Case of 8,000 Menacing Posts Tests Limits of Twitter Speech

Sengupta, S. (2011, August 26). Case of 8,000 Menacing Posts Tests Limits of Twitter Speech. The New York Times, 1-5.

Summary

This article explores the limits of free speech and the First Amendment when it comes to using a technology platform of Twitter. Through the example of a harassment case, the author looks at Twitter to determine if is akin to a soapbox or a form of direct personal communication. The implications of that distinction has impact on what someone can say to another person and how that speech can be interpreted in legal terms.

Experience

This is tough one for me. I am a Twitter user. While I can see in understand how the First Amendment can be used as a shield when communicating on Twitter, I think it can easily drift into personal communication when a user @s someone, effectively calling them out. This is where I believe Twitter users need to be held accountable for their speech and be aware of what constitutes crossing the line when it comes to protected forms of speech and non-protected forms (like harassment).

KEYWORDS: First Amendment, free speech, Twitter, harassment, communication