Censorship

It is very important to many people that they can openly say and write what they think: to their friends, to the public, in newspapers, or on the internet. In many countries, being able to express your opinion is considered an important right! It is the right to freedom of speech - and it is protected by laws and regulations. But in other countries, freedom of speech laws are weak or don't exist. Instead, all types of information, speech, and expression can be changed, controlled, or even banned by governments or other groups.

They can be censored. Television, newspapers, magazines, radio, movies, theatre performances, text messaging, video games, books… all might be censored to ensure that they don’t contain content considered harmful or sensitive. But, the definition of what is harmful and sensitive varies a lot from country to country. So what gets censored? It could be content that insults or challenges the government or religion...

Or content that threatens peoples’ safety or contains hateful speech. These are all subjects that are frequently censored. But censorship can happen even when there is no obvious reason as to why. That is why censorship can take many forms, and can be very different depending on where you live. In countries where freedom of speech is not protected, people are not free to say or write what they want in public.

They are also not free to challenge or attempt to stop censorship. But over half of the world’s population uses the internet, where people can share information and ideas with those living in other places quickly and easily. Can this be censored? Yes. In some of the world’s most strictly censored countries, internet access is severely limited, or banned altogether.

Meanwhile, those who try to get around censorship: posting or sharing content that has not been approved, or trying to access restricted media, can be arrested and imprisoned. Even in countries where freedom of speech is an important right, people still may experience censorship. A movie might be rated '12' if it contains scenes that could scare young children. Movies receive age ratings that put a limit on who is allowed to watch them. A book that has mature themes may be challenged by parents who do not want their children to read it at school.

And if a TV program has content that some people find offensive, companies may refuse to advertise on that channel if the program is not changed. TV networks rely on advertising to make money, so this puts pressure on them to change - or censor - their content. There are other ways that pressure from influential people and groups can be used to censor others. To censor those who speak out against them, powerful people or corporations may threaten them with legal action or take them to court. To avoid high costs and a long time in court, individuals or organizations may stop speaking or writing publicly about a controversial issue.

Everyone has ideas, opinions and views they would like to share with others. But as a result of censorship, many people around the world face barriers to expression. Censorship can be used to restrict people’s views, opinions, and even facts... and this can affect the way people communicate and exchange knowledge.