WASHINGTON, January 28, 2012 –Some Twitter users are boycotting the social media outlet today. They are protesting a recent decision by Twitter to censor tweets from countries that prohibit certain types of conversation. In other words, Twitter is supporting the repressive regimes that forbid citizens to speak out. The new Twitter policy will refine terms of usage policy to allow it to censor tweets on a country-by-country basis rather than subject all tweets to a general catch all policy.
This month marks the launch of what eventually became the “Arab Spring” when citizens of various nations in the Arab world rose up in protest, rallied, galvanized and eventually kicked several oppressive and totalitarian regimes from power. The revolution has since been replicated in other areas including Russia, Asia and some say even the Occupy movement in the United States.
Many credit social media with providing the tool used to organize the movements. While dictators tried in earnest to jail journalists, shut down websites and do everything in their power to keep their people from realizing there is an alternative to repression, young people relied on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as sources of information. Indeed, the world recognizes the empowering impact of what the people of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Morocco accomplished.
Twitter, one of the tools of democratic revolution in the Arab world last year, decided to give greater authority to foreign nations wanting to suppress thoughts expressed by their citizens through the medium. It makes Twitter look complacent in supporting censorship.
It seems random and as if it came out of left field, but that is not necessarily the case.
One rumor says Saudi investors in Twitter, wanting to head off any outcry by its citizenry, may have enticed billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talaj who bought a stake in Twitter for $300 million last year, to lean a heavy shoulder on the site. No one knows yet whether this is true.
Detractors call the protest premature, pointless, over reactionary and unnecessary. But there is something to that famous saying “if you do not stand for something you will fall for anything.”
Staying away from social media for one day does not make those abstaining less intelligent, naïve, idealistic or dumb. Rather it reflects a collective opposition to a corporation’s decision and solidarity for potentially censored groups. Also, certainly one day of decreased traffic will not kill the site, if people chose to spend that time with their family, to read a book, to connect with friends on other social media platforms, to take in a movie, to go for a drive or to simply unplug from the matrix, which should be celebrated as a good thing. There was a world before Twitter.
What the Twitter Blackout will succeed in doing is sending a message to Twitter that many do not approve of the medium turning away from its roots. What made it a success and much supported resource before was the abundance of different thoughts, links, ideas flowing through all day.
Granted, there is the business case for Twitter complying with nations its service reaches and impacts and it’s hard to support protecting Nazi hate tweets which is banned in Germany. But at the end of the day, suppressing what a government decides is bad could also destroy good ideas in between.
Further, freedom of expression and thought enabled humans to filter the messages and decide whether they liked it or not. Even ideas, unpopular in certain eras and areas, like freeing slaves and civil rights garnered supporters and momentum when the public heard and saw them.
Others have called the move social media suicide. It’s hardly that. Tomorrow, all the Twitter heads and tweeting addicts who chose to sit out today will take to the forum with fervor to make up for those last 24 hours. In fact, Twitter’s traffic may see a significant upswing on Sunday.
The successes of the Bank America debit card fee protest, the Netflix dump, the Verizon wireless fee for online bill payment, the SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act) & PIPA (Prevent Internet Privacy Act) congressional outreach have taught consumers that they have power in their action.
It’s a new world order these days. The power and juice is not all with those who have the most money and clout any longer. The little guys are making their voices heard and are doing have a pretty good record of success to back them up!
Read more Politics of Raising Children in The Communities at the Washington Times. Follow Jeneba Ghatt at @JenebaSpeaks. Her work can also be read at Politic365. She also co-hosts a Blog Talk Radio show called Right of Black which tackles current events and politics from a perspective not often seen in the mainstream media.
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