Censorship Is A Way Of Regulating Information

Although we, as citizens of this country, are guaranteed freedom of speech and press by the first amendment, we are encouraged to “watch what we say”. In order to avoid unnecessary violence and to keep people from being offended, it is recommended the certain things be censored. While many may look at this censorship as a well-needed percussion it can reversely be seen as going against one's first amendment rights, in itself causing controversy.

On the other hand, some people argue that book censorship is a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of speech, and the right to self expression. One article puts its effects this way, “Permitting restraints on literature sets the stage for attacks on all expression that is artistically or politically controversial or that portray unpleasant realities of life.” This,

Internet censorship refers to the suppression and control of what people can access, publish, or view on the cyberspace (Reynolds, 2014). It may be done by regimes or private firms at the command of the government. It can be a government’s initiative is or carried out by regulators. Organizations and individuals may practice self-censorship for religious, business or moral reasons to comply with societal norms, out of fear of consequences such as legal impact, or owing to intimidation. The degree of cyberspace censorship differs on a nation-to-nations basis. Most democratic nations have moderate cyberspace censorship. Other nations go as far as to restrict the information accessibility; they suppress discussion among citizens and limit news. Internet censorship can also occur in anticipation of or in response to events like protests, riots or elections. An ideal example is the increased level of censorship owing to the Arab Spring events. Other censorship areas include defamation, copyrights, obscene material and harassment.

Censorship is a concept with several different meanings. To each individual censorship has its own meaning. Is it a violation of our rights or is it a protection for our well being? Censorship in the generic sense refers to the suppression of information, ideas, or opinions. It occurs in all forms of communication from technological media to print media. Each society, culture, or individual's belief is violated by the codes of censorship that our society instills.

Computers, televisions, and radio are all ways that we can access information, but how much of this information is accurate? Censorship happens all over the world and can range from blocking websites or articles, arresting newscasters and journalists, to killing/ murdering them for writing things that their government deemed unacceptable. It takes away people’s freedoms and rights. It also being used as a means to control people and keep them misinformed. There are some valid reasons for censorship such as parental controls, and withholding information during an ongoing investigation but the misuses of censorship outweigh most, if not all of the beneficial reasons. Therefore, censorship is an abuse of power that should not go unchecked.

The history of the world has undoubtedly been dominated by an endless struggle for power. However, after a brief glimpse into the pages of history it should not take long to realize that the trick to maintaining power lies in the control of information. Even the most fearsome military generals of the past acknowledge the power of the mind and ideas over lethal force. Former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin once said “… [Ideas] are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, then why should we let them have ideas.” Stalin’s quote personifies the main concept of this literature review which will be discussing the history of government censorship and its effects that are

Censorship dates all the way back to 443 BC in ancient Rome with the Office of Censor. In that time this was an office of great repute, the Office of Censor was charged with the shaping of the character of the people. Thus it was considered to be an honorable task, since then the connotation of the word and such an office has changed greatly. Today censorship is the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc. and suppressing “unacceptable parts” based on whoever is defining “unacceptable.” Unacceptable has been considered to be a wide range of concepts from ideas to sexually explicit content. Historically in the USSR most leaders used censorship in every form as a means of suppressing whatever or whoever was perceived as a

Censorship is "the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic or educational materials ... on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable in light of the standards applied by the censor. Challenges to school materials have started to become a more prevalent and common occurrence in society especially in public schools. Public schools usually address censorship issues by taking one or more routes: imposing a list of acceptable literary works on all teachers, providing guidelines for the school district, or giving full authority to teachers to choose appropriate reading material and relying on their discretion. Advocates for censorship in school often target material that discusses race, sexuality, religion, and ethnicity

Censorship is the process of suppressing something that is considered objectionable or offensive” (Truly 1). It is also the obstruction of Freedom of Expression. The process starts when a work is found offensive because its contents are considered vulgar, contradicting to beliefs and values, or violent. Concerned citizens form groups and create a strong social pressure to force the government or schools to remove the content. The information introduced in schools can contradict the ideas and values taught at home. Therefore parents become offended and request for the information to be censored. In an effort for schools to maintain order and discipline throughout, they may censor within reason. The First Amendment rights cannot be fully enforced in public schools since they may cause disruption. This causes such controversy and debate, because the preconditions of what can be censored are based on judgement. Cases may be taken to court; the ruling of a lower court may be controversial enough to elevate the case in to higher courts, eventually the Supreme Court. Overall, schools have authority over the types of information available to students.

There is a difference between censorship and prior restraint. Censorship is the censoring of writing by government officials, and it is a way to control the flow of information under the constitution before it is published; the prior restraint is a form of censorship and is an official government restriction from speech prior to publication. Moreover, these things can be censored; speech, art, books, films, plays, photography, TV programs, Radio programs, Internet, News reports, etc. Usually prior restraint worked before the expression is made public by government, but censorship imposed by government, licensing, or self-censorship.

Many people have no idea what censorship is it is the suppression of words, images, or ideas the are deemed offensive (Source 7 #47). This can be either the tv shows someone watches or the posters hanging up around a school. Most censorship in the last ten years have been by the government, but there are many forms of censorship which include self-censorship, stealth censorship, and religious censorship. All of these forms of censorship happen on a daily basis and most censorship goes undetected. Although there are many forms of censorship which include book banning, visual art censorship, and social media censorship.

Censorship may be protection from inappropriate materials, but it also limits free speech. For the limitation of free speech, it is reasonable why people are emphatically against censorship. It is understood that there is a need to filter some of the materials released in today’s society, but too much is being done by people who have no right meddling with everyone’s rights. Civilization has always been plagued by a never ending battle being fought over what is deemed right and wrong. In today’s culture, censorship oppresses everything in the media. From movies and music to television and even news stories, most of the content viewed today has been filtered one way or another. Restrictions have been in place since early societies have been

I think there are important aspects on both side of whether the internet should be regulated. But my gut feeling is that it should not be regulated. According to the Oxford dictionary, the meaning of freedom is ‘the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants’. Censorship overlooks people’s right of freedom. Some of the reasons why censorship should not be regulated is that it limits freedom of the press, and speech which is in violation of the 1st amendment. Censorship takes away freedom to express yourself. Another reason is that it would restrict access to essential information that could be important. When making educated decisions regarding something you might not make the best decision if you do not get all the answers. Censorship

Imagine a society without censorship, where everyone knows each other’s secrets, it would be lethal for society. What would happen if people knew one’s weaknesses?. There is evil that needs to be censored. Censorship is necessary in our society for many different reasons. It protects nations, prevents conflict in society, it protects the morals/privacy of people, and it is also helpful for children.

Freedom of expression, and open access to media, are as fundamental to the survival of Progress as the sun and rain are to the survival of planet Earth. Yet censorship remains a traditional response of any group that finds itself offended at another's message or creative indulgence.