Should Internet community sites allow complete freedom of speech or should content be regulated for inappropriate material?
It’s always wise in nearly any conceivable situation to err on the side of more freedom. First, let’s define the issue: This is not a First Amendment issue. The question, as posed, does not broach government censorship. Any act of the legislative branch to regulate speech should, and presumably would, be fought very hard and would be very unlikely to succeed. Even on the off chance that such a beast succeeded legislatively, it’s nearly inconceivable that it would pass judicial muster. In addition, issues such as “hate speech” are somewhat tangential. One person’s “hate speech” is another’s “profound truth.” I understand all too well that these are politically correct times and that we’re well into our second generation of college students being indoctrinated against freedom, but if an Internet site chooses to allow material that could be perceived as – or even objectively is – “hateful,” that is the business of the site and its constituents. The question is, simply, whether “Internet c
