Ever since things have been published, things have had to be censored. It is no different with the internet. People are constantly pushing the limits as to what is acceptable to distribute. There isn’t a fine line between what is allowed and what isn’t at times. So there are grey areas that appear in the media.
Freedom of Speech is protected under the First Amendment, but obscenity and indecency is not protected under those precepts. The problem with this is that the Internet is not just in the United States, it reaches the world. So how is the Internet supposed to be regulated?
I think that things like “cancelbots” can be a scary thing. While they can be very helpful in getting rid of unnecessary or otherwise crude content, it is scary to think that certain things that you think are beneficial or necessary someone else could just make disappear and not be seen by anyone. If the wrong people get a hold of cancelbots or censoring programs, they could censor any number of people.
I think a more positive way of censorship is setting up communities of self-regulated censorship. Helping each other decide what is necessary and unnecessary, so that the people decide what is right and wrong, not some program someone designed.
Censorship is a tricky thing to work through, but something that is necessary in the world today. Constantly screening what is coming through your computer is always a good idea. Don’t just randomly go to any website, but be careful about the decisions you make on the internet. The internet isn’t some imaginary place that when you log off of it, the things you did disappear. The internet effects millions of people everyday, be aware of what you are posting and viewing and be considerate of those that will be viewing.
Comm 203
Joel Heslop
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