When we think about free speech from a legal context, it is important to understand what constitutes protected speech under the law. Not all things you say or disseminate are permissible. For example, Schenck v. United States (shouting fire in a theater case) establishes that the freedom of speech does not give people the right to say things that directly incite actions that would physically harm others.
I examined the US Supreme Court website to learn more about the rulings related to free speech. I found it interesting how acts of self-expression that require no form of verbal communication were included. In Texas v. Johnson, the state established that burning the flag as a form of political protest is a form of symbolic speech protected by the first amendment. One of my takeaways from this research was that speech represents not only what you say but any form of self-expression.
It will be interesting to see how concepts of self-expression evolve over time with advances in the way people interact with each other. Over the past couple of weeks, the digital metaverse as a platform to interact with others has gained a lot of traction. The basic premise is that a user identifies as an avatar on a metaverse and interacts with other avatars simulating real life. As we delve deeper into the virtual reality ‘metaverse’ I will be curious to see how the law defines and regulates self-expression on these platforms.
At face value these accounts are tied to people and thus all existing free speech regulations should apply. But think of how an avatar could interact with and be interpreted by other users. What I am trying to get as is that behavior on a metaverse is meant to simulate real life, but how it impacts others can be vastly different. Is punching an avatar a sign of affection or an act of violence? Is screaming fire in a virtual movie theater harming others or simply a joke. I think to a large extent, the gap between our real and virtual lives will inevitably become smaller. It is yet to be seen, but how, if it all, will the governance of self-expression in the virtual world differ from the real world?
This topic is also extremely relevant in today’s world. The internet is still very uncharted territory where the social media sites get to control more of the narrative rather than the people who are actually using the sites. It is also a huge issue because the internet is global and many countries have differing laws on the freedom of speech. I think that there should be more regulations on social media sites about their regulations on freedom of speech, however, I understand that this is a very sensitive topic and there are many unusual circumstances that make the internet a very grey area in terms of freedom of speech.
The Metaverse (or any online space, for that matter) requires us to reconsider the very definitions of "speech", "harm", or even "others". I almost have a reverse concern... what will the issues of freedom of expression in digital space mean for freedom of expression in physical space? As things become more abstract, more ambiguous, and less concrete (in order to accommodate for the internet and for avatars), will our protections in physical space also become less concrete, or even erode?
As the internet becomes the main avenue of social discussions. We have to seperate the regulation of speech on platforms from reality. Currently we have no set guidelines only those guidelines that private companies create. This actually inhibits free speech in general. We are allowing independent bodies to create rules on what they believe to be freedom of speech. This issue will only become more of a problem as issues have only become more polarized in recent years.
It will be really interesting to see how dialogue on the internet will be regulated by law, since it's really only companies with 'community regulation teams' who are deleting posts that violate guidelines for appropriate content. Also, it will be interesting to see how 'speech' is defined online, since in person it encompasses a multitude of self expression.
Freedom of speech is something that should be charitable to an individual. Freedom of speech shouldn't result in violent talk but it should be a platform where one can express themselves without backlash because that then takes away from the idea of "freedom of speech". I agree that it not only through words but also through actions. Many people also uses their freedom of speech on social media platforms such as twitter.