FIRST AMENDMENT

     The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." But when speech promotes violence or is "extreme," can we pull the plug on it?

     In the past year, 21 mass deadly shootings have occurred in America, averaging one shooting every 15 days. At least three of these shootings, like the one in El Paso, have been linked to the website, 8chan. 

     8chan was set up in 2013 as a message board dedicated to "extreme free speech." Users create discussion pages or "boards" for hundreds of people to offer comments. Although 8chan, itself, doesn't violate any laws, some people believe the content on this website is too much. Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, stated, "8chan is almost like a bulletin board where the worst offenders go to share their terrible ideas. It's become a sounding board where people share ideas, and where these kinds of ideologies are amplified and expanded on, and ultimately, people are radicalized as a result."


     At the moment, some people believe that 8chan may have fueled the hatred that led to some of these mass shootings. They want to block 8chan's online presence. The problem is that this website isn't directly inciting violence, but it is encouraging "extreme speech" and that may include words that could lead others to commit violent actions. A hard question is: does 8chan (or any other website) have the right to attract people who will incite other people to violence? Stated another way: does 8chan have the right to create and maintain a website where the baseline of violent ideas and actions start and grow? However, how do we draw the line of where "creating a baseline of violent ideas or actions" begins?

At the moment, some people believe that 8chan may have fueled the hatred that led to some of these mass shootings. They want to block 8chan's online presence. The problem is that this website isn't directly inciting violence, but it is encouraging "extreme speech" and that may include words that could lead others to commit violent actions. A hard question is: does 8chan (or any other website) have the right to attract people who will incite other people to violence? Stated another way: does 8chan have the right to create and maintain a website where the baseline of violent ideas and actions start and grow? However, how do we draw the line of where "creating a baseline of violent ideas or actions" begins?