Media Censorship

By Aili, Synge, Laura & Andre

Censored?• Purpose: filter out unnecessary and misleading information

• Methods: withholding information or banning information, etc.

• E.g.: Ancient China

• Aim: maintain the society stability

Not Censored?• Why Not? Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression No Government Transparency Intrudes into People’s Privacy

• Impossible for new media

Media Censorship Is Needed

What Has Been Censored?

• Pornography

• Issues Promoting Hatred of Ethnic and Religious Groups

• Political Content

Pornography

Pornography• Partially Censored: Holland, US, Japan, etc.

• Strictly Censored: Asian Countries

• China:

• 1996: Chinese authorities legislate against pornography on the Internet (State Council Order No. 195 1 February 1996)

• 1997: Pornography is also prohibited under Article 5 of the Computer Information Network and Internet Security, Protection and Management Regulations (December 1997)

• 2000: Article 57 if the Telecommunications Regulations Of The People’s Republic Of China (25 September 2000) and the Measure For Managing The Internet Information Service (25 September 2000)

• India: • Under the Indian Information Technology Act 2000, Chapter XI Para 67, the

government of India also declared electronic publication of pornography an offence.

Pornography

• The rate of sexual offences in countries with less

censorship on pornography is much higher than

those in the other countries.

Pornography• Child Pornography is strictly censored worldwide

• Kids need a porn-free environment for their healthy growth

Issues Promoting Hatred of Ethnic and Religious

Groups

• US: Last year, there is a yearlong black race riot in

Oakland, the United States. The story was reported around the world, yet people get nothing from the media in the United States, whether on newspapers, TV or radio broadcasters, even on Internet. According to BBC, the US government censored everything about the riot to prevent larger maybe nation-wide riot.

Issues Promoting Hatred of Ethnic and Religious

Groups

• Australia: In September 2002, a website in Australia was

ordered by the Federal Court to remove material that casts doubt on whether the Holocaust occurred. Judge Catherine Branson ruled that Dr. Toben vilified Jewish Australians when her published documents that cast doubt over the Holocaust on the Adelaide Institute site.

Issues Promoting Hatred of Ethnic and Religious

Groups

Political Content

Political Content

• Censorship of political content is strong in one party countries, mostly Asia.

• After September 11, western countries start tightening their censorship on political contents.

No No No...No Media Censorship

World Without Censorship?

Protest Riot

Terrorist Attack

Against Freedom of Speech

• An important part democracy

• “The principle of free speech is not concerned with the content of a man’s speech and does not protect only the expression of good ideas, but all ideas.”

—Ayn Rand

An Example

• Australia

• Internet Filtering System

• ACMA blacklist – 506 websites are legal to watch

Government Transparency

• Wikileaks – United States Embassy cables

• Julian Assange on TED (7:15-8:23)

Government Transparency (cont.)

• “Unsuitable content” – politicians’ own failures

• How good and how bad

Intrudes into people’s privacy

• Censorship as an excuse

• 2005 Chinese government Vs. Shi Tao

Singapore

3 Tiers of Censorship

•1st tier – Parliament legislation

•2nd tier – Government bodies •3rd tier – Self-censorship

“The emergence in this election of social-

networking sites on the internet as a focus for

opposition politicking changed the tone of the

campaign. Even the docile mainstream media

were forced to devote more coverage to the

opposition, lest readers forsake them for the

newer outlets.”

—— The Economist

Online presence infographichttp://sgpartyti.me/

Conclusion

“There is a fine line between censorship and good taste and moral responsibility.”

—— Steven Spielberg