Natalya Davydova
The issue of censorship is one of the most complicated ones in the cultural policy of any state. On one hand, everyone has a right to voice her opinion. On the other hand, there are perverts, pedophiles, racists, and, finally, those dissenting with the government. To what extent should we limit their ability to communicate with the people? And how can we do that without violating the principles of democracy?
There is a great solution for that dilemma in the Republic of Belarus. Let us remind you that the first stage of this solution is the project of a legislative act on “Measures of improving the usage of the national segment of the world wide web” that brings into life a tighter state control over Belarusian internet.
The law, which is to come into force on July 1 demands all Belarusian websites to be physically hosted on Belarusian territory where they are to be put under governmental control.
Solely to protect the “safety of citizens and the state” internet service provider are obliged to “identify users’ internet access devices”, collect and store data concerning that devices and the internet services provided; in internet cafés service providers are also to store users’ personal information. All that data is to be store for one year and be provided to law enforcement agencies upon their request.
It is true that internet is not only a useful resource for learning and obtaining information but also a huge dump. Often a person can’t tell what’s good for him from what he’d better avoid. That’s why software developers have created parental control tools (such as programs blocking porn content). The above mentioned law will introduce control mechanisms for Belarusian adults as well. Want to go to an internet café – don’t forget your passport! Want to write about politics – do live in your fatherland so that law enforcement agencies are always able to learn of your respected opinion or to get an advice from you.
This law is pivotal for the young democracy of ours, but we are not the ones to stop here. Outside censorship, however scrupulous and cutting-age it is, is still not perfect. There will always be people who will try to game the rules. Self-censorship can be a solution. This term reflects a inside, partly sub-conscious feeling that would tell a citizen which topics are to be discussed freely and which are to be avoided, and that would even help people to think correctly.
Self-censorship was very instrumental in the USSR, DPR Korea, China, and medieval Europe.
By all means that feeling partly consisted of the self-preservation instinct. However, it would be unjust to state that it had been only fear that brought self-censorship into life. Not every writer or a movie director served his time in GULAG but everyone knew that Stalin is the father of nations, Peter the Great is a great reformer, and Belarusian People’s Republic is a bunch of deadbeats. A great present-day example of all this is the North Korean television. Another good example is Russian Comedy Club (a satirical program) where you don’t have any jokes about the current Russian government. Ukraine, Belarus, USA – that’s what good jokes should be about. And, by all means, we shouldn’t forget such cool and safe topics as homosexuals, ethnic minorities, and ever-popular toilet humor.
Self-censorship is an intuition or rather a complex of intuitions that a certain type of state is based on. That is the stage paramount to the censorship itself.
The evolution of censorship can be described in the following way:
The first stage: censorship itself.
The second stage: self-censorship.
The third stage: “micro” censorship.
Under “micro” censorship (one can include the parental control censorship as well) we understand a process when a person becomes so loyal that he not only knows what he should think but also controls his neighbor, colleague, or family member, and helps other subjects (or rather objects) to socialize.
Today Belarus is in the intermediary stage of censorship evolution: self-censorship. On May 3 Alexander Lukashenka signed a decree that will oblige Belarusian cell phone services providers to grant secret services with unlimited access to the databases of their users.
That decree defines the relations between cell phone services providers and agencies carrying out investigative activities. Every citizen should start learning to talk on the phone correctly and call only the right people. One needs to know that certain agencies have access to her personal account. If something goes wrong, they will find you and correct you.
It’s hard to say how many years it will take the inner regulator (the self-censorship) to be formed. Soon, however, every Belarusian citizen will be taught both to use internet correctly and to speak whatever he is supposed to speak (and maybe even to think). And then, just a bit later, to control not only oneself but also the others. We place great hopes on scientists who’ve got to invent something to do the mind-reading. Because outside control of citizens’ inner state is a necessary precondition for building a civil society based on pluralism. Together with DPR Korea, Zimbabwe, and Russian Comedy Club Belarus will join the annals of the history of democracy.
