Censoring the Internet

The issue of the freedom of expression is at the heart of the world wide web where anyone, any where can make public their passions, concerns, interests to the world. While for the majority, the Internet is used to publicise harmless information yet it is also being abused to promote political and religious fanaticism as well as illegal pornography which can endanger children. In October, we therefore asked our Your Sayers to respond to the following question:

‘Should the Internet be censored?’

'Censorship is like curbing the freedom of speech.'

The tragic results of censoring internet can be observed in China – people who write in blogs something against the ruling party are arrested and imprisoned. The internet censorship is an instrument of curbing the freedom of speech and leads to the violation of human rights. On the other hand internet should stay under control of authorities responsible for prevention of children sexual abuse, trafficking of woman, illegal net gambling or selling human organs. Sites praising hatred or racism should also be closed. Blogs, chats or fori should be monitored only in order to bring the criminal cases under control. In my opinion internet should remain a transnational diverse communication utility, completely independent from any government, company or lobby. Internet, when used for good purposes, may give one a chance to enhance knowledge about the world and develop a habit of permanent education. Anna, Poland

'By censoring the Internet, you endanger is existence.'

I think that Internet should not be censored. If someone does it, kills the essence of Internet that is… freedom to access anything, anywhere, anytime. And we, here in Europe, are very lucky because the whole Internet content is available.

I found an interesting sentence on Wikipedia’s website: «Some countries such as Iran and the People's Republic of China restrict what people in their countries can see on the Internet. Some through government sponsored censoring filters, others by means of law or culture, making the propagation of targeted materials extremely hard.» It’s also possible to find a huge list of situations about Internet censorship.

My opinion is that Internet contents should be free. But I also defend that, especially for children, parents should be aware of which contents their children access. So, if parents decide to install any kind of filters or applications that restricts the access to some kind of websites, I agree, but only to prevent and avoid some problematic issues. Pedro, Portugal

'Censorship is not the answer.'

Censorship on the internet means that somebody will decide which information I should receive and which not. It is an obstacle for my right to obtain information. In my opinion, good or bad I should have access to all information and I should be able to make my own decision through evaluation. I would not prefer any other person to decide for me. It is also a big question, who will decide and how the decision will be taken about the things to be censored since opinions vary a lot from one person to another.

In addition to that, I do not believe that we can stop people reaching harmful information by banning because a person with intention will sooner or later find a way to break the law. It is a matter of adoption of the ethical values and what we teach our children about what is right and what is wrong.

For these reasons, according to me, censorship is not a solution for anything and on the contrary an obstacle in front of our decision mechanisms since one has to see both bad and good in order to gain the ability to distinguish.  Selen, Turkey 

'Adults are responsible for deciding what they view.'

The Internet has become a vast sea of opportunity. Everyone is seizing the moment. The good and the bad of society have reduced the meaning of the Internet. Menace threatens each onlooker, as people browse the many pages of Cyberspace.

As the new technological advances help to shape our society, one cannot help but think of the dangers waiting to prey on anyone. The Internet should be censored, because there needs to be some protection against the criminal minds that dwell in society. If the problems concerning the Internet are not irradiated in its early stage now, it could fester into something cancerous. This cancer could easily turn something that should be in the best interest of society, into society's worst nightmare.  However,think about it for a moment. Pornographic theaters died because video became available (who wants to watch this kind of stuff in public anyway?). Now, with the advent of the internet, you don't even need to be embarrassed at the video store - you can just call it up over your phone line! No one will know!

The major problem is this material is available to anyone - even children. There are lame attempts to place restrictions (enter a credit card number, for example) but they don't work very well and many sites simply do not care. Oh yes, they do pay lip service and pretend that they do not allow children to get into their sites - but it's about as easy to get around as looking behind a curtain.

Thus, to summarize, I believe the choice about what to view or not to view belongs with each adult. I am thankful that the search engines have done some work to keep people like me from viewing materials which are not desired. And, finally, while I do ask that sites with adult oriented materials take reasonable precautions to keep children from their sites, I understand that they cannot do a perfect job. Thus, it is my responsibility as a parent to ensure my children are properly educated so they can make their own decisions when they are older. Faremi Tunde Tope, Nigeria

'Censoring the content of internet seems like a really good idea to help us make our life easier.'

Internet can be a very powerful tool to cause harm. The vast amount of information found in it includes invitations to hatred, wrongful behaviour and a big part of it is extremely unsuitable for minors. So, censoring the content of internet seems like a really good idea to help us make our life easier.

But actually, it is only a great idea in theory. In practice it is impossible to implement. Internet is just too large with continuous updates, that developing means to control it would require extreme effort and still not be efficient. The other question is who would be conducting the process of censoring? Should that power be trusted into the hands of state agencies, intergovernmental bodies, NGOs or actually outsource it out to companies? Who do we trust well enough to hand over such an amount of control to?

There must be other ways of tackling the issue. I’d say it all starts with the general awareness level of the individual. People need to be educated on how to make a difference between wrong and right for them. And how to use the information found on internet the „right” way. And this is actually, when the resources of the Internet can be also very well used… Maarika, Estonia