censorship laws
Content control statutes
Censorship laws are government regulations restricting what can be published, broadcast, or publicly expressed.
They may target obscenity, political dissent, national security information, or content deemed harmful to public order.
The scope varies enormously—from narrow prohibitions on child pornography to sweeping bans on criticizing leadership: The country's censorship laws make independent journalism nearly impossible.
- free speechProtected verbal liberty
- freedom of expressionRight to communicate ideas
- chilling effectDiscouragement through intimidation
- broadcasting standardsRules for aired content
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
hate speech · samizdat · statute · sedition · blasphemy · public morals · national security · classified information · fines · book burnings · obscenity · age restrictions · propaganda · suppression · prior restraint · gag orders · ordinance · defamation
- media rulesbroadcast standards, decency standards, content moderation, rating systems, editorial standards
- 1830s Franceconstitutional monarchy, Bourbon Restoration, tricolor flag, tricolor, barricades
- Soviet Lawcriminal code, penal code, procurator, prosecutor, political crime
- Apartheidapartheid, pass laws, Group Areas Act, passbook, passbooks
- historical lawattainder, Justinian Code, Roman law, curtesy, Napoleonic Code
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
censorship lawsfree expression
Unrestrained communication of ideas
freedom of speech · freedom of the press · press freedom · First Amendment · media freedom
censorship lawsfree society
Polity guaranteeing personal liberties
open society · liberal democracy · marketplace of ideas · civil liberties · enlightenment values