Week 11: The End.
This final week at Zhicheng has flown by! I was able to complete some research on child pornography legislation and policies in the U.S. and internationally. Today, Jing Jing wanted information specifically regarding the responsibilities of social media platforms, like Facebook, to report instances of child pornography and child sexual abuse. In the U.S., social media platforms have virtual immunity from liability for illegal content posted by users thanks to section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The idea behind section 230 absolving “interactive computer services” from any liability for what third parties post is supposedly in keeping with, you guessed it, the First Amendment and allowing freedom of expression. Over in the U.K., it seems that new legislation may be introduced in the next couple of years that would fine social media platforms billions of dollars for failing to protect its users from certain threats including cyberbullying and child sexual abuse. I don’t know what the right method is for protecting children online, but I do feel like we’ve got to do more than we are. Would it be a First Amendment violation to fine Facebook for failing to report or remove an instance of a user posting child pornography? Is allowing these social media platforms to essentially police themselves really the most effective way to make sure they’re doing what they claim to be doing regarding reporting requirements and identifying violators? I don’t think so, but, even though I’ve learned a lot this summer, I’ve got a ways to go before I start making policy recommendations.
I have mixed feelings today. On the one hand, I’m super excited that I’m only a little over a week away from seeing my dog and eating cheese again. On the other hand–and I’m trying not to look too hard at this hand right now because I will probably tear up–I can’t believe I’m never going to sit at my desk in my comfortable little office doing research and chatting with Anna about American TV shows and our favorite Marvel superheroes (hers is Captain America, but since she’s such an amazing person otherwise, we can forgive her for that). We had lunch today with our friend, Mokun, and it’s crazy that we might never see her again. She is going to school in Boston though, so I hope we continue to keep in touch. Oh, this is hard! But I am so glad I came here this summer. I’m so happy I got to meet so many wonderful people, conduct important research, experience such a unique culture, see the wonderful sites I saw, and obviously taste all of the delicious foods China has to offer. I don’t want to say goodbye, and yet, I do want to go home. I will be back; that’s guaranteed.
My time at Zhicheng is over, but I still have a little more of China to see. Tomorrow, I fly to Chengdu. I’ll be staying with my friend, Yetta’s, family in her hometown of Meishan for a few days. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be teaching English to the grandchildren of some of the residents of a NGO for the elderly where Yetta used to volunteer. They have also enlisted the help of some undergraduate students to travel with me and help with translation. Yetta’s parents have many other exciting events planned over the few days I’m there like hiking to see the Leshan Giant Buddha near Mt. Emei! If you want to hear about it, you’ll have to ask me in person because this is, sadly, also my last blog post. I hope you enjoyed them!
