What is Censorship, Censorship from Past to Present

What is Censorship?

The facts about the emergence and application of the censorship that we have come across in many areas bring about many issues that will raise concerns. At first glance, the censorship, which seems to have an innocent purpose, has gradually become a threat to free will.
Censorship by definition;
Censor; Prohibition of the products, such as news, books, pictures, films and articles, which are considered objectionable in the public interest, before being published and deemed necessary or prohibited.
Censorship has been included in our lives by changing its form and violence since ancient times. Since the centuries before Christ, censorship has been practiced by raising the dimension of violence to a very high level with the fear of losing power and losing power, and awareness and free will have been tried to be prevented by establishing absolute pressure on the people. For example; The books of Achilles, Euripides and Aristophanes, who opposed slavery in the Greek Peninsula, were found to be inconvenient and burned in the squares. In the same period, the books found in the Pergamon and Alexandria Libraries were also burned and destroyed.
Censor, It became institutionalized with the advent of the printing press and the increase in book printing.
In Europe, 1444 has been invented and expanded. The printing press was able to enter the Ottoman Empire in 1729 and only certain books were allowed to be published. For example, during the time of the Grand Vizier Seyit Ali Pasha, science, astronomy, philosophy books were found to be objectionable and were prevented from reaching the public.
The first official censorship in the Ottoman era began in the 1864 with the Press Regulation (Press Regulation). With this regulation, press and publication were tried to be controlled, newspaper and magazines were allowed to be issued, and the government gained the authority to close the organs of broadcasting when it deemed necessary. As a result, many newspapers and magazines were closed, writers were arrested and exiled.
Press Regulation - Article 15:
A If writings that can be regarded as insulting the sovereign and the government family and attacking the sovereign rights are published, 6 months to 3 years shall be imprisoned or 25-100 gold fine. ”
*All regulations are full of prohibitions and penalties.
The most intensive period of censorship was felt in II. Abdulhamid period (1878) was. During this period, many newspapers and magazines were closed, and everything printed was audited according to political suitability. Thus, newspapers had to publish vacant places which were censored after a while.
The censorship applied to the press during the Second Constitutional Monarchy was abolished. Therefore, 23 September, the date of the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, was celebrated as the Press Feast.
Before World War II, in countries ruled by Fascism and Nazism, censorship spread to a wide range. Unfortunately, freedom of speech and the press cannot be mentioned in such places. Censorship (obscenity, blasphemy, etc.) can be used in special cases in countries governed by democracy.
* II. Censorship was also applied during World War II.
As the cinema and television sectors evolve, films, TV programs, series and so on. gradually began to increase. This increase brought about the diversity of subjects. The inevitable access of many views to large masses has led to intensive monitoring of these sectors and, when necessary, censorship. The pressures of the ruling authorities on this issue differed according to the periods.
* Television in Turkey, RTÜK (Radio and Television Supreme Council) is overseen by. RTÜK reserves the right to interrupt broadcasting when deemed necessary.