hook for internet censorship essay

Building the (Fire) Wall: Internet Censorship in the United States and China

In a time of ever-increasing wealth of information on the internet, China has become notorious for having the most stringent internet censorship policies and surveillance systems in the world. Search engines and social media platforms that are ubiquitous in the United States and much of the world—like Google, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter—are blocked from China’s internet. In response, the US government, US technology companies, non-profit activist groups, and think tanks have publicly criticized and taken action against China’s restrictive policies. However, the newly instituted “Clean Network Initiative” in the United States strikes eerie parallels with China’s “Great Firewall,” leading to concerns about the state of internet freedom in the United States and abroad. As governments limit what citizens can and can’t see on the web, internet freedom and accessibility is threatened, limiting conduits for democratic thought, innovation and research, and global communication.

A Brief History of China’s Internet Censorship

Before President Xi Jinping’s rise to power in China, the internet was a relatively transparent and open platform for discussion. Although the Chinese government implemented restrictions on the internet almost as soon as its inception with a national network security and content blocking project, the Golden Shield, it had few restrictions and was easily circumvented by citizens. At the turn of the millennium, popular bloggers and influencers were able to advocate for social and political reforms by organizing protests and exposing political corruption through the internet. In the late 1990s, the China Democracy Party grew from twelve members in one region to hundreds of members across the country, primarily through email communication. Around the same time, the spiritual group Falun Gong used mobile phones and email to organize a silent protest against the Chinese government’s suppression of their religious practices. As more people gained access to the internet, the use of bulletin board systems (BBS) and chat rooms became critical for publicizing sensitive political topics and creating discussion forums for underground organizations.

However, dissenting groups and protests quickly drew harsh responses from Chinese authorities. Leaders of the China Democracy Party and Falun Gong were traced and imprisoned. Government paranoia surrounding the internet was further heightened by the introduction of modern social media platforms, such as Sina Weibo. By 2013, over 2 million citizens were employed as “public opinion analysts” to monitor user activity and social media, while other officials blocked posts that were deemed threatening to the party and published party propaganda masked as ordinary citizens.

The election of President Xi Jinping ushered in a new era of the China Communist Party’s (CCP) control over the internet; in 2016, Xi demanded that “all the work by the party’s media … reflect the [China Communist Party]’s will, safeguard the party’s authority, and safeguard the party’s unity.” His efforts to strengthen the Golden Shield and the “Great Firewall of China” involve collaboration between “the government and the domestic technology and telecommunications companies compelled to enforce the state’s rules.” These projects aim to ensure complete social and political conformity in the real and virtual world.

Consequences of Censorship

In response to domestic and international criticism, Chinese authorities argue that internet regulation is necessary for national security, social stability, and the protection of Chinese culture. However, this comes at a high cost; China faces serious repercussions in its economic development, scientific advancement, and creative innovation. China’s internet is “notoriously unreliable” and “ranks 91st in the world for speed” due to its large network of censors and restrictions, despite its general improvement in internet infrastructure.

This lack of efficiency can significantly slow economic growth, especially for corporations who struggle to keep their websites online due to China’s commercial censorship aimed specifically at foreign industries. Many in the global trade community claim that “China’s internet controls constitute a barrier to market access and are therefore a violation of China’s global trade obligations.”

Although scientific innovation is particularly valued by the Chinese government and in Chinese culture, the Chinese government continues to ban access to valuable internet resources such as Google Scholar, which are crucial for international scientific collaboration. Before 2015, many Chinese scientists and citizens used virtual private networks (VPNs) to route their internet traffic through foreign servers, bypassing the firewalls on Chinese servers and staying hidden from government surveillance. However, President Xi’s 2015 crackdown on VPNs made it nearly impossible to use them within China’s cyber-borders. In response, one Chinese biologist lamented the inefficiency of internet research in China in an essay entitled “Why Do Scientists Need Google?” He wrote: “If a country wants to make this many scientists take out time from the short duration of their professional lives to research technology for climbing over the Great Firewall and to install and to continually upgrade every kind of software for routers, computers, tablets and mobile devices, no matter that this behaviour wastes a great amount of time; it is all completely ridiculous.”

US Policy and Industry Intervention

The United States has traditionally been a major supporter of global free speech and internet accessibility, and has advocated for policies to “promote internet freedom in China’s increasingly restrictive environment and to mitigate the global impact of Chinese government censorship.” In 2000 for example, Congress established the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) “to monitor China’s compliance with international human rights standards, to encourage the development of the rule of law in the PRC, and to establish and maintain a list of victims of human rights abuses in China.”

The US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), is an independent agency of the US government that aims to “inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” The USAGM sponsors Radio Free Asia, a non-profit news corporation, that connects with in-country sources and journalists to provide censored information to the Chinese public.

Private US information and communications industry interests in promoting free internet access in China are represented through the Global Network Initiative (GNI) ; members of the GNI include high-profile companies like Google, Microsoft, Verizon, and Facebook. Like many others in the global trade community, these corporations cite that China’s restrictions are unjustly discriminatory towards foreign industry.

US Clean Network Initiative

At the same time that US initiatives attempt to promote internet freedom in China, domestic policies threaten that same ideal at home. On August 5, 2020, the Trump administration, under Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s direction, announced its expansion of the Clean Network Initiative , which builds upon the 5G Clean Path Initiative .  The Clean Network initiative aims to guard “citizens’ privacy and [US] companies’ most sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign actors, such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”

Pompeo’s press statement delineates five principles of a “clean network”:

• Clean Carrier: Ban untrusted People’s Republic of China (PRC) cell carriers from connecting to US networks.
• Clean Store: Remove untrusted PRC apps from US app stores to prevent spread of viruses, propaganda, and violation of privacy.
• Clean Apps: Block untrusted PRC smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei, from pre-installing trusted apps (from the United States or abroad) on their app store.
• Clean Cloud: Prevent US personal information and intellectual property (ex. COVID-19 vaccine research) from being stored in cloud-based systems that can be accessed by foreign adversaries, such as the PRC (ex. Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent).
• Clean Cable: Protect undersea cables from intelligence gathering by the PRC.

The justification for these restrictive, China-centered policies are summed up in Pompeo’s concluding sentence: “building a Clean fortress around our citizens’ data will ensure all of our nations’ security.” Ironically, the Chinese government similarly often cites national security to justify its harsh restrictions, even when empirical evidence does not support their claims. Both the Clean Network Initiative and the Great Firewall require concessions of internet freedoms from their citizens in return for vague promises of national security and privacy. They also paint foreign influences as “intruders” upon the nation’s internet (though the internet was not created with state borders or separations), with China’s policies warding against almost all foreign nations while the Clean Network specifically targets China. The United States and China are essentially waging an “internet sovereignty” war, where each side employs the tactics of the other.

The day after the introduction of the Clean Network Initiative, President Donald Trump published an executive order imposing sanctions on the Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat, which aims to remove them from US app stores and prohibit transactions between consumers and the apps. While US citizens would still be able access TikTok and WeChat if the apps are already on their device, they would not receive new software updates, effectively resulting in the apps becoming unusable over time.

