Germany's Social Media Regulations by Connor Botz
The goals of this law has been to prevent the spread of pro-Nazi ideology and other discriminatory hate schemes. Critics of the law, however, argue that media companies are being urged to remove more content than necessary, in fear of incurring massive fines. Government officials have made amendments to the law to allowing incorrectly deleted posts to be restored, but many are still concerned that this policing of content may lead to further restriction of free speech online.
Companies looking to advertise and sell using social media sites like those affected by the law could face further regulations. It can be assumed that most companies to not promote their products or services using hate speech and derogatory language, but many are wary of what this could mean for the future of business communication on social media. After all, Europe is looking on as Germany conducts this test case, and depending on its success, the regulatory practices may be adopted in several other countries.
The policing and deletion of content is currently being undertaken by the media companies themselves, but public and even the government are urging companies like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to establish a third-party organization to regulate and deal with hateful content. For the most part, though, the social media sites have preferred to keep this process in-house, and no movement toward creating the third-party has commenced. Do you think it is the job of the government, social media sites, or other watch-dog organizations to police social media content? Is it a hindrance to free speech, or is it a necessary measure to build a more tolerant online world? (Source)
I think it is the job of the social media sites to remove hate speech because it is their site. The government has no reason to get involved on social media sites to regulate hateful content. The government has more important things to do than to be watch dogs. I don't believe it is a hindrance of free speech because most social media sites have rules against hateful speech and content and if someone doesn't follow those rules and posts something likes this, then it should be deleted. If people are getting upset by this, then they either need to understand the rules or not post hateful content or just not use social media.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good idea for Germany to enforce this law. However, I wasn't sure "hate speech" on social media was that intensely present that a law needed to be made because of it. I think this law will help improve these issues, however, I think it is completely up to people's personal morals to fix this problem all together. It is impossible to get everyone to act ethically, though sadly.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post it had me thinking of the pros and cons of this law!
ReplyDelete