Internet Censorship - Essay Example

Internet Censorship Introduction Over time, the internet has become a widely used, revolutionary and phenomenal tool for communication, accessing information and conducting business. The internet has become an avenue of immense possibilities where information is shared almost instantaneously regardless of space and time. In the recent years, it has been embraced in socio-economic spheres such as education, retail, criminal and justice systems, hotels, hospitals and media houses among many other spheres. In essence, internet use has proved to be invaluable in enhancing efficiency and effectiveness (Jones, 2008). Nonetheless, while the internet is widely celebrated for it potential, many governments across the world consider the internet as threat and have attempted to enforce censorship (Warf, 2011). Leberknight, Poor Chiang & Wong (2010) define censorship as the system or practice of reading communication and deleting material considered sensitive or harmful. Based on this definition, censorship is the means through which material is sifted or filtered with the aim of choosing desired material and disregarding the rest (Leberknight et al, 2010). Internet censorship is an issue that has over the years been subjected to numerous debate and controversy. Proponents of censorship argue that it is necessary to censor internet use due to moral and security reasons. Conversely, opponents argue that internet censorship is a violation of individual right and freedom to information and expression (Leberknight et al, 2010). This essay seeks to critically discuss how censorship can be work in some instances and how it can become detrimental to society in other instances. Benefits of internet censorship in certain scenario Internet censorship is in most instances meant for the collective good of the society. For example, circumstances where news reporting is done precariously in a manner that sparks ethnic, racial religious or regional conflicts warrants censorship. Ang & Nadarajan (1996) points out that, in Singapore censorship is a widely accepted ideology by Singaporeans judging from historical conflicts ranging from religious to racial violence. In the past, lawlessness was sparked by uncensored news briefs transmitted to the public without sifting through the content to censor contentious issues leading to sporadic spread of violence that would otherwise have been avoided. Ang & Nadarajan (1996) further notes that, the internet is no exception to censorship especially given that communication through the internet is instantaneous. Countering the effects of say hate speech require quick action to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Therefore, censorship proves to be the most effective and immediate means of abating the spread of hatespeech over the internet (Ang & Nadarajan, 1996). Furthermore, Subramanian (2011), the internet has often been used as a tool for rebellion in repressed nations. For instance, the most recent revolution in Libya and Egypt were sparked and sustained through the social media. This demonstrates that the power of the internet in bringing people together for a common cause is unmistakably remarkable. Proponents of censorship often spot national security reasons as an excuse to justify the act. However, in most instances other factors and vested interests of the government and other authorities contribute to censorship of the internet (Subramanian, 2011). Moreover, internet censorship is at times necessary for curbing terrorism and maintaining national security. The government may censor certain sites through regular surveillance. According to Morozov (2011) the access of personal information by the government for security reasons or otherwise is termed as surveillance. Thus, through surveillance the government can monitor security threats and risks that the internet may pause. Likewise, the internet is monitored for conversations that might suggest a plot that may be interpreted to cause disharmony or disturb the peace. In reaction to such threats the government then takes appropriate action to terminate communication through such websites and move to make steps towards apprehending culprits behind the development of such websites as well as those engaged in such communication over the internet (Morozov , 2011). As mentioned earlier, one of the situations in which censorship is necessary is in the aversion conflicts. Besides this, censorship is also necessary when it comes to averting sexual violence and moral degradation. Filtering of content that is provocative, inciting, or inflammatory is necessary in maintaining good moral in standards in society. There is overwhelming evidence that vices such as sexual violence against women is on the rise and that this is being fuelled through the internet (Barron & Kimmel, 2000; Wei & Hoon, 2001). Young people and adults alike are exposed to graphic images that portray violent and brutal treatment of women through sexual exploitation. As a result, audiences oblivious of the fact that these images are made by professional actors are increasingly adopting these violent sexual acts against women and pre-pubescent children. In addition, instances of sodomy and other sexual obscenities are on the rise as a result. The moral degeneration that the internet pauses through distribution of pornography is thus a matter that warrants censorship if any gains are to be made towards eradication of sexual obscenities and maintenance of moral. The International Business Times (2013) reported that India is considering banning of pornography from the internet citing increases in incidences of rape and violence against women and young girls. In this case, censorship would serve to reduce pervasiveness that is prevalent in the society and restore sanity by fostering the fight against sexual violence (Osborne, 2013). In Saudi Arabia the government has also developed a model