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Does Internet Censorship damage a free society?


Mikeyyy 1 / -  
Mar 6, 2014   #1
Hi all, I have been instucted to write a 1,000 word persuasive essay on any chosen but relevant topic. Would you say this persuades you?

Does Internet Censorship damage a free society?
Internet Censorship is beginning to take a serious toll on the "free" society in which we live. As our government's increased obsession with what we can and cannot see on the internet increases and the use of filtering programs by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) becomes common practise, we are slowly but surely losing the last patch of ground we hold for freedom of expression.

What is Internet Censorship and why should one worry about the impact of it on our modern, digital society? To those as intelligent as ourselves, the Internet is viewed as more than just a decentralized network of computers. It is a place where one can voice their opinions without the fear of physical opposition. The United Kingdom's legal system is in favour of blocking certain websites due to content that it classifies as illegal; but this has gone too far. The "protection" that our Government has put in place has been ridiculed by the recent leaks by Edward Snowden which stated that the GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) had been spying on the people of the United Kingdom on an outrageous level. This included the hacking of computers/servers of large tech firms to gather intelligence on a lot more often than not innocent people, this included people from countries all over the world. Despite this, the underlying problems still exists, blocking certain websites and allowing others to be accessed does not work in a free society.

"Error- site blocked" the daunting and sometimes infuriating message is written is plain conscious black text. I just tried to access thepiratebay.se but my ISP, BT (British Telecom) has kindly taken the liberty of refusing to appeal a decision that requires all Internet Providers in the UK to block certain file-sharing or torrenting websites because they "infringe" on copyright or they knowingly host content that "infringes" on copyright. It's good to know that I'm being protected from "pirated" media and a lot of the time, media that is completely royalty free. Yet, from my current network address is it physically impossible for me to access the site. You may ask, why all the fuss? Surely the UK government does not care if a very small percentage of its people access a site that allows them to acquire content for free that would otherwise be paid for? Let us also take into account the fact that this website is based/hosted in Sweden. However, after incredible legal pressure from the music and film industry the UK courts were forced into ruling in favour of censoring a website despite widespread opposition from the people of the United Kingdom.

There is a reason that every URL begins with w-w-w. It stands for World Wide Web, as someone as intelligent as yourself you will know that the internet was created to be a free source of knowledge to all people, designed for everyone no matter who they are or where they come from, not in order for our government to spy on and ultimately control us. On July 22nd 2013, our entrusted Prime Minister announced that by default all pornography would be inaccessible from most UK households by the end of 2013 unless users explicitly asked for it. The main goal was to safeguard children and many would agree it was a good idea but there was another intention that was kept under wraps. The filtering tools that broadband providers such as Sky and BT started advertising did not just block pornography but were also capable of blocking file-sharing sites and even sex education sites, this included LGBT lifestyle pages which had no sexually explicit content hosted on them. This is a one hundred percent breach of the Equality Act of 2010. Has anyone taken into account the power a tool like this could provide an abusive parent? Did I mention that extremist sites are also blocked by default? If you consider tax justice organisation "UK Uncut" a simple protest group to be a highly dangerous and extremist terrorist movement. I ask you again, does Internet Censorship damage a free society?

However, what if all of this censoring and spying is helping to combat terrorism worldwide and child exploitation online and even offline? What if Internet Censorship is even bringing down crime rates?

I navigate back to my original Google search. Below the blocked site is a page titled "The Pirate Bay- Mirrors" I click on it and within a matter of milliseconds my monitor is filled with hundreds of links to the "blocked" site I previously could not access. This is where any form of censorship completely fails; these so called filters have filtered nothing. All they have accomplished is the blocking of an Internet Protocol address, a short number that can very easily be modified. Nevertheless, the mirroring of a blocked site is only one side of the coin. Anyone with very little technological knowledge can tunnel all of their Internet traffic through another computer anywhere in the world through something that is called a Virtual Private Network effectively bypassing any form of filtering programs that have been put in place in the United Kingdom. I now ask you a different question, does Internet Censorship work?

By law, all user of the Internet in the UK are guaranteed freedom of expression and protection of privacy. How does one justify the spying programs and the blocking of "harmful" websites?

In conclusion, Internet Censorship is beginning to seriously damage the way we conduct our digital lives. Once we allow our government to open the floodgates of censorship it becomes impossible to stop their movement into every element of our free society. We are rapidly becoming a society that does not promote freedom of expression; but oppresses it. Our protection of privacy has been spat and stood on by those who supposedly protect us. Our beloved Internet is no longer a hub of free speech but one that gladly oppresses those with different beliefs and preferences. Yes, Internet Censorship damages a free society.
Leelee1960 - / 1  
Mar 9, 2014   #2
I think that a discussion about sites like Piratebay would be interesting. UK blocked the site, while other countries don't have a problem with it. I think your essay was good. It had a good argument, that is pertinent in today's society. It was interesting. It will make people think about censorship . A lot of people won't agree, which is good, because it will open a magor discussion about the subject.


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