Annotated Bibliography for Argument Essay-Social Media and Free Speech

Annotated Bibliography for Argument Essay-Social Media and Free Speech

Free speech, or the freedom of speech, is a human rights principle that allows all individuals to express their opinions without censorship. This applies to all platforms where communication takes place, including social media platforms. Social media platforms have continued to be a part of people’s lives with the frequency of interactions on the platforms. This gives people platforms to establish their opinions and share them with others. Therefore, the correlation between social media and free speech must be made apparent to spread awareness amongst people, especially users of social media platforms, on whether regulations should be put in place to limit free speech.

Fiss, Owen M. “Free Speech and Social Structure.” Digitalcommons.Law.Yale.Edu, 1986, https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2211&context=fss_papers

In this article, Fiss illustrates the relationship between free speech and social structure. In this relation, Fiss points out the importance and relevance of free speech in society and its relevance in the liberation of a nation (p. 1405). Further, this relevance is essential in aspects such as politics and democracy. Further, Fiss elaborates on the Supreme Court’s decision on free speech and the events leading to its constitutionalizing into law. Additionally, Fiss argues that in a situation where an individual speaks up against government policies, individuals are protected from government retribution. Fiss states, “In this setting, the First Amendment is conceived of as a shield, as a means of protecting the individual speaker from being silenced by the state” (p. 1408). Aspects of the regulation of free speech are also highlighted in this article (p. 1409). The focus on free speech enables readers to understand the basis and history of free speech, pointing out the strength of the article. On the other hand, the article is outdated, and therefore, its correlation to social media is limited.

DePaula, Nic et al. “Challenges For Social Media: Misinformation, Free Speech, Civic Engagement, And Data Regulations.” Proceedings Of The Association For Information Science And Technology, vol 55, no. 1, 2018, pp. 665-668. Wiley, https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2018.14505501076

In this article, DePaula et al. elaborate on the challenges brought about by free speech and social media. With the ease of use of social media platforms and their incorporation into people’s everyday lives, the spread of information on these platforms has been simplified. This simplification enables individuals to interact and share opinions anytime and anywhere. Some of the information shared might be misleading, with most being based on fallacies (p. 665). Aside from that, another challenge of free speech on social media is hate speech. With the right to express one’s opinions without censorship, people can stipulate their opinions and even create groups to support their ideologies. In the article, DePaula et al. state that “As in real life, social media channels are not exclusively used for “friendly” and positive content, but also for hate speech, mobbing or defamation” (p.666). This argument indicates that the applicability of free speech on social media poses some challenges that affect members of society. In addition, DePaula et al. also stipulate the significance of free speech on social media platforms, especially in relation to politics (p. 666). This focus on setbacks of free speech on social media points to this article’s strength.

Gibson, Anna. “Free Speech And Safe Spaces: How Moderation Policies Shape Online Discussion Spaces.” Social Media + Society, vol 5, no. 1, 2019, p. 205630511983258. SAGE Publications, https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119832588

In this article, Gibson elaborates on the significance of self-censorship in controlling the negative implementation of freedom of speech. The increase in social media platforms and groups has led to the establishment of safe spaces. The creation of safe spaces originates from easy access to social media platforms by all individuals, some of whom might voice hate speech on certain aspects presented. Additionally, Gibson stipulates the significance of free speech and social media in politics, whereby people are brought together on media platforms to promote democracy (p. 1). In addition, Gibson states, “Ever since the creation of online spaces for discussion, there has been controversy about the extent to which speech should be regulated and controlled (p. 1). The lack of free speech regulations on social media creates room for challenges such as cyberbullying, threats, and false information or news. The presence of spaces on social media platforms allows individuals to express themselves, and thus, in some instances, some individuals might be favored while others might suffer (p. 2). The extensive study articulated in this article illustrates its strengths, while the broad terms used instead of specifics illustrate its weakness.