During one of the many preliminary injunctions against Trump’s executive order, a judge blocked the order due to a lack of specific evidence regarding the presumed insecurity of WeChat. Another federal judge questioned “whether the order would harm First Amendment rights,” arguing that “it would shut down the primary means of communication for the Chinese community.” WeChat is one of the only social media platforms available to users in China, so users abroad rely on WeChat to stay connected with their families, friends, and business partners in China.

While Trump and Pompeo claim that these measures are necessary to our national security, the lack of concrete evidence behind their claims and singular focus on Chinese media point to other geopolitical motivations. The Clean Network Initiative doesn’t specify exactly which Chinese-owned applications will be removed; for example, it is unclear whether Chinese-owned entertainment platforms such as League of Legends are banned, since League of Legends is owned by TENCENT, one of the companies mentioned in the Initiative under “Clean Cloud.” However, it is abundantly clear that the Clean Network Initiative and Trump’s executive order specifically target Chinese-controlled social media platforms, telecommunications providers, and cell phone manufacturers, which disproportionately impact Chinese American communities (compared to League of Legends, which has a much more diverse user base). These policies exhibit a degree of xenophobia and racism against Chinese American citizens and discourages any ties, whether professional, familial, or (rarely) political, with China.

In the Clean Network Initiative, Pompeo emphasizes that “more than thirty countries and territories are now Clean Countries,” and urges other US allies to join this pact. By turning other countries against Chinese media and the CCP, the Trump administration may be attempting to assert US dominance in the international cybersphere and promote a pro-American internet free of Chinese influence.

Upon the introduction of these policies, Beijing has expressed outrage at the clear distrust of Chinese companies and government. In an interview, the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi claimed that this is a “textbook case of bullying,” since he believes the United States is acting to “keep its monopoly in science and technology but deny other countries the legitimate right to development.” He also accuses the United States of conducting its own mass surveillance around the world and domestically, contradicting the principles delineated in Pompeo’s press release. While Wang Yi claims that China promotes open business environments and international exchanges in science and technology, it is clear that neither China nor the United States is accomplishing those goals with their mutual censorship and foreign internet policy.

International Implications

Global internet freedom has declined as countries have imposed stricter censorship policies and weaponized social media as a tool to advance state agendas. Chinese development of more advanced censorship software and social media surveillance tools have often been seen by many in the international community as the inspiration in the development of their own censorship programs. Chinese firms reportedly connected to the Chinese government, such as Semptian and Knowlesys, advertise their surveillance products at international trade shows, demonstrating features such as “monitoring your targets’ messages, profiles, locations, behaviors, relationships, and more” as well as how to “monitor public opinion for election.” Authoritarian regimes can easily purchase these systems to find and block dissident users, creating an environment of fear and self-censorship in cyberspace.

The downward spiral of internet freedom threatens the very values the Internet was founded on: quite literally named the “world wide web,” it aimed to enable open and free access to information across the globe. This vision of a globally connected network is at risk of crumbling under increasing internet censorship within individual countries. This push towards a divided internet limits global conversations and collaboration, while further polarizing each nation by creating echo chambers in which we can only hear our own voices. At a time when global cooperation is needed more than ever, we are building more walls than we are tearing down.

Cover photo: President Donald J. Trump joins Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, at the start of their bilateral meeting Saturday, June 29, 2019, at the G20 Japan Summit in Osaka, Japan. Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead, Public domain, accessed via Wikimedia Commons .

Qijia Zhou is a staff writer for the HIR. Qijia is interested in international politics, as well as the intersection between science and policy.

Recent Posts

Separating art from the artist: russian music abroad.

Bulwark in the Pacific: Implications of the January 2024 Taiwanese Elections

Linguistic Colonialism: Moroccan Education and its Dark Past

The Asilomar Conference and Contemporary AI Controversies: Lessons in Regulation

Knowledge, Soil, Politics, and Poverty: How Drug Trafficking Has Kept Its Hold on Latin America

You Might Be Interested In

Is beijing creating a new sino-russian world order the russian invasion of ukraine might change beijing’s calculus for taiwan and the united states, defying dictatorships: an interview with garry kasparov, cambodia’s triumph and tragedy: the un’s greatest experiment 30 years on.

Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Against civil rights, ignorance and misinformation, technically impossible, standardization, works cited.

The Internet is a worldwide electronic library with virtually any kind of information hence it is the greatest and most convenient source of information at the click of a button. Of all the diverse information available in the internet, some explicit information such as pornography, racism, ethnicity, crime and war are considered unethical and against strong virtues of the society.

The negative impacts of internet have raised many concerns over freedom of access and publishing of information, leading to the need to censor internet. Although censoring of internet can help in protecting virtues and culture, it is technically impossible, prohibits propagation of knowledge and against civil rights freedom of speech and press.

Internet censorship is against freedom of expression. The United States government attempted to control internet in 1996 when they passed Communication Decency Act but the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling that it is a violation of the First and Fifth Amendment of the Supreme Court (Valdes Cortes Para. 7).

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the internet freedom deserves much protection as books, newspapers, magazines and even as a nude statue in a museum (Para. 1). Therefore, it is unconstitutional to censor internet because people have the inalienable rights of freedom of speech and press so long as the civil rights are protected for the interest of justice.

Since internet is the greatest source of knowledge, the censorship of internet denies people access to vital information required in order to acquire knowledge. Insufficient information in the current society will led to misinformation or ignorance that is quite unrealistic (Yee Para 4).

Misinformation and ignorance completely outweigh the negative consequences of the free internet; it is better to have options and choice on the kind of information than be ignorant and misinformed. Modern society is fighting to eliminate ignorance and misinformation that are key democratic aspects of an open society, free of deception and secrecy.

Internet censorship is a way of controlling the minds of people as they say knowledge is power hence, leaders who are in power wants to control and regulate information access by their subjects so that they can continue gain more power while the subjects become more ignorant on pertinent issues that affects their lives (Yee Para 6).

Internet has made it hard for leaders to guard selfishly the knowledge to be within their own reach thus they are making futile attempts to control the flow of information worldwide. Free access of information from the internet have significantly enabled people to gain more and more knowledge making them have informed decisions in the kind of information and challenges they face because ignorance is no longer an excuse of not making the right decision in life..

Internet information is so vast and diverse to the extent that it will be impossible to censor the information in it. Technically, due to the overwhelming data and consequent complex encryption protocols involved, plus other technical factors makes internet censorship impossible (Chapman 132). Internet protocols are designed in such a way to avoid or prevent blocking. Moreover, internet is very dynamic in that censorship will be as futile excise as chasing the wind.

The internet has no boundaries unlike laws and legislations that are specific to a given territory. The Communication Decency Act left many questions unanswered; what is decency and who will determine decency? Diverse cultures in the world have different perceptions of what is ethical or not, what is decent or not, but a censor may have a different perception of what constitutes decent or ethical.

The diversity of cultures and legislations a cross the countries makes it impossible to have a standard internet censorship. According to the Americans Civil Liberties Union, internet censorship need to be put on the hands of the individual so that they can have autonomy to decides on the information they access or publish (Para 2).

Internet censorship is a noble idea of trying to conserve our cultures and traditions, but on contrary, we also need knowledge to eliminate ignorance that seems to perpetuate in this modern society. The positive impacts of free internet access of any information, outweighs by far its negative effects in the society.

