center23002457459410012100center818008745855Alexia Williams

center23002457459410012100center818008745855Alexia Williams

U3238118941009200Alexia Williams

U3238118center300003207385IntErnet CensorshipEssay A (Short Essay)

9410036300IntErnet CensorshipEssay A (Short Essay)

center7056120Academic English (9487l), Anna Widmer, 15.10.2023, 600-800words

9410010000Academic English (9487l), Anna Widmer, 15.10.2023, 600-800words

Over the past five years internet censorship has changed and shaped the way the internet is used in everyday life. The internet allows for all types of information to be shared and circulated worldwide (Ververis, V., Marguel, S., & Fabian, B. (2019) and with the internet continuously growing and expanding so do the rules and regulations regarding it. Internet censorship has become ubiquitous in todays society and is seen in many countries around the globe, some having stricter censorship laws than others and forever is altering the standards used in all governance systems (Ververis, V., Marguel, S., & Fabian, B. (2019). The topic of censorship became a popular talking point of the early 2000s (Ververis, V., Marguel, S., & Fabian, B. (2019), this led into many controversies surrounding what information should or shouldnt be censored or if it should be censored at all.

With the introduction of internet censorship regulated by the government it undermines the practice of freedom of speech and the right to public information and/or knowledge. To prevent the government from abusing their power, the people they govern should have the right to access all public information but by implementing censorship the governments choose what those people see online, therefore they exercise control and manipulate the knowledge within the region they dictate.

In discussions of internet censorship, there are many concerns involving freedom of expression. The Right to this freedom is supposed to give everyone a voice, ensuring they are heard regardless of frontiers. Unfortunately, some regimes use censorship to restrict the freedom of speech on the internet. It is used as a means of utilising control through things such as the regulation of disinformation, internet shutdowns and hate speech (Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew, 2023). For any country that claims to have freedom for its citizens, it is essential to have a right to freedom of speech, and in the modern era to have that right expand into the online domain.

Countries such as Australia dont have extremely strict internet censorship laws (Petrosyan, 2022), but they dont explicitly protect freedom of speech online, they do however have something very similar. Its called Freedom of information, opinion and expression, in contrast to the term freedom of speech it only gives completely unrestricted freedom without the interference from the government when it is about political standpoints. The Australian Human Rights Commission (2023) defines freedom of expression as being able to exercise the right to express ones political opinion without censorship and to be allowed to communicate freely whether it is seeking or receiving all types of information. It is important to highlight the phrase seeking or receiving as it doesnt include free speech, only that one is allowed to look for and impart information.

China on the other hand, according to Petrosyan (2022) has the world's worst internet censorship laws. There is no freedom of speech for the citizens unless they are part of a specific type of people, essentially known as free-speech elites (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022). These elites consist of senior government and communist party leaders, their patrons and very few others, yet they are still only able to express criticism in forums that are government monitored and controlled (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022). Regular citizens will be prosecuted if they express any type of dissatisfaction with their government (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022), demonstrating the abuse of power. There is a multitude of content that is suppressed, an example of this is all online publication and viewing of material without government authorisation (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022). If one publishes their work without going through a government-licensed publisher, the regime can and will sentence them, this can be illustrated by two young men who were sentenced to nine and seven years in prison for online publishing love poems without getting authorisation (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022). Despite the harsh punishments, the government recognises that there must be some way for the people to vent their opinions, not due to concern for human rights but to help preserve the government's power, and this is done through the elites (Congressional-Executive Commission on China, 2022).

The internet has become one of the best tools created by humans and is used as a means of communication and expression and is highly regarded across the world and many countries value it and have laws designed to protect it. Even with such things as disinformation and hate speech, a better course of action should be to educate the people they govern and allow them to think and form their own opinions on what is going on in the world around them.

Governments are prone to abusing their power and being corrupt, and this is demonstrated by restricting freedom of speech/expression and the right to access all public information through the guise of internet censorship. Manipulating and banning any information that the regime deems false or dangerous, and by silencing those who try to criticise or speak up. One would hope that laws and regulations regarding internet censorship would be fair and just, with only censoring what truly is harmful. However, without the right to freedom of speech it takes away the right to complain and express concerns about mistreatment and injustices. If one cannot criticise the world around them without the risk of being shut down or imprisoned in some cases, society cannot continue to improve.

References

Ververis, V., Marguel, S., & Fabian, B. (2019). CrossCountry Comparison of Internet Censorship: A Literature Review.Policy & Internet,12(4), 450473. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/poi3.228

Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew. (2023). Assessing the limitations to freedom of expression on the internet in Ethiopia against the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.African Human Rights Law Journal,22(2), 131. https://doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2020/v20n1a12

Freedom of information, opinion and expression. (2023). Humanrights.gov.au. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-information-opinion-and-expression

Petrosyan, A. (2023). Freedom House Index: internet freedom global 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272533/degree-of-internet-freedom-in-selected-countries/Freedom of Expression in China: A Privilege, Not a Right | Congressional-Executive Commission on China. (2022). Cecc.gov. https://www.cecc.gov/freedom-of-expression-in-china-a-privilege-not-a-right