Pros and Cons of Censorship

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.