...Censorship of the Internet – a detriment or a necessity? Kelly Chan A research paper for Matthew Mansour in response to: Throughout the world there has been an increase in discussions regarding “Censorship of the Internet, explain how Censorship can work in some instances but in others it can be a detriment to society. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 What is Censorship? 3.1 Self Censorship 3.2 Censorship as Protection 1.0 Introduction The Internet has undoubtedly developed into the biggest source of global information and media since its modest inception in the late 1960’s. With the increasing ease of worldwide access due to cheaper methods of producing technology and education, bridging the digital divide. However, Government censorship and regulation of access to certain content available on the internet in various countries has raised issues about whether it is effective, regarding each country’s purpose in imposing censorship and whether it is detrimental to the growth in knowledge and progress of society. In this research paper, the role of Censorship in society and the inherent need for appropriate regulation of different levels of access to available information, based on morals and the responsibility we have to the younger generation to protect them from unsuitable content is discussed along with the technology we have to ensure this. The varying degrees of censorship between China and Australia will also...
Words: 2583 - Pages: 11
...activities involved shows that more and more people are using internet for various purpose such as searching, commenting and communication, also times become more frequent than before. There are critical for us to discuss whether internet is an open platform for anyone to do anything. Being censored by the local government is a restriction of internet freedom undoubtedly, paralleling this overall dual perspective, it also is an indispensable protection for national citizens. Based on general knowledge, internet is a platform with decentralized nature which can operate independently and privately. In recent years, its nature has been changed. The government can censors every citizens resources of information as well as communication such as the websites accessed, email content and social networking tools by blocking netizens from accessing specific websites and filtering the sensitive wording. According to R.K., V.D., K.C. (2013, p.2), there are two types of censorship which are technical censorship and non-technical censorship. Technical censorship as the name suggests, the utilization of technical system such as different kind of filters and redirection are applied to users software and code to scout and censor the path of internet services of the user, it has no legal base to support but the authority and government are likely use. While non-technical censorship is usually used coordinate with technical censorship, it bases on legal power to restrict and suppress the radical...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...Influence in Everyday Politics The Chinese political realm differs vastly from liberal democracies that people in the west are familiar with. The statement “in China today, the general public have no political influence” is complicated by a focus on everyday politics. Chinese citizens do participate in everyday politics, although not in the direct way found in democratic nations. The power of social media in China is allowing internet users to express dissatisfaction with the government, even in the face of censorship. The power of social media and its political influence is illustrated through the 2011 Wenzhou train collision case, which ignited outrage from online communities and led to the exposure of corruption amongst government officials. Typically, when a person thinks about the western concept of political influence, voting in a democratic election comes to mind. For the average citizen, their vote represents their voice in politics. If a person is not satisfied with the government or want to voice their concerns, they are able to freely criticize the state or engage in peaceful protests. They may also participate in politics by joining a political party or even forming a new party. The western concept of political influence centers on free speech and acting directly to affect politics. The concept of political influence by the general public in China is vastly different from western norms. The political system in China is not a liberal democracy, thus many foreigners...
Words: 1688 - Pages: 7
...The Internet censorship in China which is controversial is protested by the netizens by the subtle and sarcastic internet meme. With technological development, the Internet is becoming a free and convenient place for sharing views and information instantaneously due to its virtual nature. However, the freedom of Internet may consequently contribute to the antithesis of social norms and copyright so Internet censorship has been proposed for censoring the Internet. The debate of implementing it has been characterized as either machine politics, to attract the support of staunch anti-pornography, or an extension into cyberspace of the ongoing battle between libertarianism and social conservation. This essay will discuss both the advantages and the disadvantages of censoring the Internet in Hong Kong before giving reasons for the position of disagreement. Social filtering prevents the exposure of information that is antithetical to morals. In different aspects, including the gambling sites, pornographic sites and sites promoting criminal activity, can the authority block to the targeted people. Many studies reveal that the mass media gives more considerable effects than others on themselves (Lee, 2005). Helgadóttir (2014) criticizes that the first emergence of the pornographic information to children in Iceland is when they are eleven. There are a great amount of pornographic material which are being easily accessible on the Internet so wrong perception of sex may be distributed...
Words: 1001 - Pages: 5
...regarding “Censorship of the Internet”, explain how Censorship can work in some instances but in others it can be a detriment to society. Introduction Since electronic devices such as computer, smart phone and tablet have generalised and the number of internet users is getting bigger, internet contains tremendous amount of information from trivial one to even significant information that could occur a social problem. Every information is exposed through the internet and people could touch those information easily. As these reasons, government wants to control and monitor the internet access in many nations, including North Korea, Iraq, China, Myanmar, Syria, Turkey, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Maldives, and Tunisia so on. This, government control or suppression of what can be gain access to, distributed, or watched on the internet, is called internet censorship. The definition of internet censorship is a way used by government or religious institutions to supervise or regulate the public access to offensive or harmful materials (Turban, 2012) This topic is very sensitive subject to decide whether it should exist or not. There is a sharp division of belief between people who approve and disapprove. This report is going to illustrate how the censorship works by some method, why the internet censorship is necessary, and the disadvantages of internet censorship, finally it talks about examples and current situation of internet censorship in the world. Necessity of internet censorship ...
