Is this freedom of speech?
2008-05-16 13:28
Prometheus, News24 User
It's become quite clear to me that News24 staff choose which comments are approved and published in the comments section and which aren't. This raises an interesting question many online news providers are grappling with.
Do you censor the comments or not? I'm intrigued by the options presented.
If News24 (or any other online news provider) does not censor the content, they run the risk of publishing comments which are to say the least inflammatory and in many cases border on, if they aren't already hate speech.
In a race-obsessed country like SA with a history of deep racial divisions, this is in my opinion quite irresponsible given especially the amount of users News24 attracts. I do believe in freedom of speech however one would do well to remember that that right is not unlimited nor does that right extend to forcing someone to publish your opinions.
I can think what I want and almost say what I want as long as I do not libel or slander or deliver hate-speech. Those rights do not however include a right to have my ramblings published and any who think that such selective publishing (censorship) infringes on their rights are welcome to start their own blogs and merrily chatter away.
Fine line
If News24 do censor the content(by way of choosing which comments to publish) as they are doing right now, I'm intrigued by the legal ramifications of them publishing what in many cases clearly constitutes hate-speech, slander, libel etc.
By choosing whether or not they publish the comments, those who submit those comments become by extension "freelance journalists" whose submissions are up to the editor to decide whether his publication carries those comments or not.
Calling someone a "News24 User" and his contributions "comments" does not change the fact that they have submitted content, and the publisher has reviewed it and then chosen to publish it. So the current comments facility opens up a site to lawsuit.
As I see it, you have two options to remain on the right side of the law:
1. If you censor, make sure you get it right. That means no hate-speech, libel etc.
2. Don't censor at all.
My suggestion? Clearly indicate at the start of the comments facility that the following content is user-generated and you take no responsibility for it. Provide a link for reporting abuse and only censor comments once abuse is reported.
This should ensure that if something is reported, appropriate steps are taken and some people's misguided understandings of freedom-of-speech don't lead to trouble.
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