Censorship involves removing or suppressing objectionable material, which can be morally problematic, politically incorrect, or dangerous to national security. The role of the censor dates back to ancient Rome and has been present in other civilizations, including China, Korea, and Japan. In the Roman Catholic Church, a censor examines religious works before they are published. In the United States, the First Amendment and other laws protect against censorship, but certain agencies and individuals have limited power to censor in specific situations, such as the military censoring classified information and schools controlling content in student publications.
A censor is someone who is given the power to control information by removing or suppressing what is considered objectionable. The censored material may be morally problematic, politically incorrect, dangerous to national security, or otherwise objectionable, which may be public and disclosed or private and undisclosed.
The word censor originated in ancient Rome, where two magistrates were charged with the registration of citizens and their property – with associated duties such as taxation, and later had the oversight of public morality added to their purview. The office of censor was first created in 443 BC and ended in 22 BC with the assumption of their powers by the emperor.
Rome, however, was not the only civilization with a censorship office. In China during the Qin and Han dynasties from 221 BC to AD 220, a censor was in charge of scrutinizing the emperor. Subsequently, the office acted on behalf of the emperor, seeking official corruption and mismanaged government. Eventually the office became a government office with far-reaching powers, but always with an eye to the government, rather than the people. With the overthrow of the Qin dynasty in 1911, the role of censor ended in China.
A similar role has been created in some other East Asian countries that have modeled themselves on the Chinese system. Both the Korean government and the Japanese government had systems of censorship. Other companies have also had censors.
In religion, the role of the censor in the Roman Catholic Church is well known. Works that have to do with scripture or are in any way related to religion, theology, or other closely related subjects are examined by a censor, who has the power to make a nihil obstat – a judgment that “nothing prevents” in the process of being published. The work is then given an imprimatur by a bishop
In the United States, the First Amendment, the principle of academic freedom and the Freedom of Information Act tend to protect many activities from censorship. However, some agencies and individuals have the power to censor in specific and limited situations.
Here are some examples. The military can censor the communication of classified military information; the Federal Communications Commission can censor obscene radio and television broadcasts; schools can control certain types of content in student-published newspapers with their funding and under their auspices; people who use speech irresponsibly to defame, slander, or slander others can be sued, which, in effect, censors certain types of speech.
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