How Far Will Internet Censorship Actually Go?
Internet censorship has been a topic around the world for quite some time now. With more and more countries deciding to update their regulation policies and limit what users can do and access online, it’s only natural to ask ourselves how far internet censorship will actually go. The internet is a valuable tool that we can use for so many good things, but it’s also true that some people abuse this power. There’s a lot of false information and a lot of negative and disturbing things you can easily find online. This is just one of the reasons why there’s the talk of a new internet era pretty soon.
The Internet Censorship Ways
1. The internet censorship situation today
It’s safe to say that we’ve already entered the era of internet censorship. The only difference is the degree of censorship around the world. Most eastern countries are stricter when it comes to censoring their internet, while most western first world countries don’t censor the internet that much. That being said, we can notice that the biggest issue is the issue of piracy. In fact, downloading copyrighted media from the internet is illegal all around the world.
From this, we can see that censorship is something the law enforces. As well as that, some countries use sophisticated filter technology to censor the World Wide Web. In others, internet speed is also significantly slower, all in the hopes of preventing people from downloading copyrighted items.
2. What social media says
Social media is a standard part of our lives. Since most people spend a large portion of their days on social media, we can expect some degree of censorship to hit this part of the internet, too. Is it already happening? Well, things are in motion on some platforms. Mainly, we’re talking about Facebook. This is basically the largest social network out there and it counts millions of users who all use it for different purposes.
It was noticed that Facebook has become the primary place of sharing fake news and videos which promote suicide. With these things in mind, the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has stated that he’s on board with the new regulation process. According to him, there are four areas of the network which need improving. That is data portability, privacy, content, and election integrity. It may be safe to say that new changes are coming to Facebook pretty soon.
3. What people are doing
With the talk of censorship being more and more present, so is the talk of overcoming it. People are looking for new ways to overcome censorship and embrace internet freedom. After all, people will always find ways to see and say what they want online. Big corporations are even losing some of their customers as people trust them less and less.
The popularity of used and refurbished smartphones is on the rise. This might even be because of stricter piracy laws. People are simply saving money where they can because some realize that winning the copyright debate in the name of freedom is hopeless. As always, conspiracy theories are being formed, which also might be the reason some refuse to use new phones. Whether it’s convenience or rebellion, it’s safe to say that the feelings on censorship are mixed. Some believe their kids deserve a safer and higher-quality internet, while others say that censorship is a violation of internet freedom.
4. What the future brings
The future seems to bring the same mixed feelings that we see among people today. It’s true that the internet is one of the most successful and useful things mankind has ever come up with, but it’s also true that it’s a victim of its own success. As it has made communication easier, it’s also made spreading false and dangerous information much easier.
On the one hand, countries all over the world are trying to take control of the web and filter it completely. It simply seems like the right thing to do, especially since more and more sophisticated tools are being developed for the sake of censorship.
On the other hand, some other big corporations like Google are openly supporting the side of the free internet. Others even say that there’s a possibility of developing tools to overcome censorship and give people the freedom of speech that seems to be taken away from them.
We don’t know which side will win, but it’s sure that this is a concern that’s going to be solved in the near future. Those who make a living off the internet and depend on their users staying online should definitely make honesty and originality their priority. You don’t have to fear censorship if all of your information is clean and vetted. For now, this should be enough to keep businesses afloat as the situation develops.
Conclusion
From the dawn of time, people have been debating about the good of censorship. It’s clear that nothing has changed but the thing we’re trying to censor. Whether there will be two internets in the future- a censored and uncensored one- we are yet to see. All we can do now is weigh the good and the bad, and see how we can improve. Only time will prove whether censorship is the best answer for improvement or if it’s completely useless. The best you can do now is stay clean and deliver only original and quality information to your users.
