{"id":502208,"date":"2022-10-19T23:46:03","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T20:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/millions-of-users-are-flocking-to-the-bereal-app-but-it-may-pose-free-speech-issues\/"},"modified":"2022-10-19T23:46:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T20:46:03","slug":"millions-of-users-are-flocking-to-the-bereal-app-but-it-may-pose-free-speech-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/millions-of-users-are-flocking-to-the-bereal-app-but-it-may-pose-free-speech-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"#Millions of users are flocking to the BeReal app\u2014but it may pose free speech issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ed7140878a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ed7140878a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/millions-of-users-are-flocking-to-the-bereal-app-but-it-may-pose-free-speech-issues\/#%E2%80%9CMillions_of_users_are_flocking_to_the_BeReal_app%E2%80%94but_it_may_pose_free_speech_issues%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Millions of users are flocking to the BeReal app\u2014but it may pose free speech issues&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CMillions_of_users_are_flocking_to_the_BeReal_app%E2%80%94but_it_may_pose_free_speech_issues%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Millions of users are flocking to the BeReal app\u2014but it may pose free speech issues&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/smartphone-user-2.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2022\/smartphone-user-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/smartphone-user-2.jpg\" alt=\"smartphone user\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Recently, when scrolling through TikTok\u2014purely for research purposes of course\u2014we paused on a video &#8220;spilling the tea&#8221; (that means sharing the goss) on the hottest new <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bere.al\/en\">BeReal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                As social media researchers and teachers of Gen Z university students, we try to stay current with the latest trends. BeReal is a refreshing change from curated feeds\u2014however, as with most new social media platforms, free speech issues may lurk just around the corner.<\/p>\n<p>  <b>A collection of mundane photos<\/b>  <\/p>\n<p>Self-described as <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/au\/app\/bereal-your-friends-for-real\/id1459645446\">&#8220;not another social network&#8221;<\/a> by French founders Alexis Barreyat and K\u00e9vin Perreau, BeReal is the anti-Instagram version of Snapchat, where users are encouraged to be &#8220;real&#8221; and &#8220;authentic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Once a day, BeReal users receive a notification with a strict deadline of two minutes in which to post an unfiltered photo of themselves, in all their pajama-clad, Netflix-watching glory. Or engaging in whatever activity that makes up most of our days\u2014studying, working, running errands, making dinner.<\/p>\n<p>The end result is a feed of mundane photos of friends (or strangers found through the Discovery feature) that is equal parts liberating and comforting. It reminds us most people&#8217;s lives are just as ordinary as our own, and a refreshing change from the highly curated social feeds we usually see. <\/p>\n<p>As a fledgling app still in its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2022\/04\/22\/bereal-hype-or-hit-what-to-know-about-the-gen-z-photo-sharing-app-climbing-the-charts\">honeymoon phase<\/a>, with little scrutiny to date, BeReal is yet to see significant public scandals. For now, the app may just be a fun way for young people to connect.<\/p>\n<p>But, as researchers examining the interplay between social media and free speech, we can imagine free speech issues on the horizon for BeReal, whose <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bere.al\/en\/terms\">vague terms of use<\/a> give the company a high degree of discretion over content moderation.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ve seen this before on platforms like Facebook, which has been accused of censorship by deleting <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/jan\/18\/facebook-moderation-racial-bias-black-lives-matter\">Black Lives Matter protest content<\/a> and the iconic &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-facebook-norway-primeminister-idUSKCN11F194\">Napalm Girl<\/a>&#8221; photo.<br \/>\n                                            <!-- Google middle Adsense block --><\/p>\n<p>Free speech tensions in this area are fraught. While social media companies are often accused of unwarranted censorship, they also face significant pressure to limit harmful content like hate speech on their platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Just days ago, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/kanye-west-jewish-anti-semitism-tiktok-1234612484\/\">rushed to remove<\/a> anti-Semitic content shared by Ye (formerly known as Kanye West). Now the rapper <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-63285698\">has pledged<\/a> to buy <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/castancentre.com\/2021\/07\/21\/what-the-launch-of-team-trumps-social-media-platform-tells-us-about-free-speech\/\">so-called &#8220;free speech&#8221;<\/a> app Parler as a reaction against his deplatforming.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the proposed banning of TikTok in the US due to data security concerns has been met with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/technology\/2020\/09\/tiktok-wechat-first-amendment-free-speech.html\">claims of free speech violations<\/a> from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/72635\/banning-apps-is-a-dangerous-practice-for-free-speech\/\">critics, such as free speech organization Article 19<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>  <b>Terms of use with little guidance<\/b>  <\/p>\n<p>For the more recent BeReal, free speech may become an issue if it attracts more nefarious uses. So far, the app&#8217;s terms of use encourage users to report &#8220;illicit or inappropriate&#8221; content while shirking liability as a mere &#8220;hosting company&#8221; rather than an actual publisher of content.