Geist vs Goldberg
Source: saunderslog.com
Two of my favorite personalities on the Canadian web are Mark Goldberg and Michael Geist. Often taking opposite positions on key issues, their commentary is always a worthwhile read. So, this morning read Geist’s cautionary piece on censorship and then read Goldberg’s counter that reasonable societies should censor some elements of the web.
I don’t pretend to know the answers. You’ll have to make up your own minds. But I have sympathy for both the argument that children need to be protected, and freedom of expression must be preserved. As a society we need to preserve both of these values.
Let’s start by reframing the debate though. Censorship is a dirty word. It implies a restriction on the reasonable freedoms that citizens in a free society should have. If we’re going to have a conversation about preventing access to child porn, then let’s frame the conversation in those terms, rather than talking about censorship.
