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When is censorship acceptable? Justify your argument Forty years ago the biggest social debates were about the acceptability (or not) of censorship related to sexuality. Now the preoccupation might be more with political censorship. There are many kinds of censorship, including self-censorship. Who should be drawing these invisible lines in the sand, and applied to what? Thor
May
Preface: This is a discussion paper, not a researched academic document. The reading list at the end is mostly a collection of contemporary links from the Internet and pretty accidental, not edited for quality. Where a topic is of broad general interest comes up with friends, I have adopted the practice of posting discussion starters like the present one on Academia.edu in the hope that others might also find them worth thinking about.
1. Introduction
Censorship falls into various categories. a) The first kind of category
refers to who applies the censorship, and to whom. Self-censorship also
applies here. b) The second kind of category refers to what is censored. c)
The third kind of category refers to when and where censorship is applied. Arguments about the desirability or necessity of censorship can apply
to all of the categories and subcategories mentioned in a) to c). As individuals, humans are not particularly consistent about claiming
desirability or necessity for anything. They tend to be opportunistic,
depending upon their role of the moment, their appetites, their wealth, their
age, and so on. Perhaps therefore we should not expect institutions
(collections of people) to be entirely consistent on a subject like
censorship. However some pressure for both consistency and erring on the side
of tolerance is worthwhile. In some cases it may be a matter of life and
death. This is because laws and rules impact upon large numbers of different
people in very blunt ways. This bluntness inevitably causes some unjust or
foolish or even deadly outcomes. 2. What exactly is
censorship? Censorship is withholding information. At the most personal level,
self-censorship of some kind is absolutely normal and necessary for social
interaction and survival. In these terms we may give it other names, such as
the scale of secretiveness, discretion, openness, candour, frankness. People
vary a great deal in the censorship they exercise, both as a general pattern
in their lives, and in dealing with particular people. Cultures also differ
in the expected levels of social candour. As a teacher I need to make constant judgements about what to tell a
student and when. I have to exercise a kind of temporary censorship. This
judgement will depend both upon the student’s level of maturation and their
current level of knowledge on a topic. If I say too much too quickly, or
at the wrong level of complexity, they might not only be confused but
become hostile. These professional
judgements are necessary because communicating ideas entails not just their
expression, but the reception by another brain which processes and accepts or
censors incoming stimuli according to previous experience and inherent
intelligence. The kind of judgements about censoring the information I communicate
apply not only to professional teaching. We all make such judgements
constantly in communicating with others. Sometimes the judgements are
entirely personal, and at other times they are also bounded by a particular
role we are playing. For example, if I am working for a company, I probably
have to be circumspect to customers in expressing what I know about that
company. If I am a government minister, I am privy to information which might
require great discretion when presented in a public forum, and so
on. When it comes to governments and their treatment of their publics,
administrative motives are generally a mixture of offering service and
self-preservation. The complete libertarian position might be that
individuals should have all the secrets and governments should have no
secrets. In the archetypal tyranny, the tyrant would have all the secrets and
individuals no secrets. The practical reality of course is that we live on a
scale between these extremes and struggle to maintain some compromise. The
story of censorship is the story of that struggle. 3. When does
censorship become a problem?
As with so many things in life, the appropriate use of censorship in a
general sense is not a black and white issue. That is, there may be personal,
professional or organizational reasons when discretion is needed. However,
when questions of censorship become tangled with political power and ambition
then large numbers of people may be hurt. Knowledge is power; information is
power. Dictators have always craved to control access to information, and
often enough kill the messengers. For generations the Catholic Church
censored not only access to the Bible (by not allowing translations from
Latin), but whole libraries of other books, all with the aim of maintaining
theological power over parishioners lives. The net outcome was not
benevolent. For generations in many cultures, men restricted access to
education for women, a lifelong censorship, thus keeping women subordinate to
their ambitions. There are parts of the world where the subordination
of women by censoring their knowledge continues to be a major
form of oppression. 4. Censorship as a
political act Tyrants and Juntas rarely plan for their own retirement. The censorship
they exercise is a tool to maintain control over others, or sometimes an
expression of personal prejudices, unrestrained by any anticipation of future
consequences. Power in a democracy has a use-by date, at least for individuals, so
its unrestrained exercise may lead to unpleasant blow-back down the track.
This risk of future consequences becomes in itself a motive for the vigorous
censorship of current behaviour by political actors and their agents.
A distasteful example of administrative censorship is the present
struggle of the American Central Intelligence Agency to censor information on
its recent (and futile) use of torture in the so-called war on terror. The
American political leadership of the time, who by any reasonable definition
authorized war crimes, have been brazen in defending such censorship, and
thus on present indications are unlikely to be punished. We don’t have to go to anything as extreme as hiding torture to find
political administrations, regardless of ideology, taking violent action to
censor public knowledge of their contacts, discussions, financial resources,
hidden decisions, and so on. Whistleblowers are almost universally treated as
political poison, regardless of any public service they perform at great
personal risk. 5. Antidotes to
political censorship a) The most effective antidote to political censorship is strong
investigative journalism by talented individuals, and an alert, educated
public. There are good investigative journalists, yet they have to fight an
endless war of attrition. As for readers and viewers, the last thing most
political power holders want is an alert, educated public. There is ample
evidence in many countries that education for critical thinking has been
deliberately degraded, while the media is swamped with trivia. b) The journalistic ecosystem: Journalists, like anyone else, need a
source of income, and willing sources of information. The number of
independent sources of journalistic income, even in a country as supposedly
open as Australia, are severely limited. In the Australian case, several
large commercial groups effectively control the public media landscape.
