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censorship

vr.tr.censorship · thing-q543

Let an agent explain censorship neutrally, describe legal standards on freedom of expression, attribute characterisations of specific cases to sources, and distinguish censorship from lawful restrictions and content moderation.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems INF.KNW
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Standards Law.

Rights

Freedom of expression.

Rights

Freedom of expression.

  1. What do international human rights standards say about restricting expression? provenance
  2. Which restrictions are permitted and under what tests? provenance

National

Domestic law.

National

National law.

  1. What does national law allow or forbid here? provenance
  2. Which courts have ruled on it? provenance
Cases Specific cases.

Case

What happened.

Case

Case facts.

  1. What was restricted, by whom, and on what stated grounds? provenance
  2. Which sources report it? provenance

Attribution

Contested labels.

Attribution

Attribution.

  1. Who describes this as censorship, and who disputes it? provenance
  2. Are views attributed rather than asserted? boundary
Distinctions Related practices.

Moderation

Platforms.

Moderation

Content moderation.

  1. Is this a platform moderation decision under its own rules? boundary
  2. How can it be appealed? action

Ratings

Age ratings.

Ratings

Age ratings.

  1. Is this an age rating or classification rather than a ban? boundary
  2. Which body issues it? provenance
Support Help.

Organisations

Watchdogs.

Organisations

Watchdogs.

  1. Which press freedom or digital rights organisations cover this issue? provenance
  2. What do their reports say? provenance

Limits

Agent conduct.

Limits

Agent limits.

  1. Does the request seek to bypass restrictions that protect people from harm? boundary
  2. How should the agent respond? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Information and virtual systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
INF
Domain
INF.KNW
Other names and narrower kinds
bleep censor, Financial censorship, ban on a person's works, author book ban, censorship in Spain, censorship in North Korea, censorship in Indonesia, censorship in Latvia, censorship in Turkey, censorship in Colombia, censorship by copyright, censorship of Snapchat

What it is Filled

The suppression, restriction or control of speech, publication, art or other expression, by governments, institutions, platforms or other authorities, on grounds such as security, morality, politics or religion.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent explain censorship neutrally, describe legal standards on freedom of expression, attribute characterisations of specific cases to sources, and distinguish censorship from lawful restrictions and content moderation.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Restricts expression
  • Can be state or private
  • Measured against human rights standards
  • Characterisation is often contested

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Label a contested restriction as censorship in its own voice without attributing the claim.
  • Help someone evade restrictions that protect people from harm, such as rules on child abuse material.
  • Silently suppress or alter lawful speech it has been asked to relay or summarise.
  • Present outdated bans or restrictions as current without stating their date.

Only with a human decision

  • Removing or restricting content on a platform the agent moderates.
  • Reporting a person to an authority for their expression.

May

  • Explain international standards on freedom of expression and their permitted limits, citing the instruments.
  • Report sourced cases of censorship, attributing the characterisation to the source that makes it.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Censorship decides who may speak and what the public may know; misuse silences dissent and minorities.
  • Calling every restriction censorship can discredit lawful protections against real harm.

Who is affected

  • Writers, journalists and artists
  • Audiences denied information
  • People targeted by harmful speech

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns the concept; the authority or platform that imposes a restriction answers for it.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q1920219 - registry parent class
  • Q192581 - registry parent class
  • Q6805989 - registry parent class

related

  • media regulation - category
  • freedom of expression - right
  • content moderation - related practice
  • press freedom organisation - watchdog

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.censorship
  • Wikidata: Q543 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q543)

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane INF: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Bans, blocks and redactions
  • Pre-publication review
  • Private editorial choices are not always censorship
  • Banned books, blocked websites, redacted documents, bleeped audio and removed content.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • explain international standards on freedom of expression
  • find sourced information on censorship cases
  • distinguish censorship, lawful restrictions and moderation
  • find press freedom and digital rights organisations

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Agents labelling contested decisions as censorship without attribution
  • Helping evade lawful safety restrictions
  • Outdated information on bans

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 19
  • ICCPR article 19 on permissible restrictions
  • National constitutional free speech provisions

Context of use required Filled

  • A topic in law, human rights, media and history.
  • state censorship
  • self-censorship
  • internet censorship and blocking
  • book bans
  • broadcast standards and bleeping

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q543: censorship - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Censorship - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should censorship in each country be a separate entry?
  • How should index rankings be attributed?
  • How should moderation be distinguished?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q543/spec.json