Censorship (Essay Sample)

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Censorship
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Censorship is described as the process in which there is suppression of speech or some other form of communication that may be considered harmful or sensitive in respect to a particular context (Paxton). Usually the government determines the criteria by which to judge such behaviors. As such, the government enacts regulations that targets such actions or statements that are considered inconvenient and objectionable. It ensures that the public is insulated from such harm that may be caused by such statements or actions. Often the government indulges in censorship to maintain national security within and around its borders. At other times the government is involved in ensuring that children are suppressed the rights of watching pornography as well as obscenity. Recent times have seen private organizations as well as individuals indulge in censorship at varying extremes (NATIONAL COALTION AGAINST CENSORSHIP). Therefore, censorship varies in form and it occurs in a number of elements. From books, music to even the internet meant to control the public in activities associated private information. While there are minimal laws against these kinds of soft censorship agreements, some countries hold strong laws against the major forms of censorship and thus victims found guilty of violating such legal obligations may be sentenced in a court of law (Hoffman). Well, America is not immune to disputes associated to censorship. Warring groups have often conflicted on matters associated to censorship with the main reason being that most of the matters under deliberation are usually contentious and are subject to competing arguments. Some of the areas that have been major centers of interest include the publishing of books, the media, arts industry as well as the internet (Beall). However, despite the varying forms of censorship, the noble purpose for which the process was established remains paramount to executing sufficient control over the performance of certain deeds. An analysis into a recent incident will highlight the extent to which a government might seek to control information circulating on a given field of interest.
Over time, the internet has proved an immeasurable resource that has both supported other business as well as promoted the establishment of a dozen others. Matter of fact, it has revolutionalized the way people perform their duties as well as how people perceive things. Nonetheless, some individuals have been malicious at utilizing the resource. A significant number of individuals have been found to be using the internet to send dangerous bugs that interfere with the running of normal personal computers. In fact, most of such behaviors were common among rival companies that sought to get the better of one another through unprofessional the means. That is not the incidence of my main interest; however, the case surrounding Edward Snowden attracted a huge amount of reaction given the sensitivity of the subject. The individual who was initially a spy to the National Security Agency (NSA) discovered a strange behavior that illustrated the extent to which countries seek to administer control over the lives of its citizens (MacAskill). Although he broke a number of regulations that were intended to prevent him from ever sharing such information, the individual was convicted by his own conscious on the unfair happenings behind backs of innocent citizens in what came to be the greatest censorship scandal of the twenty first century. Through his convincing assertions, he stated of the wicked ways, which the government used to administer utmost authority over its subjects. Although he was categorical in saying that most of the intentions of the activities were for the good of the public, he felt that some of the activities that were indulged in by the agency were unconstitutional and unfair. He revealed that the government, through the agency had the ability to connect to all the private conversations placed within the American soil. This was favored by the possession of a special software technology that would login to the main server of all the major telecommunications networks. That revelatio...