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Free speech social media
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Should Individuals be prosecuted for statements made on social media? If individuals are prosecuted by the government for what they said online, then the government is violating the First Amendment to the Constitution. Although bullying can have very bad effects, it often is minimal and is not to extent that it would even be considered a federal offense. It should be the responsibility of school administration to stop it and to help the victim. In light of all this, I believe that individuals should not be prosecuted for statements made on social media. If our government prosecutes individuals for statements made online, then they are taking away one of the inalienable rights that our forefathers fought -and that those today fight- to protect.
"Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself." The basic rights guaranteed to Americans in the Bill of Rights is what holds the United States together. When Salman Rushdie wrote Guardian, he knew this. Unfortunately, the majority of congress and the President himself have forgotten the basic rights of Americans. When President William J. Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act that was proposed but the 104th Congress, he severely limited the rights of Americans on the Internet. The internet, just like books, magazines, artwork, and newspapers, should not be censored.
...of nations, countries, cities, towns, and individuals can be severely harmed and damaged if there is no control on the information being disbursed through the vast communication devices available. While everyone cites the right to freedom of speech, it is sometimes forgotten about the part that states as long as it doesn’t harm another person is often overlooked.
“Cyberbullying is a willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices,” stated by the Ophelia Project. Individuals should be prosecuted for statements made on social media. One reason individuals should be prosecuted is because of physical consequences to the victim. Another reason is because of mental effects that cyberbullying can have on the victim. Even though some people believe that free speech allows them to say what they want to but individuals should be prosecuted because the first amendment does have a limit on what you can say.
People say that schools should limit students' online speech because cyber bullying hurts students so the schools need to protect their student their body.If the students get hurt, there are many civil laws that can protect them.There is no need to make specific laws that limit online speech .
The problem is that cyberbullying is an act that must be stopped, but putting limits on students' online speech is unnecessary. If you are not familiar with the word cyberbullying, it is a is when an individual is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another individual using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies. But yet again I bring the point that schools should not limit the amount of students online speech. Schools must protect students’ First Amendment rights, but also maintain the learning environment and safety at school. Three main reasons why schools should not limit students online speech are there is not a large percentage affected, it does not cause a significant disruption, and it is a violation of constitutional rights.
The bullying and harassment that occurs between these students should not only be up to the parents to deal with, but also up to the school districts. Afterall, parents expect that the students are partially under the school’s protection and responsibility. When the bullying continues outside of school, and personal information is exposed for others to see on social media, it is still up to the district to set the consequences for its students. Because most cases of cyberbullying start at schools, it is nearly impossible for students to avoid the bullies’ torment throughout the day. As for the consequences, a school district’s Code of Conduct must also consider the former record of these bullies and anyone else who is involved. The severity of each student’s punishment shall be partially determined by his or her history of previous misbehavior or faulty actions. In a digital pile on for example, a student may only post a small comment in agreement with a previous post but will still receive the minimal of a written referral and a phone call home, letting the parents know why such measures had to be taken. If the reported bully continues to bother the victim, whether it is in person or through social media services, the consequences will be more harsh for each known violation until expulsion is the only answer. The current Code of Conduct does
Social media is a fascinating and compelling form of interaction between people all over the world. It allows us to dispatch information to the public swiftly but unlike broadcasting through radio or television, there is no gatekeeper. Information that is put on the Internet never really goes away and because of its instantaneous feed to the public, it can cause irreparable damages. These damages include a rising growth of defamation cases involving online content found on social networks. Social media has become a hotspot for potentially libelous statements.
We as a people of the United States are guaranteed the right of free speech under the first amendment of the bill of rights. The first amendment has always been a difficult but necessary part of American life. It allows us to say what needs to be said without the fear of prosecution. Without this law we would be unable to question our leaders and society. The ability to speak our minds is what keeps us a truly free nation. However, this means we have always had to put up with other peoples opinions no matter how false they may be. The internet follows the same pattern. We have learned not to trust everything that is written down. It is our responsibility to refute anything that is incorrect or inappropriate just as it is our responsibility to do so in real life situations. For example, we could no more shut up a person who believes in white supremacy by arresting them for their beliefs then we could block them from the free space of the internet. We can not punish someone for their beliefs even if those beliefs go against everything we know to be true.
