Band 6+: Some people say that there is too much harmful content on the internet they say the only way to make the internet save is for the government to censor the content of websites. to what extend do you think the government should control what information is available on the internet?

Harmful content refers to the messages, images, videos, and audios that cause physical, emotional and psychological stress or injuries to individuals. It is widely believed that this content can only be controlled by government through deleting and blocking the websites and applications. I agree with the statement that government and its law-enforcement agencies should better manage these activities on internet.

Nowadays, there are different types of content available on the internet such as vlogging, travelling, and criticism. People earn a good income by creating videos on different topics, which is financially beneficial for them. At the same time, some internet users create a negative or harmful content such as posting someone’s personal information, leaking private calls and messages to get more view. In these cases, it is not possible for an ordinary person to deal with these issues or track that specific person. Government plays a more important role because it has the resources and authorities to identify those responsible and block their accounts.

Different governmental departments such as police and cybercrime have different responsibilities. The former deal with crime such as robbery, while the latter specifically designed to handle offences related to the internet. For example, an Instagram account of a person is hacked, hacker collects images and chats from that account and posting it on social media. The hacker also demands money to remove this content. This can cause extreme stress to that person whose account is hacked. If the victim reports the incident to the cybercrime department, the authorities remove the harmful content from social media and investigate the hacker. If the offender is identified, they can be punished according to the laws of the country. These departments should keep monitoring the internet and remove harmful content as soon as it is identified. It is the responsibility of the government to provide the safe online environment to the public.

In a nutshell, the government plays an important role in protecting its citizens from digital and physical harms. The safety of the internet and the reduction of harmful content can be improved through effective government regulation and cooperation with relevant authorities.