To Tweet or no to Tweet?

Do you know how I first heard the news that the iconic vocalist Whitney Houston passed away? It was through a tweet from a friend of mine. Do you think the first word I received about the war in Iraq being over was from looking at the news? Nope. This news was given to me via a Face book post from my cousin who was a soldier for our country. This goes to show that, aside from being fun and trendy, social networks are usually one of the first sources for important or major information in this day in age. With that being said, what happens when the government begins to control what is published online? What if my cousin was never allowed to create his Face Book post because the government did not think the news was ready to be released yet? If government control over social networks is not balanced correctly, then the general public will be taken out of the loop of current events until the government decides they want news to be released.

Obviously there is a line between what news is beneficial to society and what classified information is. Of course if someone is tweeting or creating Face Book posts including things that are supposed to be top secret knowledge, such as United States military strategies, then the government should step in and restrict that information from being released. For example, during the riots in England, social networks were very detrimental. This is so because a lot of the public were ill informed about the cause of the riots due to social networks, and thus were against the English government. It had even gotten to the point where citizens were using the internet to plot violence against the authorities. Because of this, the English government is looking into cutting off access to networks such as Twitter and Face Book during social unrest.

However, there needs to be some kind of check and balance system that ensures that the government does not control information that the public has the right to know. For example, in China there are Buddhist Monks that are rejuvenating their temples by incorporating the use of the internet. This is a luxury that these people have not been able to enjoy, and now the Chinese government is trying to control that. These people have the right to learn how to use the internet and enjoy it, but the government is already pondering ways to regulate their usage. An article on BBC News China says “The government likes to control the flow of information through traditional media outlets to shape what people think - just one of their tools to maintain power.”This clearly shows that the Chinese government is controlling social networks to mold citizens into thinking the way the want them to think, rather than controlling them for the safety of the people.

At the end of the day I believe that it is completely necessary for the government to have some control over the social networks that are being used. However, as you can see with the two examples presented, there is a line between what the government should and should not control.