Today, a society without access to information seems be in a dark world full of ignorance and misinformation that makes people behave as if they are blind to the current world issues that directly affects them. It is our inalienable right to access and publish information and the freedom of speech and expression are the integral aspect of information.

A democratic and prosperous society is based on the access of the right information used in the making of informed decisions a better society. The freedom to access information must be fought for, otherwise; people in the power will take advantage of our innocence and deny us the right to information that is necessary to rid of the ignorance in the society.

American Civil Liberties Union. “Censorship on Internet.” ACLU. 2010. Web.

Chapman, Gary. “Censorship: Opposing Viewpoints”. 1997. Greenhaven Press . Web.

Valdes Cortes. “ Margarita. Internet Censorship around the World .” University of Chile. 2010. Web.

Yee, Danny. “Internet Censorship: an Australian Press Council Seminar.” Electronic Frontiers Australia . 2010. Web.

• Telegraph and Its Impacts in Mass Communication
• Online Persona: Ethical Implications
• Censorship of Social Networking Sites in Developing Countries
• Censorship on the Internet
• Internet Censorship: Blocking and Filtering
• Impact of Modern Technology on Human Communication
• Google Search Engine and Yahoo Search Engine
• The LinkedIn Network and the Problem of Employment
• History of the Internet
• What Are the Causes of the Increased Lack of Internet Privacy?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, July 16). Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-censorship/

"Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society." IvyPanda , 16 July 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/internet-censorship/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society'. 16 July.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society." July 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-censorship/.

1. IvyPanda . "Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society." July 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-censorship/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Need for Internet Censorship and its Impact on Society." July 16, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/internet-censorship/.

• Dissertation
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Book Report/Review
• Research Proposal
• Math Problems
• Proofreading
• Movie Review
• Cover Letter Writing
• Personal Statement
• Nursing Paper
• Argumentative Essay
• Research Paper
• Discussion Board Post

Tips on Writing a Persuasive Internet Censorship Essay

Internet censorship essay can be looked at as a persuasive essay as the topic is pretty much open. You will first have to make a stand for or against the topic to win over your reader. It is your job as a writer to convince the reader beyond doubt to accept your point of view. To do this, you will have to do good research whereby you should keep the biasness of the reader in mind and have a solid understanding of both sides of the coin. A great persuasive essay shows the reasons for the correctness of the opinion of the writer and the reasons for the incorrectness of the opposing view. Persuasive writing has been widely used in relation to blogs, advertising, political speeches, and newspaper editorials. In most cases the assignments on persuasive writing as well as test prompts are concerned with contemporary issues such as internet censorship. The main aim of the persuasive essay is to convince or persuade the reader to think in a certain way which is your way.

• Prewriting Stage

This stage is very crucial where the writer needs to plan on every aspect of the essay. Choose a position and make sure the position has more points to argue out to avoid running out of points in the middle of the essay. Ensure you do an extensive research to make your essay as solid as possible. Avoid relying on one source and have a wide base of sources both primary and secondary where you will be able to get an insight of all sides of the topic.

• Draft the persuasive essay

Ensure the introduction has a strong hook that catches the attention of the reader. You can start your essay with an unusual statistic or fact, a quotation or question, or even an emphatic statement. The thesis statement should leave no doubts on the writer’s position where each body paragraph needs to cover a different point and the sentences of every paragraph must offer strong evidences. Ensure that you consider the different ways of making the argument inclusive of using an analogy, illustration, drawing comparisons with a hypothetical situation. Do not make assumptions that the reader has an in-depth knowledge of the issue. Write the essay as though you are in a debate where you would have to introduce your topic, list the evidences you have as well as draw a conclusion for the audience as a persuasive essay has the very same structure.

Write a conclusion that ties all your ideas together. At this point place emphasis on your thesis. You can either use a story or information discussed prior to give your conclusion a good stand. Again, the closing sentence should be captivating where it can be a question that provokes the thinking of readers or even recommendations that gives specific ideas to readers.

• Revise your essay

You should review your essay modifying and reorganizing it and try to make it to the best version it can be. Ensure that you confirm the following:

-If the essay presents a solid position of the issue and if it is supported by relevant quotes, examples, facts, and statistics.

-Check if the introduction has an intriguing hook that makes the reader want to read more.

-Whether each paragraph provides compelling evidence that aims at supporting the point.

-If the opposing sides are presented and convincingly invalidated.

-Check the sentence structure and the preciseness of word choice.

-If the concluding paragraph shows the position of the writer.

If you feel that the essay is missing the mark you can have another look of the thesis. When the thesis offers a strongly built argument as well as clearer adversarial viewpoint the rest of the essay will fall into place.

• Edit your essay and make a final copy

Proofread plus correct the grammatical errors as well as mechanics editing to improve the clarity and style. You will even get a fresh editing perspective when you ask your friend to read the essay.

What you need to know when writing a very old man with enormous wings essay

How To Create A Best Abortion Argumentative Essay?

Steps To Follow While Writing An Essay On Climate Change

• Skip to content

Harvard Law & Policy Review

Online Censorship Is Unavoidable—So How Can We Improve It?

By Ben Horton*

A few weeks ago, Professors Jack Goldsmith and Andrew Keane Woods ignited controversy by suggesting in the Atlantic that China was right and America was wrong about internet censorship and surveillance. This seemingly contrarian stance rubbed people the wrong way , especially given reports that China’s online censorship delayed their response to COVID-19 and that Chinese agents have actively disseminated disinformation about the virus—and then attempted to suppress reports revealing their disinformation campaign .

Except the professors’ critics seem to have missed the point of their essay. Goldsmith and Woods said China was right that the internet inevitably would be censored and surveilled, not that China’s methods were normatively appealing.

Even discounting existing state surveillance and censorship on the internet in the United States, private surveillance and censorship is ubiquitous. And, notwithstanding our intuitions, most people want an internet that is subject to ubiquitous censorship—that is, “content moderation.”

Putting aside illegal content (child pornography, snuff films, etc.), most consumers do not want to be inundated with what Sarah Jeong has dubbed “ the internet of garbage .” They do not want to be harassed, bullied, threatened, or spammed on the internet. And in the midst of a global pandemic, they want to ensure disinformation is kept to a minimum. They want to limit harmful speech.

Part of our problem is we still think of speech burdens in a binary, on-off way. But especially online, the question is not whether you can find content, it is how hard it will be to be find and how much it will be amplified .

The question is not if there will be censorship and surveillance, [1] the question is who gets to do it, and how it is done. Right now a relatively small group of private actors make not only the substantive decisions about content on the internet, they decide the process that drives those decisions and how information flows through their networks. They wield enormous power , and are almost completely unaccountable to the public.

So, what are our options?

Option 1: Stay the Course

First, the United States could continue to shield tech companies from most tort-based liability for content posted on their platforms via Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act , maintain an expansive view of the First Amendment, and not substantively regulate tech companies.

Supporters of the current system largely admit that ubiquitous content moderation is good, so long as it is private. They hold that a system of private speech regulation provides a market incentive for platforms to reach a Goldilocks-zone of content moderation : Enough harmful speech is blocked that it is possible to maintain deliberative communication amid the noise, but not so much that deliberative communication is also blocked. Consumers have a choice, and services that fail to moderate will either fail or be consigned to the dark corners of the internet .

