Freedom of speech and censorship is just one of the multiple mass media issues. There’s always two questions that arise when internet censorship is discussed: does the internet need censorship and does censorship violate our freedom of speech. Everyone uses the internet so why not make it work better for all of us.
Most internet users seem to think that they should be capable of censoring themselves and government regulations are not necessary. Censorship through law would mean that what we could access, view, or publish would be controlled by someone else making those decisions for us. Censoring internet content also would be challenging as no agency has legal or physical control over all different websites available from all different countries which anyone on the web can access. Many feel that self censorship through following social norms, moral views, fear of consequences or even intimidation should ensure content is regulated by users.
Allegedly the critics of internet censorship say it’s a blatant violation of internet privacy and freedom of press. Which is used by people in power to suppress the effectiveness of mass media. People also question the idea of internet service providers deciding what they want to put on the internet and who sees it. The government’s regulation can only control what is going on in their country when they can’t control websites from other countries.
My thoughts on freedom of speech and censorship in the media are simple. I think that people should be allowed to express how they feel about any topic and anything they’re talking about on the internet. If something is vulgar or gorey it should have an age restriction. When its on live television i think it should be all age appropriate but still not miss out on the facts we need and should be hearing even if they aren’t pleasing.
All being said the world is one big home with one big family. People have reasons for all of their actions even tho in our eyes they might not seem justified. People will always have different sides on topics and there will always be disagreements with what works best. We might as well try to work together the best we can and solve our problems as a group because everyone uses the internet so why not make it work better for all of us.
