The First Amendment
The Constitution’s First Amendment protects the freedom of speech in the U.S. The law states that congress shall not create laws respecting the development of religion (The First Amendment, 1971). It shall not ban the free exercise, freedom of speech, or the press or the people’s right to peacefully assemble and petition the government for grievances (The First Amendment, 1971). The First Amendment law allows Americans to express their opinions regarding all matters freely. It also allows individuals to address their grievances to the government freely.
Freedom of speech is a civil right because it offers equal opportunities for expression to all Americans. Furthermore, foreigners operating within U.S. soil are bound by the right to freedom of speech. They can speak freely without fear because they are protected by the First Amendment law (The First Amendment, 1971). Another factor that makes it a civil right is that no legal age is needed for an individual to be protected by the law. Therefore, people of all ages, races, color, religion, or sex are protected by the law (The First Amendment, 1971). The provisions secure people against government limits on freedom of speech but does not prevent private employers from setting rules.
U.S. Supreme Court Case
A Supreme Court case, Elonis v. U.S., is about a teen conflict posted on Facebook. On December 1, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court, for the first time, agreed to hear a case within the social media context (Elonis v. U.S., 2015). On December 8 2010, Anthony Elonis was arrested and charged with five counts of violating a federal anti-threat statute, 18 U.S.C. § 875(c) (Elonis v. U.S., 2015). Elonis posted a social post on Facebook that threatened his ex-wife, an F.B.I. agent, the local police, a kindergarten class, and co-workers (Elonis v. U.S., 2015). Elonis had previously separated from his wife and lost his job in an amusement park. Before this post, the suspect had posted several threatening posts on Facebook.
During his trial, Elonis tried to convince the court that his remarks were music-based, that he was an aspiring rapper and that his expressions were artistic. The court dismissed his defence and sentenced him to 44 months in prison for threatening people (Elonis v. U.S., 2015). This case is relevant to the First Amendment because it examines the limits of freedom of expression. Although the First Amendment allows individuals freedom of speech, it does not protect those using threatening expressions (Elonis v. U.S., 2015). The law does not limit Facebook from making its operating rules and regulations. Facebook, as a private entity, prohibits expressions that incite or imply violence (Weiss, 2020). Therefore, Elonis was sued for violating Facebook rules and limits of the First Amendment law.
Issue of the First Amendment
Following the increased use of social media and violation of First Amendment rights of expression, there is a need to develop a social media law. The public feels that social media users have constantly misused the freedom of expression clauses on social media. On social media platforms, people can freely express their opinions (Weiss, 2020). Various companies have restricting rules as to which content should be posted. However, the U.S. government lacks an established law to revise the First Amendment law based on the use of social media (Weiss, 2020). The legal limits of freedom of expression in social media are debatable. Therefore, the U.S. government must develop rules governing freedom of speech to protect the public.
In conclusion, the First Amendment guarantees the right to freedom of speech to all Americans. This law is a civil right because it seeks to level all people operating in the US. A Supreme Court Case about threatening posts on Facebook is a perfect example of the limitations of the First Amendment law. The US government is due to create laws that limit freedom of expression on social media to protect users.
References
Elonis v. U.S. Volume 1 U.S Page 1 (2015). Web.
The First Amendment, Publ. L. No. 101-336 (1971). Web.
Weiss, M. (2020). Regulating freedom of speech on social media: Comparing the E.U. and the U.S. approach. Stanford Law School. Web.