Did You Know?: Twitter and Freedom of Speech
“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” the Constitution states.
But did their Jan. 8 decision violate the First Amendment in the first place?
On Jan. 8, Twitter permanently suspended the account of former President Donald Trump following the Capitol riots on Jan. 6 “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
Twitter users, including Donald Trump Jr., saw the ban as an attack on First Amendment.
“Free Speech Is Under Attack! Censorship is happening like NEVER before! Don’t let them silence us,” he tweeted.
Free Speech Is Under Attack! Censorship is happening like NEVER before! Don’t let them silence us. Sign up at https://t.co/835Eak6Ghi to stay connected!
Facebook warns staff to avoid wearing company-branded clothing, for safety reasons
By Sharon Song article
In Jan. 11, 2021, Facebook reportedly sent out an internal memo, warning staff to avoid wearing or carrying company branded items in public. This after the company blocked Donald Trump s accounts on its platforms.
MENLO PARK, Calif. - Facebook has reportedly sent out an internal memo about employee safety, warning staff to avoid wearing or carrying company branded items in public.
According to Business Insider, the Menlo Parked-based social media company sent out the memo on Monday, stating, In light of recent events, and to err on the side of caution, global security is encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time.
Facebook announces it will remove certain content containing the phrase "stop the steal" in the wake of Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat suspending or disabling the accounts of US President Donald Trump.
Why the First Amendment can t protect Trump on Twitter or save Parler
Here s what you need to know about the constitutional protection of free speech in America. Listen - 07:09 Bill Oxford via Getty Images
Conservatives are crying First Amendment foul as social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, ban social media accounts by President Donald Trump and others who they say have fomented violence in the wake of the attack on the US Capitol last week and after Apple, Google and Amazon shut down conservative social media service Parler.
Twitter on Friday permanently shut down Trump s personal account as well as other accounts he has used. Twitter said it was banning the president for his inflammatory tweets after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol as Congress met in a joint session to finalize the electoral votes for Joe Biden as president. Twitter also suspended the accounts
If you can’t wrap your head around why Twitter’s ban on President Donald Trump isn t an abridgement of the president’s First Amendment right to free speech, try looking at the matter this way: Twitter is a bar and Trump is a blowhard barfly fixing for a brawl. After Facebook and Instagram suspended Trump at least until Inauguration Day, Twitter, the president’s preferred means of communication to the masses, permanently shuttered his account, severing his bullhorn to his 89 million followers. Twitch and Snapchat also disabled the president’s account. The moves by the social media companies has prompted cries of unconstitutional censorship. But nothing of the sort happened.