Reflection on social media

谷战峰

新西兰遭受恐怖分子袭击后，一段长达17分钟的屠杀视频在社交网络上疯狂传播，尽管 Facebook 和 Google 等公司在接到警示后迅速做出了反应，但还是有成千上万的人看到了。社交网络对数十亿网民发布的内容不加区分，到底是保障了言论自由，还是忽视了监督内容的义务？

体裁议论文 文章词数 338 建议用时 6 min

难词探意

1. inflame /?n?fle?m/  v. 激起（愤怒、激动等情感）;给……火上浇油

2. outsource /?a?ts??s/  v. 外包;（将……）交外办理

3. censor /?sens?（r）/  n. （书籍、电影等的）审查员;审查官

4. maintain /me?n?te?n/  v. 维持;保持

5. belatedly /b??le?t?dli/  adv. 延误地;迟来地

The terrorist who this month murdered 50 worshippers， live?streamed a 17?minute video of the terrorism in New Zealand. Within 24 hours， that video had been uploaded 1.5 million times on Facebook. Facebook blocked 1.2 million of those videos before they could be viewed， and pulled down the rest. Still， thousands of people saw the footage as it spread to other sites.

In spite of the swift response， it remains the question why on earth we tolerate technology that can be used to inflame violence at lightning speed and global scale.

Jacinda Ardern， New Zealands prime minister， has argued that the tech companies should be considered “the publisher not just the postman”. Scott Morrison， Australias prime minister， is even pushing for the issue to be discussed at the next G20 meeting in Osaka in June， saying： “It is unacceptable to treat the Internet as an ungoverned space.”

The balance between free speech and regulation must be the subject of never?ending debate， changing according to social convention and law. But society has， in effect， easily outsourced much of this debate to the tech platforms. We should not want them to become our official censors; nor do they appear capable of assuming such responsibility. But they should be in lasting dialogue with societies around the world about their rules， practices and services.

Mr Kosseff says that Congress had two purposes in adopting Section 230. One was to promote free speech and innovation. The other was to ensure the tech companies maintained oversight of their content. “They have entirely failed on that job and did not realise that it was a two?way contract，” Mr Kosseff says. “Their services have been weaponised by bad people. They need to put on their big boy pants and behave responsibly.”

The tech companies appear belatedly to have woken up to the dangers and are trying to respond. But they still have a long way to go. Until they fully deliver on their side of the contract， the US Congress should threaten to end Section 230.

Reading Check

1. What attracted wide attention on Facebook？

2. What is unacceptable to Scott Morrison？

3. What should tech platforms do according to the author？

4. What are the basic purposes for Congress to adopt Section 230？

5. What does the author suggest the US Congress do with Section 230？

Language Study

Sentence for writing

In spite of the swift response， it remains the question why on earth we tolerate technology that can be used to inflame violence at lightning speed and global scale.

【信息提取】It remains the/a question why/whether... 为什么……依然是一个问题。

【句式仿写】他能否在天黑前回到家依然是一个问题。

Cultural Background

美国CDA 230条款

互联网的发展带来了前所未有的问题与挑战，如何正确对待互联网服务商？是否要因第三人发布的信息而承担责任？这是各国面临的问题。2007年底，美国网民人数为2.18亿，互联网普及率达82%。作为世界上资讯最发达的国家，为了保护网络的健康发展，美国国会于1996年通过了《传播庄重法》（Communications Decency Act of 1996，以下简称CDA）。一年后，美国最高法院判决CDA违宪，仅第230条得以保存。CDA 230条款指出，互联网服务不必为其用户的行为负责。