WHAT IS CENSORSHIP AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

By Brian Langone

What is Internet Censorship

Internet censorship is essentially a method used by corporations, governments and others in order to filter what a user can view on the internet.

Why Censorship? Businesses use censorship to ensure their

employees are not distracted online. Families may use censorship in order to

limit what sites their children can access. Governments use censorship to prevent

citizens from: Viewing political pages that are against the

ruling party News pages that would inform citizens of

demonstrations or conflicts. Pages they would deem obscene.

How Does Censorship Work There are a number of ways to employ

censorship. They include: Software such as Net Nanny and CYBERsitter. These

programs use a “blacklist” that has a number of sites deemed offensive. These programs also look for keywords on a site and if

they are found it will block access to the site. Firewalls can also be used, they block what goes in and

out of a network. Many businesses rely on firewalls. Countries also use firewalls in order to limit what their

citizens can view. Some countries even have physical surveillance

systems such as cameras at computer locations.