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In the world of today’s internet, everyone seems to have something to share with the billions of others searching its vast database of knowledge. For some, it may be a simple remark about the ongoings of their day. For others, it may be a fifty page long research paper on the workings of Ford’s original Model T. For everyone, it is an important piece of information that they were willing to share with the world. For this reason, I believe that censorship directly violates the rights of a person’s freedom of expression and speech. Direct and intentional censorship can lead to the oppression of individuals whose opinions, thoughts, or ideas are trying to be shared. These ideas might be related to anything or anyone, but they are still the intellectual property of the individual who possesses them and therefore should not be restricted or removed. Ideas themselves cannot be dangerous. It is the acting upon them and the actions that result from it that is dangerous. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not all actions that come from them can be beneficial.
This being said, I may not believe that censorship should be allowed, but I do believe that every corporation or individual company should be allowed control over their own possessions. For instance, Twitter, one of the largest media outlets for the sharing of information and opinions, is a corporation that seeks to make a profit. As an institution holding legal rights to the possession of this application, I believe that it is completely in their power to control what is put on it. If the primary owners of Twitter see something they disagree with, they are able to simply delete the post from existence and ban the user who created it. It is direct censorship and is wrong, but I believe that it is their personal right to be able to control their property. Therefore, deleting anything they want from it is up to them and not allowing it would be a violation of the rights of Twitter’s owners. I also believe the same rules apply to YouTube. If Google deems a video unfit for their platform, they are completely in their rights to remove it completely. The individual chooses to place their content on these platforms. If censorship oppresses the individual, which I believe it does, it then becomes their responsibility to seek ways to end it. Just us our founding fathers sought revolution as a means to end their oppression, so too must those who are being silenced.
