Censorship
Contents
Types of censorship
Censorship takes place in the following forms:
- Text: This refers to the censorship of material found in the written media such as newspapers, magazines, published articles and books.
- Visual Media: This refers to content that involves motion art or photographs. Examples are comics, television shows, and movies.
Censorship can take place in two different ways: replacement or removal of content.
Replacement
This type of censorship occurs when a part of a work is edited to replace the controversial expression. For instance, profanity on television is replaced with an alternative audio clip or silence. On other occasions foul language is replaced by a beeping noise and scenes involving nudity are often blurred.
Removal
This type of censorship occurs when the work in question is completely removed from public access. In the context of text censorship, this may involve banning a book in a country. In the visual media, a scene of a movie may be censored in the televised version.
Why censor?
"The primary motivation for censorship is often disapproval of the content or worry about its effects on "public morality". [2] There are several reasons to introduce censorship.
Reasons for censorship
Politics
Political censorship can be used for a variety of purposes. Often governments use censorship for the interest of the security of their nations. Sometimes it is used to safeguard military intelligence and other security aspects of a country. On the contrary, some times censorship is misused to conceal useful information and to turn around a political situation. Political leaders can exercise their power to restrict information that speaks against the government. In many Eastern countries, politicians have misused their power to enforce media censorship and conceal the problems created by the government.
Religion
It is our right to speak freely, but sometimes it is important to draw a boundary while dealing with sensitive issues like religion. In some cases, where release of inaccurate information has the potential to cause disruptive results, then it may be ideal to withhold such information. If censorship aids to protect and respect religious beliefs, then it may be the right option to choose. However, religion has often been inaccurately used as a mere tool to speak against censorship. Such an instance should never be allowed because it severely hampers the growth of a community.
Social
Morally questionable content is often censored to protect the interests of families and children. Such content may include obscene language, material that shows violence, or sexual content. As a tangent, sometimes people use the argument that the media is responsible for introducing new cultures and ideas and is harming their local customs and traditions. Some people agree with this statement, while others favor the idea of transfer of cultural values through the media. It is a debate that introduces a lot of disagreement and conflict of opinions.
Other
Other motivations for censorship, however, may include the moral disapproval of what individuals may do with the information gained from accessing an expression. For example, information on bomb making is, in itself, non threatening, however, what individuals may choose to do with this information can be very threatening.
- Inherently Harmful Access
"This view holds that accessing some content is simply inherently bad" (Censorship 2008 pp. 580).
See also: Kay Mathiesen.
- Instrumentally Harmful Access
Content is censored for the concern that harm to another may be a consequence to unrestricted access to certain information.
See also: Kay Mathiesen.
- Censorship and Pornography
See also: Censorship and Pornography.
- Maps
Many maps, especially online, are censored for military purposes. Google Maps, for example, gray out, or show out-dated images of certain restricted areas of the world.
Should we censor?
There are several implications associated with censorship. It is interesting to note that censorship can be used to do two completely opposite things. It can either silence people or it can protect them.
As a form of protection, it is used to classify all types of content according to age restrictions. Such an instance allows us to choose the appropriate kind of audience and works to benefit the society. On a similar note, censorship of confidential information such as a business' private information can allow stakeholders to reserve information that should not be seen by the public. In that case, it protects personal privacy and is a clear/good advantage.
However, censorship becomes a disadvantage if it is misused to hide relevant information. In the past, governments have been accused of censoring information in the name of maintaining civil order and protecting citizens. The government of Pakistan censors text messages that express anti-government sentiment. Such an instance violates the use of censorship. In Cuba, the government censors the use of the Internet. People's browsing histories are monitored and only pro-government content is allowed to be seen. Everyone has a right to know. Misuse of censorship takes away the freedom of speech and can impede the expression of someone's ideas.
Ethical Implications
Most will agree that some level of censorship is ethical and necessary. The ethical dilemmas arise when deciding where and how much censorship is acceptable. There is a fine line in determining when freedom of speech becomes less significant than security and privacy. Clearly, protecting children from disturbing content such as violence and obscenities and inappropriate sexual content is ethical. However, if one replaces or removes content that another has produced, or if one is forbidden from discussing certain topics because they are too controversial, freedom of speech is not maintained. Ethical censorship is that which protects an individual or group from harm without interfering with personal liberties. Unethical censorship is that which disregards freedom of speech without substantial reason. For example, in the case of WikiLeaks, it was maintained by the founders of the site that destroying the government's act of censorship was an acceptable action even if it resulted in the loss of a few lives. Here, it is difficult to determine what level of censorship is ethical. Clearly withholding valuable information from the public is not ethical, however taking lives is clearly unethical as well. It must be shown understood that where and when censorship is allowed, it must only be used to better the community and protect unnecessary harm, and not to simply avoid controversial issues or withhold useful information.
Another big ethical dilemma arises when determining who has the authority to censor. In the offline world such as in movies, magazines, newspapers, or books the authority of censorship obviously falls in the hands of those producing the media. In the online world though, it is much more difficult to determine these responsibilities. Some argue that censorship is only ethical here if it is strictly on a personal level, and that one person or group censoring another person or group is destroying personal freedoms. Others strongly support the idea of government censorship over the internet. However, on June 26, 1997, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the internet was fully protected by the First Amendment. They ruled that the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which had banned the communication of "obscene or indecent" material through the internet to anyone under the age of 18, was a violation of freedom of speech. In order to maintain an ethical environment on the internet, it is the individuals responsibilities to monitor each other. If false or obscene information is produced, fight it with truthful information or reasoning of why such information is unethical. In the online environment it is not possible or ethical to allow one entity to censor everything, so the responsibility comes down to organizations and individuals who must decide what level of censorship is ethical in different situations.
See Also
- Censorship and Pornography
- David Thorne
- Information Ethics
- Internet Censorship in Hong Kong
- Kind of Bloop
- Kay Mathiesen
- Phototruth
- Stop Online Piracy Act
- Protect IP Act
References
- ↑ Wikipedia - Censorship
- ↑ "Censorship and Access to Expression" The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics, 2008. https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/attachment/aaaaaee7-1694-481e-95b6-090bdec54ec2/Assignments/227d63b0-669c-4a3e-9399-23a8f97ad737/MediaWiki%20Writing%20Assignment.pdf
