Social Media Censorship in Times of Political Unrest - A Social Simulation Experiment with the UK Riots

Antonio A. Casilli; Paola Tubaro

doi:10.1177/0759106312445697

Social Media Censorship in Times of Political Unrest - A Social Simulation Experiment with the UK Riots

University of Greenwich

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

Following the 2011 wave of political unrest, extending from the Arab Spring to the UK riots, the formation of a large consensus around Internet censorship is underway. The present paper adopts a social simulation approach to show that the decision to “regulate”, filter or censor social media in situations of unrest changes the pattern of civil protest and ultimately results in higher levels of violence. Building on Epstein's (2002) agent-based model, several alternative scenarios are generated. The systemic optimum, represented by complete absence of censorship, not only corresponds to lower levels of violence over time, but allows for significant periods of social peace after each outburst.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	5-20
Number of pages	16
Journal	BMS Bulletin of Sociological Methodology/ Bulletin de Methodologie Sociologique
Volume	115
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0759106312445697
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2012

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

Agent-based Modelling
Flash Mobs
Internet Censorship
Social Media
Social Simulation
UK Civil Violence

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10.1177/0759106312445697

Cite this

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abstract = "Following the 2011 wave of political unrest, extending from the Arab Spring to the UK riots, the formation of a large consensus around Internet censorship is underway. The present paper adopts a social simulation approach to show that the decision to “regulate”, filter or censor social media in situations of unrest changes the pattern of civil protest and ultimately results in higher levels of violence. Building on Epstein's (2002) agent-based model, several alternative scenarios are generated. The systemic optimum, represented by complete absence of censorship, not only corresponds to lower levels of violence over time, but allows for significant periods of social peace after each outburst.",

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N2 - Following the 2011 wave of political unrest, extending from the Arab Spring to the UK riots, the formation of a large consensus around Internet censorship is underway. The present paper adopts a social simulation approach to show that the decision to “regulate”, filter or censor social media in situations of unrest changes the pattern of civil protest and ultimately results in higher levels of violence. Building on Epstein's (2002) agent-based model, several alternative scenarios are generated. The systemic optimum, represented by complete absence of censorship, not only corresponds to lower levels of violence over time, but allows for significant periods of social peace after each outburst.

AB - Following the 2011 wave of political unrest, extending from the Arab Spring to the UK riots, the formation of a large consensus around Internet censorship is underway. The present paper adopts a social simulation approach to show that the decision to “regulate”, filter or censor social media in situations of unrest changes the pattern of civil protest and ultimately results in higher levels of violence. Building on Epstein's (2002) agent-based model, several alternative scenarios are generated. The systemic optimum, represented by complete absence of censorship, not only corresponds to lower levels of violence over time, but allows for significant periods of social peace after each outburst.

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Social Media Censorship in Times of Political Unrest - A Social Simulation Experiment with the UK Riots

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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