Is government censorship of the Internet inevitable?
14Jun10

For decades governments of western nations have granted permission for media licenses but also regulated the general nature of media content, deciding what can and can’t be offered to the public.

The Internet has been the one form of media that seemed to escape regulation. The ease of content creation and distribution online has allowed the Internet to become the most lawless media, with our own common sense and decency being the main filters.

Clearly this unregulated and uncensored media has been a concern to governments around the world. Strict nations, such as Iran and China, with a history of cracking down on free speech have imposed strong filters to prevent their people from accessing material not deemed acceptable, but recently it seems that countries usually associated with free speech are now getting into the act.

The Australian government plans to introduce an Internet filter to “protect” us from the less morally acceptable material that can be accessed online. This is meant to refer to things like extreme pornography and militant bomb making sites.

But the question is how far are we willing to go in letting our leaders decide what is morally acceptable? And what if a website was perceived to be a danger to Australia’s or the government of the day’s best interests?

That’s appears to be the case now in America where reports are emerging of an effort by the US government to crack down on the WikiLeaks website allegedly run by Australian Julian Assange.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports today that Assange is in hiding overseas and the US is now desperate to find him before he “leaks thousands of hugely embarrassing state diplomatic cables, which are believed to discuss the Middle East, its governments and leaders” via WikiLeaks. It follows the arrest of a US soldier who allegedly leaked the now infamous video of a US helicopter gunning down civilians in Iraq.

Will communications minister Stephen Conroy and the Australian government use Assange and Wikileaks as an example of the potentially sensitive material that could be filtered or censored in years to come? If so, how far could Internet censorship end up being taken in the name of the “national interest?”

It seems that Western governments may also be trying to reel in the Internet and impose some sort of control over it in the way they have with traditional media in the past. The question is, should we accept it?

What do you think: Is Internet censorship inevitable? Is it necessary? Should the Government be able to step in to protect national interests?

Popularity: 8%

Posted under Uncategorized

4 Responses to “Is government censorship of the Internet inevitable?”

Great question. A couple of thoughts:

First, I’m not sure our common sense and decency “filters” are very effective here. There is no shortage of nonsense or indecency on the Internet, not that I am condemning either one — simply observing.

Second, it is inevitable that governments will try to censor media to protect themselves, but not inevitable that citizens will allow censorship to succeed or continue.

However, I don’t believe a government’s attempts to protect information that it considers classified constitutes censorship, per se. Governments have a legitimate interest in protecting their nations’ interests. Whether they have properly classified such information is another question entirely.

B.J.

Comment by B.J. Smith on June 15th, 2010

Attempts to monitor and manage information flow are inevitable. Governments the world over know that information is power; sadly they draw the wrong conclusion and try to keep it to themselves. Or at least out of the reach of the public that the governments are accountable to.

Lesson from the wikileaks affair? Take only as much information as absolutely needed to show a government is inept / hypocritical / running a global conspiracy / whatever it is you want to prove. Anything less and it won’t get you your 15 minutes of fame. Anything more and you will force their hand.

Comment by Saso on June 15th, 2010

Internet censorship is open to corruption and abuse – it’s already happening.

Innocent website will be blocked while the real scum bags find a way around it.

It’s stupid, it will be inept and therefore it’s inevitable. It’s all about control, but who controls the controllers?

Comment by A Stevens on June 16th, 2010

Anyone who values freedom of speech and expression simply must protect the integrity of the internet as a vehicle for the maintenance of those ideals.

The management of perception is a well established practice by state and corporate actors in legitimising policies and agendas frequently not in the interests of the larger population. If we are to have any hope of a better future for our children we must have a medium through which uncensored criticism of institutions that damage our collective wellbeing can be expressed.

Patently the web fulfills that function. The establishment doesn’t like it and will do whatever it can to circumvent it’s efficacy in promoting free thought and the dissemination of ideas which are counterproductive to it’s own interests.

Fight them at every turn. To do less is to submit to intellectual slavery.

Comment by Steve Saunders on July 27th, 2010

Leave a Comment