This week several technology platforms banned Alex Jones’s Infowars content for violating hate speech and bullying policies. In the following days, free speech and its impact on digital marketing, particularly social media has come under debate. Fake News was not mentioned in any of the announcements.
A Quick Recap
The ball got rolling on Sunday when, “Apple moved first, striking the entire library for five of Infowars’ six podcasts from its iTunes and Podcasts apps,” (Paczkowski, Buzzfeed). Since then, YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, LinkedIn, Mailchimp, Pinterest and Stitcher have followed suit.
Free Speech and Social Media
Depending on one’s political views, Jones is either a breath of fresh air, or sensational conspiracy theorist. The moves to ban his content are either an infringement on American rights, or long overdue.
Regardless of your stance, the situation is likely to ignite the next chapter in the debate about free speech. The New York Times quoted Jones as saying, “This is a war on free speech,” (Williamson, New York Times). But the case may not be as clear-cut as liberals and conservatives believe. USA Todayanalyzed the situation and explained how the tech companies aren’t violating the first amendmenton Wednesday, August 8:
“As private companies, Apple, Facebook and Spotify can decide what content appears on their platforms, so I wouldn’t call (the tech sites’ actions) a violation of speech,” said Lata Nott, executive director of the First Amendment Center at the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C.
Interestingly, Apple removed the Infowars podcast but not the Infowars app. Buzz Feed Newsexplains how the two fall under different regulatory standards despite disseminating similar messages in this article.
Twitter Stands Apart
One platform that has refused to “let personal views” affect its decision to host Jones’ content is Twitter. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey made several posts explaining his company’s position, which is effectively that Jones and Infowars have not violated any of Twitter’s policies. On August 9, CNN reported several instances, which seem to prove otherwise and have since been deleted from both Jones’ account and the Infowars account.
In Conclusion
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will tech companies prevail in their quest to uphold a code of ethics for users? Will the First Amendment trump media bias? Regardless of the outcome, the precedent set with Infowars will likely shape the future of digital media.
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