Social Media & Censorship, Liabilities & Protections


image © Dario Castillejos

From Daryl Cagle:

I run a newspaper syndicate for editorial cartoons and columns. Half of America’s daily, paid-circulation newspapers subscribe to my service, which features about 75 political cartoonists and ten columnists. Sometimes I choose to “kill” a cartoon or column that I think is inappropriate, which often leads to an angry response from the creator about censorship and First Amendment rights. I always remind them that I have First Amendment rights too, and I can choose to syndicate whatever I want.

I also hear from cartoonists whom I don’t syndicate, demanding to be on my Web site as some kind of entitlement, claiming that I’m violating their rights by refusing to allow their voice to be heard. I also hear from cartoonists in nations with no press freedom about how their government censors their cartoons; they claim this is “just the same as in America” because there are editors here who kill cartoons, too.

Daryl Cagle’s column on what is and is not censorship … and the internet.

4 thoughts on “Social Media & Censorship, Liabilities & Protections

  1. Some of these guys graduated from the best law schools in the country, and they don’t understand that the first amendment only prohibits government censorship.

  2. My presumption is that *they* understand, but they hope the hordes they are trying to rally do *not* understand. And of course they are probably right.

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