Online Free Speech

What’s happened to Free Speech!?

If you haven’t been living under a rock over the last week, you have probably seen that the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on social media laws in both Florida and Texas regarding how social media companies can moderate content on their platforms.

The TLDR version - two tech industry groups (NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association) are suing to block laws in Florida and Texas that will limit the control social media companies can have on moderating content on their sites. These laws came in the wake of some large tech companies banning Donald trump after the Capitol riots in January, 2021.

So what are the arguments of each side?

Tech/Social Media Companies: Although the laws are only in these two states (currently), there is a fear that if they stay in place, it may set precedent and other states will be encouraged to create similar laws themselves. Social media companies may lose their right to censor/ban content from Individuals or groups who share content that violates the policies of social media companies (examples of these groups could be white supremacists or neo-nazis).

Lawmakers: If these laws are not in place, the platforms may have free range to censor any content they like - banning any discussion on political or contentious issues. This is often left to the discretion of the social media companies, who may have biases themselves.

What does this have to do with Free Speech?

This court case has reignited the debate on online Free Speech who should regulate it (if anybody).

With a quick search on Google, you will find a lot of opinionated people talking about whether “free speech” on social media is a good or bad thing. The most prominent voice being a certain Elon Musk, who is a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, who’s company X (Twitter for the rest of us) still have banned users (wait, so free speech isn’t absolute on twitter then? I’m confused too..).

On the other hand, there are some great articles on why online free speech in the absolute form may not be the best way forward - like this one on the FT.

Final Thoughts

Online free speech and free speech in general is a polarising topic no matter who you talk to. A lot of the time our opinions can change depending on the topic (lets not get into politics here), the motive behind the words, who’s sharing their thoughts, the list goes on. We think the vast majority of people would agree that people can not just say whatever they want in any situation and not have to deal with the consequences of what their words might cause.

For example, we can’t imagine many of our readers thinking that it is okay for a public figure who’s words carry weight to purposely incite hate or violence. When it comes to online free speech, it’s a question of who regulates what is right and wrong. Is it the platforms themselves? The government? The people?

What else is going on in the world of tech?

Following the theme of our newsletter last week…. Bumble has announced they will be laying off around 1/3 of their staff.

Apple are winding down their plans to release a car. This will something that they have been working on for over a decade. Reports suggest efforts are turning towards AI for the company.

Bitcoin is… back? The cryptocurrency is on a bull run, crossing over $63,000 on Wednesday - the highest it’s been since November 2021.

Weekly Shoutout’s

Books – One Up on Wall Street - a great, easy read for those interested in investing by one of the most successful investors of all time, Peter Lynch.

TV – You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment on Netflix. A one of a kind study that measures the difference vegan and carnivore diets can have on our bodies. Although, it may be biased at times, we thought it was worth the watch.