The Importance Of Censorship

Technology has permanently altered the flow of information in the modern era. First with stationary computers and now with hand-held devices advancements in technology have given individuals immediate access to receive and dispatch information with the push of a button. This growth of information and communication has globalised knowledge from the rise of increasingly affordable advancements such as the Internet, helping to encourage an atmosphere that promotes the freedom of information. The Internet has revolutionised communication by encouraging the increased mobility of information access across states and borders previously considered impossible. This however poses a threat to authoritarian regimes who utilise information censorship as

Censorship as a means of controlling information has been part of human society since the ancient antiquity era. However, as societies developed and technology advanced censorship became significantly more important with the invention of the printing press and other technologies which drastically increased the reproduction and flow of information (page 1). initially it was the church leadership who imposed censorship on the distribution of blasphemous information, however secular institutions of the state soon institutionalised censorship as well. From the late 15th to 19th century, the conflict between censorship and the press seemed to have finalised as literacy rates increased and the importance of education became more central to daily life. The easy and affordable printing of ideas played a major factor to the establishment of a community of scientists who could easily share information through scholarly journals, helping to bring the age of enlightenment and democratisation of knowledge. From a legal position these publishers were protected and within certain parameters free to produce any information. The acquisition and spread of information spread through all parts of European society, not just the privileged aristocrats or within the clergy. The democratisation of knowledge did not last, however, as the 20th century gave rise to a violent reversal in individual freedoms as totalitarian regimes and World Wars flourished, re-establishing an atmosphere of harsh censorship and other control measures to the flow of