American values depend on a marketplace of ideas where things such as civil controversy and debate can thrive free of any restriction.  In the case of our modern world, this said marketplace comes in the form of social media platforms that greatly help to project the very essence of liberty and democracy.

If the government/media enterprises were to have control over this vast sea of civilian ideas and discourse, the aspect of liberty is no more. Technology has improved massively over the past twenty years and society now has devices in their hands that can communicate with people all around the world. This only took place because individuals came up with this technology and sold it free from government intervention or regulation.

Not only does government regulation limit advancement, but it quite literally holds the implication of free speech itself. Media censorship also acts as a driving force to open the floodgates for corruption through the likes of monopolies and those seeking political bias. Why would we allow those who seek votes to control their own information displayed about them? There will no longer be two sides to any candidate, only the side they want you to hear.

The regulation of Social Media companies is a terrible and un-American idea. Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, founded this multi-billion dollar company from the ground up as a sophomore in college by himself. He launched a product that now almost everyone in the country uses. Facebook is now making technology even easier to use and advancing technology for our world. This also employs thousands of American citizens and gives high paying jobs, which contributes to the economy. If we continue to allow Facebook and other social media companies to expand they will only employ more people and advance technology software to aid the entire world.

In comparison to other inventions such as the light bulb, even if the first power companies were regulated by the federal government it would have taken much longer for this technology to get into the homes of all Americans. The ideals of free speech are ideas that have been at the front and center of American Democracy. Allowing the government to control social media is a slippery slope, there is no guarantee it will lead to acts of total control.

Though regulation for the common good may seem harmless it gives the federal government way too much power. Cuba, for example, has recently had protests against the totalitarian government. Cuba shut down the internet so there is very limited media outside the country of Cuban current events because the government censored videos of the protests and their brutal and antidemocratic attempts to stop them.

If Facebook has to remove all harmful content the government deems is not acceptable, what will stop the President from using their power to enforce the law to force Facebook to take down speeches of their political opponents? What would stop a president from covering their past scandals or mistakes? If Richard Nixon had the ability to regulate what television and radio companies could report about Watergate, his scandals likely never would have come to light.

Corruption is present in any and all likes of government, allowing the government to control the media is the cornerstone of fascism and totalitarianism. While no one wants the youth to see harmful information online with no filter, true protection comes in the form of individual thought, not directed information decided by private entities.

In contrast to the claims of the affirmative side, the current restrictions must be in alignment with the first amendment. Regulation of social media platforms would violate the current government legislature as freedom of speech would not be upheld through the works of section 230 in the Constitution.

In fact, controlling what citizens see online is un-American and establishes a path to corruption, indoctrination, and is in no way in line with the American ideals citizens are promised.  These platforms make up the vast majority of free American speech that help to shape our nation, to enforce restrictions and censor certain information is not only unconstitutional, but anti liberty itself.