https://torrentfreak.com/isps-were-definitely-not-the-internet-police-until-... On several occasions over the years, TorrentFreak has reported on file-sharing platforms being blocked by ISPs, apparently for no reason at all. On later examination, however, we’ve discovered that organizations such as the UK’s Internet Watch Foundation charity have sometimes collaborated with ISPs to implement blocks, after child exploitation material was found on online platforms. Blocking whole platforms is unquestionably overkill, a point I raised with the IWF some years ago. However, when you begin to talk with these people – the people who have to view sickening content on a daily basis to prevent child abusers from sharing their filth online – sympathy is very, very easy to find. [...] But what about a video of innocent men, women and children being massacred in New Zealand? Should that be censored too? The Mirror newspaper in the UK didn’t think so, and actually put some of the footage on its front page. It was widely condemned for doing so. That said, the decision whether to censor was a question that Facebook, YouTube, Reddit and dozens of other platforms answered quickly. According to their Terms of Service, such content is disallowed and that conversation – like it or not – is now all but over; their platform, their rules. One of the big questions that has emerged, however, is whether the powers that be should prevent us from seeing such horrific acts for ourselves, perhaps in order to fully appreciate what we are up against in this so-called civilization of ours. [...] So did we really need to witness a lone-gunman massacre innocents live on Facebook to appreciate just how deluded some people can become? Or should we be protected from ourselves, based on the notion that it will deprive extremists of publicity, by those in power who claim to know better? If those powers include ISPs, the answer is already with us. As widely reported, in the wake of the attack ISPs in both Australia and New Zealand took it upon themselves to begin blocking the terrorist’s video, wherever it could be found online but couldn’t be immediately taken down. [...] Of course, no one wishes to trivialize mass murder by comparing it to copyright infringement, it’s obvious to any fool what the priority is here when people are under attack. But important actions over access to information don’t exist in a bubble. Either ISPs are the Internet Police whenever they deem fit or they are not, and in the absence of legislation stating otherwise, all of these ISPs may have just opened up Pandora’s box. [...] the barrier to entry – to wider Internet censorship – has now been arguably lowered and there will be plenty of groups standing by with their own sets of demands. Insisting that ISPs aren’t the Internet Police won’t be a position the companies above will be able to hold so easily anymore. [...] But, ultimately, it didn’t matter, because as an adult, I took control of my own destiny. I personally chose not to watch the video (explicit text descriptions online were harrowing enough) and I’m hoping that my response to the senders will mean I’ll never receive anything like it again. Not to say I can’t find the video online – anyone can inside 10 mins – but it’s the educated choice of the individual that counts here, not the power of ISPs. ISPs do not have the power to change human nature – only our life experiences, education, and values can. The monster who perpetrated the crimes last week clearly has severe problems in that area. That being said, seeing such horrors for oneself can sometimes have a positive effect. A video I viewed on Kazaa (if I recall correctly) in the early 2000s, of what was claimed to be a soldier getting his throat cut, was the best aversion therapy against senseless violence that I have ever experienced. The guy lost his life in the most awful way but if only one good thing came of that, it is the persistent belief that violence and brutality should be avoided at all costs. We can only hope that most of the people who viewed the video this week experienced a similar epiphany and positive effect – perhaps not fully today, but one that matures with time. But make no mistake, censorship – via blocking or other means – will not change the minds of the twisted, nor those reveling in obstruction while rubbing salt in the wounds. [...] While we dissect the motivations of the killer, we should also consider why no one – not a single person – reported the massacre to Facebook as it was live-streamed. [...] Plenty of groups are queuing up to have them censor content they find objectionable but there’s still a decent chance they won’t exploit that for their own ends. For now, we can only hope that a sense of perspective prevails and that education and compassion will prevent more of these atrocities happening in the future.