I have been following the ongoing saga of President Trump over the last few weeks with renewed energy. To see him banned from Facebook and Twitter has once again raised questions that I have long struggled with.
Freedom of speech is something that I hold dear to my heart. It should be the right of any human being to vocalise their feelings, without fear of reprisal.
That said, Donald Trump’s tweets, and the horrific scenes in the Capitol that were attributed to those tweets, should be a warning to anyone who holds a modicum of influence over people to be careful with their words.
While this may or may not have been the President’s ultimate goal to have people descend and breach the Capitol and cause damage, to undermine the democratic process in the US, to lead to the death of 5 people, including a law enforcement officer who was trying to do his job, I believe that his tweets and press conferences did nothing to stop it. With over 88 million followers on Twitter, it should have been something that he was cognizant of.
I also believe that the words he spoke/ wrote were interpreted by his “supporters” to mean what they wanted it to mean. I am pretty sure that of the people who were complicit in the acts of violence and depravity were led by a different agenda. Not that of getting Trump back into power, not that of truly believing that fraud took place on a scale never seen before in a truly democratic process, but following a propensity for anarchy.
This, unfortunately, is not new. It is something that has been witnessed online and IRL for over 4 years. His constant berating of the media when they publish articles or reports which are inconsistent with his agenda. The “shouty” tweets about fake news and the xenophobia shown when describing Covid-19 as the “China Virus”, indeed the whole Covid-19 denial are merely two examples.
This post was never meant to be all about Trump. It is meant to open debate / discussion as to the freedom of speech.
Were the social media companies right to block / ban him? What about others who follow the same rhetoric? Should they also be banned?
I am sure that the majority of people who have access to the internet know that there is some very grim content available, should you chose to look for it. There is also a theory (not a conspiracy one) that social media and messaging apps, especially those using encryption techniques, are being used to radicalise people, on both sides of the fence.
There is also a small number of people (term used loosely) who think that there is nothing better than to troll people, both celebrities and the general population alike.
Where is the line between freedom of speech and common decency? And possibly more important, who should be deciding where that line is?
This is where my internal turmoil comes in. I can see both sides of the argument. I personally do not want someone else, be it a government or company to tell me what I can and cannot think or say. This could open the door to a 1984 Orwellian state, with big brother monitoring your every move.
Imaging that the government in power take up the reigns of Judge, Jury and Executioner. Day 1, they stop people discussing illegal subject, or those which your average human would find abhorrent. Before long, anything which goes against the governments agenda is blocked. There needs to be a system of impartial review put in place.
By blocking discussion, grow up discussion on subject matters most would shy away from doesn’t make society safer. Indeed, as has been seen in areas such as The Silk Road, it drives it underground, where security comes in slightly behind profit. *
That said, I do not want to live in a society where freedom of speech is misused. I do not want paedophiles sharing images of child sexual abuse under the banner of freedom of speech. I don’t want to see radicalisation of our young people carried out under the same umbrella.
I have previously written about trolling, concentrating on Jesy Nelson’s online abuse. I have the upmost respect for her coming out to show the negative impact this has had on her, and sadness that there are people in the world who carry this out. I still cannot understand the reasoning behind behaviour like that.
I know that there are conspiracy theorists out there, and they have a following. This is true for Covid-19 deniers, the 5G conspirators, and anti anti-vaxxers. Should they be given a platform to expand their propaganda?
Does the mainstream media also have a part to play? Since 2016, the UK has been forging ahead to leave the European Union (Yes people, we are still in Europe). Some of the coverage on the mainstream media has been nothing short of hysterical. Stories of medicine shortages, increase food costs and nightmare for hauliers are only some that I can remember.
And back to Covid-19, the media has been partially responsible for stockpiling and shortages. Several news outlets have broadcast from shops with empty shelves, claiming that people are panic buying. There is nothing more likely to cause panic buying than that!
And this is meant to be from media coverage which falls into 1 of 2 camps. Total impartiality , or a political leaning either to the right, left or centrist.
I do agree that there should be some monitoring / regulation, but this has to be in balance with one of the most basic human rights. I don’t have the answers to any of the questions posed in this article. It should be carried out by an impartial panel of peers, and be open and accountable for the actions they take. It must also take the legality of such content into account, for each jurisdiction.
After all, what may be legal in one country, may not be in another. Again, where would the lines be drawn? Would it be the laws of the most restrictive country which would form the basis of any ruling? Would this interfere with the human rights of citizen’s with less restrictive rules?
In writing this post, it has become apparent that there are a lot more questions than answers, both here in text and in my head.
* Freedom of speech must come with a level of responsibility. For anyone thinking that the Dark Web is a haven for nefarious means, please remember that the American Government paid for most of the infrastructure. Be under no illusion that the NSA will have access to the majority of content, and while ToR may make it harder to find people, its not impossible.
