Illusion or reality? The balance between security and freedom of expression in the United States and Turkey

Abstract

Censorship is no longer limited to traditional media such as print media and TV. With the invention of Internet, the impact of censorship is felt much more strongly with regard to new media related resources of information and communication. With the escalation of terrorism in the 21stcentury, the governments all around the world have begun to use terrorist incidents as the main justification in their efforts to curb freedoms. Within this context, the primary argument of the governments in regulating the media is to prevent negative effect of certain speech or expression, including the ones threatening national security. On the other hand, the counter arguments states that freedom of speech and expressions are the fundamental rights of all citizens, and therefore, people have the right to be free from governmental control that inhibits thoughts, ideas, and free expression. This paper argues that the media freedom to report on news without restriction or censorship is one of the defining qualities of a liberal democratic system and proposes to examine the restrictions on media as a form of censorship; this hence is the violation of media freedom.