Massive change is underway as a result of a series of converging technologies, from growing global networks and the rise of ubiquitous artificial intelligence (AI), to billions of connected devices known as the Internet of Things (IoT), each of which will generate scores of real-world data every second, everywhere.
The boundaries between digital and physical space are disappearing at a breakneck pace. What was once static and boring is becoming dynamic and magical. The proliferation of information through the internet has risen with many players vying for freedom of expression and democracy. Fundamentally, the Internet’s technical architecture facilitates participation and connection.
In “The Perfect Scam” (July/August 2011), David Talbot perfectly illustrates the dangers of today’s digital world. Designed to be used by a handful of people in a friendly way, the Internet has grown bigger than anything its creators envisioned, and cybercrime has found a nice place to nest.
Suggestions have also been made to design a safer Internet, where people can shop or bank online without having to worry about scams and malware. Beyond that, there are suggestions for internet censorship.
Recall that censorship is the control of information and ideas in a society. Therefore, Internet censorship can be well-defined as control or overpowering of reproducing material on the Internet or gaining access to it. Internet censorship has steered up to a very attention-grabbing debate as to whether is essential or not.
Internet censorship proves to be significant as all types of media have some form of censorship and hence the idea of the internet being left out could render it inconsiderate. Apart from that, the circulation of unsolicited email, malware, and phishing schemes are some of the reasons that could set in motion the censorship of the material on the internet.
To thwart such activities, it is compulsory for the governments or liable organisations to repress out such web pages that can be unsafe to users. The reality is, it is harder for policymakers and governments to build policy choices that embody the principles of openness, innovation, interconnection, non-discrimination, user control, freedom of expression, privacy and trust.
On the other hand, the idea of internet censorship would mean stamping on the rights of individuals. This could deny individuals of their right to freedom of expression and also deter them from their right to press.
However, this regulation is not easy to attain as the governments can only censor the material that is from their countries and not regulate the web pages that are produced from other countries. On legal terms, the web owners can sue the administration for blocking their websites.
Freedom should not be used to abuse resources that could be helpful to other people. Equally, internet censorship should not hold back individuals from accessing the information that pertains to the matters outside their environments.