But how real is that choice? Alphabet owns the two most popular websites in the world. Facebook (through its eponymous service and Instagram), Twitter, and Reddit collectively dominate U.S. social media . Over the past twenty years who has rivaled them? MySpace? Snapchat? Yahoo!? Tumblr? Even including these rivals, American consumers have had two significant options for their search engines and four or five social media sites. And, at least in part, that lack of choice is due to the inaction by antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice when Google bought YouTube and when Facebook acquired Instagram . In a monopolistic environment consumers can try to campaign for changes to private companies’ policies, but their effectiveness might rely on some of the substantive regulations discussed below.

As Evelyn Douek has argued, these platforms are increasingly cooperative in their moderation decision-making , making consumer choice even more illusory. YouTube’s policies on terrorism-related content are not significantly different than Facebook’s or Twitter’s because they all belong to the same private group that develops those standards. Facebook’s new Oversight Board is probably a step in the right direction, but what happens if it becomes the de facto decision-maker for social media standards generally?

Finally, the market theory is contingent on the assumption that people choose their networks based on the ability of the network to curate information. But the profit incentive of social media companies is to increase our engagement—which might mean pushing harmful content on users , or at least enabling that sort of thing ( until they’re caught ). The negative effects of this content might be exaggerated , but without greater transparency we just don’t know.

Aside from the harms of disinformation, staying the course has the additional drawback of eliminating the United States from the global conversation about internet governance. As Microsoft President Brad Smith mentioned in a recent interview , in the future, tech companies may simply adapt their products to the regulations of the European Union and other Western democracies that lack stringent First Amendment or Section 230 protections against government involvement in online speech. We already see this to some extent with the NetzDG law in Germany, which, if nothing else, is offering us some useful transparency on content moderation.

Or tech companies themselves might simply decide how public health crises are managed .

Either way, the United States government, for better or worse, will simply not have much of a say in what the internet looks like.

Option 2: Content-Based Regulations

For constitutional reasons, the approach of regulating speech based on its content is closed off to the United States. There is a lively academic debate about the status of lies and hate speech under the First Amendment. But absent a political revolution, it will remain an academic debate. The Supreme Court has said, in an 8-1 opinion , it will not open up new “uncovered” zones of speech. Content-based regulations of harmful speech will continue to be subject to strict scrutiny, and they will continue to be struck down.

In the U.S. context, at least for the foreseeable future, content-based censorship will continue to be ubiquitous and limited to private actors. That does not mean we need to leave the speech moderating apparatus entirely to the private sector.

Option 3: Torts, Competition, Process, and Friction

Contrary to cyber-libertarians, the options available are not limited to “censorship” or no regulation at all. We have other tools at our disposal. The key is to focus on content-neutral regulations, especially those that govern the flow of information rather than regulations that criminalize certain content.

As a threshold matter, these policies do not have to—and likely will not—take the form of flat bans and mandates. They might be conditions attached to liability immunities or tax incentives, and they can—and should—distinguish between different types of online services. Of course, companies have been lobbied, and should be lobbied, to make these changes on their own; I am arguing that there is some role for direct government regulation in these realms.

First, we could reform Section 230. While supporters maintain that Section 230 is necessary to ensure that platforms can engage in decent moderation without fear of liability , detractors argue that a well-crafted alternative could still shield sites that engage in good-faith moderation without shielding sites that are designed to facilitate human trafficking , for instance. And regardless of where you stand on the 230 debate, given bipartisan support for both SESTA – FOSTA and the delayed “ EARN IT Act ,” 230 as we know it is unlikely to survive. If we want sensible intermediary liability protection, and not a patchwork of exceptions that probably make the internet less safe, the 230-or-nothing stance is increasingly politically untenable.

Second, we can advocate for regulations that promote competition, creating a market where consumers have real choices and their choices make a difference. This need not be the traditional “breaking up” of companies given the beneficial network effects consumers find in centralized services and the possible aggravation of harm that a balkanized internet could bring . Pro-competition policy could start with blocking the sale of startups to Facebook and Google . It could include the imposition of substantive requirements, like an information fiduciary responsibility or interoperability requirement on organizations with a certain share of the market. Any regulations, however, need to be sensitive to the needs of non-profits with large user bases and low revenues .

Third, and more controversially, we can require more transparent processes in content moderation. A number of organizations have released and advocated for the “ Santa Clara Principles .” These include, at a minimum, publishing the number of posts and accounts taken down organized by the category of violation, providing notice to users whose accounts or posts are taken down, and instituting some kind of appeal process. If content-based moderation decisions are largely going to be done by private actors, their legitimacy relies on being transparent and understandable to the public. Even if changes are brought about by private pressure, we cannot collectively criticize and improve on secret processes .

Finally, and most controversially, maybe we can impose content-neutral, friction-creating regulations that force consumers to be more deliberate in sharing and consuming information. For instance, WhatsApp recently limited its forwarding function so that any messages that come from a chain of more than five people must be forwarded one chat at a time. This type of rule is not content-based; it applies to speech based on its virality, not the “topic, idea or message” communicated. Disclosure requirements—revealing, for example, whether or not a human is speaking —might also increase friction and deliberation. And some regulations of social media’s “frictionless” design might be allowable under the First Amendment.

These regulations avoid the hard epistemological questions and constitutional hurdles of defining harmful speech. They regulate the flow of information regardless of its content instead of worrying about speech concerning a particular topic. Furthermore, they ban no speech—deliberate communication is unaffected.

There are pros and cons to every policy mentioned, with administrability challenges and constitutional issues . But to reach a substantive discussion of the realistic possibilities for regulation in the U.S. context, the conversation needs to move beyond the false binary of “censorship versus free speech.”

* Ben Horton is a rising 3L at Harvard Law School and an Online Editor for HLPR.

[1] I am not talking about the problems of surveillance presented by innovations like the Ring doorbell , or facial recognition . I am referring to the level of surveillance necessary to ensure that speech is successfully moderated on platforms—being able to tie punishments to certain accounts, for example. That overlaps with the problems of online behavioral manipulation and surveillance capitalism, which I am not addressing in this post.

The Edvocate

• Lynch Educational Consulting
• Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
• Write For Us
• The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
• The Edvocate Podcast
• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Assistive Technology
• Best PreK-12 Schools in America
• Child Development
• Classroom Management
• Early Childhood
• EdTech & Innovation
• Education Leadership
• First Year Teachers
• Gifted and Talented Education
• Special Education
• Parental Involvement
• Policy & Reform
• Best Colleges and Universities
• Best College and University Programs
• HBCU’s
• Higher Education EdTech
• Higher Education
• International Education
• The Awards Process
• Finalists and Winners of The 2023 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Award Seals
• GPA Calculator for College
• GPA Calculator for High School
• Cumulative GPA Calculator
• Grade Calculator
• Weighted Grade Calculator
• Final Grade Calculator
• The Tech Edvocate
• AI Powered Personal Tutor

$13 Million Gift to Cleveland Clinic from Howley Foundation Expands ASPIRE Program

Okaloosa school district to launch esports program across all high schools, white house initiative celebrates 10th anniversary with diverse 2024 hbcu cohort, college students are already regretting their student loans, fafsa rollout was ‘a stunning failure,’ college aid expert says. here’s how next year will compare, igniting the torch of progress’: stark state college opens new welding and joining lab, ‘a lovely legacy’: falk college remembers professor emerita sarah ‘sally’ short, fort leonard wood hosts combined college graduation event, huntington president announces plans for 2025 retirement, new scholarship available to nc residents with thursday deadline, censorship essay topics.

