Twitter has made an announcement that local laws can censor certain tweets that are going forward based on a users location. No one can understand the reason for this decision to be made. Many Twitter users are furious about this decision because what this means is that many will have to think twice before tweeting anything controversial. I can just imagine Twitter users having their Tweets removed just because they said something against the government.
Do people remember 2011 being the year when people used Twitter to gather together and protest against the regime of the nation?
We doubt that can happen if Tweets are governed by local laws based on a users location. Many Twitter users as myself consider this to be a bad move because everyone should have the freedom to share whatever they want on the Internet, within certain limits. We might be having protests all around the World in the near future for our freedom to use the Internet to share how we feel just like many protested in the 60s and 70s for certain rights.
I can’t stop feeling that governments all around the World will cause more problems for humans in general by stopping people from expressing themselves in the modern world of the Internet. Many people will see handheld devices as technology that can not be utilisted 100% because we will fear what may happen to us if we share a Tweet, Facebook Status or even a blog post about something controversial.
As humans we change and improve by pushing the limits. If we do not have the freedom to push the limits then we can not change or improve. Many of us as average humans could not push those limits when there was no Internet but now with the help of social networking and websites such as YouTube we can share our feelings and interests.
Many people have suggested that Twitter investors may be the main cause for this decision to be made, Saudi Prince is one of the investors.
Does this mean limits will be applied to social networks just because some investor (individual, organisation or government) does not like certain content being shared?
For example a Tweet regarding SOPA or anything else that causes negative publicity for individuals, cooperations and governments. Twitter and other social networks will no longer be a useful tool for broadcasting the latest news if local laws censor any material. Broadcasting news to the World is essential if a certain population wants to make other countries aware of a bad or good. situation. For example during a protest or disaster people may need help and if another country identifies a major problem then they can intervene.
You may think the government of a country would ask for help but many do not if there is a protest taking place and so on. For example Egypt was one country who wanted a change in the government and the person who ran the nation. Much of the public and not the government was tweeting to raise awareness and seeking for help.
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