Words: 2055 - Pages: 9
...Technologies Used In Internet Censorship and Control Murdoch (2013) opines the Internet as an entity where control is always fought over for by those that use it. He further demystifies the internet, breaking it down to the two protocols that define it. These are the transmission control protocol – TCP- and the Internet Protocol –Ip. It is these protocols that enable the connection of two separate networks to each other. The protocols enable the easy connection of separate networks, without the need to make the hardware in the networks the same. It also enables restriction abstraction, where networks can be interoperable irrespective of the underlying architecture. It is important to note that the protocols are not the product of a bug; instead they are a deliberate effort to make internet connectivity seamless. The nature of the internet (which unlike other services and goods doesn’t have a single straight forward owner) raises some logical implementation queries related to its restriction. In the beginning, there were some mechanisms of control which were fronted by the members that make up the larger internet community. There existed as norms, that lacked any legal backing form the courts and law enforcement. To ensure adherence to these laws, the internet community leaders (in this case the administrators) would threaten to disconnect the perpetrators and then further block them if they persisted. At the time, it was the hope of many users and administrators that this...
Words: 1789 - Pages: 8
...Introduction Censorship policies are already in place within the media, entertainment, and political outlets; however, they must continue to be regulated at a fair and balanced level for the betterment of all citizens. Censorship has been a heavily argued subject matter for ages. As more and more laws and regulations arise concerning this subject, people need to have a general knowledge of the cenario as a whole. The situation for other extreme censored nations needs to be assessed furthermore in order to better ourselves and our living situation. Body Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which...
Words: 1120 - Pages: 5
...Internet Censorship: Is it American People can access many different sites on the internet. Some are nice and cheery, and some are rude and crude. If anyone wants to see the stats on their favorite football team, no problem, go to their team’s site. Want to look up how to care for your sick dog, no problem, go to the veterinary site. Want to know how to overthrow the government, no problem, go to the anarchist site. Ever wondered what it looks like when a terrorist saws off someone’s head with a pocket knife? Is this a problem? “Censorship is the moral or legislative process by which society ‘agrees’ to limit what an individual can do, say, think, or see.” (Depken, Craig) There may be subjects on the internet that may offend or may be downright immoral to most people, and this is possibly a reason for the government to jump in and censor what people can see on the internet. This is because not everything on the internet is good or whether the majority of people think that the all the material is moral. This means that there should be some guideline for people on the internet. Politics are hot topics for many countries but it seems their need to censor the political sites may be due to their insecurity. Pornography has been a popular target for censors with some justification but there should be no blanket rule for it. Racism is another topic that has been blocked in many countries and this is something that should be studied closely to ensure that when...
Words: 2107 - Pages: 9
...Internet censorship is the use of filters or ‘blocks’ to control what is published, access and viewed across the internet. It is used by parents, organisations such as schools and corporations and governments to restrict what their citizen’s access and post online. Internet censorship has occurred since the early days of the public internet, where governments around the world have attempted to address the issue of illegal material, political propaganda, harmful material or content deemed unsuitable for children. This essay will discuss the instances of internet censorship failing to work, including when governments have attempted to introduce legislation to restrict access to the internet, and the reasons for the failure. Censorship across the globe will be briefly covered as well as techniques governments which have filters in place use to censor information. Many countries practice internet censorship, where the internet is tightly controlled and speaking your mind on it can get you in serious trouble with the government. According to USA Today, North Korea has the most tightly controlled internet , with all websites being under control by their government. It is so tight that only 4% of the population has access to the internet. Appendix A shows how accessible the internet is in countries. Another highly controlling country is China, where the government severely restricts internet access to their citizens by blocking social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and...
Words: 1893 - Pages: 8
...everyone and very simple to understand. As the company debated its strategic entry into China, it had to consider the ramifications of that philosophy in a vastly different market. Google had to achieve a balance between its corporate mission and the seemingly contradictory laws and practices of the Chinese government. In 2005 before Google was available to the masses in China, it was estimated that the government had employed over 30,000 watchdogs to serve as Internet policemen. They were to provide commentary in an effort to neutralize anti-government opinions and to “accentuate the good, avoid the bad and use the Internet debate to our advantage” (Watts, 2005). It is with optimism and their corporate mantra of ‘Don’t Be Evil’ in mind, that Google went live in China in January of 2006 under the agreement to provide filtered search results and to censor certain input queries. Google’s managers adopted the philosophy that its objective would be to provide the greatest amount of search opportunities possible which had an apparent distinction from its domestic practice of allowing users to access all information. China had measured up to be the Internet giant’s largest source of ad revenue and Google could not ignore the opportunity, despite knowing there the parameters would contradict its business philosophy as usual. Management hinged the bet that it was better to meet the Chinese...
