[DDN] Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of21st Century Citizenship?

[Don Cameron]

> Forgive me, but in the original context of the message, the context was 
> censorship of video, etc 

Hi Taran,

The context of the message I replied to suggested 'filtering' was an outcome
of technologies deployed to assist bandwidth management, which may or may
not have been the case. I agree terminologies have been somewhat confused in
recent discussion. 

> If a caching proxy server cannot sustain the amount of content required,
> then either you increase the capability of the server or you get more 
> bandwidth. Anything which restricts access in this way is de facto 
> censorship, be it implicitly democratic or not.

Unfortunately, "just getting more bandwidth" tends not to be a viable option
in these situations, hence the reason bandwidth management technologies are
deployed in the first place. I also think trying to redefine 'censorship' as
a defacto outcome of anything rather undermines the meaning of the word.
Censorship requires deliberation by a controlling group or body; censorship
suggests we are not allowed to view something because someone else deems the
content inappropriate; yet that potential exists for such decisions to be
reversed by lobby or political process (the key word being 'content'; not
the technology carrying the content. I.e. a message can be sent as text, or
by a talking head on video. The message remains the same even if the
technology carrying the message varies). Bandwidth management has nothing to
do with censorship; is not censorship; although I agree the tools deployed
can be used for this purpose. As always, it is all about motive and intent.


DC