Should Social Media be Censored
Social media needs censorship, and any one who claims that this oppresses our freedom of expression needs to realise that the idea of freedom of expression is flawed in theory and politicised in practice. It is impossible to implement, and has never been implemented anywhere historically — not even today, in our liberal societies.
It is of the most basic human civility to respect others. That is the starting point — not free speech
Freedom of expression does not exist in absolute form. There is no absolute freedom to insult. Across our liberal societies, we find defamation laws, sedition laws, professional standards and journalistic standards of reporting about politicians and celebrities. In Germany, denial of the Holocaust is prohibited by law. In the United Kingdom, the Public Order Act makes “threatening, abusive or insulting words” a criminal offence. In Australia, Commonwealth Criminal Code makes it an offence for a person to use a postal or similar service “in a way … that reasonable persons would regard as being … offensive. There already is censorship on social media, your account will be closed down if you post illicit content, and it would be an erroneous idea to remove this censorship, as we would not want our children to see obscene nudity, or Propaganda for terrorists organisations.
Who decides about when and how to qualify freedom of expression? The real question, then, is not about freedom. It is about how far power can go. It’s about power using the notion of freedom to extend and enforce its reach. Would we accept white people using the “n word” against blacks? Or a person shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theatre? Or a student insulting his teacher, or a child her parent? Everyone teaches their children to respect others, not to insult. Why? Because insults beget insults, hate and rancour. Is that the type of society we want for ourselves and for our children?
Everyone has lines they will not cross. All worldviews and cultures are sensitive with respect to certain things they hold dear.
The very idea of Freedom has detrimental consequences on the society that we live in, from mass violence and crime, to corruption at the highest level. And yes You can’t regulate civility. You can’t force people to be respectful. But This is about elevating the human condition -reviving the sacred and the most basic value of human decency, which has been eroded by this notion of freedom of expression in the most hideous of ways. So censorship is a not only needed but a necessity for social media in order for a functioning society.
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