In this globalized world, the Internet has become a free and fast accessible source of information as well as a contradiction. Following freedom of information is revelation of sensitive issues that tickle responses from the government. It proves that the media and the politic are inseparable. Looking at the way several countries have been trying to control and restrict the circulation of information and ideas in the mainstream media, I reckon that free speech becomes more expensive while it is given a platform for being more independent.
It is shocking how China freezes users’ computer if they use key words such as “Tiananmen Square”. It shows how sensitive politic can be in the field of media. The fact that Burma applies software in internet cafes which is able to record what’s on screen every five minutes shows how freedom of information and communication is limited even more within its platform for greater accessibility. And as the article outlined that foreign companies get a risk of missing their market opportunity if they do not follow the government’s policy makes more clear for me that censorship has changed to a form of threat. What is more logical for me is censorship for the sake of protecting children from pornography.
Internet has become more as a battlefield rather than a platform of information and communication. While the government’s attempt to control and place restricted censorship toward the Internet is getting more intense, users also put more effort in terms of maintaining freedom in using the media.
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