I think most people have heard about the Great Wall of China, but have you heard about the Great Firewall of China? The Great Firewall of China refers to the virtual barrier that China has created for filtering/monitoring internet usage. They only allow content that is favorable to the communist party and other political views.
China isn't the only country that has strict internet restrictions. There are other countries who also filter email accounts, use keyword filters, and website blockers (you can find more information about different restrictions HERE). In some of these countries, people have been punished for the content they have placed on the internet with things like jail time and even death.
Here in the United States, we have very limited censorship. We are able to access all kinds of content from all over. We do have some laws that require censorship on things like obscene materials, but most web content is easy enough for us to obtain (you can find some of those laws HERE). There are, however, internet companies that have a large amount of power over what we are primarily exposed to. Companies like Google and Facebook can control what content they want us to see; what content shows up first in our searches, feeds, and ads.
Internet censorship can be a good thing, it can protect people from accessing harmful material, but it is important to remember that it is one more way your world is altered and manipulated. It can distort the way people feel and think about things.
What are your thoughts about internet censorship? Do you think anything should be done about it? Do you think there will be consequences from it overtime? Click HERE to comment.
Hi April,
ReplyDeleteI admire your courage to take on this subject. Unfortunately, censorship is alive and well in our country and it is happening in both sides of many of the current arguments. One side accuses the other side of censorship almost daily while they themselves are committing the very same thing. In the old days that was called hypocrisy.
The art of diplomacy, communication, compromise, and finding a middle ground seems to be disappearing in favor of labeling, name calling and censoring anyone that has a different point of view than their own. Personally, I believe that censorship is wrong and should not be applied. I don't need the government or Facebook or anyone else for that matter to protect me from what they have defined as harmful material. I'm pretty good at protecting myself and my family by arming them and myself with education and good sense. The bottom line is… I would rather be concerned about my safety and be a free human, than trade that freedom for what I believe to be a false sense of safety with someone else determining what is harmful and what is not harmful to me.
There are some who will disagree with me for what they believe to be very good reasons. I have heard many of these reasons already. Unfortunately, quite often, after I have listened to their reasons and try to present a rebuttal or even comprise, the other side of the argument tries to censor my opinion with name calling or labeling. I believe they are hoping that I will not continue the conversation thereby censoring me. Great post. Thanks for taking on the hard topics.
Thank you for sharing Steve. I agree that it can be hard to share opinions these days without having someone come after you. I like to ask what other people's thoughts are in my posts because I enjoy hearing what other people have to say.
DeleteI would like to see some censorship but when it comes down to I think it becomes a bad thing in the future. I think that censorship would grow and turn into something like China where a certain group pushes their agenda through internet censorship. Someone would find a way. Like Facebook, they could easily push whatever they want just because of the power. People would see certain stories and just automatically thinks it's true cause it's on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI was completely blown away when I learned that there are many governments in the West that run an provide all internet access to their people. This allows them ultimate control over what can be searched for, posted, or read about. I feel there should be some control for the sake of children or in the event someone is attempting to gain information to cause harm, but other than that I feel we should be able to access what we want to view.
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