Censorship Ethics Essay

How Censorship Can Be Used Ethically

The action of censoring means to examine a material in order to find and delete any objectionable content. This act has been used by many different organizations, both governmental and religious, to help push certain ideologies upon the public. It has been one of the foundations of society since ancient times, turning censoring and its institutional use as a normal facet of life. Although, in some situations, censorship by both governmental and religious institutions, can be an acceptable way to protect the public; but in most situations, it is nothing more than manipulation by a deceitful elite trying to keep their ideologies in power.

Throughout history, the use of information censorship, usually by control of the press, has been common. Though not common in the new digital age, this form of censorship still occurs. Countries, such as China,Russia, and North Korea, use this prolifically in order to keep its people ignorant of the ruling party’s short falls(Chang 30 ). China, for example, has become politically famous for its iron grip on any type of journalistic media. To enact this type of political blackout, the government had to create a specific government department aptly named, the department of publicity. This department, at first, only censored articles that it believed would incite riots or insurgents against the government. Over time, specifically during the 1990s and into the 2000s, this agency began to censor any type of political backlash. This increased grip on the media has been directly proportionate to Jiang Zemin being enacted into the office of general secretary of the communist party (Chang 30). Zemin, with the help of department of publicity director Ding Guangen, ...

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...speech and press ideas, and even the types of material we are allowed to watch in movies, censorship is a hot topic of this generation. Yet many would disagree on the how censorship should be used, all agree that, in a fundamental form of society, it is needed to protect the public. If government officials would move away from the total control of material as in the past and instead move toward a more age locked form of censorship, where material is only available to the public by either reaching a certain age and buying it themselves or by parent consent, maybe this institute of civilization can be finally used in an ethical and freedom protecting sense. One where the people, not elected officials got to decide what they were mature enough to experience, one where censorship was used in a moral sense rather than a way to keep the ideals of ruling officials alive.