Social media sites should not wield so much power

Social media sites should play a minor role in controlling user content from world leaders. Twitter and similar social media sites allow for immediate, uncensored communication with the president. While this can lead to the POTUS saying many things he hasn’t thought out thoroughly, it also provides the general public with quick and easy access to information the president wants to emphasize. While the president has many ways of speaking to the public, other communication methods will be heavily rehearsed or have their meaning construed by news networks that cover it. Therefore, by Twitter banning the president, they lessen his ability to communicate with the public and the public’s ability to see the president’s unfiltered opinion easily.

Along with lessening his ability to communicate, banning the president from Twitter sets a dangerous precedent that social media can control the content of speech based on their personal and political beliefs. The reason Twitter banned Trump was for breaking their guidelines by inciting violence. As Twitter writes in their decision to ban him, they interpreted his tweets as calling for violence despite no objective threats or acts of inciting violence being stated in either controversial tweet. Since their ability to ban someone as important as the POTUS comes from the company’s interpretation of what the person in question said, nothing stops them from banning political figures they don’t agree with over possibly controversial quotes while leaving others that they agree with to do as they please. The freedom to ban whoever they want gives Twitter and other social media sites the ability to control what the public sees and influence their opinions to be more in line with their own. 

While there is nothing strictly illegal about what Twitter has done, it restricts fundamental American beliefs about freedom of speech and expression. The precedent this situation creates, that a social media site can control the information their expansive user base sees, is incredibly dangerous and needs to be circumvented by placing checks on companies focused on fostering communication such as Twitter.

By Eric Antonian