Freedom of Speech Needs to Be Protected

You CAN yell “fire” in a crowded theatre

There is a reason the Freedom of Speech is part of the FIRST Amendment and the Second Amendment addresses guns. The ability to express one’s opposition to the government is a more powerful way to change the government or change policy than to take up arms against it. The protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s come to mind.

Now, it seems there is a movement to limit the freedom of speech on social media platforms. That is a mistake.

At the heart of the discussion is “Rule 230,” that basically says social media platforms are not publishers. Therefore they are not subjected to the same rules that apply to media sources like the Wall Street Journal or Washington Post.

No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” (47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1)).

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is one prominent voice calling for more governmental regulation of these platforms. Clinton told CNN:

“There should be a lot of things done. We should be, in my view, repealing something called section 230, which gave platforms on the internet immunity because they were…