Quackcast 750 - Censorshipping

Hey ho! We thought we'd address the topic of censorship again on the Quackcast!
Today we're covering the topic in a rather general sense: The need for censorship; how it can be wrongly used; free speech and its limits; how free speech isn't equal around the world; slander and defamation; how censorship used to be applied to media and how that has changed since the internet and more.

Next week we'll chat about how free speech and censorship works now on the internet the way it is now, but for now it's a bit of a rambling overview because it's a gigantic topic! With “free speech” and censorship people always imagine that it's something very basic and black and white but when you look into it the complexities and complications are pretty huge, not to mention there are NO universal global “free speech” rules and that is a big issue with the internet and instantaneous unregulated communication which bypasses national borders.

Basically “free speech” usually means that governments aren't allowed to restrict the political expression of individuals because that is essential for preserving free democracies. We expand that to “free expression” in a more general sense because we don't want governments restricting what we can say or do (within certain limits).
But that's just about preventing governments fining or jailing or killing us for what we say, it's not about people or businesses restricting us… Then there's the issue of using “free speech” to advocate for violence or persecution, or lying about catastrophes in order to cause mass panic, THEN you can face government limits.
Or what if your way of expressing yourself is to defame people and accuse them of made up issues? Then you can face them in court for things like libel or defamation and that is unfairly weighted towards people who have more money so they can get away with lying about you in public and they can also get away with claiming the TRUE things you said about them were libel too…

And that's just a taste of how complex it gets. Not to mention copyright issues, fair use, obscenity, ratings systems etc, it all factors in! On Drunk Duck we need to have a ratings system that comics fall under. Our Adult rated comics have restrictions on them, and we don't allow comics that depict underage characters in sexual situations, (that can be hard to police). Comics designed to defame others can also face restrictions. So censorship is everywhere! Though DD is more free than other comic hosts on the net and that has always been one of our main features from the very beginning!

What have been your experiences with censorship?

This week Gunwallace has given us a musical theme inspired by Mortify - A sepulchral, highly evocative, almost dreamlike reverie on the tenebrous existence of the penumbra between life and death, dark and light, where souls hang on the edge of oblivion.

Topics and shownotes

Links

Info on freedom of expression https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-information-opinion-and-expression

Forum post about censorship issues https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/180046/

Featured comic:
Dragen Asylum - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2025/jul/22/featured-comic-dragen-asylum/

Featured music:
Mortify - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Mortify/ - by Pit Face, rated T.

Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/

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