Internet Censorship
Here in America we have people from all around the world. We have the freedom to write down our own opinions. And we also have the right to read about those same opinions without fear of regulation. Now think about how many other countries can’t enjoy those simple things that we unknowingly rely on. Countries that look only at what they are allowed to see. And are kept in the dark in matters their government doesn’t agree with. The internet, TV, and radio are all subject to regulation. Think about what that might feel like. Without controversial topics or foreign influence we’d live ignorant lives. Without news of other countries or international communication we would only see what our government wanted us to. Without any idea of what lies beyond our borders or without knowledge of the Seven Wonders of the World. There are places in the world where censorship is prevalent and is as extreme as this. These people live in a shell of information that their authoritarian policies sprawl out over them. There are hundreds of countries around the world that censor what their people know. North Korea for example covered up a famine that killed millions (Tom Zeller Jr.) and Burma played down the severity of the tsunami in 2004. (Nick Parker, 1)To some extent America is different from these foreign regimes but there are still some similarities. While internet censorship would inevitably help in some cases, it would undermine basic American rights and should not be implemented. The people should not waive the rights promised to them in the constitution. The censorship of internet content can take many forms and ranges from a government block of political opinion to private websites and confidential information. In places all over the world people are given a false sense of security and governments have come to abuse this in the changing world. There is a majority of people who believe in the personal freedoms of the individual instead of the protection censorship could offer. There is a lot of room for debate on the issue of internet censorship because of the possible benefits it possesses. Many governments would say that it is one of the only tools they can use calm the public on captivating issues and possibly eliminate an unnecessary flustering of citizens here and there. Although the process will likely continue, many have begun to argue the methods and motives behind the government’s actions.
Originally, restricted information such as pornography was both the most widely targeted content and also the one that was justified the most by countries. Although, the scope and scale of content targeted for filtering has grown. We would expect governments to use the concept of content censorship to shield its people from things that could be potentially harmful. But over the years we've found that the spectrum of content that's targeted for filtering has grown to include political and security-related content. Instead of the common belief that a government program would never withhold information, we are traveling down a road that might one day lead to something else. The concept that someone is given an inch than they will take three is what censorship could soon become. While there is a clear exception for national security, we can usually see governments stray from this. In some instances governments take censorship very serious. North Korea is the most censored country in the world; they take the issue as far as banning internet all together in some cities. Television and Radio are both restricted to government controlled frequencies (Tom Zeller Jr.). While North Korea’s political leaders would most likely defend staying completely isolated
