Is Internet Censorship Curbing Freedom of Expression.?

Internet is a tool which can link up people around the world..
It made possible for us to communicate with people from the other side of the world..
Social Networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Orkut have brought about a revolutionary change in the way we communicate today..
It is a digital medium to share ideas, pictures, videos.. Practically everything..!!
Blogs, however cannot be considered as a part of Social Networking, but is surely a great way to share your life on a global platform..

So, when internet is such a good thing, why are governments of various countries planning to censor it.???
This topic has long been debated..
Some want only the social networking websites to be censored whereas a few others want to keep a check on search engines like Google and Yahoo..
Countries like China, Bangladesh and Pakistan have already banned Facebook because of public display of inappropriate content(pertaining to religion, defamation or nudity)..


When this proposal was made in India, it attracted huge criticism from users..
They did not want a third-party to moderate their personal content..(which was very right indeed)
Websites, however decided to comply with the terms and conditions given my the government..(well, did they have any option.?)
Twitter came up with a country-wise filtering technique..
Blogspot, run by Google Inc. will now filter the blogs..
Facebook has removed all objectionable content..


What made the Government do this.?
Well.. The problem was with the users/consumers of this resource..
Internet was made for a good cause of imparting/sharing knowledge.. A new and easy platform for long distance communication..
People misused this public forum..!!

Today, there are hundreds of hate-pages on social networking websites.. Thousands of morphed images of celebrities.. And millions of pornographic websites..
Shouldn't the government clean this first.?(Oh.. then how will the ministers watch obscene videos in state assemblies, in case they are bored.?)
Why should search engine results be refined.?
This probably cannot happen because of their sophisticated algorithm..(here is the algorithm)


Is offensive content the only reason behind censorship.?
Why are websites that are serving anti-government and similar information being chosen for censorship.?
Does the government want to polish its image.?
Is this an attempt to silence the critics.?
Is it time we realize our duties as a citizen.?
Is India on the verge of becoming another China.?
Many questions to be answered....