Internet Censorship In North Korea

Imagine a life without television and social media to report the news and tell you what is happening in the world, that is the reality for North Koreans. North Korea is a country based on the complete censorship of true media and internet access to most of its citizens. The extreme censorship in North Korea’s society is neglecting the fundamental human rights of people and is forcing them away from having any truth or opinions about the world around them. North Korea censors all media outlets and journalists to control what their citizens read, see, and even hear about the world around them. North Korea’s “goal is not to inform, but to indoctrinate and control common people,” (Lankov). They want to explain to their people what they should

North Korea “insists that it has its own style of human rights,” (Dudley). However, taking away the ability to have uncensored media is certainly a negative style. Not only is the internet being filtered, but also the people who get to use it. It is said that only elite members of society get access to the internet and that normal citizens do not (Lee). Due to normal citizens not being allowed to use it, they are not aware of the normality of the internet in other countries. Since they are “ unaware of the alternatives to their lifestyles, people are less likely to dream about a change,” (Lankov). North Korea has also taken censorship to the next level by the building of their “special villages in remote areas in to confine only dwarfs. They are confined there surrounded by double-stranded barbed wire fences. They are forbidden to contact ordinary people in the outside world. They are also forbidden to marry or to give birth to a child” (Dudley). Along with people with disabilities, “inmates of political prisoners' camps are denied their basic rights, and routinely suffer from all forms of human rights violations including 12 hours of hard labor every day” (Dudley). Clearly human rights are being stepped on by this act of censoring out people with disabilities and criminals, which

North Korea has “developed its own smartphones, tablets, and software, including Red Star 3.0, an operating system that mimics iOS” (Jerreat). The smartphones and internet software “were carefully designed to control and monitor information,” along with the surveillance capabilities from Red Star 3.0 (Jerreat). North Korea’s own journalists “remain strident propagandists, and advances in technology that could open up channels to independent news are fought with ever-stricter censorship and surveillance measures” (Jerreat). Even if journalists wanted to get away from the censored media, they will never be able to do so because of the potential consequences. Although Red Star is not an ideal internet server, at least North Koreans have some access to the web, except for that fact that it is “restricted to certain elite grade schools, select research institutions, universities, factories, and privileged individuals” (Sedaghat). Even when someone meets the requirements of using it, they will not be able to access any real information because “the internet is filtered by the Korea Computer Center, which ensures that only “acceptable” information can be accessed through the network” (Sedaghat). North Koreans are not only being censored from the truth in news and media, but are also not allowed to have any