Government Censor Online Information Essay

515 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Freedom of speech censorship and consequences

Should the government be able to censor online information? If so, when would this be appropriate? Why or why not?
As a free speech fundamentalist, I strongly oppose government censoring online information. A just government has no need to restrict the free flow of accurate information. Censorship is often associated with tyrannies: Red Star in North Korea is a mandatory operating system that surveills the populace. Further, a free society permits even offensive and obscene websites (say a racist webpage, for example). Once the government has authority over what we can and cannot say online, our free speech becomes restricted based solely upon how good the government is.
It is important to distinguish speech from action; in section 1.1., …show more content…

The book succinctly states my opinions on antispam laws: you may have the right to talk, but that does not oblige anyone to listen. As long as all spam is sent out using legitimate means (e.g. not hacking into other people’s computers and using them to send spam), then I see no ethical dilemma with spamming people. Conversely, there’s nothing wrong with blocking spam, either.
I believe that as long as antispam laws distinguish between the means and ends of spam, they’re fine. You should not imprison someone for advertising using email. That being said, if the spam contains scams or viruses, or if the spam is being sent out using dubious means, then the problem isn’t one of free speech but rather of fraud and hacking, which should be illegal.
Should online anonymity be legally protected? Why or why not?
In my opinion, online anonymity is neither a negative nor positive right, but a service provided by an application. Bar a court order or warrant, I oppose government deliberately breaching of privacy or anonymity software on grounds of the Fourth Amendment. Nevertheless, if an anonymous poster does illegal things online, I am perfectly fine with the government getting a warrant and attempting to determine their

Show More
Related

  • Book Banning and First Amendment Right

    1699 Words  | 4 Pages

    The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" (First Amendment Oct. 20, 2013). But "the First Amendment does not protect all speech from government censorship, and it does not prevent private non-government entities from censoring. Years of US Supreme Court decisions have identified exceptions to the general rule that the governments in the United States cannot censor" (Censorship Copyright © 2002). American citizen's right of freedom of speech should be held in the highest integrity and any kind of censorship of free speech should not be allowed because it take away those rights. However, censorship has been going on for centuries.

    Read More

  • Julie Zhou's Essay 'Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt'

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt” the author Julie Zhou demonstrates the negative impact Anonymity in the internet has had on human beings. Following with a convincing argument for unmasking these “trolls” of the internet.

    Read More

  • The Use Of Censorship In Ray Bradbury's Books

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Deciding on who makes the rules for censorship is tricky though. Should the power be in the people or in the government? Censorship should be permitted in limited cases… only a local government - preferably a school district - should be in charge with decisions to censor” (Wilson 6). While censorship is needed, people such as parents should decide how much or how little their child is censored such as what movies they watch or what internet sites they can go on. In Fahrenheit 451, the government controls all. As Bradbury notes in his work, “And then the government, seeing how advantageous it was to have people reading about only passionate lips and the fist in stomach, circled the situation with your fire-eaters” (Bradbury 85). With censorship, the government could go too far, which is why it is a good idea to let every state or county create their own rules and guidelines for censorship. As kids get older, censorship should be slightly let up.They should be old enough to make their own decisions. Wilson states,“Much of the debate over censorship revolves around protection children… School district trustees much balance their responsibility to ensure everyone is granted access to the best education… however, some materials are inappropriate for small children” (Wilson 6). Censorship should be used to protect children. Not just from websites, but websites with people that could harm them on it. Yet there comes an age

    Read More

  • Censorship in American Literature

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    Censorship has been a big part of the world’s history and especially America’s history. One of the most quoted amendments to the United States constitution is the first amendment; “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...” This amendment guaranteeing free speech, press, and religion is still heavily debated and contested today. Censorship, as a challenge to free speech and press has been allowed many times and has been heavily debated itself. Many people censor for many different reasons and in many different forms. Censorship itself is not always a bad thing and has in some cases been used for protection of the general population.

    Read More

  • Censorship is in Contradiction to Children’s Rights

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Censorship has become a long standing practice within our society. Who gets to decide what American citizens say, read or view? There are organizations that review and rate, guard or block information. Governmental entities create laws enforcing censorship and place judgment against those that break those laws. These restrictions often result in conflict against them and in favor of protecting our civil rights. The practice of censorship by authoritative, policy-making entities is in conflict to our constitutional rights, including the rights of our children.

