Governments Censoring Internet Content

Most who argue against censorship believe that it goes against a person’s right to freedom of speech. Within this argument, most people wonder “just when, and on what grounds, the state is justified in using its coercive powers to limit the freedom of individuals” (West). When thinking in this mindset, individuals tend to antagonize the government, because they come to believe that it suppresses their individuality and fail to consider the fact that it unites people who share its similar beliefs. As a result of the recent spike in technology and use of the Internet, the public must continually alter its definition of freedom of speech and expression. As the media offers more and more methods of communication, many of which are relatively self-regulated by users, more methods of expression develop, which may render other forms of expression obsolete, or even socially unacceptable (Qazi). Without understanding how much freedom of speech one is entitled to, one may never hope to defend that freedom if it ever comes under attack. Because technology develops so quickly that one definition will hardly suffice for a short period of time, people will find it increasingly difficult to understand how much right to expression they are allowed and will therefore fight for any and all that they may attain, never considering the benefits of censorship in the slightest. In America especially, people idealize the idea of democracy, the investigation of truth, and independence (Fieser). In

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.

Censorship has been adopted in many societies as well as the governments of our world. As the history of the world expands we see many countries try to censor what their citizens see. When the countries do this they are not assisting the country, they are leading it into a self-destruction. A good example of this would be America in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. This nation is destroyed in a futuristic war that only lasts a couple of minutes, if not seconds. Other fitting examples include the Nazi regime and the Soviet Union, both governments censoring their population in what they could read, write, and see. As we know both of these governments did not succeed and ultimately were obliterated and the countries were punished. Government censorship not only wounds the ability for people to grow and expand in their thought process, but it eventually causes the ultimate self-destruction of the nation.

Overall governments, organizations, and those in power often times use censorship in order to shelter or hide things from people. For example, when a parent is just doing what is best for their kid and doesn’t just let them do whatever they want. There is always a reason, often times thought to be protection. However it could potentially be more, perhaps manipulation? Whatever may be the reason censorship will remain a vastly used form of restriction that some may just need to learn to

Imagine a place where you have access to anything and everything one could want. Some would say that is only existent in a utopia, and some would say that describes the Internet. Many adults go on to the net and access pornographic material that would be unsuitable for children. This is called cyberporn. The controversy lies in the fact that children are accessing these materials also. Government, activist groups, and concerned parents are fighting to regulate obscene material found over the Internet to protect children. The first amendment is the only thing protecting adults from losing their rights to obtain pornographic or indecent material on the net. Under the first amendment the government must not regulate cyberporn. Online sex

As Canadians, we live in a country of democracy and freedom, which provide equal opportunities for all citizens to share their thoughts. Unlike Canadians who are able to influence the direction of political value, Syrians are under Internet censorship and surveillance by their own country. Censorship caused the local government to filters online content block many websites, limiting citizens’ accessibility to create user generated content. Furthermore, Internet access was only given to a privileged minority. In the year of 2011, the first wave of protests - the Arab Spring, spread across the Middle East. As the civil war rages, death toll raised to 250,000, nearly half of them civilians. Also, a large number of people fled their homes, seeking

Freedom of expression is a right given to fuel people’s imaginative minds that are occupied with different thoughts and opinions. Censorship is only an obstacle, preventing people from expressing their inner beliefs by replacing it with fake ones. Censorship actively prohibits and suppresses people’s opinions to speak up in society freely and openly. It restricts the common adult or child of any gender from being themselves and fighting for what they believe in. Censoring speech and expression only establish greater problems than the one attempting to be resolved that both prevent people from expressing themselves and cover the ears of those who are willing to listen.

Internet censorship is the control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. This can include blocking entire websites, blocking parts of certain websites, prohibiting certain search engine keywords, monitoring individual internet use, and punishing individuals for this use. On a smaller scale, companies censor access to certain websites to increase productivity in workers or decrease chances of a sexual harassment lawsuit. Parents may block certain website on their family computers in an attempt to maintain their child’s innocence. On a much larger scale, entire governments can censor or track the Internet use of its constituents.

The Internet’s continuous advancement has produced the need for an on-going debate on whether or not the government should have the power to control the Internet. The idea of the government having control over what each country’s citizens can see on the Internet is also called Internet Censorship. Internet Censorship “is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet.” Internet Censorship varies from country to country depending on each country’s current usage and philosophy of how it should be used. (toptenreviews.com) Currently, there are ten countries including

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

Through the internet, you can hear about many stories from viewpoints you didn’t know existed. There are true utilitarian’s out there who want to create messages that the community would want to receive. For instance, www.copblock.org is a website that presents stories of police officers wrong doings. While this doesn’t prove that all cops are bad, it does give an alternate perspective on police officers. When officers are mentioned on the news by mainstream media, it is almost always in a positive light. It has been said there are two sides to every story, but both sides aren’t always told. This is the problem with mainstream media today, and is where they fail to uphold to their responsibility.

In this technological day and age, it is difficult to regulate and control the information and ideas that are circulated among people within a society. Media censorship is a hotly contested and controversial topic. Censorship refers to the careful examination of electronic and print media for a single purpose. This purpose is to alter or suppress specific ideas that could be considered inappropriate or offensive to specific cultures, beliefs, and values. It is considered necessary for the protection of the viewing public. It clocks out content which mainly is harmful to people an it aims to protect children and vulnerable people by blocking and removing content from media to limit and restrict what they can see However, since media censorship

The simplest definition of censorship is the control or suppression of ideas and information released within a society. In the early 20th century, censorship was achieved for the purpose of altering offensive or objectionable information that may have brought negative attention to government or a political figure. However in recent times censorship has taken a more iron-fisted approached with suppressing information and it can be argued that nations across the world are stripping away our freedom of speech through the internet. This has become a pressing issue throughout different communities around the world and it has divided content creators and internet surfacers alike. Censorship has become such a talked about topic that news outlets such as The Washington Times and Huffington Post have taken a stance on the matter. Washington times took a biased stance posting an article titled “Blankly, we need censorship” while Huffington Post takes a more unbiased approach covering both sides of the argument. Finding multiple perspectives on the same issue is key when analyzing different news stories and it is important that one is able to see what information may be biased or not when taking it in.

These days the internet has become an essential part to living for almost everyone but one of the controversial topics that people bring up is that whether or not the government should regulate information on the internet. Both sides have valid points which form a reasonable argument. Some people would say that they need to because of the dangers lurking around in the cyber world but the reasons for why the government shouldn’t regulate the Internet outnumber the reasons for why they should. The federal government should not regulate or censor information on the internet because doing so violates the first amendment and citizen’s right to privacy, degrades the educational value of the web, prevents the promotion and facilitation of

Internet censorship is developing far and wide and influences us, regardless that as United States citizens, we have additional technological opportunities than what many other nations do. Numerous Americans underestimate the opportunities that living in the United States permits us. Whether we are sending electronic mail, posting on our social media pages, or seeking out the latest news, we are ensured the opportunity of self-expression and an inexhaustible amount of information right at our fingertips. Censorship takes control of people's expression, and many countries, governments, and leaders support it for this reason. Internet Censorship in the United States in comparison to different nations brings to light the global and ethical issue regarding the basic human rights of education, communication, and freedom.