eli5 what is the difference between censorship and redaction? when the government releases files for the public, they redact quite a bit of information. Isn’t that censorship?
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Redaction is a form of Censorship. Though it can be good, some information needs to be censored to protect people.
in addition to what everyone has said regarding internal vs. external – redaction is almost always Noted in the text, wherase censorship tends to be “ignored”
So a redacted document will be filled with black bars and [redacted] noticed and that kind of thing to say that there is information that they can’t fully release – and they will also tend to ensure that WHAT was redacted is clear- e.g. [expletive deleted], or [address], or replacing names with Pseudonyms.
in addition to what everyone has said regarding internal vs. external – redaction is almost always Noted in the text, wherase censorship tends to be “ignored”
So a redacted document will be filled with black bars and [redacted] noticed and that kind of thing to say that there is information that they can’t fully release – and they will also tend to ensure that WHAT was redacted is clear- e.g. [expletive deleted], or [address], or replacing names with Pseudonyms.
in addition to what everyone has said regarding internal vs. external – redaction is almost always Noted in the text, wherase censorship tends to be “ignored”
So a redacted document will be filled with black bars and [redacted] noticed and that kind of thing to say that there is information that they can’t fully release – and they will also tend to ensure that WHAT was redacted is clear- e.g. [expletive deleted], or [address], or replacing names with Pseudonyms.
I’d argue the following:
– Calling it *censorship* implies that the public has the right to know the information at the heart of the matter (for example, election results or evidence of a crime against humanity) and that this information being withheld is an injustice. Calling it *redaction* often implies the converse—that that information is confidential or sensitive (like a patient’s lab results or a govt. worker’s home & work addresses), withholding it is the right thing to do, and if it were to be made public then people linked to that information would suffer the consequences (say, by being hatecrimed or persecuted).
– Censorship also makes you ask *Why are we not being told the exact details?*, whereas redaction doesn’t. More specifically, calling it redaction can imply that the redactor is being transparent about what kind of information they’re redacting and why—for example, by citing laws like FERPA or HIPAA, or by a disclosure like “The whistleblower who leaked this to us asked that we not use their real name for fear of retaliation”. But censorship involves opaqueness or lack of accountability—the censor may deny that it’s happening, or downplay the gravity and gaslight anyone who has questions, or try to fudge the information, or even try to turn someone else into the bad guy.
I’d argue the following:
– Calling it *censorship* implies that the public has the right to know the information at the heart of the matter (for example, election results or evidence of a crime against humanity) and that this information being withheld is an injustice. Calling it *redaction* often implies the converse—that that information is confidential or sensitive (like a patient’s lab results or a govt. worker’s home & work addresses), withholding it is the right thing to do, and if it were to be made public then people linked to that information would suffer the consequences (say, by being hatecrimed or persecuted).
– Censorship also makes you ask *Why are we not being told the exact details?*, whereas redaction doesn’t. More specifically, calling it redaction can imply that the redactor is being transparent about what kind of information they’re redacting and why—for example, by citing laws like FERPA or HIPAA, or by a disclosure like “The whistleblower who leaked this to us asked that we not use their real name for fear of retaliation”. But censorship involves opaqueness or lack of accountability—the censor may deny that it’s happening, or downplay the gravity and gaslight anyone who has questions, or try to fudge the information, or even try to turn someone else into the bad guy.
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