• Home
  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    • Defamation Law
    • Internet Law
    • Corporate Law
    • Ecommerce Law
    • Advertising Law
    • Social Media Law
  • Internet Law Blog
  • Contact Us

Call Toll Free 1-866-570-8585

Find An Office Near You
Speak With an Internet Lawyer Now
RM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law FirmRM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law Firm
RM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law FirmRM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law Firm
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Practice Areas
    • Defamation Law
    • Internet Law
    • Corporate Law
    • Ecommerce Law
    • Advertising Law
    • Social Media Law
  • Internet Law Blog
  • Contact Us

White House Launches Social Media Censorship and Bias Reporting Tool

White House Launches Social Media Censorship and Bias Reporting Tool

May 29, 2019 Posted by Raees Mohamed Defamation, Cyberbullying, Internet Law, Social Media Law No Comments

A week after Facebook announced it is banning extremist commentators from using their platform, the White House launched a new Tool for people who feel they’ve been wrongly censored, suspended, or banned from social media platforms.

[SEE: Social Media Censorship: The Pros And Cons Of Banning Extremist Speech]

The tool is hosted on Typeform, a Barcelona-based online software company that companies like Nike and Apple Inc. have used for online surveys and form building. It seems to be named the “Tech Bias Story Sharing Tool” when you look at the title of the web page.

When you first enter the website, all you see is a statement that reads, “SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS should advance FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Yet too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear “violations” of user policies. No matter your views, if you suspect political bias caused such an action to be taken against you, share your story with President Trump.” Following this is a start button that leads to a form with various questions, one of which asks if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

It’s no secret that President Trump has many issues with social media and the type of rules these companies employ. However, when it comes to freedom of speech, most are unaware that those First Amendment protections do not necessarily apply to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. because these companies are private. In other words, the United States government has no control over what rules social media abides by. If Facebook wants to remove users from their platform, they have every right to do so. They could even remove the President if they wanted to.

However, it seems like those in charge intend to do good by implementing new rules, despite public outcry that conservatives have been wrongly censored on social media. Facebook’s motivation for banning extremist users was to reduce the influence the social network has on mass shootings and violent attacks.

[SEE: Social Media Used A Weapon]

Still, in recent months, Republicans have been publicly addressing their concerns that social media networks are censoring conservatives. Even going so far as to question officials from Facebook and Twitter about political bias during hearings held by committees like the House Energy and Senate Judiciary, according to The Verge.

“We enforce the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation. We are constantly working to improve our systems and will continue to be transparent in our efforts,” said Twitter in a response to the new tool in a quote published by The Verge.

The tool has users describe what actions were taken against their account, identify which platform took action (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, other), and also allows for screenshots and links to be attached.

One of the last questions of the form reads is, “One more thing, just to confirm you aren’t a robot. The Declaration of Independence was signed in what year?”

This is an anti-scripting technique that The Verge describes as “Unorthodox” and “generally ineffective” because of how simple it is to type in a number. Other anti-scripting tools use photo recognition to determine if someone is a robot or not. Not sure if the White House meant this to be a joke or not, but it’s kind of funny.

What’s also interesting about this whole situation is that President Trump, in a way, is guilty of social media censorship himself. When he blocks someone on Twitter, oftentimes because of their opposing viewpoints, he is censoring them from viewing his tweets and censoring the conversation around his tweets. In fact, this very specific case was taken to court, but Trump was not actually found guilty of violating First Amendment rights. This is because he blocked the user on his personal twitter account (not the government’s account) so therefore it’s not considered government censorship. Is that kind of hypocritical?

[SEE: Free Speech Vs. Government Censorship]  

If you need guidance on Internet defamation, cyberbullying, or free speech issues on social media, Contact the attorneys at RM Warner Law or visit RMWarnerLaw.Com to learn more.

Source: Https://Www.Theverge.Com/2019/5/15/18626785/White-House-Trump-Censorsip-Tool-Twitter-Instagram-Facebook-Conservative-Bias-Social-Media

Tags: cyberbullyingdefamationfree speechinternet lawsocial media censorshipsocial media lawsocial media lawyer
No Comments
0
Share

About Raees Mohamed

Raees is a Founding Partner at RM Warner PLC, a corporate and Internet Law firm that caters to startups and entrepreneurs. He is also an adjunct professor of law in the acclaimed Innovation Advancement Program legal clinic at the Sandra Day O’Connor College Of Law in Phoenix. There, he teaches law students how to counsel local entrepreneurs as Rule 39 certified student-practitioners. Raees believes the push for the advancement of innovation and a culture of entrepreneurship should come from academic institutions.

You also might be interested in

Facebook & The “F-Word”: Free Speech

Facebook & The “F-Word”: Free Speech

Apr 15, 2019

When the founding fathers first wrote the United States Constitution,[...]

Papa John’s Saucy Corporate Takeover Issues

Papa John’s Saucy Corporate Takeover Issues

Apr 11, 2019

You’ve all heard of Papa John’s, one of the world’s[...]

Free Speech vs. Government Censorship

Free Speech vs. Government Censorship

Apr 18, 2019

The Internet and the First Amendment are in a constant[...]

Leave a Reply

Your email is safe with us.
Cancel Reply

Recent Posts

  • Anti-SLAPP Laws (Statutes) Explained By A Defamation Lawyer – Anti-SLAPP Laws Can Help Get A Defamation Lawsuit Against You Dismissed
  • A Defamation Lawyer For Lawyers
  • Top Five Things Every E-Commerce Entrepreneur Needs To Know
  • Timeline of Britney Spears’ Conservatorship Battle
  • How Do I Sue An Anonymous User or Website for Defamation or Copyright Infringement? John Doe Lawsuits Explained…

Recent Comments

  • Raees Mohamed on Can I Sue Someone For Leaking My ‘OnlyFans’ Content?
  • shay sv on Can I Sue Someone For Leaking My ‘OnlyFans’ Content?

Tag Cloud

ad law advertising law airbnb amazon law amazon lawyer anonymous defamation anti-slapp anti-slapp law britney spears business law business lawyer celebrity defamation cyberbullying cyberbullying lawyer defamation defamation lawsuit defamation lawyer ecommerce ecommerce law ecommerce lawyer esports esports law esports lawsuit esports lawyer facebook facebook law facebook lawyer fake news fake reviews fba first amendment free speech influencer lawyer influencer marketing intellectual property internet law internet lawyer law day 2019 marketing law revenge porn sextortion shareholder dispute social media law social media lawyer twitter lawsuit

Contact Us

Send us a message and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message
Speak With An Internet Lawyer Today Call Now
  • RM Warner Law
  • 1-866-570-8585
  • 866-961-4984
  • admin@rmwarnerlaw.com

Recent Posts

  • Anti-SLAPP Laws (Statutes) Explained By A Defamation Lawyer – Anti-SLAPP Laws Can Help Get A Defamation Lawsuit Against You Dismissed
  • A Defamation Lawyer For Lawyers
  • Top Five Things Every E-Commerce Entrepreneur Needs To Know
  • Timeline of Britney Spears’ Conservatorship Battle
Tweets by RMWarnerLaw1
  • RM Warner Instagram
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2020 — RM Warner Law

  • RM Warner Instagram
  • Blog
  • Privacy Policy
Prev Next