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January 27, 2012 Twitter censorship? Posts now yanked country by country.

Summary Though Twitter is very widely used in the United States, Twitter is looking to expand its users. To do this Twitter needs to expand into other countries. However, not all countries are as open about Freedom of Speech as America is. The censorship is being put in place so that if a tweet posted in one country breaks a law in other, the tweet will not be shown in that country. If Twitter breaks a law in a country where they have employees, those employees could be arrested. This is one reason why Twitter is very unlikely to expand into China. Before now if a tweet was erased it was erased through the entire world. The censorship of tweets is almost the same as how Google censors their searches. Twitter is hoping that this censorship will help expand its users to over one billion.

Relevance The first amendment made to the U.S. Constitution was the Freedom of Speech. In today’s day and age, Freedom of speech is something we put into effect everyday with the use of texting, Facebook, and Twitter. However, when the country was in times of crisis, such as World War I, this freedom held less prevalence. During World War I the tension became so intense between America and Germany that America did what ever they could to “wipe out” anything German. People would spy on each other to report anyone who was showing signs of being pro-German. Those who were pro-German lost their jobs, were pressured to change their names because they were German, and sometimes beaten or lynched. During this time the Espionage Act of 1917 was passed. This prohibited the attempt to interfere with military operation, support U.S. enemies during war, promote insubordination in the military, or interfere with military recruitment. This law definitely limited anyone in the U.S. their Freedom of Speech; however, the Supreme Court did not see it that way. If any of the social media was available back then and they used it to support the Germans, it could have caused a serious uproar causing more violence. However, if this media was used in Italy, who was an ally with Germany, and they tweeted about their support of Germany it could be seen all around the world except where it would break a law, which would most likely be America at this time. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th the USA PATRIOT Act was passed which reduced the restriction law enforcement agencies had had before. This meant they had more ability to search telephone logs, emails, medical, financial, and other records. The Act also helped ease foreign intelligence restrictions. This act expanded the Secretary of the Treasury’s authority to regulate financial transactions. This was particularly for foreign individuals and gave law enforcement the ability to deport immigrants suspected of terrorism. This Act censored what people could say. While they may not be a terrorist, something they said or did may put them under suspicion. Going back in time, during Progressivism, people wanted to be heard. These people were more specifically women and African Americans. They held many protests because of their lack of rights. If they had the technology we have now it may be possible that these rights would have happened sooner. They would have been able to connect with people all over the country to help with the movements. All people wanted in this time period was a chance to vote and be heard. The censorship that Twitter plans on using would have deleted the tweets in countries that still practiced slavery and had little or no women’s rights. During Progressivism, people wanted to be heard through the right to vote. Today people what to be heard through the media. And unlike during World War I and the Patriot Act the Twitter censorship doesn’t reduce what can be said, but protects others for what is said.

Explanation: The theme of American Identity is what it means to be an American. Living in America we have many privileges that other countries do not experience. We have been used to saying anything we want and when criticized, claiming our Freedom of Speech. Americans rely heavily on Freedom of Speech. Americans can pretty much say what they want about anything unless it becomes a threat, such as posting about a boom threat. If Twitter were to use this new censorship, Americans could still say what they want and by deleting it in other countries, where it might break a law, it protects the people of the other country. The article raises valid points as to why this censorship needs to be put in place. All through history people have been punished or criticized for what they say or for what others claim they are. This censorship will give people all around the world protection from others. A major part of being an American is being able to speak our minds. Twitter is the perfect media connection to allow us that privilege. However, Twitter needs to think about the rest of the world and what it’s like to be apart of their country.

Questions:
 * 1) How does Twitter determine if a post breaks a law?
 * 2) What other countries is Twitter looking to expand into?
 * 3) How fast will tweets be deleted if they are found to be unlawful?
 * 4) Are there countries that still don’t want Twitter even with the censorship?
 * 5) What limits are being put on the censoring?
 * 6) Who is against the censorship? Why?
 * 7) Were there any other factors that contributed towards starting the censorship?

Sources:

"Espionage Act of 1917 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free// //encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. .

Liedtke, Michael. "Twitter censorship? Posts now yanked country by country. – CSMonitor.com." //The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com//. N.p., 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. .

O’Malley, Michael. "Exploring U.S. History | free speech, world war one, and the problem of dissent." //Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media.// N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. .

"Patriot Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. .