Words: 761 - Pages: 4
...affected by censorship on any given day. The book Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman named Guy Montag who burns books, which are illegal to own, he goes through lots of self-reflection and evaluates his life and the censored world that he is living in. People in the 1950s thought that this censorship world in Fahrenheit 451 was unrealistic but it was actually foreshadowing the future as seen in North Korea’s censorship of the media, social interactions, and outside communications. The government censors all the media in both Fahrenheit 451 and in North Korea. In Fahrenheit 451 the government makes the citizens watch TV walls to brainwash their minds. Montag was talking to his wife Mildred: "Will you turn the parlour off?" he asked. "That's my family" (Bradbury, 46)....
Words: 953 - Pages: 4
...China: An ethical analysis of Google’s censorship activities in the People’s Republic by Leonard T. Musielak Introduction The spread of the internet to all corners of the world has led to tremendous business opportunities for many American businesses. With these opportunities may also come many ethical dilemmas. When operating abroad, businesses are required to abide by the laws of the host country. For US companies operating in China and other countries with totalitarian regimes, this requirement may include actions that are viewed as unethical or illegal in the United States. These “expatriate” corporations must often choose to ignore the basic rights guaranteed to American citizens, and disregard their own corporate missions, in order to respect the foreign society’s mores and meet the government demands. While cooperating assures legality, the question remains is their compliance ethical? Case Background/Research Findings “The Great Firewall of China” With an email stating “Beyond the Great Wall, Joining the World,” China signed onto the internet in 1987. (Liange & Lu, 2010, p. 104) Quickly, internet usage in the Communist country began to grow. The Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”), which governs China, exercises almost total control over all forms of communication within its domain. If the CCP wished to continue to maintain its communication stranglehold, they realized that a way to police the internet needed to be developed. (Thompson, 2006...
Words: 2488 - Pages: 10
...Question 1 Censorship is a growing issue in Malaysia as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge based economy. Malaysia has one of the world’s strictest forms of media censorship with nearly a hundred movies banned in this decade alone on the pretext of upholding morality. Discuss if you agree with this statement. The Film Censorship Board of Malaysia is a Malaysian government ministry that vets films. It is under the control of the Home Ministry. Malaysia has the toughest censorship laws in the world, with television and film strictly evaluated by the Board. The Board was established under Section 3 of Film Censorship Act 1952, and its role was revised in 2002 under an updated version of the Act. Board must certify any film that will be screened in Malaysia. Under the provisions of the Act, no one is allowed to view any film that has not been licensed by the Board. The Board watches the uncensored film and decides whether its content is acceptable for a Malaysian audience. It’s an effort to protect family values among Malaysian citizens. When speaking about media, films are not the only one in the category, advertisements and televisions as well as broadcasting are in the context. An advertisement has been defined in Section 2 of the Trade Description Act 1972. There is also a Code of Advertising for Radio and Television. The latest television Advertisement Code has been in force since October 1990. Moving on to broadcasting, this section is ruled under the Broadcasting...
Words: 964 - Pages: 4
...Program Assignment Cover Page GOOGLE STRUGLING TO SURVIDE THE ETHICAL ISSUSES IN CHINA I. Introduction Google is the company who provide a wide range of services to both normal consumers and business. They are best known from their search engine while incorporating with other online technologies such as Gmail and Google chrome. While being one of the top company in the world, Google seem to be struggling when operating in China – the country with the largest number of internet user. Though Google is popular with their motto “Don’t be evil”, they were struggling to adapt with Chinese policy toward certain areas such as censorship and certain actions from the government toward Google prevented it from competing with Baidu –their local competitors. Consequently, Google officially leave china and redirect to Hong Kong in order to escape from the censorship of Chinese government in 2010. This report will analyze certain ethical issues occurred between Google.cn and the government of china. II. Ethics and its impact In order to coexist with society businesses require to satisfy the society’s increasing demand of ethically responsible business practices (Joyner and Payne, 2002). Google has always put ethics in high priority during their business and it seem that their firm kept their promises with their...
Words: 2685 - Pages: 11
...College Mr. Al Gerald S. Barde English IV IV – St. Alphonsus of Ligouri October 21, 2011 The New Media: Distorting Politics The crucial function of mass media in influencing public’s knowledge and understanding on global and national issues is indisputable. In the Philippines, media plays a critical and widespread role in daily life (Suguitan, 2007). Suguitan proclaims that it is an understatement to say that the media is merely influential, for it is powerful enough to make or break persons and institutions, and even shape society (2007). Performing as the main source of information, media serves as the medium in which the government informs, explains, and tries to win the support of the people for its programs and policies (Soifer, Hoffman and Voss, 2001). In this jurisdiction, the media is often called the fourth branch of the government for it monitors political matters to ensure political players don’t abuse democratic processes (University of San Francisco, n.d.). According to Political scientist Harold Lasswell, a pioneer in media studies, the media must perform three societal functions: surveillance of the world to report ongoing reports, interpretation of the meaning of events, and socialization of individuals into their cultural settings. Surveillance involves two major tasks. When it constitutes to the need of general public, it is referred to as “public surveillance”, but it is called “private surveillance” when it involves only particular citizens. Public...
Words: 2530 - Pages: 11