Those who control the media empires themselves are subject to political
pressure and to commercial pressure. Depending upon the character of their
leadership, these media groups in turn exercise disproportionate influence on
what journalists are able to write and investigate. That is, journalists are
censored editorially, and for career reasons also exercise self-censorship.
News Ltd (the Murdoch empire) is particularly notorious for pursuing a
political agenda and shaping the public conversation in the Anglophone
sphere. Politicians themselves strongly influence the information which
journalists can make available to the public. They do this by favouring those
journalists who do not insist on awkward questions, and who create an optimum
public image of the politician. c) Legal protections against censorship: The main legal antidote to
political censorship is Freedom of Information legislation. Not all political
jurisdictions have FOI legislation, and where it does exist the experience
has been that whatever political party is in power, that party will do its
utmost to frustrate the intentions of the legislation. The castration of FOI
legislation can take numerous forms. The enabling FOI office may be starved
of resources. Exorbitant charges may be made for providing information to the
public under FOI. The processing of FOI requests may by deliberately delayed.
When FOI information is finally forced from a reluctant government, it may be
severely “redacted” (selectively censored) in the name of “security” : that
is, the employment security of those who are threatened with embarrassment. 6. Censorship as a
narrow vehicle for petty power Politicians have no monopoly on the wish to exercise power over others.
This kind of power, no matter how petty, seems to act as an aphrodisiac to
large numbers of the human species, extending right down to job, school and
family level. It is no surprise then that given the many levels of government
and administration in modern societies, petty censorship of one kind or
another is a fairly common phenomenon. Quite often it is rather difficult to filter out the real motives for what is going on. When a parent decides to censor what a teenager can watch, the concern may be genuine or it may just be bossiness. No prize for guessing the teenager’s interpretation. When a district library or school board decide to censor what books the public can borrow, the board members may be religious bigots, or narrow minded curmudgeons, or tin hat dictators. In most such cases, they deserve to be challenged, but local social conditions can make that difficult. The
struggle between censors and their opponents has always been a never-ending
war of attrition. It always will be. Violence and extortion have been used to
conceal, and also to expose. The law is, and has been used to conceal and to
expose. Publicity media of every kind is, and has been used to conceal and to
expose. The induced
apathy and inherent mental laziness of overall populations is proving the
most potent tool for those who wish to conceal. Because concealment is so
often malevolent rather than benevolent, the ultimate failure of institutions
or even states due to malevolence is in a way the cost effective brake on
malevolent concealment. Of course, by the time of failure, many lives will
have been ruined. In every
generation there are people, a minority, who seek to do good by exposing that
which they consider bad. Usually they suffer disproportionately, even at the
hands of those who ultimately benefit from open knowledge. In modern
institutions, such people may be known as whistle-blowers or "deep
throats". In certain dramatic instances, such as the Watergate scandal
which brought down US President Richard Nixon, their exposures may lead to
apparent changes in legislation and practice. The historical evidence seems
to be that such reforms are often more cosmetic than enduring. However, also
across the span of history, the patient work of historians and institutional
reformers has led, in some parts of the world, to societies which are
genuinely more open and less brutal than those which came before. There is no
guarantee that these states will endure. The price of liberty is eternal
vigilance. Reading List Australian Broadcasting Commission (2014) "Censorship" -
multiple stories in this category. ABC online @ http://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/censorship Australian Human Rights Commission (2014) "5 Current issues of
‘Internet censorship’: bullying, discrimination, harassment and freedom of
expression". Human Rights Commission online @ https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/background-paper-human-rights-cyberspace/5-current-issues-internet-censorship-bullying Australian Parliament (2001) "Censorship and Classification in
Australia". Parliament of Australia online @ http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary
_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/censorshipebrief Baldassarro, R. Wolf (21 November 2011) "Banned Books Awareness:
“The Canterbury Tales”". Banned Book Awareness website, online @ http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/11/21/banned-books-awareness-canterbury-tales/
Cai, Peter (31 March 2014) "The fog of censorship in China’s
media". Business Spectator online @ http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/3/31/china/fog-censorship-chinas-media Chen, Lu (December 4, 2014) "‘Big Brother’ Goes to College in
China". Epoch Times online @ http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1121414-big-brother-goes-to-college-in-china/ Chris Zappone, Chris (December 8, 2014) "Taiwan a canary in the
coalmine of cyber warfare". Brisbane Times online @ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/technology-news/taiwan-a-canary-in-the-coalmine-of-cyber-warfare-20141207-120v73.html Cristofaro, Emiliano De (18 November 2014) "Lessons on censorship
from Syria’s internet filter machines ". The Conversation website,
online @ http://theconversation.com/lessons-on-censorship-from-syrias-internet-filter-machines-33951 Electronic Frontiers (2014) "Censorship and Free Speech".
