Question

which of the following scenarios violate the first amendment? select the 2 that apply a major social media platform suspends a user for violating its community standards. the governor orders state police to arrest a newspaper editor for publishing a story that made the governor look bad. a private company fires an employee who skipped several meetings in protest of the company’s environmental policies. police arrest a group of protesters after they enter a theater and disrupt the show. government agents take a young man’s cell phone after he criticized the president’s policies on social media.

Explanation:

1. For the scenario "The governor orders state police to arrest a newspaper editor for publishing a story that made the governor look bad": The First Amendment protects freedom of the press. The governor, as a government official, using state police to arrest an editor for publishing a critical story is government censorship of the press, violating the First Amendment.
2. For the scenario "Government agents take a young man’s cell phone after he criticized the president’s policies on social media": The First Amendment protects freedom of speech. Government agents retaliating against a citizen's criticism of the president (a form of speech) by taking his phone is a violation of his right to free speech.
3. Analyzing the other options:

• A social media platform (private entity) suspending a user for violating its community standards: Private entities are not bound by the First Amendment in the same way the government is, so this does not violate the First Amendment.
• A private company firing an employee: Private employers are generally not bound by the First Amendment in employment decisions (the First Amendment restricts government action, not private entities), so this is not a violation.
• Police arresting protesters who disrupted a show: The First Amendment does not protect speech (or protest) that involves unlawful disruption of a private event (theater show), so this is a lawful action, not a violation.

Answer:

B. The governor orders state police to arrest a newspaper editor for publishing a story that made the governor look bad, E. Government agents take a young man’s cell phone after he criticized the president’s policies on social media