You can still say most anything in public no matter how unpopular or provocative and the police won't come and drag you away, but when you get online free speech is sometimes a matter of where and when you put your comments and who is looking at it and is control of the delete button. Companies in charge of seemingly public spaces online wipe out content that's controversial but otherwise legal. Service providers write their own rules for users worldwide and set foreign policy when they cooperate with regimes like China. They serve as prosecutor, judge and jury in handling disputes behind closed doors.
Of course there are legitimate reasons for wiping out content online - spam, security threats, copyright infringement and child pornography - but sometimes things are not clear cut. While mindful of free speech and other rights, Yahoo and other companies say they must craft and enforce guidelines that go beyond legal requirements to protect their brands and foster safe, enjoyable communities -- ones where minors may be roaming. Of course, how things are enforced can often be up to individual employees who are looking at the content and applying their own standards to it or wiping out any negative reviews or comments about a product or a company.
All of this brings up an interesting question, as we move more and more towards communicating strictly through social networks are we going to be limiting ourselves if we aren't exposed to alternate viewpoints and perhaps even content that offends us? Would love to hear your comments on this. As parents we do want to keep kids safe, but what a balancing act that is in the age of parenting with technology.
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