CENSORSHIP What is censorship Censorship the control of

CENSORSHIP

What is censorship? • Censorship -- the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society -- has been a hallmark of dictatorships throughout history. In the 20 th Century, censorship was achieved through the examination of books, plays, films, television and radio programs, news reports, and other forms of communication for the purpose of altering or suppressing ideas found to be objectionable or offensive. The rationales for censorship have varied, with some censors targeting material deemed to be indecent or obscene; heretical or blasphemous; or seditious or treasonous. Thus, ideas have been suppressed under the guise of protecting three basic social institutions: the family, the church, and the state. • Link: http: //gilc. org/speech/osistudy/censorship/

Por_*cough* • There are many examples of censorship that have occurred throughout history from a religious aspect such as the Bible’s influence over its readers. The right to exercise one’s freedom of speech has also come into question when censorship is involved. The CDA was voted overwhelmingly into law in 1996, and made it a criminal offense to send "indecent material by the Internet into others computers". The law was attached to the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 and passed by congress on February 1 st of the same year. It was signed by President Clinton the following week. On the same day the bill was signed the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in Philadelphia on the ground that the statute banned speech protected by the First Amendment and subjected the Internet to restrictions that were out of line with regulations faced by other mediums.

Protecting Free Speech Defense against censorship in America and around the world 4

American Civil Liberties Union üACLU is one of the main American organizations that protect free speech online üFormed in 1920 and based in NYC it has made numerous appeals to the Supreme Court in defense of free speech online üSome other organizations that fight for online free speech are Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union

Examples of attempts to limit online free speech ü 1996 - Congress tried to pass the Communications Decency act ü 1998 - Congress tried to pass the Child Online Protection Act üThe COPA is currently upheld in public libraries

Some places do not protect free speech on the internet ü Reporters Without Borders Internet censorship ratings. ü No censorship ü Some censorship ü Under surveillance ü Internet black holes (most heavily censored nations)

Works cited stuff ü http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Internet_censorship ü http: //www. aclu. org/free-speech/online-free-speech#history 1998 ü http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union

Censorship and the Internet A Tumultuous Relationship 12/01/09

What to Censor? ✤ Pornography ✤ Social Networks ✤ Search Engines ✤ Political Blogs ✤ Information Sharing

The Big Offenders ✤ China ✤ Myanmar/Burma ✤ Iran ✤ North Korea ✤ Cuba ✤ Russia

Censorship Types 12

Types of Censorship } Moral } Military } Political } Religious } Corporate

Types of Censorship } Moral ◦ removal of materials that are obscene or otherwise morally questionable ◦ For example, pornography } Military ◦ the process of keeping military intelligence and tactics confidential and away from the enemy

Types of Censorship } Political ◦ governments hold back information from their citizens ◦ For example, to prevent rebellion } Religious ◦ shun things when the content is not appropriate for certain faith } Corporate ◦ halt the publishing of negative information

Our opinion } Censorship is necessary } Censorship should not limit people’s basic rights to know } Censorship used for personal profits cannot be justified

Censorship in America } Viacom vs You. Tube ◦ By winning lawsuit against Google, ◦ Viacom can get account information on You. Tube ◦ Viacom can regulate freedom of expression by suing people who upload copyright products ◦ Viacom censors video on You. Tube that criticize their policy