This paper discusses the Supreme Court case when a 14-year-old student and cheerleader, Brandi Levy, posted a Snapchat series of F-bombs. After that, she did not get a promotion to her cheerleading team at school (Totenberg, 2021). Due to acknowledging that she was not going to be promoted, she posted some photos with messages telling F-words about school and her cheerleader experience, among others (Totenberg, 2021). Consequently, the teenager was suspended from the team because of the “disruptive behavior” demonstrated in the photo messages (Kim, 2021, p. 62). However, Levy’s family denied the fairness of this suspension and appealed to the court, stating that the photos were posted outside the territory of the school. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Levy’s statement, declaring that there is no power to punish students for the photos or speeches that were made outside the school area.
The most important issue that was raised in the case of Levy is the freedom of speech and its scope and boundaries. In my opinion, this case shows that freedom of speech is a crucial issue that should be handled accurately and with great attention, especially in school settings. The most important detail, in this case, is that girl’s photos with messages were posted outside the premises of the school and did not cause any serious disruption (Kim, 2021). While one should be accurate with the expressions and the messages he or she posts, Levy’s posts were harmless to society (Russo, 2021). Therefore, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Levy and stressed the importance of the freedom of speech.
The most important provision in the US Constitution relating to this issue is the First Amendment. This Amendment protects the freedom of speech, which includes the right not to speak or to engage in symbolic speech (Kim, 2021). Thus, the US Constitution grants and discusses this right to liberty of expression, particularly in this provision. Social media, in a modern understanding, erase the boundaries and the limitations of understanding of self-expression.
While on social media, people are able to express themselves and post personal life photos, hobbies, and photos of family and friends, there are some limitations. For example, all social media platforms have certain rules regarding that user’s posts or say. These include hate speech, false information, pornography, or harmful messages/photos (Magarian, 2021). Therefore, these limitations should be regarded by social media platform users.
Freedom of speech ends and becomes a threat to other individuals in this case, when people employ hate speech or incite actions that would harm others and when individuals promote illegal items and activities, such as drugs and obscenity (Magarian, 2021). Moreover, other cases might include speech related to sedition, indecency, words for inciting hatred towards others, trade secrets, and food labeling (Magarian, 2021). Therefore, freedom of speech is limited by the cases when it involves illegal and harmful proposals and actions.
I believe that one of the ways to find the solution to understanding the freedom of speech is to draw certain boundaries and create specific definitions. In order to avoid such cases, the government should provide a clear understanding of the concept of freedom of speech at all levels and disseminate this information in all public settings. With the evolution of digital transformation, there are many controversial cases regarding the freedom of speech (Totenberg 2021). The government should adjust the rules for modern society so that the concept of freedom of speech would be comprehensible at the executive level.
Freedom of speech in the US on the Internet can sometimes provoke controversial situations. Regarding the entity or organization to resolve this issue, I think the governmental bodies and international organizations should find the solution to the problem with this concept. The United Nations could also contribute to the adjustment and evolvement of this case. In my opinion, governmental bodies should work collaboratively with the UN on this issue.
References
Kim, R. (2021). Under the law: Regulating student speech in the Snapchat era. Phi Delta Kappan, 102(6), 62-63. Web.
Magarian, G. P. (2021). The Internet and Social Media. The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, 350-369.
Russo, C. J. (2021). Student speech and social media: The Supreme Court finally enters the fray. Laws, 10(2), 19-30. Web.
Totenberg, N. (2021). Supreme Court rules cheerleaders’ f-bombs are protected by the 1st Amendment. National Public Radio. Web.