Internet filtering or Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. One difference is that national borders are more permeable online: residents of a country that bans certain information can find it on websites hosted outside the country. A government can try to prevent its citizens from viewing these even if it has no control over the websites themselves. In today's world getting information is just with the touch of a button. There is a lot of information on the internet, and it is now readily accessible to people. So how do we stop this information from getting into the wrong hands? Wrong hand for information maybe Pornography in the hands of an under-aged child, credit information in the hand of an internet crook or chance meeting of a gullible innocent and a predator online. Censorship and filtering of internet content is pertinent to some extent; some information have no business being circulated around on the internet. Examples are: Home made explosives and drugs, How to dispose of a body you killed, How to rob a bank, child pornography e.t.c. What rules are there in place to make sure that harmful information like these are not available to the general public and impressionable minds of kids?
With the world moving steadily toward a society of democracy, things like free speech and human rights are holding sway worldwide. Free speech or Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship and/or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. When does free speech broach into Hate speech or the dissemination of harmful information? The internet is the one place where free speech is still almost reigning supreme. Information and things posted on the internet are not really censored and is really hard to censor. According to an article in Australia where the government is moving to have contents on sites filtered in the country. Does this have any infringement on freedom of speech? I say no. No, because like everything else nothing is absolutely perfect. With this technology of internet filtering, there is an acceptable use and unacceptable use of it. Countries like Mexico and the Caribbean nations are on the extreme lax side, in the sense that nothing is censored in those regions. Countries like Canada and the U.S could pick up with a little more censoring of the things allowed in there internet space. Countries like China and Korea which are referred to as “Black holes” are on the other extreme where freedom of speech is now being denied and the formation of the ‘Thought Police’ is very much real.
Yes internet filtering has some drawbacks that make it seem inadequate, because some of the contents the government is trying to filter out can still be gotten from servers outside the country and legitimate site could be hampered. The Australian filter was among a number of new measures aimed at strengthening online protection for families. It aims to block material such as child pornography, bestiality, rape and other sexual violence, along with detailed instructions about committing crimes or using illicit drugs. Such material is already banned from publication on Australian sites, but the government currently has no control over it being accessed on servers overseas. Critics say illegal material such as child pornography is often traded on peer-to-peer networks or chats, which would not be covered by the filter. The only issue with the implementation of the Australian filter in 2011 is the lack of transparency of the whole process, because it leaves skeptics with the doubt that legitimate businesses could be black listed and corrupt government officials could use this as an avenue to extort money from legal businesses. Seeing that the world of today is a cyber-world where almost everything is electronic, from e-mails to e-commerce. A company that is unable to tap into the vast market and opportunity of the internet in their own home country stands to lose a lot, so the secrecy of the Australian blacklist by the government might raise a couple of free speech issues.
In conclusion, to put to rest the concerns of the critics, the Australian government should make the internet filter blacklist draft an open and transparent process. They should also have well stated rules and guidelines that the people support in the determination of blacklist sites.
Works Cited
How get away with murder. (2004, June 13). Retrieved March 13, 2010, from Ask metafilter: http://ask.metafilter.com/7921/If-you-killed-somebody-how-would-you-dispose-of-the-body-without-getting-caught
Internet censorship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2008, August). Retrieved March 13, 2010, from Wikipedia.org: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship
SULLIVAN, R. (2009, December 15). Australia Plans Internet Filter Blocking 'Obscene' Content, Criminal Sites. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/15/australia-internet-filter_n_392393.html
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