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Is there a point in censoring the media today?

Recent years have seen a rise in the amount of censorship in the media. Some argue that such censorship is superfluous for it does little to achieve its ends, and sometimes ironically, are counterproductive to its ends. Before we question whether censorship still has a point in today’s society, we must ask, what are the ends of censorship? In this essay, the aims of censorship will be defined as to protecting impressionable individuals and maintaining social cohesion. Media shall be defined as any means of expression, including live media such as conferences, physical media such as the press, and social media. One key implication in the question is that censoring media used to have a point in the past. It has only became a matter of dispute “today”. Many argue that easy access to means that help bypass censorship and the misuse of censorship cause it to lose its purpose. In this essay, I shall submit that it is precisely in modern days that censorship has become necessary and that it remains of paramount importance despite reduced effectiveness. 

Firstly, the fundamental shift in the demographic of “content creators” in the media makes censorship even more crucial. In the past, broadcast companies, publications, celebrities were the creators behind messages in the media. As their reputation and financial interests are directly at stake, they are incentivized to self-censor, abstaining from racist and hate speech. Additionally, people working at management levels of these media companies were likely to be more educated and hence are more capable of filtering out offensive and discriminatory content. However, nowadays, billions of anonymous netizens contribute to content on the internet. They range from educated, fully grown adults to younger children who have yet to realize the implications of their actions. Additionally, anonymity further disincentivizes careful consideration before posting contents as people need not be held accountable for their speech on the internet. Therefore, nowadays, the media are flooded with recklessly posted content involving discrimination and violence. Due to a lack of self-censorship, institutional or government-backed censorship has risen in necessity.  

Some may argue that most people are able to bypass censorship due to easy internet access, rendering censorship useless. However, practical function is only one aspect of censorship. Morally, censorship sends a message to society on what is acceptable and what is not. It is widely known that very few netizens actually read the community rules, which hinder their ability to make an informed judgement on the appropriateness of the message they intended to post. When government or social media companies censor content on different platforms, they are actively informing content creators of what is unacceptable in society. Without such censorship, they may never become aware of such rules. Even if some do find ways to bypass censorship, they are doing so through illicit means, which further cements the notion that such messages are unacceptable. As such, censorship matters in the sense that it shapes the moral values of society. 

On a political level, some may argue that the original intention of censorship– maintaining social cohesion has been distorted. Post 911 counter-extremism policy has led to messages expressing non-threatening Islamic values being censored on the internet. Some contend that in such a context, censorship breaches freedom of expression and democratic values, which is counterintuitive to achieving social cohesion. However, one must recognize that such breach of democracy is not a result of censorship itself, but the misuse of censorship. One may further argue that whether a certain message should be classified as “extremist” is subjective and is up to the discretion of the possibly biased administrators responsible for censoring. For this particular reason, a number of institutions are seeking ways to optimize censoring protocols. For example, the UK has made efforts to optimize the PREVENT strategy and introduced independent oversight to improve the consistency and impartiality of decision-making. On top of that, an array of complaint mechanisms is available for individuals believing that they have been unfairly censored to challenge decisions. For as long as censorship is not being misused, democratic values, and hence social cohesion, can be maintained. 

Summarizing the aforementioned, it is precisely modern circumstances that made censorship even more crucial. While easy access to methods of bypassing censorship and misuse of censorship may hinder its practical effectiveness, the role of censorship in shaping society’s moral values and constant improvement made to censoring protocols keep it relevant.