China's internet censorship is internationally notorious for blocking access to Twitter and other foreign social networking sites, including Facebook and YouTube, due to government fears that it could be used to express political dissent.Like other Chinese Internet sites, Sina Weibo is censored, with posts on "sensitive" topics quickly deleted by moderators. Weibo has at least 100 employees monitoring content 24 hours a day, according to a report in Forbes magazine. However, the strict internet censorship does not stop the young Chinese girl from selling her own sex over the internet. This is an ethical issue that involves sex trade and the violation of the freedom of internet posting. Through our language and reason perceptions, we consider this act is considered wrongful and unacceptable.
KNOWLEDGE ISSUE: SHOULD GOVERNMENT CENSOR SEX TRADE ON THE INTERNET?
WHY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD CENSOR
It is the government's responsibility to prevent sex trade, especially when it involves an underaged teenage girl. Since there are already moderators hired to delete inappropriate materials, any information related to sex trade should also be removed without question. As a developing country, China is currently trying to promote gender equality and women's rights. By censoring sex trade on the internet, the Chinese government will help to protect the rights of women and underaged girls. Without the use of widespread social media, strangers from different places of the country would be less likely to connect and become involved in sex trade.
WHY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT CENSOR
The internet itself is an open forum for people to express their desires freely. The moderators are hired solely for the reason to remove all politically-sensitive materials. Since there is a vague line between whether sex trade is allowed or not in China, censorship of sex trade is not strongly enforced. In addition, if information about sex trade is accessible on the internet, the policemen can get directly involved in the case. By censoring sex trade on the internet, there is a likelihood that it would take place outside of the cyberspace, and become less traceable and stoppable for the police and the government.
MY OPINION
With a rising trade of teenagers trying to acquire the latest technological products to "fit in", the Chinese government should not only focus on the politically offenseive materials on the internet, but place a censorship to prevent such case from happening again. Since the current situation in China is that sexual education is underprovided, the government should, in addition, provide proper sexual education at every local junior high and high schools, to help the students understand the value of their rights over their own bodies and the consequences of underage sex.
RELATED ISSUE
Three months before the Chinese girl sold her virginity on Weibo, a 17-year-old from China, identified as Zheng, sold his kidney for an iPad 2. The case not highlights China's black market in organ trafficking but also relates to the case that teenagers have been using the internet to take extreme actions to get the latest technological devices to "look cool" and "fit in" within their peers. Both the teenage girl who sold her virginity for an iPhone 4 and the teenage boy who sold his kidney for an iPad 2 show the serious ethical consequences of lack of internet censorship. With the two real-life cases of Chinese teenagers, the Chinese government should definitely take a more serious regulation on its widespread social medias.
A new way to understand this issue is to relate it to the drug trade in general. Sex trade and drug trade are alike in that in both you're exchanging something illegal to sell. If instead of focusing on the internet and we expand the analogy to other media, such as TV or radio, we can see what the prevailing response to these activities is. Normally, we don't see sex trade or drug trade in the media being advertised, so does it mean that we should follow the guidelines for sex trade on the internet? I think websites moderators have the same responsibility to limit and report any possible illegal activity as any other media outlet. For example, if someone is approaches a TV station, wanting to run a commercial about selling drugs, not only would the TV station reject this idea, they would also have a responsibility to report it to the police. Therefore, the website moderators should also report any illegal actions being made online to the police in addition to removing posts from public viewing. The key here isn't censorship; it's the ways to constructively use the information.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how this article came about, considering the extent to which censorship in China is executed. Certainly, it is not surprising to read about human trafficking or sex trade in our society today. However, it's unfortunate to find out that teenagers are being raised with the mindset of selling their own bodies for material gains. This definitely touches on the issue of ethics, though according to this article, what was proposed was simply the choice of the young girl herself. This raises the question of whether or not she is old enough to make such a judgment herself. Would it be morally corrupt if she was to face severe consequences that followed her actions? Did she, in fact, have to tolerate consequences aside from negative feedbacks from international media? Is it ethical to consider her incapable of making this decision on her own? Or does she have the right to considering how it's her own body and perhaps how she is 'of age'? After having read this blog post and Catherine's comment however, I am reminded of a story I read recently in a book titled East, West by Salman Rushdie. It is titled "The Free Radio", and the idea of exchanging personal body parts for material possessions is clearly redolent in the story. The main character, prompted by the trickery of his wife, undergoes a vasectomy in the hopes that by doing so, he will be able to receive a free radio sponsored by the government. However, the radio is simply a mere fabrication that has plagued the citizens, and the main character never receives the radio. I'm sure that there are countless cases where young females are kidnapped and forced into the sex trade against their own will. But the act that this girl has performed, along with the story that I've mentioned above, makes me wonder what sort of reason or judgment they 'possessed' at the time that provoked them to do such a thing that those who have been kidnapped would likely want to avoid if they had the chance to do so. Was it purely because they were 'blinded' by these temporary gains that reigned over their moral values?
