Online forums such as Twitter have long been used by extremist groups, especially ISIS, as a platform for spreading ideas. Both the White House and presidential candidates such as Hillary Clinton have advocated for such forums to take action against online extremism. In response to this pressure, Twitter recently announced that since mid-2015, it has suspended 125,000 profiles that were linked to extremism. While the company has been commended by the White House for cutting down on the presence of extremism, there lies doubt over what exactly qualifies as the “terrorist content” that Twitter aims to eradicate
This story reminded me of the Espionage and Sedition Acts passed during World War I, which strived to discourage criticism of the government in order to maintain a unified, undivided nation. While the goal of a strong nation in wartime is obviously understandable, it’s not certain that the goal was worth suppressing the opinions of all those who were critical of the war. I personally agree with Twitter’s actions but I believe that there should be a clearer definition of “terrorist content.”
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