Howdy! I will presenting my case study tomorrow (Thursday September 15th) under the main headline, media policy and law. Upon reading the chapter in the textbook I realized that there is no main governing body to censor and regulate the internet unlike older media forms. So, this led me to question, who censors new social media, specifically blogs and personal websites?
I will begin my presentation by discussing the ease in which one can create their own website and then discuss the difference between company websites and personal websites. They are censored in different ways. Like I said earlier, there is no one governing body censoring the internet. Much is reliant on the marketplace of ideas which encourages self censorship so that companies can maintain their consumers. Personal blogs are different however because the motivation behind their creation is much different. They are held to their own standards, which to others may not always be appropriate.
I will follow this by introducing my specific case, mypsychoexwife.com. The ex-wife brought this website to the attention of a family judge who forced the website to be taken down because of the libelous statements and privacy invasion. Again, online content is only subject to federal law. And the 1st amendment does not protect against: defamation, obscenity, plagarism, invasion of provacy, and inciting insurrection. When creating blogs there are different privacy settings one can use. In this case the man, Mr. Morelli, used an open, searchable forum. The wife took this and argued that this represented an invasion of privacy, to both herself and their children. This case defends my argument because, the fact is, if the ex-wife had not complained the site would still be up and running. This man offended his consumer and she had the responsibility to take the issue to court.
My thought upon taking on this topic were to see how regulation effects the everyday users of social media. The fact is, the general public, the social media users and participants, are going to be the ones who report and censor the internet.
1 comment:
This week's question revolved around this idea of control, who really controls the media? I think we saw very clearly through the four presentations, lecture, and our readings that there is a multitude of factors influencing media control. The main policy making organizations, including the FCC, NTIA, FTC, and the Justice department are only one facet of media control. I think that the concept of controlling the media becomes more difficult with every passing day because technology has changed so rapidly in such a short period of time. Our policies and laws have not had adequate time to keep up with the demands upon them. The scope and breadth of media has expanded to include ideas and concepts that 20+ years ago were not even considered. Government organizations can adapt however even then it is difficult. I also think that much responsibility in monitoring and media control falls upon business owners and the general public. We are held somewhat responsible in that we maintain the ethical and moral standards in our media presence. We say that certain things are appropriate while others are censored.
In regards to my presentation, on censorship in blogging and social media practices, I still have trouble deciding which I believe is right. On the one hand, it is my firm belief that first amendment rights are so vital to maintaining the market place of ideas and in keeping, what you could say is, the American spirit. However I strong part of me wishes there was some type of governing body that could regulate what is being said on the internet. I think we are all aware that negative words, libelous statements, and inappropriate images are on the internet. There is a fine line however between censoring this material and giving citizens their 1st amendment right to free speech. Media is neither black nor white, it is definitely gray. Each situation is subject to outside influences and circumstantial evidence. The difficulty lies in deciding if the public conscience is able to self regulate and I am sad to say I am not sure if the public is truly capable of this.
Through my presentation I hope that you took out an understanding that, although there are some government regulated media industries, the largest media industry, the internet is not regulated as it could be. Much responsibility remains with the general public, the prosumer.
For additional information on mypsychoexwife.com you can visit their site:
http://www.savethepsychoexwife.com/
Post a Comment