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is an issue between whether or not the Chinese government should censor sex trade via internet. However, instead of putting full responsibility on the government, I think there is also an issue between on whether or not the Chinese girl has her right to trade sex for material goods. I think it is generally agreed that exchanging sex for anything is unethical and unhealthy, however, if the person involved volunteeringly agreed to this deal, isn't it the person's right to freely make decisions about his or her life? I think this raises an issue of individual right vs. the society. Also, everyone's take on sex is very different- some people are very open to sex while some are conservative. If the Chinese girl is comfortable with her decision to lose her virginity at such a young age and under a circumstance when no personal emotions are involved, then she has every right to do so, although it is probably discouraged by the majority. Then again, people can also argue that the girl is under age (assuming she is under age for the article doesn’t specify) therefore she has not yet reached the age of consent. However, what is the government to decide for everyone what is the legal age for sexual activity? Shouldn’t one have full control over something so personal as sexual activity? I think there are many other arguments and questions that can be extracted from this article.
ReplyDeleteI think there are two separate issues at hand. One of them is censorship in China. The larger issue is censorship in general. I agree with censorship on the internet to an extent. However it largely seems to me to be a helpless cause. Sites such as Facebook and others have ways to report and remove offensive material. Sites like Wikipedia have moderators to make sure that their articles remain factual. I think these are examples of beneficial censorship in a general sense. That said, I do not think that government instigated censorship in general is necessarily beneficial. In China, for example, it is taken to the extreme with blocking many social networking sites. I do not think that increased censorship will eradicate issues like sex trade on the internet. I like how Winnie brought up an alternative solution to the problem -- sex education in schools I think is a much more effective way to solve this issue than to combat it on the internet.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, you mention the issue of language in defining what is considered to be "wrongful and unacceptable." However I think that you've already set the answer to that in stone before discussing it and applying it to the article.
ReplyDeleteI think what you need to clarify first is what you mean by sex trade. Sex trade on the internet can come in two forms: voluntary and forced. There is a big difference between the two from an ethical standpoint and in context of language, defining the two is very important towards whether or not the government should crack down on online sex trade.
I personally believe that in this case, albeit being incredibly stupid, the government should not interfere with this girl's sale of her virginity in exchange for an Apple product because it is her body and what she does with it is really no one's business but her own.
I do agree with you in that the government does need to institute a better sex education programme.
Should China be working on its censorship? Or should they be working on teaching society that sex trade should not be desired? The fact that the girl is able to think that this is ethically acceptable, or a worthy trade, is something that should be addressed. This agrees with the above comments about there being a sex education program.
ReplyDeleteOn 3R1C's comment about it being only the girl's business... shouldn't it be the responsibility of the government to teach its people to make better, informed choices?
There seems to be more than one issue on hand. One is regarding censorship, another regarding sex trade and how unethical it is. There is also the problem of the individual's freedom. To what extent should they have their freedom? If the government interferes, is this infringing on their freedom as well? Should sex trade even be legal?
Also, I believe that the girl's age should be considered. Is she below the age of consent? No matter what the answer is, how do you determine the correct age of consent? Is the girl's mind mature enough to make the right decision here?
Overall though, I believe that this was an interesting topic to address.