Censorship of the media is a hotly contested topic. “The media reaches over a 100 million people a day” (Social Media Statistics, 2016) and gravitates great power to be able to change public opinion, policies, and revolutionize history. As violence has access to reach different online mediums, a growing concern for safety and protection is required hence tightening regulation and censorship. On the contrary, the media has an obligation to be a communicator and educate, entertain and motivate. Where do we draw the line?
Source image: (Ellis, 2013)
Regulation and control of content is designed to be just to all parties of the community. However, many believe that withholding or regulating information is breaching individual’s rights to be free to content and should be given the mandate to decide what information is beneficial to them and ultimately what they desire to view. There are many aspects to consider in regards to regulation and privacy concerns. Such include whether government regulations are in the best interests of society on a whole or through media regulators who have an insight into societies online behaviour use or if it is the discipline of self-regulation that will preside and be most appropriate with the needs of society. Finally, the end result of creating some form of regulation and control is to create a just system that both protects humanity and allows freedom to view content at their own will. Yet, whenever “regulation increases, personal freedom decreases.” (Alan Wilson, philosopher).
It is evident that the introduction of regulation or lack thereof is a result of moral panic and growing anxieties in society. This can be seen as through the imminent threat of online activity and the unknown of its potential and who has access to what. A relevant, modern example is the act of Catfishing “luring (someone) into a relationship by adopting a fictional online persona.” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2015). Because of the commonality and entertainment value, a show has been created of live stories of this act. I believe the real panic here is that our own society CHOOSES to watch others be humiliated, not that the regulations of our government can be falsified or ‘too aggressive’.
Another moral panic that surrounds society is how rules and regulations are constricting and simultaneously ‘ruining’ a fun/entertaining acitivity. For examole, the iconic movie Almost Famous, has been snubbed R rated by the MPAA when contemporarily being voted by society as a PG. Almost Famous, shows a bright teenage boy successfully negotiating the minefield of a rock tour and forming a value system with the support of his mother, which gets an R because of brief nudity and language, and drug use presented as a cautionary lesson. Roger Elbert, a film critic and screen writer says “The MPAA cannot have values; it can only count beans, or nipples, or four-letter words.”
Source Image: (Crypticrock, 2015)
In John Sununu’s column “Music dinosaurs pick a bad fight”, he explains that the recording industry was fundamentally changing through the use of the internet. It was argued that it “provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinvent the music business by creating new mechanisms for distribution, branding, and monetization.” (Sununu, 2013). Yet, the biggest concern was through illegal downloading. Over the next five years the recording industry filed 35,000 cases against consumers for violating copyright by illegally downloading music. One of these cases included, 29-year-old man expected to pay $675,000 for the unauthorized downloading of 30 songs after the Supreme Court said they will not weigh in on one of the record industry’s longest-running copyright infringement cases. (RT: Question More, 2012). Yet, the growth of illegal file sharing continued unabated and due to the combination of digital storage and Internet connectivity makes the unlicensed copying and distribution of music a fact of modern life. The following video shows another woman, Jammie Thomas-Rasset, who also illegally downloaded music, and ordered to pay a $1.9 million fine.
Chris Berg, journalist for ABC News in 2014 writes, “Our media regulations are stuck in the 1930s when they were first imposed, so why keep ownership rules that were so manifestly designed for another age? As our society diversifies and ideas progress, shouldn’t regulations adapt alongside our views? The hegemonic view, aligning Marxist thinking and Gramsci’s ideas of the hegemony model, would see changes in regulation as trying to manipulate change in society, not actually reflecting it. This reflects a passive audience and dictates leading their views through media control and censorships which has proven unsuccessful thus far. Whereas the pluralist view captures the media’s existence to reflect the publics concerns and those regulations change to reflect what people think; a form of sociology.
As threats and harm evolve with society, a moral panic erupts, and it is vital that the media gives the public the illusion it is being ‘protected’ rather than the actuality of safety. Hence, proving the notion that regulation is relevant in a social context and as values adapt, so should content viewing; flexibility is key.
References
2012, “The cost of downloading: Supreme Court says $675,000 fine remains for sharing 30 songs”, RT: Question more, viewed 25 September 2016, <https://www.rt.com/usa/supreme-court-tenenbaum-riaa-891/>
Bailey, J 2014, “5 Movies That Should Have Been Rated PG-13 — And 5 That Shouldn’t Have”, Flavorwire, viewed 28 September 2016, <http://flavorwire.com/471750/5-movies-that-should-have-been-rated-pg-13-and-5-that-shouldnt-have/3>
Berg, C 2014, “Time to ditch antiquated media regulations”, ABC News, viewed 26 September 2016, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-11/berg-time-to-ditch-antiquated-media-regulations/5311800>
Doggart, D 2010, “Media Regulation Essay Plan”, PREZI, viewed 27 September 2016, <https://prezi.com/yja7l7zxr9w2/media-regulation-essay-plan/>
Smith, K 2016, “Marketing: 96 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts for 2016”, Brandwatch, viewed 27 September 2016, <https://www.brandwatch.com/2016/03/96-amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts-for-2016/>
Wanderlust. 