Evaluation of The Practicality of Internet Censorship

In this age of technology, everyone uses the internet. From individuals with different backgrounds and interests to companies and their everyday needs. Censorship occurs when what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the internet by the public is suppressed or controlled by regulators. Contrary to popular belief, these regulators have our best interest at heart, and regulating what we see is only one of the many strategies used to protect us and make life better. This essay seeks to explore the practicality of internet censorship in particular and how it seeks to aid society.

Assessing the Feasibility of Internet Censorship

Many methods can be used to censor the internet. Content filtering prohibits individuals from accessing specified websites and other resources in a certain geographic location. Next is the filtering of keywords, which prohibits the use of certain phrases in online content. Then, web search filtering, where search engines filter information to make finding certain content more difficult for users, or even the elimination of content, which involves deleting content that has already appeared online. Although blocking keywords prevents other types of information from being generated, blocking content, filtering searches, and deleting content prevents the circulation of existing information.

Internationally, the censoring of social media websites, broadcasting sites, chat groups, and internet telephone services (for example, Skype) also occurs. For instance, in China, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites are blocked by denial of service (Zittrain & Edelman, 2003). Other countries, like Australia, block websites for gamers and those selling games to children younger than fifteen years of age. In Libya, during Gaddafi’s regime, the Aljazeera news television channel was blocked (Freedom House, 2013).

Censorship is also used in the workplace. In some companies, employees are restricted from accessing social media sites and certain websites using the techniques mentioned above. In the public sector, extremists would say internet censorship pulls wool over the eyes of the citizens it affects, and that the population needs to realize what is being done in front of their faces. They argue that censoring allows “those at the top” to create a false narrative in a society that “those at the bottom” would call the truth. They assert that it reduces the overall intelligence of the general public and that it’s a serious violation of one's freedom of expression. They also claim that censorship costs governments millions just to be put into practice (MacKinnon, 2012).

The Role of Censorship in Society

Censoring the internet protects society. Governments seeking to impose censorship do so in the name of protecting public morality against pornography and gambling, or even the fight against terrorism. The web can be a very dark place if it’s not regulated. Other reasons include national security, social stability, and combating “cyber anarchy,” or preventing crime. The South African government’s reasons for imposing internet censorship are: the protection of children, national security, and the protection of intellectual property (Smith, 2014).

The private sector also makes use of internet censorship. In some cases, social media companies work with the government when it comes to filtering and regulating online content. Censoring protects children from unhealthy content and also stops the flow of false information. In Singapore, materials going into the home are more heavily censored than those going into the corporate world. The distinctive aspect of censorship in Singapore would be home versus company, children versus adults, public versus private use. In contrast, products that can be shown to have some concrete and broader advantages — such as trade, music, and education — are filtered with a much lighter hand. On the other hand, things that are considered less observable, such as 'pure entertainment,' are censored more (George, 2007).

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Censoring protects children from detrimental content that they may come across on the internet. Every parent likely supports censoring when it comes to ensuring their children are protected while online. When it comes to national security, any government would want to add another level of security to their country’s profile. Internet censoring helps to identify potential threats and allows the government to be more proactive. When it comes to protecting the rights of artists, innovators, and inventors, internet censoring plays a major role in protecting the registered creations of these individuals.

A personal experience of mine leads me to share a story. It’s a story that forever stayed with me as it showed how easily one can be trapped by dark entities with the use of the internet. I was in church one day and someone came to give a testimony. They said, as a teen, they had searched the keywords “Harry Potter” into a search engine, and that led them to a site that supposedly taught people how to do magic. To make a long story short, this “magic” turned out to be demonic rituals and led the speaker down a dark path. Internet censorship distinguishes the good from the bad. It illuminates the otherwise invisible line of what is deemed safe for viewing from what is not. Though the internet is a very useful tool, without censoring, it can be very ruthless and unforgiving in what it exposes its users to. If internet censorship was properly put in place, that site would have never been available for selection and would have never been able to corrupt the mind of an impressionable teenager.

Conclusion

The pros of internet censorship surely outweigh the cons. Yes, the cons are ever-present, but in reality, they are a small price to pay for the security and peace of mind that comes with internet censoring. Censorship simply puts reins on the unpredictable, raw entity that is the internet. As technology continues to advance, the need for responsible regulation becomes even more essential to ensure that the internet remains a safe space for all users.

References:

• Freedom House. (2013). Freedom on the Net 2013. Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/libya
• George, C. (2007). Consolidating authoritarian rule: Calibrated coercion in Singapore. The Pacific Review, 20(2), 127-145.
• MacKinnon, R. (2012). Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom. Basic Books.
• Smith, M. (2014). Internet Censorship in South Africa: An Overview. South African Journal of Information Management, 16(1), 1-6.
• Zittrain, J., & Edelman, B. (2003). Internet Filtering in China. IEEE Internet Computing, 7(2), 70-77.