Internet censorship is the aptitude of internet regulators to control what can be published, viewed and accessed on the internet by the public. Internet censorship is chiefly done by government organizations prior to protests, elections and even riots.
They seek to block the right of entry by the broad public to any harmful content or information leaking out of the copyrights. Internet censorship has received extol because of a number of pros and equal disapproval because of its cons that are all listed below respectively.
Pros:
1. Children are kept away from any adult content-It is very easy for children to stumble on adult content on the internet without guided care. Most of the children also become victims of sex trafficking because of the careless use of the internet.
2. Lack of limits in society could be toxic-Most people advocate for freedom of speech and expression but if this is given without limits some of the people might become victims of cyberbullying and racist speech.
3. There will be no one to guide the kids always-It is the responsibility of the older people in the society to watch over the kids but they will not always be there, therefore some restrictions are recommended on the internet.
4. It will help regulate illegal activities-Malicious information that can be shared through the internet prompted at influencing others to illegal activities. With proper restrictions, these kinds of information cannot circulate.
5. The national security is not compromised-Hacking is one of the illegal deeds that can easily matters of national security to terrorists. Heavy laws can be imposed on such illegal activities and national security will be preserved.
6. Cases of identity theft will not be common-If internet censorship is implemented there will be limited access to personal information of people and some of the software warn users in case someone is trying to access their personal information.
7. Fake news cannot spread-Internet censorship helps identify the fake news and makes the users aware of these fake news. It prevents the exploitation of internet users.
8. Prevents conflicts in a society fuelled by the internet-Most of the ethnic conflicts are generated and fuelled by the internet. It is through internet censorship that these cases are prevented.
9. Rights of content creators are protected-People that are responsible for the generation of content and publishing it in copyrights are kept safe by giving exclusive access to their work.
10. It is a channel to improve people’s knowledge-If certain kind of information is given limited access on the internet, it will force people to be more creative and innovative.
Cons:
1. It only considers the opinion of the majority-Some of the content on the internet is not explicit and does not promote lawlessness but because the majority believe the internet is dirty they are considered.
2. It hinders career opportunities pursue-With censorship it means that everything has to be done following permission from the authorities. Many business ideas and creative creations are blocked.
3. Freedom of expression is deprived-Internet censorship violates the rights of the citizens and freedom of expression is compromised. The press is also deprived of the chance of sharing information with the people.
4. It hinders citizens from exposing corruption-A government officials caught in case of corruption and embezzlement of public funds may hinder the release of information and videos exposing him or her.
5. It is an addition to the government budget-For the government to cover all the areas that information from the internet can be abused, they need to set aside some money because it is very massive.
6. It is a loss for businesses-Business that depend on the internet for advertisement and other matters pertaining to their businesses might lower their profits.
7. Economic opportunities are impacted-If we block everything that is not decent we are likely to block opportunities that may create employment and boost the economy in one way or the other.
8. Who decides what is decent and what is not- A debate of contention may emerge about who has the right to decide what is decent and what is not for the others.
9. The flow of information is stopped-While a country puts in so much effort to limit fake news and indecent content, they may in the process block information that might be beneficial to the government and the citizens.
10. There is a misinterpretation of facts-In efforts to block some of the explicit and information that compromises national security the government might misinterpret information from other popular slangs.