Free speech is very important and I don't think we have that at Intel that's why we post on here anonymously. I would suggest to HR that a better use of time instead of trying to stifle free speech would be to address the reason why people post on here and the many valid issues they raise. Intel as a company is failing and the main reason is you don't respect the people that once made Intel great.
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There is no indirect application of the first amendment here. It just does not apply ( unless you are saying that Intel is getting people arrested and charged for speaking their mind ). The first amendment prohibits the Congress to pass legislation that restricts free speech ( and other things) . Intel owns its internal message boards and it can moderate them as they please.
Odd discussion, don't they teach that stuff in schools anymore?
Yes, first ammendment applies to government, but it also affect speach here indirectly.
If you badmouth Intel while having a relationship with Intel (employment for example), Intel can act on it as they damn well please until they hit some other law (human rights, fed or state law). However, if no relationship exists (post ISP for example) Intel cannot act by itself anymore. They have to go though the courts (which are government) and then you have the first ammendment protections.
Even then, there's always libel/slander laws that can get you or if you've been stupid enough to sign a 'non-criticise' clause. I am in my full rights to say I believe BK is a moron and that I believe his and HR/Legal are criminals. I don't need to prove my belief to anybody.
If you think the first amendment applies here you have no idea what the first amendment is and how it protects free speech.
When we do our yearly Code Of Conduct training, we can listen to BK saying that we should follow the law and the spirit of the law.
Well, OK, Intel is not a governmental agency and we should not say negative things about Intel publicly... however this forces us to be hypocrist. The spirit of the law about free speech indicates that the free speech is a basic need of human being and groups of individuals. This helps organizations staying healthy.
Obviously Intel does not understand that one need to be healthy (if although paranoid) to survive.
Unfortunately, it's true that the first amendment is NOT some kind of basic human right, it's a guaranteed right of ours (in the USA) that the government cannot take away. Intel, as your employer, can most definitely deny certain types of speech at the workplace. If you don't like it then you can work elsewhere. Since it's your choice to accept their speech limitations, I don't see how anybody can argue that their right to free speech is being violated (even if Intel was the government) - you're freely choosing to follow those rules by working there.
Though nowadays, if you disagree with liberals then you have no expectation of first amendment rights. You need to shut up with your "other ways of thinking" and agree with them or else...
The first amendment only constrains government action.
Private citizens, and private organizations can, and routinely do, restrict free speech. Now, neither can really stop you from saying it -- but they can punish you afterwards.
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You can say what you want -- but then everyone else can call you a jackass. If you're the Dixie Chicks, people can not only call you jackasses, they can also stop buying your records and stop attending your concerts.
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Private companies can (and do) fire people who say or write critical opinions of the company.
None of these actions by private entities violates the first amendment because they're not governments.
That is a very good point OP.
The guy who said intel is not government: human rights should be valid every where. Not only at government. If tbey have anonymous portal propke would use that instead. But i would worry on the annonimity down there.
You f---ing idiots have no idea what the first amendment says, apparently. Intel is not a government agency...
That's part of the problem. When you are a h1b you can't have free speech because you are a slave to an organization. Too many h1b and the company has pure group think.
Free speech and the US Constitution aren't know by H1B and a corrupt CEO.