“In the face of ongoing revelations about extensive snooping by the US National Security Agency (NSA), censorship abroad may seem like yesterday’s problem. These revelations are troubling, but there is a broader array of threats to internet freedom around the world, and those threats are extensive and are growing” (Calingaert 1). The internet has become a vital part of modern society in the past 20 years, and on the World Wide Web, anything goes. It is one of the last places free from laws and government control ¬̶ well, at least for some. “Nowadays the internet is a wide-open source for information, entertainment, and communication” (Skvarka 1). Since its invention, and consequently the spawn of instantaneous communication, there has been a large debate on whether or not there should be a filter on the tremendous amount of information available to people. “Censorship of information on the internet has become a much publicized debate that currently has no resolution in sight” (Qazi 1). The problem lies in deciding who, or how the censorship should be implemented. The internet is an invaluable tool for communication and knowledge in the modern age, censoring it would affect what information people receive. It is also a vital tool used in all aspects of our world from economics to social media. Censorship could jeopardize the availability of information to the masses.
There are many aspects of internet censorship to consider before coming to a conclusion. “Internet censorship comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes… It ranges from physical attacks on journalists who publish exposés of corruption online, to cyber-attacks on the websites of human rights groups” (Calingaert 1). One of the main arguments for censorship is the prote...
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"The Mystery Behind the." Copyright Laws on the Internet. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Schmidt, Eric, and Jared Cohen. "Web Censorship: The Net Is Closing in." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Timberg, Craig. "Google Is Encrypting Search Globally. That’s Bad for the NSA and China’s Censors." Washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
"Welcome to the Controversy Section." Internet Freedom: Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Wiseman, Paul, and Usa Today. "Cracking the 'Great Firewall' of China's Web Censorship." ABC News. ABC News Network, n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
Lewis, Peter. George Orwell: The Road to 1984. New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.
The internet is a place where people can freely express their political or other views for people to see. A recent study, Freedom of Net, by the activist group Freedom House shows both the immense censorship of information around the world and the declining freedom of information around the world, “Two-thirds of all internet users, 67 per cent, live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family are subject to censorship” (APF & Bell). The report by Freedom House digs into the censorship of government criticism, military criticism, and negative views on the ruling family in two thirds of countries studied in the report with governments around the world are silencing the voices of people and their publications. By censoring the people's voices, the governments are able to control the population and their views on not only their own government, but also countries around the world. Governments around the world are stepping up their censorship of public information posted on social media by taking actions to suppress the publications before they even begin. The report by Freedom House shares how police around the world are arresting and punishing those who have taken to social media to complain about a topic that makes the country look bad. The report states: “Social media users face unprecedented penalties, as authorities in 38 countries made
Owen, Ursula. "Problem or Solution?" Index on Censorship. 3 (2006): 1. EBSCOhost. Accessed March 22, 2010.
Tears begin to fall down a child’s face. Her body goes into shock out of fear. Her mother warned her about watching inappropriate content, and there it was, right on her computer screen. This could not have happened though. All she was doing was casually browsing the internet before a pop-up appeared. Although it may seem hard to believe, the major cause of events such as this is the lack of censorship on the internet. Internet censorship relates to the removal of offensive, inappropriate, or controversial content published online. The current problem with the internet is that there are few restrictions on what can be published or viewed. Several sites on the internet only offer a warning about inappropriate content that can easily be bypassed by agreeing to the terms. Other websites provide access to private or military information. More dreadfully, however, are websites that use their explicit content as a promotion. These factors bring the conclusion that anybody of any given age can view and publish inappropriate or dangerous content. The current problems with the internet serve for clarification as to why the United States should create a nonpartisan assembly to censor the internet in order to protect its citizens from the mental, emotional, and physical harms the internet creates.
Internet is a powerful tool that allows users to collaborate and interact with others all over the world conveniently and relatively safely. It has allowed education and trade to be accessed easily and quickly, but all these benefits do not come without very taxing costs. This is especially true when dealing with the likes of the Internet. Countries in the European Union and Asia have realized this and have taken action against the threat of net neutrality to protect their citizens, even at the cost of online privacy. Internet censorship is required to protect us from our opinions and vices. Every country should adopt Internet censorship and regulation since it improves society by reducing pornography, racism/prejudice, and online identity theft.
...t those that seek to censor some of the information found on the internet. Nunziato (2009) concludes that in order to fulfill the Internet’s promise of being “the most participatory market-place of mass speech that this country-and indeed the world- has seen,” the companies that serve as gatekeepers for free expression need to be regulated to ensure that they fairly administer any censorship such that it “does not detract from the free speech values that are necessary to facilitate the public discussion and informed deliberation that democratic government presupposes and the First Amendment requires”.
Abstract: This paper examines the use of Internet technologies (specifically SafeWeb.com) to counteract invasions of personal privacy and censorship. The paper begins by exploring the methods by which governments, corporations, and commercial agents invade personal privacy. It also discusses Internet censorship on the corporate and governmental levels. It then proceeds to discuss SafeWeb.com, a technology that allows Internet users to surf the Web privately and view censored content. The paper finishes by exploring some of the ethical issues raised by Internet privacy and censorship in specific relation to SafeWeb, concluding that the application of SafeWeb in circumventing the authority of governments and corporations is inherently unethical.
Murdoch, S. J., & Roberts, H. (2013). Internet Censorship and Control [Guest editors' introduction]. IEEE Internet Computing, 17(3), 6-9. doi:10.1109/MIC.2013.5
Wiseman, Paul. "Cracking the 'Great Firewall' of China's Web Censorship." ABC News. USA Today, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. .
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. Orwell, George. A. A. 1984. The. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 1977. Print.
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Orwell, George, and Erich Fromm. 1984: A Novel. New York, NY: Signet Classic, 1961. Print.
As the Internet has become more widely recognized and used by people all over the world, it has brought a new medium in which information can very easily be broadcast to everyone with access to it. In 1995 there was a projected 26 million Internet users, which has grown to almost 300 million today. One major problem with this is that everyone represents different countries and provinces which have different outtakes on certain types of freedom of speech as well as different laws about it. This proposes a new type of law that would need to be written in order to determine whether or not something is illegal on the Internet. A person in one country can express what they want to, but that expression may be illegal in another country and in this situation whose laws are to be followed? What I propose to do accomplish in this paper is to discuss the freedom of speech laws of the United States of America and those of France, China, and Canada. I will examine what about them is similar and what about them is different. The bringing of the Internet has brought many new types of businesses as well as ways in order to communicate with the world, but as with each new endeavor or invention, there needs to be a way in order to govern its use and policies. There must also be ways in order to punish those not following the new laws and policies of use, since that the country that the person is in may allow what they did, but it may not be allowed on the Internet or in a different country. In other words, there is the need for international laws governing the Internet.
The Internet provides a gateway for an individual to speak freely and anonymously without being targeted to what he or she said. With this said, one of the biggest issues concerning the Internet today is freedom of speech. The issue of free speech on the Internet has been a topic of discussion around the world within the past years. It is a unique communication medium and is powerful than the traditional media[2]. Because the Internet can not be compared equally to other mediums of communication, it deserves the utmost freedom of speech protection from the government. The restriction of speech on the Internet takes away from individual's rights and freedom from experiencing the Internet's benefits and uses. Information found on the Internet is endless and boundless and this poses the question, "should the government be allowed to regulate the information and content being transmitted or posted online?"