Mohammad Alherz
English 113B
Professor Jeff
23 September 2013
Censorship of Social Networking
Websites
Social networking websites form a contemporary medium of
communication whereby people from all over the world can interact, make
friendship, share ideas and discuss some issues that affect the dynamics of the
world we live today. These sites are referred to as social media. Such websites
are, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Google + among others. Various opinions are
harbored by various individuals, organizations as well as governments on the
importance, influence and impact of social networking websites on the
contemporary society. Some find social media vital in the circulation of
information while others frown on the great influence it has on various aspects
of the society such as politics. This explains why governments such as Iran
strive to regulate and restrict their citizens’ participation in social media.
Therefore, this is an argumentative essay about the
negative impact censorship on social media has on freedom of expression. The
situation in Iran is an illustration of the infringement these restrictions
have on the publics’ freedom of expression and association. Governments in
countries such as Iran, China, Cuba and Burma have tried to reinforce their
tyranny over their people and against freedom of expression by taking social
media censorship to a whole new level (Commission on Security and Cooperation
in Europe, Washington, DC 2). I`m going to reveal how Iranians suffer from the
censorship; in addition, I will show the role played by Social media in the
Arab Spring. These illustrations will depict the negative effects of this
censorship.
Why Social Media Censorship is
Wrong
Social media is one channel by which the public can
participate in reforming the society. This is by raising their concerns when
the leaders employ tactics that have a negative impact on the citizens, for
example, dictatorship. The public can also protest on the streets when such
unfair leadership styles are adopted in their countries. This is what happened
during the Arabic Spring in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain
and Syria (Stepanova 1). The public has all these rights because they are
fundamental human rights. In Egypt, the use of Facebook spurred the campaign
against the unpopular rule of Hosni Mubarak.
Censoring social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter
is in essence muzzling the public and an abuse of fundamental human rights. It
restricts their freedom in such a way that their sentiments boil up causing
heated protests. The young people who are the main users of social media will
ultimately find other means such as short message texts to sensitize each other
about the unfair treatment and at the end of it all their voice is heard
(Mirak-Weissbach 4). The selfish ruler’s habits of clinging to power can only
be defeated by revolutionary tactics such as those applied in the Arab Spring.
Young people have the right to safeguard a better future for themselves and
their children. It is a reason why the use of their energy and technological
skills in marshalling each other’s energy towards emancipation from
dictatorship is justified. This is what happened in Libya whereby protests
erupted prompting Muammar Gaddafi’s government to give orders that all the
protesters be killed (Africa Research Bulletin 2).
Social
media censorship in Iran puts the public in a very undesirable condition of
deprivation of the human right of expression. The right of association is also
infringed by such tactics. The public can not arrange or even engage themselves
in any social media forum like people do in other countries such as the USA.
The Iranian government’s censorship mechanism is a highly structured system
(Aryan, Aryan and Halderman 1). Any Iranian who tries to demystify that system
puts his personal life at risks such attempts are deemed treason. This makes
Iran the leading country in internet censorship in the world.
The
censorship may be a perfect case of ‘cutting your nose to spite your face’. It
denies the country possibilities like job creation and economic development.
Iranians cannot do business freely over the internet and investors may not feel
welcome to the country thus Iran’s economic potential remains under-utilized.
The ripple effect is defiance whereby the Iranians use software that helps them
beat the system and access the internet secretively (Phys.org 1). This may make
them feel like criminals which is an undesirable thing. While other countries
such as the USA are striving to exploit the advantages of the internet and
social media, Iran chooses to deny her citizens this instrumental asset for
development in today’s contemporary world.
The censorship is not confined to social media and the
internet only. The publication of books is also under heavy censorship
(Khalaji, Robertson and Aghdami 2). Publishers who fail to follow the strict
code established by the government are suffering helplessly. Prices of books
and paper have hiked due to the strict rules. This shows the extent to which
the freedom of expression and access to information has been curtailed in Iran.
The effect of all this is that cultural growth is censored and restricted which
makes the many citizens who do not support the censorship tactics feel enslaved
in their own country.
The censorship, which also extends to use of email
messaging, has extensive negative effects. Businesses such as insurance
companies and banks in Iran were instructed only to use email services ending
with the domain ‘. ir’ (Phys.org 2). Use of email services such as Gmail and
Yahoo was prohibited. The effect is that the public feels cornered. Students’
research work also suffers. This makes the situation extremely complicated.
Some government think
that censorship has many benefits; they argue that controlling access to online
content preserves the stability of their society by protecting citizens from
dangerous, unfounded ideas or lies aimed at defrauding them. In fact, internet
censorship is not a good solution to protect society because it negatively
affects people`s freedom, and there are many better way than controlling the
internet to prevent harmful information from being disseminated. For example,
governments can help protect their citizens against falsehoods by using the
media to educate people about websites that are reliable sources of news and to
respond to rumors.
Furthermore, blocking websites will not solve the problem of
Internet scams, since criminals who prey on Internet users will simply find
another way to rob people. Given the criminals’ resourcefulness, I think that
the best way for governments to minimize web-bases theft is to educate the
citizenry about the tactics of Internet criminals so that they can be proactive
about protecting themselves in the future. These are just some of the many
different methods that governments should employ instead of controlling the
Internet to protect society.
It can be argued that censorship on social media is an
affront to a free culture. As Lessig states in his book Free Culture, all cultures should have some degree of freedom and
in this regard internet use should be free (Lessig 7). However, the situation
in a country such as Iran is one of a culture that is not free at all. It is
restricted in so many ways ranging from internet use to publishing of books. A
culture that is restricted in such ways cannot grow as a society would like.
Works Cited
Works Cited
Aryan, Simurgh, Homa Aryan and J. Alex Halderman. "Internet Censorship in Iran: A First Look." (2013): 1-8. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from: HYPERLINK "https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/foci13/foci13-aryan.pdf"https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/foci13/foci13-aryan.pdf
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Washington, DC. "Twitter Against Tyrants: New Media in Authoritarian Regimes ." (2009): 1-60. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from: HYPERLINK "http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo32364/102209.pdf"http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/gpo32364/102209.pdf
Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. Newark: The Penguin Press, 2004.
Mirak-Weissbach, Muriel. "Madmen at the Helm : Pathology and Politics in the Arab Spring." (2012): 1-163. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from HYPERLINK "http://library.calstate.edu/northridge/books/record?id=b2880788"http://library.calstate.edu/northridge/books/record?id=b2880788
Africa Research Bulletin. "Operation Odyssey Dawn and the Situation in Libya." (2011): 1-41. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from: http://library.calstate.edu/northridge/articles/record?id=FETCH-LOGICAL-c1493- 120b710b0e80547d96a80431c2fd5195dfeadc3eb062144d8529ad03b2b1e9cf1
Phys.org. ""Iran to crack down on web censor-beating software."." (2012): 1-2. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from http://phys.org/news/2012-06-iran-web-censor-beating-software.html
Stepanova, Ekaterina. "The Role of Information Communication Technologies in the “Arab Spring”." PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 159 (May 2011): 1-6. Retrieved on 23/9/2013 from: HYPERLINK "http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pepm_159.pdf"http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/ponars/pepm_159.pdf
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