Flash Talk

Tasnia Hussain

              Web Design 11/23/16  Flash Talk Issue:   Internet Censorship

     The internet we all use today is the massive network combined with other networks designed to communicate with other computers and access any information. But every perfect creation has its flaws and issues. For instance what is the Internet Censorship issue we all hear about? The Internet Censorship is the act of banning or blocking some or all of content that can be published, viewed and accessed online. Some countries require direct censorship but others forbid against inappropriate postings while there are also countries which tolerate it. The major issue of internet censorship is the affect on how much information should be out there in public and if there should be a way of censorship to block out the information that isn’t suppose to be seen for all.

       There are many ways of internet censorship happening but there are also the positive and negative impacts on society or economy for it. For instance, one of the worst type of internet censorship is the Internet Protocol (IP) address blocking which is how the access to a certain IP address can be denied and if the main Web site is hosted in a shared hosting server,  then all the websites on the same server will be blocked.  (Reference 1: “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship”) If the IP address is blocked, your computer can be hacked or attacked on your hosting account and other services. It also affects the IP-based protocols like  HTTP and FTP. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the data communication to create a website. The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard network protocol used to transfer computer files between a client and server on a computer network. One of the connections I can make to what I’ve learned about the internet so far is how the IP address and the website will not work if it’s changed because the system won’t recognize it.

        One of the pros of the internet censorship that has an effect on the people is the less instances of identity theft. (Reference 2: “http://occupytheory.org/internet-censorship-pros-and-cons-list/”) Criminals can use online sources to steal an identity when a credit card is used to make the online purchases. Even big corporations like Target experiences online hackers and it takes months for a customer’s financial situation to be restored back to normal. But internet censorship has a level of online security that can protect a person’s credit card information. Although internet censorship has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. For example, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) filtering. The URL is the address identifying where documents can be found on the Internet. If the URL has an error or encrypted protocols such as HTTP or VPN (Virtual Private Network) which is a method used to add security and privacy to private and public networks, like WiFi Hotspots and the Internet, by anyone it won’t work.

           From my perspective, I would consider the internet censorship issue as a protection from harmful or illegal networks. Like I mentioned, It prevents inappropriate websites from being viewed by children, prevents felonious activities from happening online, and the protection of one’s credit card information. Without internet censorship, everything would be public for anyone to see and it will create more chaos around the world.