In Middle Eastern countries we are seeing an increasingly worrying trend towards internet censorship and restricted the internet. Just recently on 10/30/2016, Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation agreed to censor the internet countrywide by signing a bill close to becoming law–joining countries like China, Iran, Turkey and other non-democratic countries in an attempt to take away internet freedom. Their bill requires internet service providers to block all forms of pornographic content.
The reasoning behind the censorship is to protect children from pornographic content. The only way for a connection to access the content would be through some form of communication with the ISP with intent to access the content. This is not only embarrassing for any who want access to content, but it’s also indicative of an internet censorship roadmap policy that blocks first and asks questions later.
Previously ISPs were only required to give free content filtering systems–which seemed like a fair way to help protect Children, but this new forced censorship is another thing entirely. It’s not guidance–it controls. Shuli Moalem-Refaeli, an Israeli politician, explains that “As parliamentarians and public leaders, we must put up road signs that say ‘this is how we think society should behave.”
We’ve seen other similar measures take place in Britain, with the Sky Filtering System–which have also been poorly received by internet users.
Many skeptics are worried about how the bill will influence Israeli society. For example, a lot of positive websites that could contain explicit material (like Breast Cancer Awareness or scientific Anatomy sites) could be blocked. In addition, there are those that are worried about how the data collected from those who oppose the censorship through gained access could appear. Will those who access pornographic content be kept in a blacklist?
While the bill has not become law yet–as it still needs to be approved by the Government and passed through the Israeli Parliament–signs do not seem good. After all, the bill is a culmination and result of a decade worth of efforts from conservative Israeli leaders who want to control internet users and their content.
As we’ve seen in countries like China and Turkey, using a VPN has become the only way to free the internet and unblocking unnecessary censorship. Each government–and in this case, Israel’s, claims it’s trying to protect the people by taking away freedoms and enforcing rules that have no clear boundaries.
Censoring pornography is one thing, but what comes next? And what happens to the people who choose to view such content that is apparently hated by the government? And what about the government? Are they forced into the same restrictions or do ISPs give them a free pass?
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