Electronic Frontiers (Australia), online @ https://www.efa.org.au/Issues/Censor/ Hamel, Gary (December 2011) "First, Let’s Fire All the
Managers". [Censorship within companies by managers manipulating
information for power is a major problem. This article documents another
way]. Harvard Business Review online @ https://hbr.org/2011/12/first-lets-fire-all-the-managers
Hosenball, Mark (December 10, 2014) "'Enhanced interrogation'
torture techniques by CIA were 'far more brutal' and ineffective in stopping
terrorist plots: US Senate report". ["redaction" as
censorship. Delete the whole truth, and nobody takes a rap]. Brisbane Times
online @ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/enhanced-interrogation-torture-techniques-by-cia-were-far-more-brutal-and-ineffective-in-stopping-terrorist-plots-us-senate-report-20141209-123pyc.html
IndexOnCensorship.org (2013) Worldwide journalistic coverage of issues
involving censorship. IndexOnCensorship.org online @ http://www.indexoncensorship.org/ Knott, Matthew and Ben Grubb (December 10, 2014) "Ultimatum
issued to ISPs in Abbott government's online piracy crackdown". Brisbane
Times online @ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/ultimatum-issued-to-isps-in-abbott-governments-online-piracy-crackdown-20141210-1246rv.html
Libertus.net (2014) "About censorship and freedom of expression,
in Australia and elsewhere". [a collection of pieces]. Libertus.net
online @ http://libertus.net/ McDougall (November 2, 2011) "The Once and Future Way to
Run". [The leading magazine on running, Runners' World, almost
collapsed when its editor published research showing that running shoes
caused injury and Nike pulled $1 million in advertising. That is, the editor
failed to censor for commercial interests. An uncommon story. Commercial
censorship of the truth about running shoes has since returned to the
magazine. Note: this McDougall article is also a superb account of how to run
injury free.] New York Times online @ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/magazine/running-christopher-mcdougall.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all& McKinney, Luke (26 September 2014 ) "Australia’s most ridiculous
instances of video game censorship". Techly website online @ http://www.techly.com.au/2014/09/26/australias-ridiculous-instances-video-game-censorship/ Metthe, Newth (2010) "The Long History of Censorship".
Beacon of Freedom website (Norway), online @ http://www.beaconforfreedom.org/liste.html?tid=415&art_id=475 Milton, John (1644) "Areopagitica". [One of the most
influential speeches against censorship every made, in this case to the
English parliament]. Wikipedia online @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areopagitica News Ltd. (2014) "Censorship". - multiple stories in this
category. News Ltd online @ http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/censorship Refinery 29 (December 2014) "17 favourite books that were banned
and why". EssentialKids site, online @ http://www.essentialkids.com.au/photogallery/entertaining-kids/parenting-and-childrens-books/17-favourite-books-that-were-banned-and-why-20141208-3m2r7.html#utm_source=FD&utm_medium=lifeandstylepuff&utm Sainz, Jorge (December 13, 2014) "Spain's WikiLeaks-inspired Xnet
fights graft using technology, courts". Brisbane Times online @ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/spains-wikileaksinspired-xnet-fights-graft-using-technology-courts-20141212-126e1d.html
Skwirk.com (2014) " Year 9 » History » Australia and World War II
» Government control » Censorship and propaganda". [Tutoring site for
Australian high school students]. Skwirk online @ http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-91_t-201_c-673/censorship-and-propaganda/nsw/censorship-and-propaganda/australia-and-world-war-ii/government-control The Guardian (2014) "Censorship" - multiple stories in this
category. The Guardian online @ http://www.theguardian.com/world/censorship Wikipedia (2014) "Censorship". Wikipedia
online @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship Wikipedia (2014) "Censorship in Australia ".
Wikipedia online @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Australia Wikipedia (2014) "Censorship in China ".
Wikipedia online @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_China Wikipedia (2014) "Freedom of Information Laws by
Country ". Wikipedia online @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_information_laws_by_country Professional bio: Thor May has a
core professional interest in cognitive linguistics, at which he has rarely
succeeded in making a living. He has also, perhaps fatally in a career sense,
cultivated an interest in how things work – people, brains, systems, countries,
machines, whatever… In the world of daily employment he has mostly taught
English as a foreign language, a stimulating activity though rarely regarded
as a profession by the world at large. His PhD dissertation, Language
Tangle, dealt with language teaching productivity. Thor has been teaching
English to non-native speakers, training teachers and lecturing linguistics,
since 1976. This work has taken him to seven countries in Oceania and East
Asia, mostly with tertiary students, but with a couple of detours to teach
secondary students and young children. He has trained teachers in Australia,
Fiji and South Korea. In an earlier life, prior to becoming a teacher, he had
a decade of finding his way out of working class origins, through unskilled
jobs in Australia, New Zealand and finally England (after backpacking across
Asia to England in 1972). |
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