>> Catalyst90. Social Media Agency for Agencies
>> Catalyst90. Social Media Agency for Agencies
If you’re a dedicated member of the social media community, you will well have heard the slightly unnerving news about Twitter’s new censorship laws.
The repercussions strike so deeply at the fundamentals of free speech we thought it might be a top story on one of New Zealand’s leading news sites. But no, that space was reserved for a story following the bidding war between Oprah and Barbara Walters for an interview with Pippa Middleton.
So since you were reading about Pippa Middleton, we’ll just fill you in a bit more: Twitter is on the end of extreme global backlash since it announced last Friday it will be restricting tweets in certain countries to conform with various local censorship laws.
The apparent rationale behind Twitter’s compliancy with government officials is the desire to expand its audience from 100 million active users to one billion. The change in policy would allow Twitter to coexist more comfortably within certain countries.
It’s a strange turn of events for an organisation crowned the harbinger of free speech in the wake of the popular Middle East civil protests last year.
Social media – Twitter in particular – gave activists a voice and vehicle to spread the word beyond their boarders. Not surprisingly, many critics of Twitter’s latest policy change are from those countries that are affected by Twitter choosing to play nice with governments.
There is a strong sense of betrayal; this once social media darling that previously enabled the repressed from certain corners of the globe is now committing to what is essentially the antithesis of what Twitter and tweeting stands for.
So whether Tweeters or not, there is outrage that the basic rights of free speech are being challenged by the very organisation which bases its entire success on free speech. (Forbes magazine tech blog item ‘Twitter commits social suicide’ has already become a popular hashtag.)
Fair to say, this sense of outrage was rife at Catalyst90 headquarters.
“Obviously, Catalyst90 is disappointed with Twitter’s decision to fold to pressure, especially as that pressure seems to be coming from particular governments looking to restrict free speech,” said Tom Reidy, Managing Director, Catalyst90.
“The Internet is a podium for free speech, and people are so used to having that now, they will find ways to get around it. Twitter’s move to censorship will only create underground social media platforms, where people can say what they want without the threat of government discipline.
“From a business point of view, I understand Twitter wanting to expand their target market, but it’s not freedom of speech when you’re pandering to the government, and making them your target market.”
And with that said, we’re just going to hop down off our soapbox before the Chinese government spots this and decides to target us.
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