Internet Censorship In North Korea

Internet censorship can be a primary source in how a country maintains its control in all aspects of life. The internet allows the public to learn about things otherwise not known to them. It can offer someone an idea, opening their mind to different perspectives and actions. While internet censorship is mostly viewed as negative, censorship can be an effective means in keeping society safe. Each country has its own purposes for censoring information on the internet. The United States (U.S.) censorship is primarily directed towards fighting crime, particularly minors. North Korea uses censorship as a means to control its people, acting as a watchdog by instilling fear and showing political power. Russian censorship, like North Korea, controls

The policy focuses on what is known as “the blacklist law” or “the law on internet censorship” (“This is How Russian Internet Works: A Journey into the Belly of the Beast that is the Kremlin’s Media Watchdog”, 2015). Forbidden information is in the form of amendments. Child pornography, illicit drugs, and suicide are all considered “forbidden information” that Russians are not privy too (“This is How Russian Internet Works: A Journey into the Belly of the Beast that is the Kremlin’s Media Watchdog”, 2015). The motivation for “the blacklist law” has evolved overtime becoming more political and less for public betterment or

Some have smuggled phones from China (Lee, 2015). As more North Koreans seek outside information, they are willing to go against the government to do so. Censorship in North Korea is effective in keeping the country in check with government rule, creating a repressed way of life. The people of North Korea cannot thrive due to the government’s censorship of not only the internet but of its people. Searching the internet is not worth the consequences of such when the punishment does not fit the crime. In this case, the internet is the crime, imprisonment or death is the