Online Censorship And Freedom

"Our nation was founded and still thrives on the basic ideas of freedom of speech and privacy. However, it has recently been revealed that the NSA and CIA are searching through many American’s emails, phone conversations, and browser histories. Although this may seem shocking, this was not the first time the American government hampered the freedom of speech. During WWII, a massive censorship program was put in place, and thousands of American’s letters were read and “adjusted” to make sure no sensitive information was being leaked.

There is a lurking ethical issue that is facing contemporary society and that has already started to affect the military, but has the potential to grow even more monstrous. Online privacy or internet privacy is the root of this issue and “following the revelations of widespread data collection by the United States government, among others, the public has to decide whether to push for legislation that would safeguard their online privacy, and which criteria, if any, should first be met by government agencies before invading civilians' privacy”.

This source relates to my research topic because I will be explaining how China is an example of a country using Internet Censorship. This article states the pros/cons that come with Internet censorship.

For over two centuries American citizens have bided by the first 10 commandments in the United States Constitution, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights, for protection over their personal liberties from the United States government. These personal liberties include, but are not limited to: The freedom of religion, speech, and press, the protection of privacy, and the right to life, liberty, and property. These personal liberties protected by the government, from the government, have always been strictly enforced with no unknown territory. That is until approximately three decades ago when the Internet was created. Over the last twenty-seven years technology has been quickly advancing creating an unknown world of the Internet and

The word censor comes from the Latin term censere which means to appraise, value, judge ("Online Etymology Dictionary”). According to Wikipedia and Dictionary.com censorship is defined as a practice of filtering the media and suppressing the unwanted parts.

The internet is a vast global interconnected network enabling numerous people to access countless information and communicate with others miles away. When browsing the web nowadays, however, many forget what’s really happening behind the scenes. Internet cookies and complex algorithms are being downloaded behind your back allowing big brand companies and even the federal government to track what the people are doing. This is a major violation to our right to privacy which is implied in the Constitution.On the other hand, it’s understandable for the government to have a substantial amount of surveillance of the internet to monitor terrorists and people seeking to cause harm, but the extent the US government controls over the web is absurdly large and unnecessary. Overall, surveillance and order must be maintained throughout the internet to deter fanatics intending to cause harm, but the United States government have increased their range so wide it has

Should the government be allowed to go through anyones phone at any time? A main issue in the debate of privacy vs. security is internet censorship. American citizens are currently debating whether the government should be allowed to go through peoples personal devices. Legally, according to the constitution, the government has the right to a search warrant. This means they have to have a legitimate reason for their search, and the court must grant them a warrant. According to the Supreme Court it is against the law for the government to intrude; they cannot show up to houses unannounced (CNN.com). On the other side it is a great resource for the government to have control because it makes life safer. There is not enough police officers to catch all criminals. For example, cameras, the government has set up light cameras to catch drivers from running red lights.(Ron Fridell 24-25) The controversy of privacy of personal devices is crucial because people are debating on if the government should see citizens personal information. While some people believe that censorship is necessary and should be allowed, others believe censorship violates American rights.

These days the internet has become an essential part to living for almost everyone but one of the controversial topics that people bring up is that whether or not the government should regulate information on the internet. Both sides have valid points which form a reasonable argument. Some people would say that they need to because of the dangers lurking around in the cyber world but the reasons for why the government shouldn’t regulate the Internet outnumber the reasons for why they should. The federal government should not regulate or censor information on the internet because doing so violates the first amendment and citizen’s right to privacy, degrades the educational value of the web, prevents the promotion and facilitation of

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;

Several years after the end of the American Revolution the United States Constitution was being drafted by some of the nations most important historical figures. Politicians such as Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and George Washington were just three of the thirty-nine who eventually signed the Constitution on September 17, 1787 (“United States Constitution,” 2015, “1787 Drafting,” para. 7). With the birth of the constitution, came the fear that our newly created nation might slip back under control of a monarchy once again. Therefore, on June 8, 1789, in order to combat such a situation, a group of anti-federalists headed by James Madison proposed a series of thirty-nine amendments to be added to the Constitution. These amendments were designed to guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public (“United States Bill of Rights,” 2015, “Introduction,” para. 1). The first ten of the new amendments, arguably the most important of the thirty-nine, were thus labeled the Bill of Rights. Amendments in the Bill of Rights protect freedoms such as the right to bear arms, protection from unreasonable search and seizure, right to due process, right to trail by jury, protection from quartering troops, and finally the First Amendment, the right to freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and to petition the government (“United States

Internet censorship refers to the suppression and control of what people can access, publish, or view on the cyberspace (Reynolds, 2014). It may be done by regimes or private firms at the command of the government. It can be a government’s initiative is or carried out by regulators. Organizations and individuals may practice self-censorship for religious, business or moral reasons to comply with societal norms, out of fear of consequences such as legal impact, or owing to intimidation. The degree of cyberspace censorship differs on a nation-to-nations basis. Most democratic nations have moderate cyberspace censorship. Other nations go as far as to restrict the information accessibility; they suppress discussion among citizens and limit news. Internet censorship can also occur in anticipation of or in response to events like protests, riots or elections. An ideal example is the increased level of censorship owing to the Arab Spring events. Other censorship areas include defamation, copyrights, obscene material and harassment.

The internet is the most important platform for ideas and thoughts to grow and spread, making it substantial. It’s important to keep it free and open for anyone without having to worry about being prioritized or shut out completely. The FCC has overstepped and has made it seem like safety is their main objective with the new ruling, but in reality its for control and sides with big businesses over the rest of society. The government should not interfere with the internet anymore then they are now, Anything more would give them too much control. Internet being regulated like a utility is bad business, Europeans who use internet being regulated is on average 30% slower than our current speeds. Not only will speeds be negatively affected but

The freedom of speech that was possible on the Internet could now be subjected to governmental approvals. For example, China is attempting to restrict political expression, in the name of security and social stability. It requires users of the Internet and electronic mail (e-mail) to register, so that it may monitor their activities. In the United Kingdom, state secrets and personal attacks are off limits on the Internet. Laws are strict and the government is extremely interested in regulating the Intern et with respect to these issues.10 Laws intended for other types of communication will not necessarily apply in this medium.

Some people wonder who came up with the idea of internet censorship. Other people want to know which countries use it. Some ponder over the idea of what really is internet censorship. Internet censorship is controlling what can be viewed, and which sites can be used on the internet. Some things about internet censorship are countries that use it, and who started the idea of it.

Silhouettes of ones mental connections casted like a shadow on the electronically web leave us believing we are safe. Here we find ones own heavenly soliloquy of thoughts not aware that the room is darker than we knew and can not see the light of others viewers glares. On the interface of the internet we intrust the recipes of our daily life are thrown away like a grocery store end transition. This is not the case as the invasion of ones privacy is always in danger.Through a government run program the use order has dove into the ordeal of tracking the recipe of most american online interactions on the web. The Government should not be allowed to use PRISM to get personal information of ones life through any means of virtual back tracking until proven guilty of indefinite terrorist interaction.