Can you control free speech in social media? - by Brian Aranas

Have you heard of Guy Adams?  He's the journalist who was banned from Twitter for publishing an NBC executive’s work email address after lambasting that network’s coverage of the Summer Olympics.

Mr. Adams, a Los Angeles-based correspondent for the UK publication The Independent, has since been reinstated after a very public backlash.  It raises troubling questions though:  What can or should you censor in social media and should you be ‘banned’ for speaking your opinion?

Let’s face it:  Social media is, for all intents and purposes, is still in its infancy and rules are being made every day.  There are certain things that will be found unacceptable at all times regardless of what media is being used.  The problem here is that ubiquitous “grey area”.  Does publishing an email address constitute a ban?

Before you answer that, consider this fact too:  Twitter and NBC have partnered up for the Summer Olympics.  Was that an underlying reason as to why this journalist was banned?  Suddenly, it seems more sinister than a ‘free speech’ issue.

Twitter defended the outcry with the defence that publishing the NBC executive’s email address exceeded “context-relative informational norms”.   But did it?  The journalist had an issue (as with many others) with NBC’s time-delayed coverage of the Olympics.  He chose to make his opinion known.  He published an email address he deduced as everyone at NBC/Universal is: FirstName.LastName@nbcuni.com.  Not exactly a very private email address.

If your next door neighbour publishes a tweet of you calling you names and publishing your private number or email address you probably could complain based on those “context-relative informational norms”.  But we’re talking a billion-dollar corporation which should be able to brush off criticism.  Instead of complaining to Twitter, how about addressing the journalist directly?  Or ignoring him altogether?

Twitter reinstated the account and is revisiting its rules.  But the damage has been done.  Now everytime one types in their 140-character tweet they’ll be asking themselves: ‘Could I get banned for this?’

Just like the cost of living, free speech just isn’t quite as free as it used to be.

-bri