The Protection of Freedom of Speech in the UK - Essay Example

THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA WITHIN THE UK By of the Name of the School (University) City Date Protection of freedom of speech provides a basis for protecting other basic human rights. The fundamental rules and regulations of this basic human right maintains that each person has the right to express their feelings, sentiments as well as trade thoughts without any public authority’s interference (legislation.gov.uk, 1998). The marginal difference that exists between freedom of expression and freedom of speech is that freedom of expression incorporates imaginative and artistic as well as different expressions like music. Unlike freedom of speech, freedom of expression goes beyond just passing mere information. Through human history, disagreements over freedom of expression have persisted, broad and continually developing particularly in responses to the development of human kind and the advancement of technology. Advancement into new media and specifically the social media has basically empowered the capacity for individuals to communicate freely. On the other hand, it has expanded the contention in connection to the freedom of speech. This paper talks about the positive and negative of freedom of expression in the social media in the United Kingdom. Forms of social media such as Twitter and Facebook allows for the updates of sharing photos as well as activities. This in turn allows the person to extend themselves to other users as well as tender their own unique thoughts or contemplations. Such forms of social media present ways for individuals to depict their own particular assessments and interests, perspectives and emotions. While connections in the real world may be truly unnerving and scary because one needs to be cautious not to affront, the social media offers open ended and unlimited potential individuals to convey what needs be. According to Scott and Orlikowski (2014), social media has offered the utmost potential for freedom of expression. Endeavours have been made in the UK to screen the use of social media, it is likely to remove content, yet with millions of individuals using the social media platform every single day, it can be quite hard to watch over, assess and control the entire content (Linklaters 2004). However, controlling the interactions of people, communication and sharing of information through the social media is not possible. This has prompted inquiries identified with the positive side of social networking regarding free expression as well as its negative sides. Social media helps any individual communicate. The individual online networking experience is constantly customized to meet the needs of the users, for example, suggested pages, chat groups as well as songs that are often based upon what an individual has officially examined and signed up to on their Google plus and Facebook. In addition, businesses can use social media to help reach their target audience and permitting them to offer their items online for sale. This method has proven more effective than even a conference room. The social media has kept on making it possible for the individuals to have a forum where they communicate views and share opinions without fearing being victimised or oppressed, particularly in connection to discussing political issues. (Lipschultz, 2014). Some individuals that have had traumatic youth or experiences conditions of mental imbalance truly find it extremely hard imparting what they need to. This is an issue that has been tended to through the advancement of online networking. Such individuals are currently able to pass messages through pictures or through any other means that can be brought up in a post. Sangsuvan (2014) uncovers that the present day world has seen an increment in how individuals in the United Kingdom enjoys this lawfully permitted right. The social media has permitted individuals in the UK to express their emotions. Due to the improvement in social media, a number of voices are incorporated in decision and policies because ideas can easily be passed. The freedom has been ill-used in imparting extremist perspectives as well as feelings, assaulting others, racial discrimination and sexism. These are all negative aspects of the use of social media. This implies that even the terrorists and other criminals have the same kind of opportunity to enjoy such a freedom as the individuals who use social media in a positive manner. An illustration of social media segregation is portrayed by the Baptist churches that distribute their compelling fundamentalist Christianity posts onto the social media scene by writing offensive and hateful comments. The resultant freedom from the social media has necessitated the spread of otherwise illegal and unethical message contents. In most cases as Wagner (2014) puts forward, the open ended nature of social media has allowed the communication of silly and abusive contents. Terrorists as well as other criminal uses social media as a means of communication with their supporters, recruitment medium for their sympathisers as well as their supporters, for instance, as Islamic State and their figure Jihadi John. It has on the other hand, turned into the avenue for victimization and harassment and such free flow of negative content has brought on extraordinary damages to the victims through the social media applications. A number of social media users often post and devour different kinds of prohibited contents like explicit or pornographic and sexual content. For instance, the recent UK social media problem of revenge pornography where someone’s ex-partners posts sexual videos online for revenge. The social media has turned into an extremely perilous piece of life in the cutting edge society of the world, empowering better communication and enhanced social co operations and interactions. It has necessitated the rise in freedom of expression principally because of the security or privacy it provides as well as the more noteworthy level of control an individual has over the content. On the other hand, this area regarding the freedom of speech or expression has indicated serious debate over the negative as well as the positive side. Even though there are positive consequences, social media also presents negative influences to its users. For instance, social media has led to the increase in the level of victimisation or harassment. However, this vice can be stopped with the help of the report abuse button thereby leaving a more basic impact on those victims it has focused upon. This requires the relevant authorities to enact policies that control the use of social media in the United Kingdom because the existing regulation is inadequate. A less disturbing method must be in place that suggests that some specific topics, or some offensive languages as well as comments ought to be censored rather than monitoring all posts. In doing so, the users will in any case be able to continue enjoying the benefits and at the same time being safeguarded from the injurious impacts of this unrestricted level of freedom of expression. References Human rights act 1998 article 10 freedom of expression retrieved from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/i/chapter/9 Linklaters 2004 social media and the law: a handbook for uk companies retrieved from http://www.linklaters.com/insights/social-media-law-a-handbook-uk-companies/pages/index.aspx Lipschultz, jh, 2014, social media communication: concepts, practices, data, law and ethics, london: routledge Miyazoe, t., & anderson, t. (2011). Anonymity in blended learning: who would you like to be? Educational technology & society, 14 (2), 175187. Overview of terrorism legislation article 2004 retrieved from https://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/human-rights/countering-terrorism/overview-terrorism-legislation Sangsuvan, k 2014, balancing freedom of speech on the internet under international law. North carolina journal of international law & commercial regulation, 39, 3, pp. 701-755 Scott, s, & orlikowski, w 2014, entanglements in practice: performing anonymity through social media, mis quarlterly, 38, 3, pp. 873-893 Small online petitions can affect change article 2013 retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2013/apr/12/small-online-petition-change Tufekci, z 2014, social movements and governments in the digital age: evaluating a complex landscape. Journal of international affairs, 60, 1, pp. 1-18. Tunick, m, 2015, balancing privacy and free speech: unwanted attention in the age of social media, london: routledge Wagner, b 2014, the politics of internet filtering: the united kingdom and germany in a comparative perspective, politics, 34, 1, pp. 58-71 Read More