RICH MACKE: Social media and the First Amendment – Scottsbluff Star Herald

December 15, 1791, the First Amendment was adopted as one of the 10 amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. It states, 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.

Our founding fathers created the First Amendment in response to two centuries of state-sponsored religious conflict and oppression in America, and with the keen understanding of the religious persecution in European nations resulting in official state religions and religious wars that were the norm.

Their understanding of the past is really all our founding fathers had to create a basic set of freedoms for each of us to have in our back pocket. Freedoms, we all use each and every day.

Although evolution and progress of a nation and its people is understood and expected, they could never have foreseen the internet. Or Social Media for that matter.

Since its inception in, social media has been at the core of Free Speech controversy. It has become common place for some users to berate, threaten, pick on, bully and/or share false information.

Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child pornography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law and true threats.

The Communications Decency Act of 1996 provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an interactive computer service that publishes information provided by third party users. Basically, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have absolutely zero responsibility for what citizens share across them and how they may hurt another human being.

Fast forward to May 28, 2020. President Trump signed an executive order aimed at social media companies after Twitter called two of his tweets potentially misleading. The executive order puts to test the level of authority the White House has when it comes to Free Speech.

This also brings up the question, How much free speech should social media be allowed? And, should social media platforms be held responsible for content submitted by users? Its not as black and white as some may think.

The First Amendment, vague in its explanation, is so in order to allow growth. But when that growth alters the flow of accurate information, or the interpretation is changed, we owe it to our nation to get it right.

For all the good social media brings to us, it is here that it lets us all down daily. We dont know who to trust with factual information. We become confused with who is sharing factual information. So we end up sharing and spreading information we believe to be true whether is or is not, ultimately exercising our own right to Freedom of Speech.

Is it right to censor social media platforms to help decrease the flow of false information? Is it our right under the First Amendment to share information whether accurate or not? Is it OK that social media platforms have the right to censor its users?

The quote below was written by the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, in 1917. No matter what your opinion of President Wilson is, when reading it, it almost feels as though it is describing our nation today.

I can imagine no greater disservice to the country than to establish a system of censorship that would deny to the people of a free republic like our own their indisputable right to criticize their own public officials. While exercising the great powers of the office I hold, I would regret in a crisis like the one through which we are now passing to lose the benefit of patriotic and intelligent criticism.

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RICH MACKE: Social media and the First Amendment - Scottsbluff Star Herald