Yes, it is easy to tell when someone is getting bullied in some sort of form but lawmakers at the state and federal levels are going around in circles about it. There have been many reported cases that involve bullying and that is when lawmakers finally realized how harmful these situations actually are. The federal government defined the requirements for off-campus behavior, such as cyber-bullying, to be regulated by the school. For a school to take action, there must be a clear disruption to the educational process or a representation of true threat. (Donegan R.). States governments also went around in circles over bullying laws and it took them a good amount of cases to finally decide something needed to be changed. There was a case in Missouri in 2006, that involved cyber-bullying. A fake social media account was created to harass someone that ended up taking their own life. The case United States vs. Lori Drew had a lot of debate. The court ruled that they could not hold Drew responsible for the harassment leading to the suicide because of the lack of legal realization. They applied the Computer Fraud and Abuse act. This act is not for bullying but it is to prosecute electronic stealing but in this circumstance it was used to apply the social media’s terms of service. The terms require users to abide by a host of regulations, which “required truthful and accurate registration, refraining from using information from the social
Currently, there is no federal law that directly addresses bullying alone. Although, if the bullying overlaps with some form of harassment then it can open up a case. Some examples would be making violent or death threats, physically harassment, proof of text messages or comments on social media, and committing hate crimes. Federally funded schools are obliged to address the issue of bullying, although 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time (stompoutbullying.org). Bullying in general should become a crime because of the affect it has on society and the victims. It is not taken as seriously as it should be taken in our society today.
Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace: Government Restrictions on Content in the United States of America
Cyberbullying should be a criminal offense because whether it’s bullying or cyberbullying, it still damages a person emotionally and physically. Admittedly, many will argue that it is crossing the line to force perpetrators behind bars when it is not even bullying, but some foul words thrown in social sites. However, there is no difference between cyberbullying and offline bullying when it is still an issue that constantly eats away at its victims, abusing them with hurtful words and messages. “The United States Department of Health and Human Services calculated the percentages of bullied victims, where 37% of teens have been physically bullied, while 52% of teens have been cyberbullied” (Cyber/Bullying Statistics). Studies shown indicate that there have been more cases of cyberbullying than offline bullying, whereas people believe that “cyberbullying is not real bullying” and “it is to speak out in what...
In fact a Consumer Reports survey (June 2012) said 800,000 minors were harassed or cyber bullied on Facebook. Because social media has become so widespread it has become a breeding ground for cyberbullying. Facebook is the leading social networking site for bullying. Twitter doesn’t have as big of a problem as many of the other sites due to the way it is set up. However, Ask.FM (has caused serious problems among teenagers, resulting in bullying behavior that has been difficult to stop (Social). SnapChat can also contribute to the bullying problem by creating pictures that make fun of other individuals (Social). Because of the ability for anyone to log onto these social media sites it can now take place with both adults and minors too. Facebook rules state that children under 13 are not supposed to be on Facebook. In 2011 Facebook closed about 800,000 underaged accounts. There is an estimated 5.6 million active accounts that are still owned by underaged kids (Social). Because of a maturity issue, one million children were harassed, threatened or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during 2011(N/a Social). It’s not just a rumor, even adults get bullied too. I’m sure you heard about the CBS news anchor, Jennifer Livingston. On national tv she called out the person who was bullying her about her weight over email and social media. She was very
The initial reason why anyone who cyberbullies should be criminally accused is due to their harmful behavior that can result in people getting seriously hurt both mentally and physically. If the bully is convicted, cyberbullying can be stopped! As directly stated in the Radio Interview of source one “Cyberbullying can also lead to kids getting physically injured.” This statement further emphasizes why the outcome of this act should be punishable by law. Due to the fact that individuals face violent behavior, it could mean suicide for the victim. In no shape or form should this be tolerated since lives are taken due to the
With technology progressing, students are moving past face to face hectoring, and are verbally bullying other through social media. Cyberbullying can sometimes become more harmful than verbal, physical, and emotional bullying due to victims, not feeling like they have an escape route because they are threatened repeatedly through text messages, e-mails, social media, etc. The worst part about cyberbullying is that the things posted can be anonymous; therefore, there is no blame for who posts what. A victim can suspect that someone is to blame for the actions done, but there is no proof to solve a possible ongoing issue. Cyberbullying and bullying are actually considered a crime when someone: physically assaults another person, gender or racism is talked about, violent or deadly threats are made, sexually texting, inappropriate photos, stalking,