The First Amendment bars the government from instituting laws that aim at gagging individuals from the free expression of their view, religion, and their right to peaceful assembly. Social media platforms have been instrumental in supporting public discourse on a variety of issues, and thus, they are enablers of freedom of speech. The First Amendment only limits the actions of government influence. However, in some instances, the use of social media has contributed to the violation of the rights of individuals. For example, Leslie Jones sparked controversy on Twitter, where she claimed that she was personally and hurtfully attacked by certain users if the platform. Twitter had to censor the culprits from using the platform to calm the storm raised by Leslie Jones ( Rogers, 2016 ). The insults against individuals cannot be described as free speech since they violate their rights as American citizens ( Brannon, 2019 ). The First Amendment was not conceived to protect against such attacks but to protect government critics and those with controversial opinions on different issues.
The fact that Twitter censored those who attacked Leslie Jones and her counterparts shows that the Amendment cannot silence private entities. When an entity such as Twitter censors users, individuals will not have a chance to contribute to the market place of ideas, and their liberty to engage as humans will be curtailed (Hudson, 2018). However, an individual may want to exercise their liberty to attain self-fulfillment, but their actions may diminish the self-worth of others. The First Amendment does not influence private organizations such as Twitter and Facebook, and therefore, its provisions cannot be applied to social media ( Hudson, 2018 ). The framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights provided for the right to free speech to give citizens the power to criticize the government and not private entities and individuals. The First Amendment was not conceived to protect against criticism against private entities but the government. Twitter and other social media platforms have the liberty to sensor individuals who disregard the rights and dignity of others.
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References
Brannon, V. C. (2019). Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media Content.
Hudson, Jr., D. (2018). In the Age of Social Media, Expand the Reach of the First Amendment. Retrieved 31 January 2020, from www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-ongoing-challenge-to-define-free-speech/in-the-age-of-socia-media-first-amendment/
Rogers, K. (2016). Leslie Jones, Star of ‘Ghostbusters,’ Becomes a Target of Online Trolls. Retrieved 31 January 2020, from www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/movies/leslie-jones-star-of-ghostbusters-becomes-a-target-of-online-trolls.html
