Should social media be controlled by the federal government ?

Essay Writing : Should social media be controlled by the federal government ?

Since the emergence of social networks such as Facebook or Twitter there has been a recomposition of public space as these digital platforms have facilitated expression and collective action. These practices are more and more visible and these platforms have allowed people who were initially not politically engaged to express themselves.

Initially, a State has the security of its citizens as its prerogative, but it must also ensure their freedom, it is one of its regalian missions, it has been questioned and theorised in particular by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jacques Rousseau. So when I talk about political regulation, we imply legal regulation.

Indeed, in France, political decision-makers are pushing laws in order to regulate digital social networks. This is the case of the law of 1978, relating to data processing, files and freedoms, which already mentioned the principle of protection of identity and individual or public freedoms. It has since been amended and many contributions have been made in a dynamic of protection against the giants of the Web. The latest version of this law, called the Data Protection Act, "defines the principles to be respected when collecting, processing and storing such data".

Over time, there have been differing opinions on the topic internet censorship. Arguments have been made both for and against the need for the government to censor the information flowing through the internet.

One of the main obstacles experienced in the community when the government censors the internet is the denial of the freedom of speech to the people. The internet has been known to improve people’s communication as well as reduce the distance barrier among two communicating people, so the fear of chaos should not be used as the basis to deny people the right to express themselves and their feelings. The supporters of censorship argue that they are protecting the society from abuse such as sexual materials and hate being spread over the internet. However, there have been no well laid bases to determine what is bad to the people. People should be allowed to express their views on any topic in the community.

However, to prevent cyber-bullying, American has established the “Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act”, this is one of the first cyber-bullying laws that protects children and adults from disturbs. This is a case that shows that the internet bulliers are needed to take consequences for what they have done on the internet. Sensitive contents, mainly related to religion and politics, are usually filtered. In the United States, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was introduced on May 18, 1977.  It limits foreign governments, groups, or individuals , that would cause international terrorism, and attacks. It prevents citizens from performing illegal activities.