Is YouTube legally a public forum?

YouTube is not a “public forum” that must guarantee users’ rights to free speech, a US court has ruled. But judges decided that the US constitution’s First Amendment did not apply to YouTube, a private company. The landmark ruling by US judges could affect future cases involving freedom of speech online.

What defines a public forum?

Legal Definition of public forum : a place that has a long-standing tradition of being used for, is historically associated with, or has been dedicated by government act to the free exercise of the right to speech and public debate and assembly — see also limited public forum.

What constitutes a public forum on social media?

Local governmental entities using social media to interact with the online community most likely constitutes a forum.

Why is freedom of speech being violated?

What types of speech are completely unprotected by the First Amendment? Certain categories of speech are completely unprotected by the First Amendment. That list includes (i) child pornography, (ii) obscenity, and (iii) “fighting words” or “true threats.”

How does public forum debate work?

Public Forum Debate involves opposing teams of two, debating a topic concerning a current event. Proceeding a coin toss, the winners choose which side to debate (PRO or CON) or which speaker position they prefer (1st or 2nd), and the other team receives the remaining option.

What are examples of limited public forums?

For example, the UMKC student center meeting rooms found to be a limited public forum in Widmar v Vincent could be restricted in their use to students, but the university could not–the Court said–allow students to meet for academic, social, or political purposes, but not for religious purposes.

Is Instagram a public forum?

There will almost certainly be more cases involving Twitter and Facebook and Instagram that could also constitute a designated public forum under circumstances similar to the reasoning of Knight.

Is YouTube private sector?

Companies that build YouTube channels can house a variety of educational, training and commercial content online. YouTube channels are public, but you can set all the content on a channel to private. Businesses control who can (and can’t) see their content by making the videos private.

What is hateful or abusive content in YouTube?

Hate speech is not allowed on YouTube. We remove content promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on any of the following attributes: Age. Caste.