14 - Internet Censorship

Who here uses the internet? Everyone right? It’s a very essential part of our lives now. Nowadays if the internet were to disappear we can compare that to losing a hand or a leg. You’d have a hard time with your everyday life. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do anything anymore. It’ll only be an inconvenience. Let’s say that you’re eating, would you have trouble doing it with one hand? No, right? It’s not like you’ve been completely disabled and rendered useless. But then again you would rather have the convenience of eating with both hands. It’s easier, and more efficient. That’s what the internet is like, it’s not a vital part of you, but rather an extension of yourself. Let’s say that you’re eating an ice cream.  You would eat it as is because it’s already good, but if you were given a choice to add sprinkles on it you would choose the one with sprinkles every time.

Some governments around the world today are issuing internet censorships, for example: S.O.P.A. They limit a user’s ability to access certain websites  or withhold certain sensitive information that might lead to compromise. It’s supposed to make the internet a more pleasurable and friendly experience. And yet, why does it feel like they’re violating your freedom. It’s the users choice whether they want to go to a malicious website or just simply flaming with other people in a blog. You shouldn’t stop someone from doing what they want, unless they’re hurting anybody. But who could you possibly hurt on the net, physically atleast.

 They take away the one thing that the internet offers: freedom. You came to the internet to express yourself, and yet why should they stop you. The real reason behind internet censoring is that the government wanted to have control over the internet. I mean what could you possibly gain from hiding information? it’s probably to make their political face more acceptable. But that’s just it, they’re hiding the truth about them and they want to control what you say about them. They’re only sugar coating it with “safety reasons” but the truth is they just want control. You can’t hide a secret by issuing censorships, you only provoke the public about it. If you want your dirty secrets hidden then you shouldn’t trample over someone else’s freedom for it.