Some people think content available on the internet is harmful, and the only way to secure it , is through the government censoring this content . This essay disagrees with this statement, because people would still be able to bypass the censors and post it. Moreover, it could only affect people living in the country.
Posting illegal or harmful content is still possible no matter how much censoring is applied by the government, because people would resort to using different platforms, where posting this type of content is possible. Moreover, they would try themselves to post it just for the sake of doing something rebellious,Therefore, it would still be open to access and still available for everyone to seeFor instance, it is well aware that posting gore video and shock value content is punishable by law. However, it is still being posted by users, and is available on every social media platforms, Whereas even websites specialized in posting that type of content are accessible online,
The Government controlling what is posted online directly harms us, because opinions and ideas that do not directly align with its politics are rejected, banned and could lead to jail if the latter was too harsh. This means that the possibility of expressing yourself freely would be removed, leaving us entrapped having to endure any mistreatement, because there is no way our thoughts would be heard, as posting it would just lead to it getting removed. For instance, in North Korea most of the content available on their social media is handpicked by the government, and if anyone dares contradict their government’s ideals, they would suffer the consequences along with their lineage.
To conclude, the government controlling what is available on the internet does not make it safer, as people would still find a way to post harmful content, and affects citizens, as their freedom of expression is taken away.