Censorship Research Questions

• Empirical Likelihood Semiparametric Regression Analysis Constrained by Random Censorship
• An Argument Against Internet Censorship in America
• Radio Censorship and Lack of Freedom in the United States of America
• Censorship as the Control of What People May Hear or Say, Read or Write, Do or See
• An Analysis and Overview of Explicit Lyrics and Censorship in the United States of America
• Censorship and the First Amendment in the United States
• Censorship and the Media: Advertiser Influence on the Media
• Censorship on the Internet and Freedom of Speech
• Censorship Needed for Proper Education of Guardian
• An Argument for Television Censorship Based on Content, Time Slot, and Audience
• Censorship of Music and the Impact of Listening to Music with Violent and Objectionable Lyrics
• Internet Censorship: An Examination of a Controversial Issue
• Consistent Estimation Under Random Censorship In the Presence of Co-variables
• Music Censorship Is a Constitutional and Human Rights Violation
• The Government Should Not Impose Censorship

Easy Censorship Essay Topics

• Censorship of the Internet and Its Role in Protecting Our Society’s Adolescent
• Against Internet Censorship, Including Pornography
• The Concept of Censorship on College Campuses Regarding Sexism and Racism
• Government Cyber-Frontier and Internet Censorship
• Censorship Issues in the United States: Innovative Solutions
• Asymptotically Efficient Estimation Using Semi-Parametric Random Censorship Models
• Censorship Regimes: Tactics in China and Russia
• Censorship Principles: An Overview of Right and Wrong
• An Argument Against School-Based Literature Censorship Due to Racism in Literary Works
• Censorship in the United States: Its History, Positive and Negative Impacts
• Censorship and Burlesque Show Analysis

Controversial Censorship Topics to Write About

• The Importance of Internet Free Speech and Censorship
• The Libertarian Party’s History and Its Positions on the Role of Government, Censorship, and Gun Control
• Communications Decency Act and the Internet Censorship
• Monitoring Children’s Surfing Habits Is a Better Option for Censoring the Internet
• The History of Censorship in Modern and Ancient Civilizations
• Censorship, Supervision, and Control of Ideas and Information
• The Three Basic Social Institutions and the Importance of Television Censorship
• An Argument for the Use of Censorship in Order to Preserve Morals and Decency
• Is Internet Censorship and De-Anonymization a Threat to Our Liberty?
• Parental Control or Censorship?

Research Questions about Censorship

• What Do Raleigh’s Letter Home and the Censorship Problem Tell You About Raleigh?
• Can Censorship Limit Your Freedom?
• How Darwin Shaped Our Understanding of the Importance of Language?
• Censorship: How Does It Affect the Relationship with His Wife?
• How and Why Does Censorship Lead to Lack of Knowledge in Young People?
• What Is the Effect of Censorship on Kids?
• Media Censorship: How Does It Violate Freedom of Expression and Affect Businesses?
• Responsibility and Censorship: Which Is the Lesser of Two?
• How Can Censorship Prevent Progress?
• How Is Music Censorship Related to the Individual?
• How Does the Media Pretend to Protect Us Using Censorship?
• What Is the Effect of Censorship on Our Daily Lives?
• Is There An Internet Censorship Against Human Rights in China?
• Movies Censorship: Can Ratings for Censored Movies Be Socially Justified?
• Public Libraries and Censorship: Should Public Libraries Filter Internet Sites?
• Does Parental Censorship Increase Children’s Curiosity?
• What Are the Arguments for and Against Pornography Censorship?
• How Were Propaganda and Censorship Used in the United Kingdom and Germany During WWI?
• Should China’s Government Ban internet censorship?
• In 1928, How Did Virginia Woolf’s Orlando Subvert Censorship and Revolutionize the Politics of LGBT Love?
• Cooptation, Censorship, Propaganda, and Repression: How Do Modern Dictators Survive?

Censorship Topics for Research Paper

• What Were the Arguments For and Against Censorship in Video Nasties?
• How Does Media Censorship Affect Business Freedom of Expression and Impact Businesses?
• Why Does News Ownership Affect Press Freedom and Censorship?
• Should Censorship Interviews Chain Music?
• Why Should Graffiti Be Accepted as a Form of Art?
• What Is the Relationship Between Censorship and Book Bans?
• How Does the Congress Define Censorship and Censor?
• How Does Censorship Affect Animation Development?
• Why Should They Allow Internet Censorship?

20 Ways to Support Students Who Throw ...

Stereotype threat: everything you need to know.

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author, fascinating essay topics to write about burnout, essay topics about ecosystem, research topics about black death, most interesting nonprofit organizations essay topics, fascinating antibiotic essay topics, boeing essay topics.

• Entertainment
• Environment
• Information Science and Technology
• Social Issues

Home Essay Samples Social Issues

Essay Samples on Internet Censorship

Stand against censorship: unveiling the dangers.

Do you feel like you are being watched on while using the Internet? This essay argues against censorship, highlighting the dangers it poses to personal freedom and democracy, and provides examples of countries like China where censorship is used to control and manipulate the public....

• Internet Censorship

Censorship Advantages and Disadvantages in the Media: My View

Censorship in the media is a controversial topic that I can't stop think about. There is a lot of debate about censorship, its advantages and disadvantages, so in this essay I will briefly explore this topic with a focus on media censorship. First of all...

• Impact of Media
• Social Media

Internet Censorship: an In-Depth Look on the Pros and Cons

Introduction In this sophisticated technology-oriented world, the Internet is considered as one of the latest inventions of science and technology. Undoubtedly, nowadays, almost every walk of human life has been influenced by the Internet. Even though the Internet has provided a plethora of resources to...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Censorship: Unveiling the Web

Introduction In this paper, I will be discussing the internet, the advantages and disadvantages of internet censorship, and how we can effectively control and censor the content on the web, in particular, the problems arising due to censorship. Definitely, Internet Censorship is a hot topic...

• Internet Privacy

The Negative Impacts of Censorship on the Internet

This paper will be primarily focused on the various problems stemming from the censorship of materials found on the internet. Extending from that, it will discuss the author’s opinions on the best possible way for the regulation of posts on the internet. Finally, this paper...

Stressed out with your paper?

Consider using writing assistance:

• 100% unique papers
• 3 hrs deadline option

Censorship and Freedom of Speech Online

One doesn’t have to spend much time at all on the internet to realize that censorship is present to some extent in nearly all online forums. Any platform which allows users to post original thoughts in the form of words, pictures, and videos, typically has...

• Free Speech
• Freedom of Speech

Limiting Human Independence by Abusing Censorship: List of Countries with Strict Censorship Laws

Currently, the Internet has become no substitute for people around the world. Some are delighted with the opportunities offered by the Internet, others are neutral to the world wide web, and still others see a threat to the country. For most state regimes, the unchanged...

