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Social Media Should Be Regulated Essay

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SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE REGULATED ABSTRACT As social media becomes a heavy influence in our online presence, certain elements need to be policed, as laws can still be broken. This is an insight into if social media, more specifically social networking sites, can be regulated to avoid recent spates of ‘trolling’ or whether it only serves to strip people of freedom to speech. INTRODUCTION Social media has now become a part of our modern day society and has a huge impact on our lives on a daily basis. Social media is the use of web and mobile-based technology to support interactive content. This content tends to be user generated and then might be promoted by other users to a new outlet or audience. Social Networking is a great …show more content…

However other social media platforms such as Formspring and Twitter allow users to remain anonymous, bar the IP addresses stored on their servers. This allows users to hid behind their computers and say things that would be considered inappropriate and possibly illegal on a public stage, in the real world. Trolling has taken on many forms in social media and with so many platforms to choose from, anyone with intent can use this to their advantage. Twitter accounts have been used to make threats and harass celebrities, Joe McElderry being one of many victims. Ennis McBride, with the sole intent of stalking Joe, made an anonymous twitter account to continue his harassment. [5] As technology has advanced, laws have been introduced to protect society, for instance the interception and disclosure of messages as part of the wireless telegraphy act 2006, section 48[6]. So why would you not regulate social media, a new technology phenomena with the potential to cause harm? We could agree that social media should be regulated to avoid trolling incidents like the ones mentioned. However, the Leveson report, a hotly debated topic at present, is trying to introduce regulations on the press, with no guidelines on how to deal with social media. Daily Mail online editor Martin Clarke says it has “destroyed the ability of governments, companies and individuals to control the flow of information to the

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