Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Blogger Rights Around the Globe

As a Mass Media blogger, I feel a new sense of camaraderie with bloggers everywhere. There is something undeniably powerful and addictive about spewing out one’s innermost thoughts and potentially receiving instant responses from all over the world. For this reason, I felt oddly defensive when I recently read this article about people being punished for their honest blogging. 


The article is a defense piece on bloggers’ rights to free speech in a world where blogs are growing increasingly vital to the spread of news. Over the past ten years, blogging has expanded from a foreign tool to a commonplace form of self-expression. The accessibility of blogs makes it easy for “normal” people to share their opinions on political affairs while simultaneously allowing prominent political characters to reach the public on a personal level. Although this is a wonderful part of our technologically-oriented society, the explicit nature of blogging can also make it a dangerous tool. This past summer, a blogger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia was met with a massive cyber attack in response to his opinionated posts. Many were furious by the interferences this blogger encountered, simply for voicing honest critiques. Blogging can be a completely uninhibited act, with a powerful sense of anonymity allowing for uncensored rants and raves, however socially unacceptable. Is it fair for outside parties to demand censorship on blogs that they find inappropriate? 


These parties extend from disgruntled readers to government figures, as well. Many governments across the globe block access to major websites such as Blogger, Twitter and YouTube. This past summer one of my friends studied abroad in China and was shocked to find that her access to websites like PerezHilton.com and Facebook was blocked, forcing her to receive news updates through e-mails from friends and family. This blatant act of government-imposed censorship seems completely foreign to me; after all, Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights has been imprinted in my brain since my seventh grade history class. "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,” the Article reads. Free speech is a commonly praised and precious aspect of American society and bloggers across the country should feel fortunate to have such unlimited communicative rights. 


I can’t help but wonder, however, whether or not the value of our right to free speech is lessened by its lack of universality. Can honest commentaries on American politics and foreign affairs be as influential without a strong readership from citizens of other countries? The scope of our blogging powers may be wide, but if it only extends to our American borders, is it being unfairly limited? 


-Sarah

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