The Chinese buy twice as much stuff off the internet as do Americans. 40% of the world’s ecommerce is conducted in China. However, the Chinese cannot use the services we take for granted: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. While the Chinese permit some websites to operate normally, access to anything that is deemed to be a threat to “public order” (which, weirdly, includes celebrity news) is prohibited. Such government control is obviously undesirable and hugely problematic; but are some good arguments proffered in favor of Internet Censorship as well:
This is a huge problem. There can be no two ways about the importance of protecting children from pedophiles and any type of sexual exploitation. Violent porn is also a problem because it normalizes violent acts and has a negative impact on society.
Ideally this sort of content should be filtered too. But the definition of what constitutes fake news, racism, sexism and bigotry can vary very much from person to person, by region and culture. Who is to say what is offensive or provocative?
Many would argue that gambling websites, those that promote drug use and those that offer tips for committing suicide or making a bomb should also be blocked. Content that poses a security risk to individuals, locations or the public at large can also be problematic.
German authorities have announced that social media websites will be responsible for removing content that is slanderous, illegal or racist. If this is not done within 24 hours, companies could face fines of up to $57 million.
In an intellectual property matter, Google was directed by the Canadian Supreme Court to remove search results about pirated products. The EU has also asked Google to stop activities that are monopolistic and unfair.
An Austrian court directed Facebook to take down posts that were seen as hate speech and as insulting to the nation’s Green Party leader.
It’s a complicated question. If asked whether child porn should be banned, an overwhelming majority of people would answer in the affirmative; quite emphatically. But when it comes to taking offence, one person's joke could be another’s insult. The cartoon above is not that farfetched a situation.
As adults there should always be space for discussion, opposition to ideas and the offering of new ideas, even if they be controversial and even offensive. And what about our right to information? Should we not have access to information about the atrocities Hitler committed for instance? His views are offensive to Jews and extremely inflammatory. The Holocaust is a blot on world history. However, no one would argue that such content should be made unavailable. Should admittedly horrifying images such as these be blocked?
Censorship is a form of control. Special interest groups and authoritarian governments may block and manipulate information resulting in misguided, ignorant citizens. Though a majority of people on earth feel that internet access should be a basic human right, reality is far more complicated. This is an issue that raises more questions than it answers.
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