• Types of Human Rights

Best topics on Internet Censorship

1. Stand Against Censorship: Unveiling the Dangers

2. Censorship Advantages and Disadvantages in the Media: My View

3. Internet Censorship: an In-Depth Look on the Pros and Cons

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Censorship: Unveiling the Web

5. The Negative Impacts of Censorship on the Internet

6. Censorship and Freedom of Speech Online

7. Limiting Human Independence by Abusing Censorship: List of Countries with Strict Censorship Laws

• Discrimination
• Pornography
• Black Lives Matter
• Women's Rights
• Anti Slavery Movement
• Affirmative Action

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

Internet Censorship: Definition, Types, and How It Can Affect You

DataProt is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission. This, however, does not influence the evaluations in our reviews. Learn More .

Affiliate Disclosure

DataProt is an independent review site dedicated to providing accurate information about various cybersecurity products.

DataProt remains financially sustainable by participating in a series of affiliate partnerships - it is visitors’ clicks on links that cover the expenses of running this site. Our website also includes reviews of products or services for which we do not receive monetary compensation.

DataProt's in-house writing team writes all the site’s content after in-depth research, and advertisers have no control over the personal opinions expressed by team members, whose job is to stay faithful to the truth and remain objective.

Some pages may include user-generated content in the comment section. The opinions expressed in the comment section do not reflect those of DataProt.

Internet censorship is a big deal. The days of complete cyber freedom are all but gone, with  companies and governments interfering with the web. Their involvement is ruining the cyberworld for the rest of us in various ways, with censorship being the most prominent.

Internet censorship is the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed online. It happens when governments, organizations, or individuals restrict or block access to web content. In this article, we’ll be explaining how censorship happens, its impact on the internet, and how to avoid it. 

What Is Internet Censorship and How It Happens

Some countries censor the internet because they don’t want their citizens to see things that might upset them or make them think differently. They also might do this to keep people from organizing protests or speaking out against the government.

Their goal, usually, is to make it difficult to get accurate information about what’s going on in the world or stop people from being able to share their opinions freely.

But, the government internet censorship can happen for a variety of other reasons , including political, religious, or moral grounds and restricting media freedom. 

While government-level censorship is meant to shut down dissidents, there are other reasons why organizations and groups of people restrict internet access to others. An organization may block certain websites to protect its members from offensive or inappropriate content or simply to increase productivity by limiting access to entertainment and social media sites.

Censorship of the internet happens in one of two directions:

• Top-down censorship is when a government or organization tells service providers what content to block. In some cases, laws may require certain content to be censored. Users have no say in this and can’t choose what to access. 
• Self-imposed censorship is associated with individuals or groups self-censoring by choosing what content to avoid. For example, someone may decide not to view certain websites because they know their government will censor the information, making it inaccurate. 

Different Types of Web Censorship

Different things can be censored, like specific pictures, words, or whole websites and internet protocols. There are also different ways to censor things – blocking either full access to the material or limiting searches for censored terms.

Government-level Censorship

One type of censorship is when a government makes it illegal to say certain things . For instance, in China, the government has made it illegal to talk about certain topics online, like democracy or human rights. They do this by censoring websites that discuss these topics and punishing people who break the rules. Governments work with ISPs to put those restrictions into motion, either by outright blocking access to websites or redirecting traffic to similar, regulated sites.

Platform Restrictions

Another type of censorship is when social media companies block certain content from their platforms . For example, Facebook has been criticized for censoring body positivity and sex education posts. Likewise, YouTube has been accused of censoring videos about LGBTQ+ rights, mental health, and COVID-19 awareness. In this case, platforms issue take-down notices, followed by the removal of said content.

It’s not uncommon for governments to even force tech companies to impose content restrictions based on their own propaganda. In such a case, the government would strong-arm content hosts into submission by threatening outright bans of their platforms. As a counterpoint, Twitter has started clearly marking government-related profiles, so users can see at a glance whether the profile could be a part of a propaganda machine. It’s not much, but at least it helps fight the censorship on the internet.

Local Restrictions

Lastly, censorship can happen on a smaller scale within a single institution. For example, a school may restrict access to certain parts of the internet or even key phrases. That way, the students cannot use the school’s computers to visit inappropriate websites like adult websites or social networks.

Similarly, employers may put blocks on specific apps, services, and websites, so the employees can only access the software and websites they allow them to. While we’ll be discussing how to avoid content blocks and censorship using free VPNs and similar tactics, we strongly advise caution in such situations.

How Censorship Works in Different Countries

Some countries have rigid censorship laws, while others have none at all. China is well-known for its internet restrictions, which some call the “great firewall of China.” The Chinese government blocks access to many websites and social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter. Google’s search engine, as well as all other Google products, is also banned in China. The government is censoring search results and blocks certain words from being used online.

In Saudi Arabia, the government filters content based on religious and moral values. It usually blocks websites that contain pornography or material that could be considered offensive to Islam. In Iran, the government blocks websites that are critical of the regime or that contain information that could be used to foment dissent.

In Russia, a new law requires internet service providers to censor websites that the government decides are “extremist.” This can include foreign websites that have critical opinions of the government in question or that provide information about protests or other forms of defiance.

Censorship can also happen in less obvious ways. For example, many countries require internet companies to collect data about their users’ activities. This data can be used to track people and see what they’re doing online. Needless to say that such laws disrupt net neutrality.

Impact of Censorship

Increased censorship can have a number of negative effects. For starters, it limits people’s ability to access information and ideas. This can lead to a loss of knowledge and opportunities for education and personal growth. 

Additionally, digital censorship can stifle creativity and critical thinking . Having no access to the online world can restrain people’s ability to freely express themselves. When people are only exposed to one side of an issue, it can be challenging to develop a well-rounded opinion. Seeing only one aspect of the whole picture can also lead to misinformation.

Censorship can create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust. People may grow afraid of expressing their opinions or sharing their ideas, which can lead to a feeling of isolation and disconnection.

Why Is Internet Freedom Important

Since the early days of the internet, people have been fighting for online freedom. The internet has become an essential part of our lives, so much so that internet access has been declared a basic human right by the UN Resolution in 2016. Censoring the internet denies us that basic right.

Access to the internet means access to information, education, and communication. It allows us to connect with friends and family and participate in the global community. It is essential for businesses and for the economy, which the pandemic years especially confirmed to be true. When regulations on the type of content we can access are imposed, serious issues may arise, such as when restrictions infringe on medical websites that people need. 

Cyberspace is also a powerful tool for democracy and human rights. The UN recognized the importance of the internet in a Resolution passed in 2016, declaring it a basic human right. The general belief is that the internet is something all people should have access to. Restricting access to parts of the internet is threading on human rights, rights to community, learning, and prospering in this modern world.

How to Circumvent Censorship

If you live in a country with restricted internet, there are several ways to bypass the restrictions and gain access to all internet content.

Web proxies are the simplest, fastest way to get around censorship and regional restrictions on the internet. They work by routing your traffic through a different server so that the website you are trying to visit doesn’t know your true IP address. This can be used to get around simple content filters, like the ones your school or workplace may have in place.

Web proxies are not perfect, however. They can be slow, and they don’t always work with every website. Additionally, your traffic is still going through another server, which means that the proxy owner could be snooping on your traffic and detecting phony IP addresses. More important – your internet service provider and, thus, the government, can still know what you were browsing.

