The definition of free speech was nor clearly defined by the constitution. The first amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights. It provides constitutional protection for certain individual liberties such as freedom of speech, assembly, and worship. However, what is meant by freedom of speech was not clearly defined. There are a few types of speech that aren’t included under the constitution’s protection such as child pornography, plagiarism of copyrighted materials, defamation, and true threats. That leaves a lot of other forms of speech open to interpretation. Are these unprotected forms of speech enough under current circumstances or does more need to be added to the list? Image Source
While we all understand that social media has had some positive effects on allowing the voices of the people to be heard I believe the negative effects outweigh them. The time for federal regulation has come. Social media platforms will continue to avoid self-regulation for increased monetary gains. A committee should be formed to develop censorship rules that all social media platforms must adhere to or face serious sanctions. Also, changes in the first amendment(which I will talk about in the next section)should be made to hold individuals accountable for the damage caused by misinformation. Image Source
Is the first amendment adequate under the current social and political atmosphere currently in the United States? Technology has made possible the exponential growth of the ideas of the common person. The concerns of government or religious censorship are no longer the most influential parts to freedom of speech. The issue now is the expression of false or dangerous ideas from the common person. Has the time come to make changes to the first amendment? I believe it has. I draw this conclusion from ideas currently being expressed such as hate speech, critical race theory being legislated, and social media content that can lead to events such as January 6th, 2021. When an insurrection is allowed to happen due to the ideas expressed being protected by free speech the ineffectiveness of the amendment has become apparent. The time has come for governments to regulate more forms of speech for the protection of it’s citizens from themselves. Image Source
