Overtime, the way the world functions has been constantly growing and evolving. From the government system we run on to the technology we use, new possibilities are made each day. Not only is this continuous growth beneficial for society, it also ushers in a new era in human history that is dependant on both human knowledge and technological information for complete functionality in a given community. In order to keep this functionality going the people have the right to access certain information for their own purposes, however this does not mean that every single bit of information is given to them. Censorship has always been a part of society in an effort to stop certain thoughts and ideas to influence the population, but to what extent
…show more content…
In order to understand why censorship has its issues, the definition of censorship must be identified. Censorship is an action in which certain information or ideas are either suppressed or restricted due to obscene content, political effect, or just being an overall threat to security. Censorship has always been present and while it may not be noticeable at first sight, it is commonly found in every aspect of a person's daily life. There are various types of censorship such as political, media, religious, and educational censorship or censorship because of morality or self-preference. These few forms of censorship listed are amongst the most commonly affected, even in the United States. The biggest issue with censorship is not the ability to retain certain information from individuals, but rather its ability to be abused in an effort to keep a group of individuals ignorant or often times under …show more content…
The biggest problem with this is that not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome of certain situations, especially when it comes down to the government vs the people. Throughout the 20th century there are two very important court cases which were very politically driven. These court cases are Schenck vs United States and New York Times vs United States. It is important to state that both of these court cases were driven by different motives but still lead to significant verdicts. In 1917, Schenck was accused of violating the Espionage Act by sending anti-war pamphlets to recently drafted men during World War 1. The US government claimed that this was an act of security threat with the intent of weakening soldier loyalty and military recruiting. After being convicted, Schenck plead not guilty and claimed “the Act had the effect of dissuading and outlawing protected speech about the war effort, thereby abridging the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech.” (Waimberg 7). Schenck then took case to the Supreme Court where it was reviewed and later reached the verdict of guilty. The significance of this court case is that it began to establish early restrictions on the extent of the first amendment’s authority. It also gives a vague definition to what is considered to be a threat to security but its value of importance isn't acknowledge until half a century later. Fast
In order to understand why censorship has its issues, the definition of censorship must be identified. Censorship is an action in which certain information or ideas are either suppressed or restricted due to obscene content, political effect, or just being an overall threat to security. Censorship has always been present and while it may not be noticeable at first sight, it is commonly found in every aspect of a person's daily life. There are various types of censorship such as political, media, religious, and educational censorship or censorship because of morality or self-preference. These few forms of censorship listed are amongst the most commonly affected, even in the United States. The biggest issue with censorship is not the ability to retain certain information from individuals, but rather its ability to be abused in an effort to keep a group of individuals ignorant or often times under …show more content…
The biggest problem with this is that not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome of certain situations, especially when it comes down to the government vs the people. Throughout the 20th century there are two very important court cases which were very politically driven. These court cases are Schenck vs United States and New York Times vs United States. It is important to state that both of these court cases were driven by different motives but still lead to significant verdicts. In 1917, Schenck was accused of violating the Espionage Act by sending anti-war pamphlets to recently drafted men during World War 1. The US government claimed that this was an act of security threat with the intent of weakening soldier loyalty and military recruiting. After being convicted, Schenck plead not guilty and claimed “the Act had the effect of dissuading and outlawing protected speech about the war effort, thereby abridging the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech.” (Waimberg 7). Schenck then took case to the Supreme Court where it was reviewed and later reached the verdict of guilty. The significance of this court case is that it began to establish early restrictions on the extent of the first amendment’s authority. It also gives a vague definition to what is considered to be a threat to security but its value of importance isn't acknowledge until half a century later. Fast