According to this article, there seems to be a disagreement in whether or not specific media outlets are being too loosely censored or on the hand not enough. Since technology and social media are showing augmentation throughout the society, there are many people who believe that there is too much violent and inappropriate material that is so readily available for the wrong people.
In this instance, there has been much debate on whether a graphic video showing the beheading of a woman should be banned or not. This video shocked viewers and caused many protestors which caused them to take it down. They complained about the psychological damage the violent content could do to viewers, especially because it came on without warnings.
A few days later, Facebook had turned back on its initial decision and re-allowed the video the post for the world to see, stating it was “A place where people turn to share their experiences, particularly when they’re connected to controversial events on the ground, such as human rights abuses, acts of terrorism and other violent events.”After further outcries and complaints, Facebook retracted the following day and took the video down again.
Check out the article: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfmc_id=5&objectid=11147646
Posted by Lyndsay Eliasof
This article brings up different issues. My opinion is that government should not have complete control over the censorship of the internet. After reading this, i began to think about my opinion and then realized that there needs to be some censorship for issues like these. I do not believe that such violent videos need to be shared with the public. Not only for reasons on protests but also because of young viewers seeing this content. I think that there could be a better way to express personal things and things that are going on in society.
This article was an interesting read in determining where the line should be drawn for Internet censorship. Although I am a firm believer that the Internet should not be censored by the government and people should be able to use this source to access information they are interested and want to learn more about, this case makes me second guess my theory. Facebook is a site that allows people to connect and I understand the company’s efforts in making the site as open to the public as possible, but a video showing a graphic, real-life beheading scene of a woman crosses the line of ethics. Similarly in the United States, we have taken part in many wars over the years, specifically in Iraq, but our media outlets to not showcase the killings during this time to the public. This would lead to protests and unneeded, preventable problems in our country. Facebook should be utilized as a way to socialize and connect with others, but should not be a source that portrays graphic, controversial material as this article depicts. Facebook made a wise choice in taking the video down.
This article presents a very complicated situation with freedom of press and the internet. A video containing the graphic violence of a woman being beheaded is very gruesome and is clearly inappropriate to some viewers on the internet. I understand Facebook’s position to share the video to the world so people can see that these gruesome and abusive acts are happening around the world, and it could hopefully spark activism to prevent events like that happening in the future. However, I feel it was wrong to post this video because there was no disclaimer or warning attached to the video to alert people of the violence. I feel if there was a warning that allowed people to choose for certain if they wanted to watch the video or not it would not have been a problem to post it then.
This article is very interesting and this stuck out in my mind when the topic was presented in class during the presentation. I have mixed feelings on this topic because someone beheading another human being is just so gruesome and horrible that I know if I were to watch it I would get sick and feel upset for the rest of the week. However, I like that Facebook kept in online in order to respect our freedom of the press and to information. Another reason I would side with Facebook is that I believe that the world should know of the atrocities going on in other countries in order to maybe spark a movement or protest of some sort.
This is a very interesting article regarding Facebook and censorship. This really demonstrates a case where I believe censorship to be necessary. I say this because I would bet that almost everyone goes onto Facebook to keep up with friends and news. This includes an understanding that Facebook will do everything in their power to keep vulgar and disturbing material off of their site. A ban of these types of videos shouldn’t be interpreted as “Facebook censoring users” because what they’re really doing is protecting users, most of whom would be greatly upset by seeing a video of someone being beheaded. While censorship is a touchy subject in terms of what we can do online, this is a case where I am happy censorship exists, at least to a degree. Hopefully other social media sites will do their best to keep this type of violence away from the eyes of innocent and potentially young viewers.
I usually believe that there shouldn’t be any censorship on internet. But with this post, I believe that those types of video shouldn’t post of social media. In now society, kids are logging on to social media in a very young age. These types of video will be disturbing and cause controversy among others who view it.
I think those types of videos shouldn’t be put on social media in the first place. It’s disturbing and will, as it shows, cause controversy among others who view it. Censorship should be enough to ban videos like that but should not be taken too far. I don’t think discussion about that event should be discussed through Facebook or any social media site.
