Pros And Cons Of Censorship In The United States

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There is a large amount of information that is censored in America, and the citizens don’t usually realize what details are being withheld from their knowledge. Censorship is the act of prohibiting things that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. Censorship is carried out mostly by the government but also by private companies, influencing and usually putting a bias spin on the information being given. When it comes to censorship, there are many pros and cons.
There are many positive impacts that come from censorship, and it is sometimes used to protect people or important information that is meant to be kept secret. Censoring pornographic and violent material helps to prevent the corruption of the younger …show more content…

The first limitation is that censorship limits the ability of a society to advance in its understanding of the world and other topics. An example, is the exploration of diseases, “if sex-related topics are completely censored it becomes difficult to teach children and teenagers about the dangers of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV/AIDS.” Censorship is also unconstitutional, “…it intrudes upon the freedom of the press and violates the freedom of speech.” This is imposed on when people cannot submit information to the press because of the laws of censorship. This act also makes it so one cannot say just anything without it having to be censored. The past shows us that the use of censorship has and still continues to be abused. “Dictators use censorship to promote a flattering image of themselves and for removing any information that goes against them.” Lastly, it costs money for the government to continue censoring information, where they do not have extra money to spend considering the United States is about 18.8 trillion dollars in debt.
In conclusion, some may say that the government withholds information from the public by using censorship, but the way it is used is what creates a negative or positive result. There are both positive and negative outcomes that are caused by censorship, and one could debate it either