    Read More

  • Internet Censorship

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Internet Censorship." What does this mean to us? What is restricted? Censorship is summarily defined as the suppression of objectionable material. That means that material such as pornography, militant information, offensive language, anti-religion, and racism would be restricted in use. Freedom would not only be restricted to material placed on the web, but also what you could access, and where you could explore. Should the right of Freedom of Speech be taken away from us on the Internet? Having stated this, should there be any restrictions and if so, what's the limit of censorship?

    Read More

  • Censorship

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    Censorship “Congress shall make no law.prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right to petition the government for a redress of government. ”(Ravitch, 118) As stated in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the people of this nation have the right to exercise their beliefs out loud, or in writing. With this in mind, does the government have the right to undermine the foundation of our nation, and censor what we read, watch, and listen to? Many people think not, but there are those who believe that censorship is better for the people. Some Americans believe that censorship is a benefit to society.

    Read More

  • Internet Censorship

    3788 Words  | 8 Pages

    that some of the material that is on the net needs to be filtered and regulated. The word censorship is defined as examining any material and prohibiting what is objectionable, according to Webster’s II dictionary. Censoring the internet is a violation of the first ammendment rights of every citizen in the United States. There are two general truths that some people feel are attitudes towards censoring the internet. The first is that very few people admit to favoring it. The second is that no matter who you are, in a matter of minutes spent surfing the net almost anyone can find something that they find to be offensive. In fact, some web surfers feel that the truly inappropriate things are inspired by one’s own religion. For example, the Nurenberg Files website showed pictures of mangled fetuses with the photograph, name, and address of some abortion clinic doctors.

    Read More

  • Hate Speech

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before one can start to argue against or for the protection of hate speech, it must be defined. What exactly is hate speech? A question the proves all too blurry to be answered by a single person. By dictionary definition it is speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups, based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or other traits. However, dictionary definitions often times prove to be problematic. For example, some things offend some members of a certain race, color, religi...

    Read More

  • Negative Essay: How Does Technology Helps Our Society?

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to an article on mashable.com, since 2006, the amount of time spent on the internet has more than doubled, from 2.7 hours to 6.9 hours per month. Today, there are so many more available internet based sites accessible to Net users of all ages, making it possible for adults and children to spend their time surfing the internet, watching Netflix, and instant messaging with people all over the world. “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity” (Albert Einstein). With the advancements of technology come the evolution of humanity. Does it help us or harm us? Actually, it has done both helped and harmed the brains, lifestyles, and interactions of our species.

    Read More

  • Why Should The Social Media Should Be Regulated?

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    There should be no such thing online which would prevent you from showing to the government. Illegal images, prurient videos, cyber bullying, cyber fraud should all be prevented and should not be free for all. It should not be used as a weapon. The society should be protected against all these dangers. It is not a big deal for us to give up a little of our liberties in exchange for some given protections to our fellow citizens. This great amount of freedom is not really leading to anything positive or benefiting us to a great

    Read More

  • Censorship: An Obstacle for True Democracy

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    Censorship has been used by governments and influential groups throughout history as a tool for political and economic gain since ancient times. The Romans thought censorship was necessary to shape the morals of society to match up with government ideals. During the 1500's the Catholic Church banned certain texts that conflicted with the established religion from being read. In these times the idea of censorship was viewed differently that it is today. With powerful organizations limiting information it was often impossible for an average person to obtain literature or hear ideas that vary from state ideals, they probably didn't even know that their information was being censored. We live in a different age today, information is more readily available and censorship is often looked at as a negative practice that limits freedoms. That said, it still exists today and can be viewed as an obstacle to true democracy.

    Read More

  • Internet Regulation

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the general public and is concerned with some form of censorship.

    Read More

  • Government Censorship

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    The government should not control the content of television shows and limit the amount of weekly violence shown. The responsibility of controlling the viewing of television shows expressing acts of violence should specifically be in the hands of parents. Parents are becoming too reliant upon governmental provisions with respect to raising their children and television violence is becoming an excuse for criminal acts. Children, especially younger children, are impressionable, but with proper guidance from a parental source in regards to television viewing, kids are not likely to act out violent television images.

    Read More

  • Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace

    2593 Words  | 6 Pages

    Free speech on the Internet is a very controversial subject and has been the key problem surrounding the Internet today. The attempt to regulate and govern the Internet is still pursued by government officials. This subject has been intensified due to terrorist attacks against the United States and around world within the past years. The government believes that by regulating the Internet, it will protect the general public from criminal actions and eliminate the exposure of children to pornography or vulgar language. Senator Jim Exon of ...

    Read More

More about Government Censor Online Information Essay

Open Document