Censorship. That word has been on the minds of Americans across the country quite frequently with recent events. More specifically, the actions that Twitter and other social media platforms have taken to censor the material being put on their sites have caused a divide between beliefs.

Some people believe that Twitter has a right to determine what type of talk is allowed on their platform. However, others see Twitter’s actions as a violation of the First Amendment, which specifically gives all citizens of the United States the right to freedom of speech.

In one particular case of censorship, Twitter took down several different social media accounts including that of then president Donald Trump. Twitter did so claiming that the reason for their actions was that Trump was using his account to incite violence. The response was outrage from Trump supporters across the country who claim that Twitter was just trying to limit the spread of conservative ideas. 

The actions of other big-name companies have come under scrutiny as well since the companies of Apple, Amazon and Google decided to no longer support the social media platform Parler, which is known for supporting conservative users. As a result of the actions of those companies, Parler was taken down and is not expected to make a return any time soon.

“I asked Mr. Dorsey [the CEO of Twitter] at that hearing, ‘Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what we’re allowed to read?’ Look, Twitter brazenly censored the New York Post when it ran stories about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s corruption concerning China, concerning Ukraine and Russia, and they just silenced it,” said Senator Ted Cruz.

Still, others are concerned about how the actions of Twitter and other big-name companies will affect the unity of the nation.

“‘I’m frankly shocked at what’s happening to our country and censoring does not create unity, it does not help the situation of division in our country, and it does not de-escalate the situation,’” said North Dakota State Representative Tom Kading.

As for the long term effects of this scenario, only time will tell, but America does have a long history of overcoming challenges.