<\/p>\n<p>The terms also require users not to post any &#8220;content of a sexual and\/or child pornographic nature, [or material] calling for hatred, terrorism, violence in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> or against a group of people in particular, inciting others to endanger themselves or provoking suicide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While this is in line with content policies on other social media platforms, problems potentially remain for free speech. <\/p>\n<p>Firstly, BeReal&#8217;s terms provide little guidance on what constitutes this undesired content, leaving the platform with a high degree of discretion as to what content can be censored.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, although BeReal reserves the right to &#8220;remove or temporarily or permanently suspend access&#8221; to violating content, it is not clear whether users will receive warnings prior to content removal, what breaches will trigger which disciplinary actions, and whether there are any avenues of appeal available to users.<\/p>\n<p>  <b>Censorship would be easy<\/b>  <\/p>\n<p>Imagine, for example, that a BeReal user with many followers posts an image of police using unreasonable force to arrest a person at a protest. BeReal might delete the content for depicting violence. Yet images such as these <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oxfordhb\/9780198827580.013.10\">can often constitute speech<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Free speech laws usually only prevent censorship by governments rather than companies\u2014some academics have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/digitalcommons.law.uw.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=1300&amp;context=wjlta\">called this into question<\/a> amidst the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s13347-020-00429-0\">unprecedented<\/a> power of social media companies to censor speech online.<\/p>\n<p>With this in mind, we should be concerned material on BeReal could be removed without explanation, warning, transparency or avenue for appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Consumers should be concerned about the sweeping discretion social media companies like BeReal have over so much of our speech. In addition to independent oversight, greater regulation and a code of conduct, we should demand clearer avenues of appeal and greater transparency regarding content moderation decisions from all social media platforms.<\/p>\n<p>BeReal is currently not much more than a gallery of the mundane, and as such, these may not be pressing issues. Especially if the app is a passing fad, which it may well prove to be.<\/p>\n<p>But with all eyes on Meta, TikTok and Twitter, smaller companies can fly under the radar. We always need to be ready to protect speech in the next potential &#8220;<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oecd-forum.org\/posts\/the-marketplace-of-ideas-in-the-age-of-information\">marketplace of ideas<\/a>&#8220;.\n                                                                                                                        <\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__explore my-4 d-print-none\">\n<p>                                            TikTok adds authenticity feature that mirrors BeReal\n                                        <\/p><\/div>\n<hr class=\"mb-4\"\/>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                                                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\"><br \/>\n                                                        <svg>\n                                                            <use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n                                                        <\/svg><br \/>\n                                                    <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/millions-of-users-are-flocking-to-the-bereal-app-but-it-may-pose-free-speech-issues-192629\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/192629\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Millions of users are flocking to the BeReal app\u2014but it may pose free speech issues (2022, October 19)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved 19 October 2022<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2022-10-millions-users-flocking-bereal-appbut.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2022-10-millions-users-flocking-bereal-appbut.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Millions of users are flocking to the BeReal app\u2014but it may pose free speech issues&#8221; Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain Recently, when scrolling through TikTok\u2014purely for research purposes of course\u2014we paused on a video &#8220;spilling the tea&#8221; (that means sharing the goss) on the hottest new social media app, BeReal. As social media researchers and teachers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":502209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2022\/smartphone-user-2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-502208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=502208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/502208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/502209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=502208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=502208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=502208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}