Alfred Satsatin Transfiguracion

20120111333
AB Legal Management
Resolve that Internet be censored in the Philippines
(Opposition)
Censorship refers to any action taken by a society to control access to ideas and
information. Throughout history, many different types of societies, including
democracies, have used censorship in various ways. The issue is increasingly
important due to the rapid development of new communication technology. As
innovators continue to create new ways for people to share information, many
people are now arguing over the issue of censorship.
Necessity

The government cant enforce its authority over the internet mainly
because;

The internet has no specific boundaries in regards to domain, enforcing

such laws might surpass and intrude into another countrys jurisdiction
and cause a bigger trouble than what is trying to be resolved. The
internet is a free space and providing such security measures wouldnt
be of much help to the users;
There is no need for internet to be governed by the Government
mainly because;
1. Pornography has been a very old argument from which the
censorship has been risen from; the government need to
intervene on such and spend money just to eradicate a culture
that has been long existing. What we can do is to start inside our
own homes, the censorship of such doesnt to be shouldered by
the government; the issue of pornography has been long
resolved in different countries as developers have been creating
various powerful softwares that serves as a blockade to prevent
access to such.
2. In the case of child pornography, hadnt this immoral issue been
eradicated without the help of such intervention?
November 17, 2013 - Google, Microsoft ramp up fight
against online child pornography is the most solid example
of the needlessness of the government to enforce its
authority to remove or prevent unwanted scenes over the
internet.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) bill, requires the internet to be

accessible 24/7 as it signifies transparency which greatly supports democracy
and the anti-corruption campaign of the incumbent government. The
censorship of the internet would depict a move that would defeat the purpose
the existence of such bill, it too shall be detrimental on the long awaited
justice the taxpayers are waiting in regards to where their tax are going
and what not.

Beneficiality

Article III, Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution states;

No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of

expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. --Those who are against censorship argue that the practice limits
the freedoms of speech, the press and expression and that these
limitations are ultimately a detriment to society. By preventing

free access to information, it is argued that society is fostering

ignorance in its citizens. Through this ignorance, citizens are
more easily controlled by special interest groups, and groups
that are able to take power are able to use censorship to
maintain themselves. Additionally, they argue that censorship
limits a society's ability to advance in its understanding of the
world.
Another main issue for those who are against censorship is a
history of censorship abuse. Those who argue against
censorship can point to a number of examples of dictators who
used censorship to create flattering yet untrue images of
themselves for the purpose of maintaining control over a society.
They argue that people should control the government instead
of the government controlling its people.

Practicability

The number of users of the internet in the Philippines;

24/7 Wall Street, a website providing the busy businessmen of

Wall Street a timely update even about the social media status
of the people whom they cater their businesses, claims that
Philippines is the top country not only in Asia to use the internet
on a daily basis.
At 12:40 AM, on August 11, 2015 there are 43, 669, 620
online internet users according to internetlivestats.com a world
wide web service provider cited by the World Wide Web
Consortium and the World Wide Web Foundation to take
track of internet users in real time.
Philippines has a 10% growth per annum on its users
according to ABS-CBN News on an article reiterating that our
country is one of the busiest country in terms of social media
and the internet as a whole.

Cost
Implementing a censorship system, either small scale within a facility or large
scale within a government, takes time and resources. In addition to the cost
of the labour and equipment required to set up a filter, firewall or other form
of censorship, the system needs to be maintained, occasionally upgraded and
repaired as time goes on. Whether the cost of this comes from schools,
corporate budgets or government budgets -- the money could be more
effectively spent on more important issues, no matter what the scale.

Business Issues
Businesses can be negatively impacted by Internet censorship. First, they
cannot be accessed by all possible consumers -- especially on an
international scale. Second, these businesses are unable to access the best
websites and businesses for supplies and services. If a business owner can't
access certain parts of the Internet, she may not be able to compete fully on
a global scale, or access the best resources for products and services
required.