Censoring the internet – A plea from John Milton
by David Robertson, Christian Today:
Did you know that President Lincoln stated, “Most of what you read on the Internet is false”? I’m afraid if you cannot spot the obvious flaw in that statement then you are not worthy of reading this column! However England’s greatest poet, the 17th Century Puritan, John Milton, did have something to say about the Internet. Let me explain.
Both the EU and the UK government have recently suggested further strong regulation to seek to control the worldwide web. The EU, despite significant popular protest, has passed radical proposals to severely limit the Internet.
This will affect everything from blogs and podcasts to larger sites. YouTube suggested it would mean them taking down 90 million of their videos. It will create a dual Internet – a restrictive one for the EU (along with North Korea and China) and a more open one for the rest of the world. Some argue that the EU are going with the big firms and the corporate lobbyists and limiting both freedom of speech and the free market.
The UK government have produced their own Online Harms paper – which effectively proposes an end to self-regulation and instead suggests a government regulator. Some see this as a necessary corrective; others describe it as an historic attack on free speech and freedom of the press. The trouble is, what do you do with material that is not illegal but which may be considered harmful? After all I think liberal theology, TV reality shows and boy bands are harmful. Should they be banned? On the other hand I am constantly told that my espousal of biblical morality is harmful and should be banned? Where are we heading?
This is where John Milton comes in. In the 1640s, the UK was split by a civil war – the nation was divided and tempers were running high (plus ca change…!). A relatively new technology, the printing press was having an enormous impact. And so the politicians in parliament decided they should do something about it and put forward a ‘licensing order’ in June 1643 to regulate the press.
Milton responded in 1644 with a passionate plea called ‘Areopagitica – A speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing, to the Parliament of England’. It is a stunning work that has a lot to teach us. Remember those who refuse to learn from their past will repeat it!
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