of internet censorship aimed at maintaining moral values held by the society. The Saudi Arabian government subjects all data in the internet to pass through a system of central censorship. The central unit is a government subsidiary that is mandated with the task of filtering through content in the World Wide Web before allowing it to be transmitted to citizens The Saudi government through this central mechanism of censorship has protects the public from content that it considers immoral (Aljabre, 2012). The protection of copy right material is yet another positive aspect of internet censorship. The internet is an avenue where un-copyrighted material is sold off or shared free of charge in unlawful means. In such instances, the government steps in to reduce the effects of this trend prompted by losses that artist undergo when their intellectual property is distributed online without their due consent. In this case the government through legislation can bar the operations of websites that circulate copyrighted material without authorisation from relevant bodies. As a result, this would serve a great deal to reduce piracy that is done online. By definition, internet piracy is where original material is duplicated and sold off without the owner’s authorisation. Efforts towards censorship on internet piracy would earn the creative arts industry a substantial amount of money through the sales of their artistic works employing the services of legally established and authorised websites (Rowlands, 2013). Additionally, internet censorship can be beneficial in the workplace. The working environment is one which can expose one to boredom due to routine jobs. As a remedy to boredom, a computer with an internet connection may offer an escape but with detrimental effects to the company. Organisations all over the world are grappling with the menace relating to employees’ misuse of the internet during working hours. Misuse of the internet has been associated with reduced productivity in the short run which later translates to dismal performance of the firm in the long haul. Employees who spend time surfing websites that are non-work related waste the companies’ time and financial resources as well. According to Aljabre (2012), all forms of internet use by employees other than formal company business results to misuse. Therefore, personal use of the company’s internet say for online shopping, banking, gaming, reading online news and so on is misuse of the firm’s internet resources. The solution to this problem lies in the censorship of the internet by the company where non-work related websites such as social network sites like Facebook are blocked so as to improve on the productivity of the firm through responsible use of the internet (Aljabre, 2012). Detrimental Impacts of Internet Censorship Despite the positive factors related to internet censorship discussed above, the society is said to suffer the greatest brunt of any form of censorship. Firstly, internet censorship denies society access to information. Internet censorship in most circumstances is geared towards blocking access of specific sites to internet users. For instance, in Iraq the government had to block access to HTTPS sites other than Iranian sites prompted by suspicion of sabotage. More so, the Iranian government believed it was a victim of the Stuxnet virus attack coined by the USA in conjunction with Israel aimed at bringing down the Uranium-enrichment program (Ladhani, 2012). As a result, internet users were prohibited from surfing for information coming from external sites other than those in Iran. Thus, the government filtered all external information coming from the international scene. Iranian internet users were at a loss as they could not access information from the World Wide Web (Ladhani, 2012). Basically, censorship unfairly discriminates the filtering of content in the internet. As a result there is information that is crucial for the development of the society that is in turn censored denying the society crucial information that could lead to positive development. For instance filters against pornography would make information about say breast cancer inaccessible to the internet users interested in information about health risks related to breast cancer (Pat, 2003). Furthermore, due to censorship there is lack of free flow of knowledge among members of the society resulting in slow development. In addition flow of knowledge becomes sluggish, this in turn limits the opportunities of the society to progress proportionately as those with internet access. Secondly, internet censorship renders some businesses incapable of running smoothly since filtering of their websites makes them inaccessible by internet users. The society is also denied the opportunity to conduct business through such websites. Censorship is detrimental to business in such instances especially when the sites blocked are unintentionally blocked as a result of mistaken identity. For instance, Mooney (2009) identifies efforts by the Chinese government to censor pornography in the internet through the development of the Green Dam Program filtering software as detrimental to the access of information. While blocking pornographic sites, the software would also block other websites unintentionally if deemed to contain even the slightest content that suggests pornography. Mooney notes that it is possible that governments use the guise of censorship to control the content consumed by internet users in line with its vested interests in certain business. Similarly, Europmedia (2003) a publication based in the UK reported that censorship of the internet infringes on freedom of expression and this would serve to hurt business conducted online. This was as a consequence of the Finnish government plans to introduce censorship through internet message boards which according to Finnish business owners “…would create significant uncertainties