This week in class we studied the six freedoms of the first amendment in-depth by looking at the Civil War + Reconstruction timeline and the 3 freedoms of the First Amendment and the bedrock principles of the First Amendment law.
Prior to this course, I think I was pretty ignorant when it came to what is included versus what is not included when looking at the Freedom of Speech. Now, I firmly believe most people are.
The Six Freedoms include From Religion, Of Religion; Speech, Press; Assembly, and Petition.
The Bedrock Principles are something completely new to me that I had never studied before, and it really helps to delve deeper into the first amendment.
The first principle is that First Amendment protection is not absolute. This means that you can be punished and held accountable for threatening the president or public safety.
The second principle is that the First Amendment is not a shield against the law of general applicability. This means that for some laws, there is no exception. Everyone is held accountable for criminal and traffic laws.
The final principle is that the Freedom of the Press is a fundamental personal right, not an institutional one. This is the strongest type of right because it is specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights. We are all equally protected.
The first amendment condones that Congress shall make no laws infringing on personal liberties, but obscenity, fraud, child pornography, and true threats are not given protection under the First Amendment.
VARIETY.com recently published an article about Trump's banning of TikTok. Critics of this ban say that this decision is made without precedent, and others flat out claim that this abridges First Amendment rights. This decision is made with the Trump Administration's concern that the Chinese government will be able to access Americans' personal data through this app.
I find this whole topic very fascinating because it is a bit unprecedented. As technology evolves, the dangers and risks on society change. This is crazy to me because I never really thought the First Amendment was still controversial today, but honestly, it is more relevant and critical than ever before.
The claim to ban TikTok is out of concern for national security and personal safety, yet it an act of the Government controlling its people. Where do we draw the line? This entire controversy has made me really question the amount of personal privacy in my own life, and I am more than guilty of falling down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories about our phones listening to us and personal data being hacked.
I can honestly say that I do not have a strong opinion either way on this TikTok ban, but I am very intrigued as to what will happen.
Source: Variety.com
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