstrate their cause. The Facebook team can control who gets to use their services and what type of content their services will be used for. The state and federal governments do not regulate these types of actions of non-governmental organizations. The Facebook team actually has the legal right to prevent you from using their website entirely and to control what you do on their website.
What can you do if your Facebook post is removed? Popular social media websites usually have internal policies that govern what types of speech can and can't be posted to their sites. Facebook has created a nifty page here that entails what Facebook should be used for.
For example, among its many policies, Facebook disallows the posting of hate speech. Specifically, the policy reads:
Facebook does not permit hate speech, but distinguishes between serious and humorous speech. While we encourage you to challenge ideas, institutions, events, and practices, we do not permit individuals or groups to attack others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.Think about what you posted. If it was removed, the Facebook team clearly thought it was against their goals and policies. Social media is then probably not the best avenue for demonstrating your cause.
This post was inspired by this Wikipedia page, which entails Wikipedia's position on vandal editors who submit inappropriate unencyclopedic content who claim violations of free speech.