for business and have a chilling effect on commercial communication” (Europmedia 2003). Therefore, censorship of this nature makes online business difficult to conduct. Financial implications of censorship can also prove detrimental to the society. Whereas the cost of installing filters in cyber café is borne by the owner or the internet service provider, the cost in the long run trickles down to the individual internet user. Furthermore, government’s efforts of censorship through high taxation of the internet only serve to make browsing exorbitant and out of reach for the financially disadvantaged in society. As a result, the cost of browsing becomes high. According to Pat (2001) online library users will have to weigh out the financial implications of censorship in opting for sourcing information from online libraries or otherwise. Successively, most library users will lose out given that they cannot afford to browse the internet due to high tariffs. The society in this case is at pains to access knowledge and information from the internet but is in turn hampered by financial restraints brought about by censorship (Pat 2001). Lastly, censorship is detrimental to society because it infringes on the freedom of speech. The internet provides an avenue where people can express themselves and engage in conversation about issues that are relevant to them. The free flow of ideas through the internet enables people around the world to share knowledge about a myriad of topics from friendship, politics, technology, sex, health and so on. Internet censorship works against this culture since it inhibits the flow of ideas and as a result it slows down the progress of social intellectual discussions. In the end the society is the loser as the intellectual development of internet users is hampered due to lack of free flow of knowledge. For instance, in China efforts to censure pornographic content and political material has left very little options for internet users to gain knowledge from the internet (Ang & Nadarajan, 1996). Equally, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) censored information on the internet that would challenge its leadership in fears that this may spark a revolution, the CCP has denied Chinese citizens the right to freedom of expression and ultimately freedom of speech over the internet (Ang & Nadarajan, 1996). (Appendix 1 highlights a list of websites blocked in China). Conclusion This essay has examined the benefits of censorship in some situations and its detrimental effects to society in certain situations. The findings of this essay show that internet censorship can be beneficial when it comes to abating the spread of hate speech, fighting terrorist activities, sexual crimes and violent crimes over the internet. Moreover, censorship helps to increase productivity in the workplace and protecting of copy right materials. Despite the positive factors related to internet censorship, it also has some detrimental effects to society. For instance, it infringes on freedom of expression, it makes it difficult for businesses to run smoothly and brings about negative financial implications. Personally, I think there is need for governments across the world to strike a balance when it comes to internet censorship. Governments need to censor internet use that pose a threat to security. However, they also need to uphold people’s freedom to accessing information and expressing themselves. References Aljabre, A. (2012). “Saudi Arabia Censorship: A Model for Workplace Productivity”. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology 2(1): 142-142. Ang, P.H. & Nadarajan, B. (1996). “Censorship and the Internet: A Singapore Perspective.” Communications of the ACM 39 (6):72-78. Barron, M. & Kimmel, M. (2000). “Sexual Violence in Three Pornographic Media: Toward a Sociological Explanation”. The Journal of Sex Research 37(2): 161-168. Europmedia (2003, Feb 6). Finnish businesses fight internet censorship. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Jones, S. (2008). Business-to-business Internet marketing. Toronto: Maximum Press. Ladhani, N. (2012). “Internet Censorship? Here comes Iran!” Social Policy 42(1):60. Leberknight, C.S, Poor, H.V, Chiang, M. & Wong, F. (2010). ATaxonomy of Censorship and Anti-Censorship. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Mooney, P. (2009). “Beijing’s Abortive Censorship Push.” Far Eastern Economic Review 172: 50-52. Osborne, H.(2013, April 17). “India considering porn ban over rape fear”. International Business Times. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Pat, C. (2001). Internet Debate looming over censorship. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Rowlands, M. (2013). UK: Internet censorship looms as government finds alternatives to flawed Digital Economy Act. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Subramanian, R. (2011). The Growth of Global Internet Censorship and Circumvention: A Survey. Retrieved on June 3 2013 Warf, B. (2011). “Geographies of global internet censorship”. GeoJournal 76: 1-23. Wei, W. & Hoon, K.S. (2001). “Perceived effects of sexually explicit internet content: The third-person effect in Singapore”. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 78(2): 260-274. Appendix 1: Lists of sites blocked in China Website Domain Duration of blockage Google Docs google.com 2011 to present Facebook facebook.com 2008 to present You tube youtube.com 2009 to present Twitter twitter.com 2009 to present Wordpress wordpress.com 2011 to present Blogspot blogspot.com 2009 to present Scribid scribid.com 2011 to present Amnesty International amnesty.org 2011 to present Ustream.tv ustream.tv 2011 to present Amazon Japan Amazon.co.jp 2012 to present Archive.org archive.org 2011 to present Mobile Wikipedia wikipedia.org 2011 to present Picasa google.com 2009 to present Yahoo! Hong Kong yahoo.com 2011 to present Vimeo vimeo.com 2009 to present Read More

