Recent decisions to ban users, including former President Trump, and to block or add disclaimers to certain stories, have raised questions about social media’s power and influence.
Unit 6 Journal Assignment – Free Speech and Censorship on Social Media
CIS340: Computer Ethics
Due Date: 11:59 pm EST, Sunday of Unit 6
Total Points: 50
Overview: Throughout the term, you will keep a journal that you will add to every other
week by reflecting on questions or scenarios that pertain to that week’s topic(s).
Although not required, to ensure comprehension of each week’s material, you should
first review the self-assessment questions in the textbook at the end of the assigned
chapter(s). These questions relate to the journal topic and can help you formulate your
thoughts and writing.
This week, you will compose a journal entry reflecting on your experiences and how it
has influenced your thinking on the following questions/scenarios:
Discuss the proliferation of social media and the positive and negative effects it
has had on free speech and the ability to both express and monitor ideas.
Specifically:
Social Media companies such as Twitter and Facebook have been in the news and
before Congress recently, indicating how influential they have become in our public
discourse and our ability to express and spread ideas. Recent decisions to ban users,
including former President Trump, and to block or add disclaimers to certain stories,
have raised questions about social media’s power and influence. This has led to
questions regarding the applicability of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), how to
address misinformation, and the potential risks, consequences, and ethics of stifling
certain speech.
Answer the following questions as you develop your thoughts and compose a journal
entry on the topic:
• How has social media changed the way we interact, express ideas, and engage
in debate?
• Recall in your readings this week that Section 230 of the CDA protects social
media companies from legal liability that might result from what others say on
their platforms. Noting that, what responsibility do tech companies have to
encourage the free flow of ideas versus monitoring speech and taking steps to
discourage harassment, violence, and other forms of potentially harmful speech?
• As private companies, Twitter, Facebook, and others are not bound by the U.S.
Constitution, so their decisions to monitor and censor speech may be legal, but
are they ethical? Should companies be required to honor constitutional rights?
• What are your thoughts on what some people refer to as “cancel culture” (i.e.,
individual and coordinated efforts to encourage boycotts, call for people to be
fired from jobs, have students expelled from college, etc.) simply for expressing
an unpopular opinion?
Notes:
• Your journal is an informal self-reflection and does not require sources or APA
formatting.
• There are no specific length/words requirements. Simply provide your thoughts.
However, each of the elements described in the assignment should be covered.
• You will be graded on the depth of your critical thinking and the strength of your
writing.
• The optional self-assessment questions for your review can be found at the end
of Chapters 5 and 9 in the textbook.
Review the grading criteria below before and after you write your journal entry.
Evaluation Rubric for Weekly Journal Assignment
Criteria Exemplary Proficient Needs
Improvement
Deficient
24-25 points 20-23 points 16-19 points 0-15 points
Content
Reflection
Reflection
demonstrates a
high degree of
critical thinking in
applying,
analyzing, and
evaluating key
course concepts.
Insightful and
relevant
connections
made through
explanations and
examples.
Reflection
demonstrates
some degree of
critical thinking in
applying,
analyzing, and/or
evaluating key
course concepts.
Connections
made through
explanations,
and/or examples.
Reflection
demonstrates
limited critical
thinking in
applying,
analyzing, and/or
evaluating key
course concepts.
Minimal
connections
made through
explanations
and/or examples.
Reflection lacks
critical thinking.
Superficial
connections are
made with key
course concepts.
14-15 points 11-13 points 8-10 points 0-7 points
Personal
Growth
Conveys strong
evidence of self-
reflection on own
work with a
personal
response to the
questions posed
and
demonstrates
empathy for other
points of view.
Conveys some
evidence of self-
reflection on own
work with a
personal
response to the
questions posed
and recognizes
other viewpoints.
Conveys limited
evidence of self-
reflection on own
work to the
questions posed
and limited
understanding of
other viewpoints
Conveys
inadequate
evidence of self-
reflection on own
work and no
analysis of other
viewpoints.
9-10 points 7-8 points 5-6 points 0-4 points
Writing
Quality
Well written and
clearly organized,
characterized by
elements of a
strong writing
style and
basically free
from
grammatical,
usage, and
spelling errors.
Above average
writing style and
logically
organized using
standard English
with minor
grammatical,
usage, and
spelling errors.
Average writing
style that is
sometimes
unclear and/or
with some
grammatical,
usage, and
spelling errors
that detract from
the content.
Poor writing style
lacking in
standard English,
clarity, language
used, and/or
frequent
grammatical,
usage, and
spelling errors
that greatly
detract from the
content.
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
