Internet Censorship - is it necessary?
As the internet increases in size and popularity more information spreads from one to another. In an attempt to control the wild rivers of data, internet censorship is being pursued by governments. Such measures, however, are a double-edged sword. In this essay, I will go over the pros and cons of internet censorship and argue against it.
The positives of restricting the flow of information can be found in regulation and protection. Censorships allow regulation of illegal activities conducted on the web and protect children from disturbing websites. It also protects citizens from false information to ensure that people receive true factual information. The disadvantages come with the restriction of free speech. By giving the government power to control the voices of the people, the democracy of the nation is damaged. The government could limit opposition and hide disadvantageous information. By doing so, the government could keep a clean image at the cost of the right to know.
The internet should not be censored. By allowing the government to restrict the winds that carry the voices of the people censorship restricts opinions against the authority. If the government abuses this power, the voices of criticism and pleas vanish, leaving only an echo box of praise. This violates the rights of free speech and the basic principles of democracy. Not to mention, the innovativeness of the internet comes from the mixing of various opinions and thoughts. By stopping some of these from joining the pot of discussion, the internet loses value as a whole. The information that is shared with others creates the backbone for growth. Censorship will hinder people from being better educated about the world around them. For example, China restricts most information from the Western world. As a result, citizens are mostly ignorant and biased against foreign countries and cultures. Cherry-picking the facts to create an image that the government wants you to see is a step toward a dictatorship. Fear about the nations that are not “us” makes people susceptible to fearmongers and thus, dictators. Even if the government uses this power for only good, the funds to ensure such regulations are impractical. Every person who uses the internet contributes to it in some way. These contributions happen every day. For a government to check all of the information that is created and to filter the bad out, prices must be paid. Such a price is impractical compared to the result. There is just too much data to be examined.
The problems that arise with censorship: violation of free speech, loss of the value of the internet, and the funding for clean and clear censorship far outweigh any positives that such censorship will bring. The censorship of the internet is negative as a whole.