According to Morozov (2011) the access of personal information by the government for security reasons or otherwise is termed as surveillance. Thus, through surveillance the government can monitor security threats and risks that the internet may pause. Likewise, the internet is monitored for conversations that might suggest a plot that may be interpreted to cause disharmony or disturb the peace. In reaction to such threats the government then takes appropriate action to terminate communication through such websites and move to make steps towards apprehending culprits behind the development of such websites as well as those engaged in such communication over the internet (Morozov , 2011).

As mentioned earlier, one of the situations in which censorship is necessary is in the aversion conflicts. Besides this, censorship is also necessary when it comes to averting sexual violence and moral degradation. Filtering of content that is provocative, inciting, or inflammatory is necessary in maintaining good moral in standards in society. There is overwhelming evidence that vices such as sexual violence against women is on the rise and that this is being fuelled through the internet (Barron & Kimmel, 2000; Wei & Hoon, 2001).

Young people and adults alike are exposed to graphic images that portray violent and brutal treatment of women through sexual exploitation. As a result, audiences oblivious of the fact that these images are made by professional actors are increasingly adopting these violent sexual acts against women and pre-pubescent children. In addition, instances of sodomy and other sexual obscenities are on the rise as a result. The moral degeneration that the internet pauses through distribution of pornography is thus a matter that warrants censorship if any gains are to be made towards eradication of sexual obscenities and maintenance of moral.

The International Business Times (2013) reported that India is considering banning of pornography from the internet citing increases in incidences of rape and violence against women and young girls. In this case, censorship would serve to reduce pervasiveness that is prevalent in the society and restore sanity by fostering the fight against sexual violence (Osborne, 2013). In Saudi Arabia the government has also developed a model of internet censorship aimed at maintaining moral values held by the society.

The Saudi Arabian government subjects all data in the internet to pass through a system of central censorship. The central unit is a government subsidiary that is mandated with the task of filtering through content in the World Wide Web before allowing it to be transmitted to citizens The Saudi government through this central mechanism of censorship has protects the public from content that it considers immoral (Aljabre, 2012). The protection of copy right material is yet another positive aspect of internet censorship.

The internet is an avenue where un-copyrighted material is sold off or shared free of charge in unlawful means. In such instances, the government steps in to reduce the effects of this trend prompted by losses that artist undergo when their intellectual property is distributed online without their due consent. In this case the government through legislation can bar the operations of websites that circulate copyrighted material without authorisation from relevant bodies. As a result, this would serve a great deal to reduce piracy that is done online.

By definition, internet piracy is where original material is duplicated and sold off without the owner’s authorisation. Efforts towards censorship on internet piracy would earn the creative arts industry a substantial amount of money through the sales of their artistic works employing the services of legally established and authorised websites (Rowlands, 2013). Additionally, internet censorship can be beneficial in the workplace. The working environment is one which can expose one to boredom due to routine jobs.

As a remedy to boredom, a computer with an internet connection may offer an escape but with detrimental effects to the company.

Read More