Censorship In The Workplace

Censorship is the suppression of any books, films, news, etc. that are considered offensive, or may propose danger to society. Censorship has been around for centuries; even now, with the constitution and laws that protects our rights to freedom, censorship still managed to have somewhat of an impact on our lives today. It’s in the media, our education, and in other countries. But not everything about censorship is terrible, a certain length to what should be censored could be acceptable. It’s the general idea of exercising censorship could do harm to society without us even noticing it. Some countries that practice censorship can be extreme, their lives are turned around and they are not living their lives to their fullest potential. Thus, society should not practice censorship as it is used to promote negative agendas, violates people’s rights, and slows down innovation.

As employers increasingly turn to the Internet for additional information on prospective employees, the ethical implications behind such practice become more relevant and far reaching. Yet in ethically examining the advantages and disadvantages of using social media information to make decisions for Shaw, the result could be different based on different ethical approaches. This paper will address the issue from different ethical perspectives. While it is crucial for employers to know who they are hiring, it is unethical to rely on unconsented social media information in making hiring decision.

In today’s society, it is crucial for employees to understand the significance in the use of social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. This subject will discuss the primary reasons companies allow the usage of social networking sites in the workplace. It will also explain the positive impact social media usage has in the workplace, such as allowing communication to a broader audience. In addition to the positive usage, this topic will also explore the negative implications usage can cause. Because social media is still relatively new, there are not many laws establishing the proper guidelines for these sites in the workplace. Scholarly articles such as the ‘Workplace impact of social networking” examine the effects of not establishing said policies, an error which results in an unhealthy work environment. Ultimately, employees can positively influence the workplace by using social media if they have the proper guidelines to follow.

Ms. Nancy Flynn is the founder and executive directive of the Theepollicy Institute, a training and consulting firm that helps employers limit email and internet risk. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Flynn’s complains that management has the right and responsibility to observer how employees are using social media on and off work hours. Ms. Flynn Advocates it is all too easy for employees to use social media to bring unwanted attention to whatever company hired them. She believes that emails, social networking can lead to dangerous work conditions and it’s not as harmless as other might think. Ms. Flynn points out cases to do with hospital employees

The NLRB has made findings regarding the use of employee posts on Social Media sites to discipline or terminate those employees. Typically these cases occur when an employee posts “negative” information about their current employer or boss. Sometimes these are “public” and other times the employer uses “spies” or “fake friending” to see the Facebook page of the employee.

In the modern sense, political correctness has become a form of censorship. With protestors forcing students to find alternate routes to school or pushing the administration to cancel guest speakers in fear of triggering students, the modern-day university is no longer a place of free, critical, thinking, but a place of censorship. Political correctness (is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended primarily not to offend or disadvantage any group of people in society. In Juan William’s essay, ‘Defying the PC Police’, he discusses censorship, PC culture, and excessive political correctness. For William, excessive political correctness was the basis of his argument against the “PC police” and was defined as political correctness that goes beyond being respect to the point at which it becomes censorship. Competitively, the United States of America has very minimal censorship as compared to North Korea, Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, and Belarus, the nations that have the highest levels of censorship. As displayed in books such as 1984, Fahrenheit 451, The Giver and Go Ask Alice, censorship is a very controversial topic. Where the line between freedom of speech and the press are often questioned by politicians and parents alike, in the recent years, censorship has become an idea that is no longer protecting people, but an idea that is taking people’s freedom on a skewed claim of protection.

On the other hand, many employees more and more feel violated and disrespected. The world has become more digital which involves many aspects of a person’s life to be online. Over a billion people use Facebook regularly, where they upload personal information. The question is, do companies have the right to search Facebook to discover more about the person. In the article, Employers Use Facebook Too, for Hiring by Mary Oleniczak et al., Oleniczak demonstrates the lack of privacy workers are receiving. People on social media never post their whole story. Only some aspect of their life show up. If an employer looks at the site, they see one side of a person, they see a personal side that does not involve their work life. Also everyone is human, which means people can be selfish and rude. So maybe on a person’s site, that person seems great but another person keeps bashing them because for some reason that person does not like the other person. The basher makes the person look bad even if it is only the basher’s point of

One major issue with the current use of social media is the policy of employers investigating their employee’s social media accounts. As Michaela Whitbourn of The Age notes, “The use of social media accounts to assess candidates for work, education and other opportunities was "an area of growing concern"(Whitbourn 1). In a world where political correctness and social justice reign supreme, businesses want to ensure that they are legally secured in the case of any negligence an employee may incur. Today, many companies would consider risqué or controversial social media posts as forms of negligence. There have been many occurrences over the last few years when an employee has been fired after making an insensitive, inappropriate, or immodest post on Facebook or Twitter. For example, “Ehling, a paramedic and nurse was terminated from her employment and sued… the key issues revolved around a Facebook post she made suggesting… paramedics should have allowed a patient with offensive political views to die”(Malouf 2). In fact as evidenced in another example, social media can disable someone from obtaining employment in the

Imagine a coworker posting a threatening statement towards the place they work. Even if they are exaggerating or joking, it’s unprofessional and would still be concerning for many employees. What you say or post online should be grounds on getting fired because of the first amendment rights and safety, loyalty towards the company, and how they represent the company.

Today’s biggest ethical issue in the United States is employers and coworkers posting on social network websites costing themselves and others to lose their job. Due to the misuse of social networking by employees, employers across the country are setting policies regarding employee’s use of social network. Employers are setting policy as to what employees can and cannot say on social websites when they are on or off duty. An example is a news article I came across while browsing the web, article name: Waitress fired after complaining about bad tips on Facebook.

In conclusion, I believe that employees need to take caution about what employees post online because employees have very little legal protections against their employer. The general rule when creating an online message is to imagine this communication would be on the front page of the New York Times. If the message seems too controversial, then considering revising or do not

At any institution of employment it is generally known that an employer has the ability to monitor their employees’ network station. It is legally permitted to monitor employees’ use of the internet that are owned and operated by that institution, during duty hours. The law also protects employees’ from discrimination when hiring or firing employees’ based solely on information posted on their social network. Generally speaking, people should also be conscious of information they display on social media websites. This is to prevent identification theft, imposters and predators from acquiring information they can use to destroy your credit or reputation. A controversial topic is whether employers should be allowed to discipline or fire

Censorship is synonymous to control, restriction, suppression and even editing. Now in the modern age when the world is rapidly shifting towards global equality and a democratic state of mind, it would seem that there is no place for these terms let alone these notions. However, when we often debate over certain policies and issues, we consider the “greater good” behind an action and thus set it in motion. Same is the mindset which governs the debate of the issue of censorship. In order to establish a society which is built upon mutual respect and tolerance for others, censorship plays a vital role in spinning the delicate fabric which separates different beliefs, norms and mindsets. In order to create a collective conscience and form common

Vice President Al Gore once addressed the graduating class of 1996 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the following statement; “Fear of chaos cannot justify unwarranted censorship of free speech” (Quittner). With this being said, Al Gore divulged his views on censorship which can now be translated into the current issue of censorship across one of the most advanced forms of communication- the internet.

Social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook have created a new ethical dilemma for many businesses. Corporations, small businesses, and even universities are struggling create policies to manage their employees social networking behaviors. Social networking access, particularly for recruiters, can provide personal information about potential employees, which would otherwise not be available. A business must follow statutes and guidelines when disclosing information to the public. Individuals on social networking sites have no such constraints. Employees can and do make comments about their employers online. Employers can and do watch what employees post online. Any individual can send or post potentially damaging information