Internet Censorship In China

Censorship is the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. There are good reasons why censorship is used, such as some information might have to be censored for the content it might display and which in turn might cause a disturbance in peace. Countries try not abuse the fact they are allowed to do this because they are the ones who create the rules. However, China is abusing this fact and has been doing it to the point people are fearing what they can post or use on the internet. This issue was brought up in recent years because it has many different types of medians that were found in the New York Times. Firstly, the discussion

Today’s society has an affinity for even fledgling technological advances. If you take a look around, almost everyone has the new iPhone or Galaxy cell phone. Each new, updated device supplants the last. The incessant use of internet is brought on by the fact that it changes how we complete almost every task.

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

Censorship in China has gained much attention recently because of the conflict between Google and the Chinese government’s self-censorship policies. In fact, censorship has been practiced since ancient China and the intensity only increases by the years. Nowadays, the most notable measure of censorship is being done on the Internet. More and more restrictions have been put into actions by the Chinese government, which make the life of Chinese Internet users, the Chinese netizens, very inconvenient. With the intensity of censorship increasing and the censoring technology improving, Internet censorship has mainly negative effects on Chinese society.

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.

People say that if the government were to censor what users can have access to on the internet, it will make it harder for terrorists to recruit people and even impossible to recruit them online. A problem arises if the government abuses its power. For example, if the government were to see something that don’t agree with say for instance a user on a website attempting to organize a peaceful protest, it could be labeled as an act of terrorism by the government just to get it removed. Actions like these may not happen in the United States but they do happen in other countries where their government has control over almost everything that its citizens have access to. Sally Driscoll and Tracey M. DiLasio said in the article titled “Counterpoint: There is no Need to Create New Censorship Laws Specifically for the Internet” “the influence of the Internet continues to spread around the world, many countries are struggling with the question of how best to control it. The worst censorship occurs in countries such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam. Saudi Arabia and Iran maintain the tightest Internet controls in the Middle East. Some of these ideals may also violate human rights laws.” Punishment for anything that may seem controversial in the eyes of the government in some of these countries can range from imprisonment to being tortured to death. There are people within some of these countries that may have family members outside of the country and their only means of communicating are through the internet. In some countries, you can be sentenced to death just by talking with someone outside of the

In a world of ever evolving technology, it has become increasingly difficult for many leaders to censor and control the flow of information. The development of the Internet throughout the nineties has created a cosmopolitan world in which people from across the earth can communicate and share ideas and information. The development of Internet technology and social media web platforms have led to an increased desire for democracy in many areas of the world; however, some nations have worked to curtail the freedom of information flow by developing complex Internet censorship programs. While Internet censorship is a highly relevant topic in today’s society, it is mainly viewed as a problem in non-democratic countries. While at there is merit to this viewpoint, censorship is a much more universal obstacle than most people realize.

Technology of the past was welcomed with open arms due to the fact that a majority of the time it helped solve problems plaguing us such as providing us with medical cures or developing machines that are able to prepare a warm meal quicker. However, with such problems solved, a lot of technology today is centered around keeping our population with longer life expectancies entertained, especially with one major creation that has shifted the way that we live--the Internet.

In the Age of Information or the Era of the Internet, everyone is connected. Everyone carries around a computer in their pocket with more than enough computing power to send a man to the moon. Invisibly, data is constantly flowing. Virtually everything we interact with in today’s world has one thing in common: the internet. It plays a huge role in everything from sharing pictures with friends to the election. It is widely accessible and houses a wealth of information. Anyone should be able to access the network of data that is the internet. However, just as this Swiss Army Knife of innovation can be applied towards the common good, it can also be limited and used nefariously—an action that manifests itself in the form of censorship. Internet

"Censoring the internet would take away individual or group rights. If the internet would be censored the government would band information online that is thought to be objectionable or dangerous. The remove of ideas that are available to society online would prejudge the material for everyone and take away the option of making one’s own opinions on given topics. This removal of information would take away the right to fear all sides of every issue and to make individualized judgments on those issues. These rights are protected under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. The First Amendment was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789 and it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment

Did you know that 25.3% of people encounter at least one form of internet censorship while using the internet and the number of people that are affected by internet censorship on any given day is 1.72 billion? (“32 Amazing Internet Censorship Statistics”).This is because of the censorship problems here in America. Censorship is defined as the act of “examining books, movies, letters, etc., and removing things that are considered to be offensive, immoral, harmful to society, etc,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. However, censorship has now evolved to not only protecting, but blocking the flow of ideas. Censorship also gives companies power to fire workers for stating their opinion. Our first amendment gives us the freedom of speech. Is censorship taking that away?

The documentary primarily focused on the aspect of China’s people and the people they put in power who run their country. Of all of the topics covered throughout the documentary, however, censorship was the most appealing to me. In the United States, it is believed that censorship is not as strict as it really is. Due to the fact that China is a communist country, whereas the United States is not, people tend to assume the worst.

Censorship is used in different countries as a tactic to control the media. A common reason government censor things is that they believe they are protecting their people by hiding and altering these things. In South Korea there was a recent abuse of censorship by the government banning thousands of artists that specialize in different forms of art. “The list of nearly 10,000 artists in film, theatre, dance, music, fine arts and literature reads like a Who’s Who of Seoul’s art scene” (Source D). The article talks about Minister Cho and Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon who were indicted for abusing their power. The article talks about censoring thousands of artists for creating things that the government did not want their people to see so they

On the other hand, the US does not actively regulate the internet, relying on the public to regulate content on the internet, with little government intervention. The internet in the US is relatively open, whereas in China, information on the internet is suppressed based on what the Chinese government deems appropriate or inappropriate. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has stated, “Countries that heavily censor the ‘Net are creating a new ‘Information Curtain’ to rival the old Iron Curtain of the Cold War era.”(Anderson)

My research project explored the extent of internet censorship and its necessity to China as a form of societal protection. It discussed the advantages, disadvantages and impacts of censorship on Chinese society. As I researched the topic, I determined that censoring parts of the internet was more than just about protecting the young Chinese children from online predators and distressing content. My initial intention was to highlight the wrongfulness of widespread censorship however, as I researched, I was able to understand that censoring parts of the internet improved the Chinese economy, prevented cybercrimes from occurring while concurrently offering online safety. I discovered this by analysing several different websites, YouTube videos and conducting two interviews with people with expertise in the Chinese internet. My outcome, presented in the form of a feature article, explained that censoring parts of the internet benefits society more than it harms.