Censorship: A compound word, from “logos” and “krino”. It is the deliberate exercise of control over any manifestation of expression. It is usually exercised by state bodies, that is, the state itself. The most important reason for this is none other than the exercise of control and guidance of the masses, usually in what the state considers right!
A very short review..
The image above depicts the three wise monkeys, it is an image taken from the Nikko Shrine in Japan, of the last Shogun. Its interpretation and opinions on what it means vary.
My personal opinion is, if one considers how disciplined the Japanese were and are, the conditions that prevailed in 1617, the year that this particular chapel was built, that is, this particular image could well depict, in a sense, willful ignorance! This is not necessarily a bad thing. One meaning of I saw nothing, I said nothing, I heard nothing is the following, “mind your own business and not the injustices that are happening next to you?”, “Don’t rebel?”, “Don’t see evil, don’t speak of evil, don’t hear evil?” And in general, mind your own business, why am I holding a katana? Or (second version) regardless of the hardships that prevail, you don’t comment, don’t see, don’t hear and move on?
The fact that it is in a chapel means a lot! Everyone can draw their own conclusions. How the church manipulated and continues to manipulate through fear and reward is well known!
The principle of electronic censorship.
The pinnacle of censorship, and to put it better, censorship became an art, after the end of World War II. In 1947, the “Cold War” known to all of us began, a competitive geopolitical game between the then Soviet Union and the USA. It was a spy game. Everyone was watching everyone. The interception of a word could mean dozens of things and give dozens of targets, or reveal political tendencies and sabotage against a specific regime. A very good description of the situation that prevailed in the then People's Republic of Germany, in East Berlin, is depicted through the film “The Lives of Others”. It has to do with a writer and how the regime at the time treated him.
From 1947, which is considered by many to be the beginning of the Cold War, to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the fall of the Berlin Wall, many events have occurred that mark our days. The most important cannot be other than the division of Korea into North and South in 1953. I mention this because we will refer below to the current regime of North Korea.
Undoubtedly, during this period, 1947 – 1991, one positive thing, if I may say so, was the development of technology. Of course, the use that was made of it was not only positive, since the target was the common people (as always).
Today..
North Korea.
Perhaps the most extreme and comical case (if you live outside!), the situation inside is partly known by people who manage to escape. The regime controls everything, from what the residents watch on their TVs to what time they wake up!
The current leader is the well-known Kim Jong-un! He was re-elected as a member of parliament in the elections held on March 9, 2014, with 100% of the votes! To not overstate the situation since our topic is online influences, North Koreans do not have access to the internet! Instead, they provide the world with an intranet, called Kwangmyong, through which anyone can visit pages praising the Kim family, maintain an email address, access the country's news and an electronic library, also government-controlled. Access to the global network is exclusively for government authorities.
You can also see similar reports here
China.
Censorship in the People's Republic of China is expressed through the suppression and restriction of the expression and transmission of certain information in the country. Most censorship is carried out at the behest of the Communist Party of China. The autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems, while the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not controlled by the PRC government, so censorship tactics there differ.
Censored content is usually related to pornography, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the Falun Gong teachings, the Tibetan independence movement, Taiwan independence, police brutality, anarchism, democracy, certain news sources, certain religious content, and a variety of websites.
Censored media basically includes everything that can reach the broad mass of the population including television, print media, radio, cinema, SMS messages, video games and the internet.
Reporters Without Borders classifies the situation of China's press as "Very Serious" in terms of freedom, while the international institute Freedom House characterizes the press as "Not Free", adding that "state control over China's media is achieved through a complex combination of content control, legal bans on journalists, and economic incentives for self-censorship.
In the image below we can see the flowchart of how someone is censored in China.
German journalist Matthias Spielkamp, a member of Reporters Without Borders, says in an interview with Deutsche Welle that China is at the top of the list, investing huge sums annually in electronic policing of the internet.
"In China, access to a large number of websites is blocked, while many search engines only show carefully selected results. In some areas, access to the Internet is limited, while in others it is completely banned."
The degree of state intervention, control and censorship is extremely high. Even in cases where the electronic police do not intervene in a blatant way, they simply take care to reduce the speed of transmission of information via video or photos, especially in the case of mass demonstrations.
Ethiopia.
According to the UN, over 30 journalists fled Ethiopia in 2014. Six independent editions of the Zone9 blog, which is not allowed in Ethiopia, have been closed and there are at least 19 journalists and bloggers in prison for exercising their rights, freedom of speech and the right to expression.
Eritrea.
All mobile communications must go through EriTel, the only state-controlled mobile provider. All internet service providers must use the government-controlled gateway. Internet access is extremely limited and available only through slow dial-up connections. Less than 1% of the population has access to a connection, according to the UN's International Telecommunication Union.
Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government has gradually tightened its legal grip since the Arab Spring crackdown. Under the 2011 Press Law, the publication of any material deemed to be contrary to sharia, contrary to state interests, promoting foreign interests, harming public order or national security, or inciting criminal activity is punishable.
The General Commission for Audiovisual Media Services announced in April 2014 that it would directly monitor YouTube content to ensure it complies with government guidelines. YouTube is used by many Saudis to address controversial issues, such as women and driving, and to document events not covered by the mainstream media, such as the stabbing of a Canadian in a shopping mall in the city of Dhahran in November 2014. Saudi Arabia also uses its influence in the Gulf Cooperation Council to pass restrictions that prevent media outlets in member states from criticizing the leadership of other member states.
Azerbaijan, Vietnam.
They are content to monitor bloggers who raise sensitive issues, or republish foreign publications on social networking platforms that raise sensitive domestic issues.
Iran.
Iranian authorities maintain one of the harshest internet censorship regimes in the world, blocking millions of websites, including news and social networking sites. The situation for the press has not improved under Rouhani despite hopes from UN member states and human rights organizations.
Turkey.
The Turkish Telecommunications Authority (TIB) blocked access to Twitter on the night of March 20-21, 2014, on the orders of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who appeared determined to end the daily online broadcast of corruption allegations against his government. His decision came into conflict with the opposition and Turkey's bar associations.
These are just a few examples of countries that heavily censor the internet. There are many more that censor works of art and printed documents such as newspapers and magazines, or media in general, such as television.
But in my opinion, the worst thing is to censor the internet because information is essentially transferred to our pockets! Anyone can compose and form an opinion to an alpha audience from a mobile device.
A classic example in our country is the appointment of Dimitris Kammenos as a minister and his dismissal a few hours later, in September 2015, following the panic that prevailed on social media and especially on Twitter due to some inappropriate “tweets” by the MP, even before the coalition government of Anel with Syriza. Kammenos deactivated his account as soon as it was announced that he would be appointed as a minister and it wasn’t long before the following screenshots were circulating (someone had to tell him that whatever you write stays on the web forever!). By the afternoon, he had become the first #hashtag to mention, resulting in the intervention of the EYP, Kammenos making contradictory statements and finally resigning.
To the honor of our country and respect for humanity, no censorship has been found on the internet! Anyone who maintains a Twitter account will have the pleasure of exchanging opinions with anyone! From journalists to members of parliament! Of course, the “bloc” is in the clouds, but it has nothing to say!!
