Is There True Freedom of Speech on the Web?

” Give me liberty… or give me… a hiding place? ” Ever since the evolution of the World Wide Web, we saw the never-ending debate on internet censorship that one can only wonder when it’s going to stop.  Differences in culture has forced governments to take control and put a plug on what they think is worthy and what’s not.  Is this suppression of freedom or protection of civil rights?

Internet Censorship:  A Thin Line Between Right and Wrong

Just this March, Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, has asked for help from the US government to try and break the great firewall of China.  His pleas were like drinking water with bare hands – frustrating.  This hazy issue about internet censorship will see no solid resolution as one nation’s values varies from another, just as much as people do.  With freedom comes responsibility… major ones, and with liberties come abuse.  For this reason alone, parents have set internet filters at home to protect their kids from harmful sites on the Web.

Is Content Blocking Becoming a Global Pandemic?

See No Evil… is larger than life in these uncertain times.  It’s not only happening in real-time, but online too.  There were even groups that carry out smart tactics of burying a content from social media sites like Digg – so people can’t find it anymore.  Ever heard of the Digg Effect? It’s a pretty simple concept.  A person submits a site to be voted upon.  The more votes it gets, the more chance of that content being pushed to the news page where people spend most of their time.  Now, if you want to push your site to the top, you only need an army of Digg’rs to vote you up.  Besides, Digg is one social media empire that gets an estimate of 25 million visitors each month.

Is There A Way to Hide Covert News on the Web?

I’ve been asking myself the same question when one of my post was removed from the forums .  In my search, I’ve come across a scoop from Brenna Ehrlich at Mashable.  My answer may come from researchers at Georgia Tech who have created a tool called Collage.  People can hide messages in content they share, which can be seen using platforms like Flickr, YouTube or Twitter.  How? Call it the Enigma of the Web where your friend can upload pics with hidden messages in Flickr, and you downloading the pics to decode the messages hidden in it.  It’s like having an invisible ink for you to read later.

You may like the idea or not.  In the end, tools are simply there to help.  How you use it is totally up to you.

” I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind. ” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery