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Can Internet censorship of any particular content be justified under certain circumstances? Explain.
Live TED Conversation: Join TED Fellow Walid Al-Saqaf
Walid is a Yemeni media researcher and activist. He is the developer of alkasir censorship circumvention software used to help users, primarily in the Middle East, access censored content.
This conversation will open at 1:00PM EST on August 5th.
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Censorship Internet Live Conversation
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Tiago Luz
Again, the example of child pornography fits here. Of course it can be found online, and it will always be able to find it. But in my opinion, child pornographers stay in the "shadowy alleys" of the internet not only because of the fear for "real life" punishment, but also because the internet community doesn't see it as an acceptable practice.
So is there really any point in putting a lot of effort to stop the spread of child pornography online? What I mean is I don't think it has any real effect. A child abuser or a child pornography appreciator will search for their sexual needs (and will probably find it) with or without the censorship.
Walid Al-Saqaf 500+
In relation to that, I find that users in countries that filter Intenet porn end up finding ways to access it any way. There is a saying in Arabic that goes
الممنوع مرغوب
meaning what is prohibited is always desired.
So I would think that along with the short-term measures of removing such content online, there needs to be a long-term program to fight such phenomena on different levels, e.g., prosecution, rehabilitation, etc. because censorship alone is not enough.
Ryan Marin