What is the First Amendment and how does it protect our freedom of speech? The First Amendment allows us to speak our minds but it doesn’t necessarily protect us from the consequences of our actions. The government can’t arrest us if we publicly say we don’t like pineapple on pizza but it doesn’t mean that others can’t have a say on our opinions. With the invention of public online forums, it’s easier to have our opinions heard and it reaches a larger audience than just your close friends and family. For me, I post online but in bookish spaces like Instagram and Threads. I see all the drama that unfolds when authors make problematic statements or include racist stereotypes in their books and while their first amendment is protected, it doesn’t mean that they are free from criticism and lost opportunities.
As social media grows, so does the spread of misinformation. But how are social media companies fighting the spread of that misinformation? In 2021, Twitter (now rebranded as X) banned Donald Trump’s account after violating company rules. It has been a long time coming after users called for action after he used his platform to attack his opponents and spread misinformation (among many other things like inciting the Jan. 6th Capitol attack). Trump claimed that social media companies were censoring his free speech and sued in response. He also started his own social network called Truth Social. It didn’t last long, as after Twitter was bought by Elon Musk in 2022, he lifted the ban on Trump and welcomed him back with open arms. This is what happens when social media ownership is in the hands of one person or company. They don’t have to listen to the majority, only what is best for their interests in the long run. Meta and X can follow their own rules and establish policies that overall might impact the user experience but helps to line their pockets. Would a more decentralized approach help social media encounter less bias or spread of misinformation? I’m not sure. Social media sites like Mastodon and BlueSky aren’t in the hands of one single person and instead a group of people own the companies. It allows for each server to be tailored to the individual’s interest and have their own rules of governing those servers. They just aren’t a popular option as it can be hard to navigate those sites.
So who owns our conversations? In private and in person, we do. We aren’t posting them online for the world to see and judge so it remains with us. Once we venture into the public online space, that’s where ownership gets a little funky because you’re inviting others into the conversation and they can share it with other people and so forth. For example, in Michigan, a school’s superintendent monitored parents’ social media accounts and contacted their employers. The parents didn’t know that their Facebook’s were being monitored and one was even let go from their jobs over their posts being reported. In response, the parents sued the school district as they were voicing their concerns on stuff going on in the district. In the end, the district settled as the parents weren’t being threatened and was bullying behavior from the board of education. The school never reached out for clarification about the posts that were made and instead jumped to conclusions and reported them to their employers and even to the police. I’m always careful with what I put out on social media because you never know what someone has to say about it and how it can be used against you, even when it’s complaining about a service or a business.