Free Speech: Self-Regulation and Online Creators

Week 9 Assignment Template: Free Speech
Instructions
Complete the Template: Type your responses in the boxes below. Use complete sentences, and respond in your own words. Do not copy and paste from any source. Be sure to save your work!
Each response should be a minimum of one paragraph (3 – 5 complete sentences).

1. List an example of media self-regulation and identify one pro and one con of the self-regulation using specific examples. One example of media self-regulation is the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) in the UK, which regulates the standards of the press. One pro of self-regulation is that it allows for the media to hold itself accountable and improve its standards without government intervention. However, a con of self-regulation is that it may not be effective in preventing unethical behavior, as the media may not take its own regulations seriously. For example, IPSO was criticized for not being able to effectively regulate the press after the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

2. Discuss whether online content creators should be able to freely post ideas that may lead to violence and bodily harm using specific examples.Online content creators should not be able to freely post ideas that may lead to violence and bodily harm. While freedom of speech is important, it should not be used as a justification for harm. For example, the online radicalization of individuals has been linked to violent acts, such as the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand in 2019, where the perpetrator was inspired by white supremacist ideas online.

3. Discuss whether there is any place in a civil society for language that diminishes the humanity of others using specific exampl...