Freedom of speech and censorship is still an issue and debate in today’s world, and with the widespread media all over the world, it has an even greater impact on people. Former President Donald Trump’s Twitter ban sparked a heated debate among social media users about whether Twitter was infringing on the First Amendment right to free speech. Some people such as Elon Musk, who is a free speech absolutist, believe that Twitter should follow the First amendment to promote more democracy. However, others believe that Twitter should not have to follow the First Amendment, since it is its own platform and has the right to enforce content by its own standards. Having social media apps follow the first amendment may be good in some cases, however towards the end it would do more harm than good since it would bring a lot of objectionable speech that the majority of people wouldn’t like. 

Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions. This being said, Rosen Jeffrey, writer of  ‘Elon Musk is Right that Twitter Should Follow The First Amendment’, is correct when he claims that we, as human beings, cannot “help thinking for ourselves” (Jeffery), even if someone had the power to tell us what to think. Being able to have free speech on the internet without receiving any consequences can be good in certain ways since it can guarantee “discovery and spread of political truth” (Jeffery). If social media were to be under the first amendment, people would be less concerned with the accuracy of what politicians post since it would not be censored. On the other hand, If social-media platforms did not follow the First amendment they would have the right to decide what political candidates are safe for people to see, which would prevent people from making their own political choices and therefore weaken the “foundation of a functioning democracy” (Jeffery). 

However, these political advantages that would come with social media being protected by the First amendment would be outweighed by the general disadvantages. Hate speeches, bullying, obscenity, and many other undesirable opinions that people do not want to see would be permitted on social media if the first amendment was obeyed. As a result, social media “would be unconstitutional”, as Nicole L. Pesce said in her article, ‘What does 'free speech' actually mean? Twitter isn't censoring speech, despite what Elon Musk and many users think.’.  If social media gets overrun with undesirable content, it will lose its appeal and people would gradually stop using it. Jeffery’s next argument is undeniably false after he claims that when private regulators, such as Twitter, decide which opinions are true or false, the regulator “infringes on the right” (Jeffery) of all people to make opinions. Private regulators, like twitter, cannot infringe on the rights of people because “Twitter is not a government” (Pesce). The First amendment only applies to the government which means that people don’t have the right to “express themselves however they want” (Pesce) if it “violates the codes of conducts” (Pesce) on the social media platform they use. In reality, allowing the government to decide what content is acceptable on social media apps would be “violating” (Pesce) those companies' own rights.

In conclusion, Jeffery makes some solid comments about why permitting free speech on social media would be better for people to make their own political decisions and promote democracy, but he fails to address all the types of objectionable speeches that would be protected by the First amendment and would be on social media. And, as Pesce stated, even if free speech absolutists believed that social media should be protected by the first amendment, they must understand that private companies are not the government.

Works Cited

Rosen, Jeffery. "Elon Musk Is Right That Twitter Should Follow the First Amendment." The Atlantic, 2 May 2022, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/elon-musk-twitter-free-speech-first-amendment/629721/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2022.

Pesce, Nicole Lyn. "What does 'free speech' actually mean? Twitter isn't censoring speech, despite what Elon Musk and many users think." MarketWatch, 30 Apr. 2022, www.marketwatch.com/story/what-does-free-speech-actually-mean-twitter-isnt-censoring-speech-despite-what-elon-musk-and-many-users-think-11651172967. Accessed 24 Sept. 2022.