Brannon, Valerie C. “Free Speech And The Regulation Of Social Media Content.” Everycrsreport.Com, 2019, https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20190327_R45650_9f272501744325782e5a706e2aa76781307abb64.pdf

In this article, Brannon illustrates the significance of regulations on free speech on social media platforms. These platforms act as public forums where individuals can exercise their freedom of speech and are protected by law. Brannon stipulates that the “Free Speech Clause is to foster “an uninhibited marketplace of ideas,” testing the “truth” of various ideas “in the competition of the market” (p. 1). Additionally, Brannon stipulates concern about the neglect by overseers of these social media platforms when it comes to challenges such as hate speech and misinformation. Some individuals argue that all opinions are relevant and should not be regulated to counter this argument. Additionally, when content is deleted, users often sue companies for going against their free speech rights (p. 2). Furthermore, content-neutral regulations are approved by courts against the restrictions on content posted on social media. Also, social media platforms can be seen as editors, and the free speech right protects them from being mandated to either post or takedown posts by any individual or organization (p. 4). This article is, therefore, significant in showing possible outcomes of free speech applications on social media. One setback of the article is its focus on the court’s involvement in free speech applications on social media.

Everett, Colby M. “FREE SPEECH ON PRIVATELY-OWNED FORA: A DISCUSSION ON SPEECH FREEDOMS AND POLICY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA.” Lawjournal.Ku.Edu, 2018, https://lawjournal.ku.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/V28_I1_04_Everett_Web.pdf.

In this article, Everett articulates the application of free speech on privately owned platforms. The issue arising from this is content regulation on these platforms. With this in mind, the article elaborates on policies implementation on social media to regulate free speech. Everett goes further to say that the court overlooks free speech rights under ten circumstances. Additionally, the relation between social media and censorship is stipulated to illustrate content posting (p. 116). Moreover, to regulate free speech, Everett argues that, “For the present moment, ISPs are, once again, capable of censoring speech and controlling what internet end-users access” (p. 118). In addition, the significance of Section 230 in free speech regulation is made apparent with the safeguarding of property from damage by free speech implementation (p. 119).  This illustrates the speech suppression that is evident on social media platforms. Accordingly, this article focuses on free speech implementation on social media platforms, especially those privately owned, indicating its strength. This strength also points out the limitation of the focus on privately owned platforms.

Works Cited

Brannon, Valerie C. “Free Speech And The Regulation Of Social Media Content.” Everycrsreport.Com, 2019, https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/20190327_R45650_9f272501744325782e5a706e2aa76781307abb64.pdf.

DePaula, Nic, et al. “Challenges For Social Media: Misinformation, Free Speech, Civic Engagement, And Data Regulations.” Proceedings Of The Association For Information Science And Technology, vol 55, no. 1, 2018, pp. 665-668. Wiley, https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.2018.14505501076.

Everett, Colby M. “FREE SPEECH ON PRIVATELY-OWNED FORA: A DISCUSSION ON SPEECH FREEDOMS AND POLICY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA.” Lawjournal.Ku.Edu, 2018, https://lawjournal.ku.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/V28_I1_04_Everett_Web.pdf.

Fiss, Owen M. “Free Speech And Social Structure.” Digitalcommons.Law.Yale.Edu, 1986, https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2211&context=fss_papers.

Gibson, Anna. “Free Speech And Safe Spaces: How Moderation Policies Shape Online Discussion Spaces.” Social Media + Society, vol 5, no. 1, 2019, p. 205630511983258. SAGE Publications, https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305119832588. Accessed 25 Nov 2021.

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remember: You are conducting research on ONE of the topics presented in Module 4: 1. Social Media and Free Speech OR 2. Threat of AI OR 3. Voting Rights. The sources examined in this Annotated Bibliography will be used in your Argument Essay. In essence, this annotated bibliography will become the basis of your Works Cited page for the Argument Essay.

Definition: An annotated bibliography is your works cited list, with added information for each source. In addition to the citation, each annotation should include a concise summary of and evaluation of each of the sources. Each annotation should be a strong paragraph (about 150 words), double-spaced. The annotations should be alphabetized by citation, just as you would alphabetize your works cited.

Directions:
Before you begin the assignment, click on the learning resource “What is an Annotated Bibliography and How do I Write One.” Also, carefully review “How to Get Started With Your Argument Essay Research.”
Create an MLA formatted Annotated Bibliography that lists and annotates at least FIVE independently researched scholarly and/or critical articles on the topic you are writing about (remember to CHOOSE ONE). Credible sources may include scholarly articles, newspaper articles/ editorials, and news organizations such as NPR and CNN.