Free Speech is a pretty big deal. It allows the books you like to have been sold to you, it allows the movies and games you like to exist without interruption or interference. But this is only it’s current phase. When observing history, one can see that free speech is not just a single law or amendment. Rather, it was the first battle for humanity; while the fascists and dictatorships of old executed those for speaking out, free speech declared that one’s life is worth more than the words they speak.

Melodramatic? Maybe. You decide. But at least my message is clear: free speech is a good thing, and I, like many, respect it. That being said, that respect comes with a responsibility: I must also respect the rights of others to say and express themselves as they choose, without exception. That means allowing even the things I don’t like to be expressed freely.

Unfortunately, not everyone shares this perspective. Censorship tends to rear its ugly head on occasion, either deliberately or unintentionally. The case for disallowing certain things to be expressed may seem strong and convincing, usually part of a concerted effort to protect common standards of decency, but is far too open to abuse.

Only later is this usually realized, far after the metaphorical ink on the bill for new legislation has dried. Removing entrenched censorship is a long and difficult process. Take the US govt.’s stance on nudity in public television, for example. The argument can easily be established that it is hypocritical to allow many other things on TV, namely violence, a stereotype US culture is known for, but not nudity. When it comes time to act on these arguments, however, little to no changes are made.

Still, it is not only the government that can censor, as expressed by the ACLU. A relatively recent develop are social trends that ostensibly serve a noble purpose. In reality, these methods and options for communication unfortunately lead to censorship, intentional or otherwise. Rarely is it a straightforward process that a communication trend arrives at censorship, but by choosing, limiting and/or selectively allowing things that can and cannot be expressed, for whatever reason, it cannot be said that unrestricted communication is enacted. Some of these trends are openly criticized, some of them are still relied upon by various groups and communities, some are written into the rules as something to avoid. With that in mind, please consider the following cases.