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Should there be limits on social media?

In a week marked by controversy over Twitter posts, we ask who should
control content on social media.
Inside Story04 Aug 2012 10:18 GMT Science & Technology, US & Canada, Latin America, Brazil, Japan

In a week in which a 17-year-old was arrested for writing offensive tweets about an Olympic diver, a Greek triple
jumper was sent home from the Olympics after tweeting racist comments and an English footballer is being
investigated by the Football Association for comments made on his twitter account, we ask: Should there be
limits to what we tweet or post on Facebook and, if so, who decides what the limits are?

Social media has changed the way we seek information and share it. The tweet and the blog are relatively new
forums in which can say what we want, where we want and when we want.

Social networks like Twitter and Facebook give anyone, anywhere a forum for their thoughts and comments and
these networks have created a new way to organise, introducing a new dynamic in political exchange.

But controversy has raged over Twitter this week following the arrest of a man over an offensive tweet directed
at Olympic diver Tom Daley.

And, in another incident, a newspaper reporter had his account temporarily suspended after angrily tweeting the
email address of an NBC TV executive in protest at what he considered its inferior Olympics
coverage. Publishing private information is a violation of Twitter’s terms of use, but in this case Twitter
executives admitted making a mistake as the email address was already available online, and reinstated the
reporter's account.

But while mainstream media is limited in what it publishes by libel, contempt and decency laws, social media is
largely not. How or if it should be policed is a question yet to be answered.

And if a clampdown were to be implemented would it be a threat to freedom of speech, a denial of the
unfettered access to information and comment envisaged by those who developed the World Wide Web?

In January, Twitter introduced a new technology so that it can censor messages on a country by country basis.
Many critics argue that this move has serious implications for freedom of speech.

The accusation by some is that Twitter is intent on avoiding blockage by any country so that it can continue to
widen its user base and make more money.

Others claim attempted political influence on Twitter, pointing to the acquisition of a huge block of shares by a
Saudi prince during a time of heightened social unrest in Saudi Arabia at the end of last year.

So, should there be limits on social media? And, should it be a police function to control content on social
media?

Joining Inside Story to discuss this are guests: Scott Golder, a social media and internet researcher at Cornell
University; Jillian York, the director for international freedom of expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation;
and Stuart Hyde, the chief constable of Cumbria police and spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police
Officers on E-Crime Prevention.

SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY:

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A British teenager was arrested over Twitter abuse of British diver Tom Daley
Tweeting offensive messages can be a criminal offense in the UK
London Olympic fans were told not to tweets during events
Twitter has a new censor policy planned for specific countries
Twitter introduced a new technology so that it can censor messages on a country by country basis
Twitter has more than 100 million users worldwide
Facebook, the world's largest social network has 750 million active users
Protesters continue to use social media during Arab Spring uprisings
The top three countries on Twitter are US, Brazil and Japan
Twitter seeks to expand into more countries

Source: Al Jazeera

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