Another way to get access to censored websites is to use a virtual private network. VPNs create a private, secure connection between two devices, which can be used to access restricted websites. When you use a VPN that doesn’t log data, your traffic is encrypted, so your ISP or anyone else can’t see what you’re doing online. Even more important, there’s no data saved on the provider’s side as if you’ve never used the service at all. 

While VPNs are legal in most parts of the world, some countries block them and can even issue a fine if you get caught. If you’re using a VPN in a country where they are not allowed or just worried about the repercussions, you may need to use a different method to access restricted websites.

Tor Browser

Lastly, you might only need to switch your internet browser to a more secure one. Tor is a free browser that allows you to surf the internet anonymously. By encrypting traffic and bouncing it through a distributed network of relays, Tor makes it difficult for anyone to track a user’s online activity.

The main downside to using Tor is that it can be slow. Because traffic is routed through multiple relays, each with its own bandwidth limitations, Tor users may experience slowdowns when browsing the web. Additionally, some websites may block traffic from known Tor relays, making them inaccessible to Tor users.

Final Thoughts

Internet censorship, as explained, can be a difficult issue to navigate. On the one hand, it’s important to protect people from offensive or harmful material. On the other hand, it is important to allow people to freely access information and express themselves. 

Lastly, as the internet is now considered a basic human right, imposing restrictions of such kind is a sign of dictatorship and not a signal that the government actually cares about pressing issues.

Further reading

The Onion Theory of Data Security Layers

What Is the Dark Web? Myths and Facts About the Hidden Internet

Leave a comment.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Freedom of expression in the Digital Age: Internet Censorship

• Living reference work entry
• First Online: 08 May 2020
• Cite this living reference work entry

• Md Nurul Momen 4  

285 Accesses

Freedom of expression includes freedom to hold opinions and ideas and to receive and impart information without restrictions by state authorities.

Introduction

Internet is regarded as an important issue that shapes free expression in today’s volatile nature of human rights world (Momen 2020 ). In the digital age, authoritarian governments in the world always attempt to undermine political and social movement through the complete shutdown of the Internet or providing partial access to it. It is also found that the restrictions on freedom of expression on the Internet are through surveillance and monitoring the online activities. In response to any kind of political and social movement, authoritarian governments across the border occasionally shut down many websites, along with the arrest of several anti-government bloggers and political activists. However, under the international legal instruments, for instance, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), denial of the...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Ariffin, L. J. (2012). Rais backs Dr M call for curbs to Internet freedom . https://www.malaysia-today.net/2012/06/05/rais-backs-dr-m-call-for-curbs-to-internet-freedom/ . Accessed 10 June 2018.

Arnaudo, D., Alva, A., Wood, P., & Whittington, J. (2013). Political and economic implications of authoritarian control of the internet. In J. Butts & S. Shenoi (Eds.), Critical infrastructure protection VII (IFIP AICT) (Vol. 417, pp. 3–19). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer.

Google Scholar  

Cristiano, F. (2019). Internet access as human right: A dystopian critique from the occupied Palestinian territory. In G. Blouin-Genest, M. C. Doran, & S. Paquerot (Eds.), Human rights as battlefields (Human rights interventions). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91770-2_12 .

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Diamond, L. (2010). Liberation technology. Journal of Democracy, 21 (3), 69–83. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.0.0190 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Freedom House. (2019). Freedom on the Net . Washington DC/New York, Retrieved from https://www.freedomonthenet.org/countries-in-detail

Hill, D. T. (2002). East Timor and the Internet: Global political leverage in/on Indonesia. Indonesia, 73 , 25–51.

Kee, J. S. (2012). Bad laws won’t stop cyber crime . https://www.loyarburok.com/2012/05/28/bad-laws-stop-cyber-crime/?doing_wp_cron . Accessed 10 June 2019.

Momen, M. N. (2020). Myth and reality of freedom of expression on the Internet. International Journal of Public Administration, 43 (3), 277–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1628055 .

Nocetti, J. (2015). Contest and conquest: Russia and global Internet governance. International Affairs, 91 (1), 111–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12189 .

Randall, J. (1996). Of cracks and crackdown: Five translations of recent Internet postings. Indonesia, 62 , 37–51.

Rodan, G. (1998). The Internet and political control in Singapore. Political Science Quarterly, 113 (1), 63–89.

Shirokanova, A., & Silyutina, O. (2018). Internet regulation: A text-based approach to media coverage. In D. A. Alexandrov et al. (Eds.), Digital Transformation and Global Society (DTGS) 2018 (Communications in computer and information science (CCIS)) (Vol. 858, pp. 181–194). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02843-5_15 .

Ziccardi, G. (2013). Digital activism, internet control, transparency, censorship, surveillance and human rights: An international perspective. In Resistance, liberation technology and human rights in the digital age (Law, governance and technology series) (Vol. 7). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5276-4_6 .

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Public Administration, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Md Nurul Momen

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md Nurul Momen .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

University of Alberta, Alberta, AB, Canada

Scott Romaniuk

University for Peace, San Jose, Costa Rica

Manish Thapa

Nemzetkozi Tanulmanyok Intezet, Rm 503, Corvinus Univ, Inst of Intl Studies, Budapest, Hungary

Péter Marton

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Cite this entry.

Momen, M.N. (2019). Freedom of expression in the Digital Age: Internet Censorship. In: Romaniuk, S., Thapa, M., Marton, P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_31-1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74336-3_31-1

Received : 15 March 2018

Accepted : 29 June 2019

Published : 08 May 2020

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-74336-3

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-74336-3

eBook Packages : Springer Reference Political Science and International Studies Reference Module Humanities and Social Sciences Reference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Essay on Censorship On The Internet

Students are often asked to write an essay on Censorship On The Internet in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Censorship On The Internet

What is internet censorship.

Internet censorship is when someone, like a government or company, controls what people can see or do online. They might block websites or stop certain words from being seen. This is like having a librarian who only lets you read certain books.

Why Do People Censor the Internet?

Types of censorship.

Censorship can be hiding parts of the internet or completely blocking it. Sometimes, it’s just for a short time, like during an election or a big protest, to control what information gets out.

Effects of Censorship

Censorship can keep people safe, but it can also stop them from learning and sharing ideas. It can make it hard for people to understand what’s really happening in the world and to make good choices for themselves.

Debating Censorship

250 words essay on censorship on the internet.

Internet censorship is when someone in power controls what we can see or share online. This can be done by governments, companies, or even schools. They block websites or content that they don’t want people to see. Imagine a librarian deciding which books you can’t read; it’s similar with the internet.

Why Do They Censor?

Leaders or groups might censor the internet to keep people safe or to follow the law. For example, they might block violent videos or stop people from sharing secrets that could hurt a country. Sometimes, they also stop people from talking bad about them or sharing ideas that are different from their own.

Is Censorship Good or Bad?

Censorship can be helpful sometimes, like keeping kids away from bad content. But it can also be bad when it stops people from sharing their thoughts or learning new things. When only certain ideas are allowed, it’s hard for people to think freely and make their own choices.

What Can We Do?

It’s important to know about censorship so we can talk about it and understand our rights online. We should learn how to use the internet responsibly and also stand up for the freedom to share ideas. By doing this, we can help make sure the internet stays a place where everyone can learn and speak freely.

