Rick Siegel Prespectives on Freedom and Liberty

The UK, under the crusade of Britain’s minister for Culture Andy Burnham, has made it clear they are ready to apply censorship controls on Internet content to supplant parents who have no control of their children, no time to spend with their children, and depend on government to watch over the children for them.

Asked about the affront to an open Internet and free speech Burnham replied, “it is simply there is wider public interest at stake when it involves harm to other people. We have got to get a better idea at defining where the public interest lies and being clear about it.” Somehow Burnham thinks his subjective opinion can be applied to all residents of the UK and he is trying to now spread his subjective censoring to the world and USA Burnham further states. “The more we seek International solutions to this stuff – the UK and U.S. working together – the more than an International norm will set an industry norm.”

Burnham and the UK Government intends to force Internet service providers to offer services where the sites accessible are those deemed by governments suitable for children according to the Daily Telegraph. Burnham stated some content should not be available to be viewed. It is not clear how stunted the subjective opinion will carry to other nations but the UK seems to have no problem controlling the queens subjects to the most horrible censorship in what might be considered a free nation if it were not a Kingdom with subjects instead of a Republic with citizens.

While we know that the U.S and eastern European nations will not fall easily to the slick censorship campaign starting in the UK, with the help of the like of Sarkozy such restrictions on websites and content will evolve if governments are not halted from applying subjectivity on expression.

It is increasingly appalling to see citizens rely more on witch hunting bureaucrats to determine what is fit for their children rather than taking responsibility and time with the children online. Governments using this excuse to police content are only obscuring their real motives of censorship and bringing homogenous ideas conducive to subjective citizens. Containing information flow is an imperative for them. As if to explain the governments interest in stopping exposure of their actions Burnham stated “If you look back at the people who created the Internet they talked very deliberately about creating a space that governments couldn’t reach. I think we are having to revisit that stuff seriously now.” The UK government would like nothing less than to make it illegal to expose the exposure of their lies or actions. For the last centuries they worked to control the printed word but the Internet has proven a daunting task. Better to claim the Internet brings harm to children than to admit the Internet allows the truth of their actions to come to light and that would bring harm to their authority.

Web sites could get cinema-style ratings: U.K. minister