The Dispute over Filtering “indecent” Images in Wikipedia
Vol.7,No.2(2013)
Abstract
Pages:
p. 303–317
In 2010, Wikipedia was accused by individuals as well as some media organizations of hosting illegal and indecent images. The foundation that runs Wikipedia commissioned a report on contentious images and the development of an image filter. This opt-in filter was designed to enable individual-level filtering of images with sexual, violent, sacred, or otherwise contentious images. The plans were considered a first step to censorship by many users and sparked considerable protest in Wikipedia’s online community. In-depth analysis reveals that concepts from communication research, such as the Third-Person Effect and Public Opinion, can be applied to the issue. Results of an experiment on the effects of disgusting medical images are discussed.
p. 303–317
Copyright © 2014 Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology