Pros And Cons Of Censorship

Pros and Cons of Censorship
Censorship is prevalent in the modern society. It is a highly divisive issue. Here's a look at its pros and cons.

Censorship is the control of information and ideas in a society. Both democratic and non-democratic countries use it. With the explosion of communication technology, it has become all-pervasive. There is a dispute as to whether censorship is good or bad.

Pros of Censorship • Censorship of pornographic material prevents the corrupting of the children. • Religious conflicts are avoided by the censorship of material deemed insulting or offensive to a particular religious community. • Censorship is necessary to preserve the secrets of a nation. • Censorship is useful in hiding sensitive military information, which could be used
by an enemy state. • Scenes of people consuming alcohol or smoking influence people to copy them. Hence censoring such scenes serves a useful purpose. • People may copy dangerous stunts shown on TV or movies. Censorship proves necessary here. • Books may be used to portray wrong information about individuals or groups that could incite violence against them. Censorship would definitely prove helpful here. • It can be used to prevent politically motivated propaganda.
• It protects the privacy of people. • Plagiarism is prevented. • Abusive scenes in movies may offend some people. Censorship prevents that. • It protects indigenous cultures from the bad influence of foreign cultures. • It prevents the public display of disrespect to any particular individual or community. • It prevents companies from spreading inaccurate or grossly exaggerated claims about their products. • It promotes political correctness. • Terrorists are prevented from learning about dangerous technology like the atom bomb. • Children are prevented from learning things that could harm them and others. • It prevents the ill effects of globalization affecting societies. • It shields the morals of society. • It restrains vulgarity and obscenity. • The surfeit of violence in movies and TV is restricted by it. • It prevents violence by stopping the broadcast of events, which might trigger it.
Cons of Censorship • If sex-related topics are completely censored it becomes difficult to teach children and teenagers about the dangers of
HIV/AIDS. • Dictators and dictatorship use it to promote a flattering image of themselves and for removing any information that is negative to them. • Freedom of speech is compromised. • Religious fundamentalists like the Taliban use them to coerce the population. • It encroaches upon the freedom of the press. • It prevents the free flow of ideas. • It may intrude on the privacy of a person. • Withholding of information only leads to ignorance in the society. • Censoring of information may lead to a wrong image perceived by the public. • It is generally associated with dictatorship. • Censorship in books, plays and movies may compromise their entertainment value. • Censorship has been misused in the past. • It is a force against globalization. • It works against creativity. • If you hide something from people they will become extra curious about it. • It has no place in a truly democratic society. • It gives rise to and hides human rights abuses. • It is used to control people. • There can be different standards of morals among different societies quite different from the imposed ones by the censorship. • It may be used to block legitimate criticism. • Governments should not control people. It should be the other way around. • Individuals have different tastes. • It stifles the opposition, broadcasting only a particular point of view. • People have a right to know.
Used properly, censorship serves as a valuable tool. However, it can also be easily misused. Governments and other regulatory institutions must learn to use it judiciously