500 Words Essay on Censorship On The Internet

What is censorship on the internet.

Censorship on the internet means when someone, like a government or a company, decides to control what people can see or share online. They might block websites, delete certain posts, or even stop people from talking about specific topics. It’s like when your parents decide which movies are okay for you to watch and which ones are not.

The Good Side of Censorship

Censorship can sometimes be helpful. For example, it can protect young people from seeing things that are not suitable for them, like scary or adult content. It can also stop people from sharing other people’s private information or from bullying others online. When used in the right way, censorship can help make the internet a safer place for everyone.

The Bad Side of Censorship

But censorship can also be a problem. It can stop people from sharing their thoughts and ideas, which is important for freedom and for learning new things. If a government censors too much, people might not be able to find out about important events or express their opinions. This can make it hard for people to make good choices or to change things that are not fair.

How Does Censorship Affect You?

What can we do about it.

In conclusion, censorship on the internet is a tricky thing. It can keep us safe but also stop us from learning and sharing. By understanding what it is and how it works, we can make sure that we use the internet in the best way possible and stand up for our right to learn and share freely.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Internet Censorship — Internet Censorship: American Hypocrisy On Internet Freedom

Internet Censorship: American Hypocrisy on Internet Freedom

• Categories: Censorship Internet Censorship

About this sample

Words: 2688 |

14 min read

Published: Apr 11, 2022

Words: 2688 | Pages: 6 | 14 min read

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Dr. Karlyna PhD

Verified writer

• Expert in: Social Issues

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1103 words

1 pages / 540 words

1 pages / 636 words

2 pages / 1085 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Internet Censorship

The internet has become a communication tool that our society widely depends on for entertainment, office work, domestic jobs, and most importantly for educational research. For example, the internet is critical to the U.S. [...]

The enforcing of net neutrality has undoubtedly brought much benefit to Internet consumers, however those that oppose it bring up some valid points of consideration as well. After evaluating these points, my personal view on net [...]

The advent of the internet has revolutionized the way we access information, communicate, and interact with the world. However, with this immense connectivity comes the challenge of balancing the freedom of expression and the [...]

Why is it important to people in same-sex relationships for gay marriage to be legalized? In the United States, there are only 14 states in which gay couples can marry. (Quin, Campbell) The truth is those who are homosexuals do [...]

The discourse of human rights in Chiapas is an incredibly nuanced one. While from our Western perspective, human rights is thought of as an objective constant, an imperative asset of any sensible civilization, it is not so [...]

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act also known as the ADA enacted to law. This act is a civil rights law that bans discrimination against people with disabilities in public as well as in the work place, educational [...]

Related Topics

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Where do you want us to send this sample?

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Be careful. This essay is not unique

This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before

Download this Sample

Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts

Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.

Please check your inbox.

We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

24/7 writing help on your phone

To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”

Censorship - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas

Internet censorship is subjected to governmental control to keep programmes inoffensive to the public. It controls the ideas and information in a society. The question is if government should be allowed full authority on the internet. Is it completely fine to allow the government to decide the information we access and does this infringe on the rights of freedom and speech? First of all, there are the people who side with internet censorship. There is certain vulgar and offensive material put on the internet which can cause divisions between the society and offend some of the people. For example, videos and articles against a religion or culture can cause problems between citizens within a nation and so such information has to be censored. Censoring material that insults a religion helps protect society from disputes and thus doesn’t qualify to be called stealing someone’s rights. Moreover, censorship is important to keep children from corrupting their minds. Inappropriate videos and images put on the internet can be seen by the youth which is why this material should be removed by censoring.

• 📘 Free essay examples for your ideas about Censorship
• 🏆 Best Essay Topics on Censorship
• ⚡ Simple & Censorship Easy Topics
• 🎓 Good Research Topics about Censorship
• 📖 Essay guide on Censorship
• ❓ Questions and Answers

Essay examples

Essay topic.

Save to my list

Remove from my list

• Censorship and the Dark Knight
• The Internet provides the non state and state actors with
• The most Important Right: Freedom of Speech
• Tightening Internet Censorship for Chinese Users
• Censorship in north korea
• Censorship of Lord of the Flies
• Google in China
• Ray Bradburyr’s Fahrenheit 451 and Censorship
• About Music Censorship
• Censorship and the Economy in the Context of Modern Day China
• An Essay on the Censorship of Media
• The Definition and Forms of Censorship
• Censorship on the Internet Necessary
• Media Censorship and the Treatment of Journalists
• Freedom of Speech vs. Censorship
• Censorship and the Banning of Books
• The Importance of Media Censorship and Filtering out Bad Journalism
• Censorship or Freedom Of Speech
• Banned Books and Censorship of Books in Schools
• Internet 2 And Censorship
• Internet Governance and Censorship
• “1984” by George Orwell – Censorship Problems
• Censorship and Propaganda Under The Castro Regime
• Police Brutality and Government Censorship in The Hunger Games

This act by the government ensures children don’t get to see vulgar material which can destroy their innocence. So, in a sense, government helps to protect children and in this case freedom of such information cannot count as it is too mature for children. Furthermore, some people argue that internet censorship is necessary to preserve national security. Without censorship, it is impossible to maintain secrecy of information and protect it from enemies that can use it against the nation. Adding on, other forms of illegal material being communicated are stopped by censorship. Illegal downloading of copyrighted content is a crime and internet censorship helps the government to catch criminals that indulge themselves in this act. As well, e-mail containing dangerous information like bomb plans have no right to be spread around the internet and so discarding them is the right thing to do. This shows that the government does not violate rights of freedom of speech by actually protecting its public from threatening information. However, others think that internet censorship is a violation to rights of freedom of speech. It limits free access to information which causes the society to foster ignorance in its citizens. Through this ignorance, people would not have knowledge and awareness on issues that take place around their environment. this is not fair as everyone should have the right to full access to information on the internet. Additionally, there is the history of censorship abuse.

The government can remove certain material that gives a bad image of it to the public meaning people have no freedom to criticize the government or voice their opinions. In this corrupt information can also be spread around the internet by the government and this gives wrong information to the public. In China, for example, videos and articles on human rights violation are blocked by the government from the eyes of the world. If people cannot freely express their opinions on such critical subjects, then there is no use of the internet as it limits freedom of speech. Furthermore, some governments put strict rules on internet usage like blocking social sites from the network. These include facebook and twitter. For instance, in China, facebook is banned and this affects the citizens and people owning facebook. Facebook loses more users from China. Also this limits communication and thus transfer of information is narrowed to usage of phones and letters. People will also find it difficult to interact with people outside the nation. This is a serious act against freedom of speech and shows government uses censorship to restrict passing on of information which signifies they have something to hide.

In conclusion, government should censor material to the extent where it becomes a threat for the community. Otherwise censorship of material that contains ’offensive’ vocabulary like breast cancer is limiting freedom of speech as it is accessed by people for knowledge and it is not going to harm anyone. Besides, for child protection, there is already software that is available to block offensive sites. This shows that government has no right to censor the internet by removing material that can actually be helpful to the people. The government misuse its control over the internet to limit people’s ideas and thought capacities which violates freedom of speech and information.

FAQ about Censorship

👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!

Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.