WEEK 2: Freedom of Speech : Freedom of the Press

1. The limits of state censorship that have been made clear by the recent events of state oppression in Iran include blocking of Internet; publication about election protest forbidden; foreign journalists banned from the streets or expelled from the country; filtering of social networks like facebook and twitter, by government; and banning opposition rallies

2 a) The two aggrieved people, i.e. Dave Carroll and Amanda Bonnen decided to use social media to express their displeasures.

Dave tried complaining to the airline, United, but was not given the sort of answer that satisfied him after his guitar was destroyed by baggage handlers. So he decide to protest through music. He came up with three songs, each with a video criticising the airline and the intention was to post them all on the Web. The first video, "United Breaks Guitars" was posted on YouTube and within 23 hours it has attracted 461 comments. Most of the them were maligning the airline. This huge response prompted United to quickly contact him and make things right.

Amanda on the other hand was a tenant of Horizon Group Management who posted a comment on Twitter about mould in her Chicago apartment. The landlords later realised that there was never any mould in the apartment except for that her unit was one of those that experienced linkages during overnight roof repairs. However, all tenant grievances were quickly and amicably resolved, ultimately.

b) A person or institution that feels defamed by the new technologies can seek legal redress in the courts of laws since there are legislation that govern the use of these technologies. The injury to their good name can be repaired by the offender giving public apology in the same media and explicitly state the reason for the apology. Furthermore, monetary benefits in the form of law suits can give some feeling of satisfaction.