I know Australia and New Zealand and really big on censorship and this article continues to prove that (assuming they censored this or filed a complaint). I also think however that the beheading of any person on social media should probably be taken down no matter what country. It’s honestly just disgusting and inappropriate, especially for the fact that kids with facebook profiles could stumble upon it.
I’m really glad you wrote this post, just because I think that it’s interesting and important to consider the nuances of censorship and recognize that it’s not as black-and-white as it seems. There are arguments, I think, for both sides of this issue and it’s hard to say which action is really “right” and which is “wrong”. I think that people should largely be able to decide what they want to view on the internet without interference–provided they are warned about what they may be about to watch–but I also feel that Facebook has the right to say what type of media they want to allow on their site. The video in question may be present (and probably IS present) in other corners of the internet, but Facebook, having outlined its Rules and Guidelines in its inception had the right to determine what can be uploaded and downloaded to their site. If people really wanted to watch the video, they would still theoretically be able to elsewhere on the internet, maybe just not in on their preferred media platform.
I am usually not one to agree with censorship on the Internet, but this might be a little too much for anyone to see especially without warnings. If there were warnings before you played the video and had to click on whether you were above 18, which most violent videos do have on the Internet, then I would have no problem with the video being up. But since there were no warnings before the video then I do believe that having this up on Facebook is wrong. Kids are creating Facebook’s so young these days, a kid that is 12 years old could come across this video and be scared for life. Facebook is not what it used to be used for when I was younger. Only college kids had Facebook’s and it was to connect for classes and meeting new people that went to your school. Now middle school kids and even some elementary kids I am sure have Facebook. I definitely would not want to come across this video on Facebook and they should have done a better job of protecting it’s users from watching a video that could cause serious mental damages to people that were unaware of what was going to be in the video.
This is a great example, as another student pointed out, of why we have obscenity laws in the United States. There has to be a line at some point, where we as a society determine that some things are just better left unseen. Why is this necessary to view the view? You know there has to be children that saw this by mistake. Children who see things like this, and even adults, will sometimes need a psychiatric evaluation following the even. Many times this is traumatic, and changes how a person’s brain functions.
I think situations like this are so interesting because censorship is such a controversial topic. In certain countries it is the norm and in others it more unheard of. I do not necessarily support the idea of censorship, but I do think there should be some form of regulation. I think that violent graphics on Facebook should be monitored for the respect and safety of the citizens everywhere. I agree that everyone should be able to express themselves and have a freedom of speech, but in this particular case, I feel like Facebook crossed the line. I think that if there is that much debate over a post, especially something that graphic, it should be taken down.
This case like a clash between the authoritarian and liberal views on media freedom. Since Facebook was originated in the USA with the protection of the first amendment, it carried the idea that the Freedom of expression should not be restricted. However, Facebook now is more international social network with millions users outside of the States. I see how the situation might have developed in a country with strict censorship over Internet contents. In a class I am taking this semester, COMM180 we studied the quote by John Milton on free speech. The gist is that good and evil go together, and it is unfair to cover up the evil, because people can learn from it too.
However, Facebook respected Australian legal restriction on such type of media, which I think is good.
Censorship of internet is still necessary because things like this always happen. I believe that everyone have their rights to express their thoughts and the Internet should be a platform to support freedom of speech, but all these should functioned on the premise of not infringe the rights of other citizens. In this case, the video should not be uploaded because it hurts people’s feeling in a ways and there is no warning at all. Facebook censorship can work as a way to protect citizens with warnings and limitations. People complained and Facebook finally take the video down is a clear result of how people view it. They support the censorship of these kind of videos and censorship definitely works as a great way to protect citizens.
Facebook censorship is a very serious and prevalent matter that’s beginning to trend within more Authoritarian counties. Although, I do not contest to the presence of severe censorship, I strongly believe that there should be limitations on graphic and gory matter that is dispersed on internet outlets. In this case scenario, the video of women being beheaded should not be uploaded for public view. The family is the victims of this situation and they should allow the rights to being allowed to be shared and viewed in a very public manner. It’s a ban on content reform and not necessarily hindering the unloaders rights to sharing the content. Overall, censorship should be stopped but there should be a sense of guidelines.