History of Censorship in the United Kingdom
The history of censorship in the United Kingdom has been shaped by political and religious influences since the Tudor period, which lasted from 1485 to 1603. Initially, censorship was closely linked to the state’s interest in suppressing religious heresy, especially after the establishment of the Church of England. The introduction of the printing press in 1476 allowed the government to control printed materials, requiring royal approval for publication. Over the centuries, this control evolved, with various monarchs imposing strict licensing laws and punitive measures against dissenting writers.
During the 17th century, censorship was further enforced under the archbishops of Canterbury, leading to severe penalties for those who challenged the monarchy. The Restoration in the late 17th century saw the reestablishment of rigorous licensing laws that persisted into the modern era, shifting focus from sedition to obscenity and indecency. Legislative acts have progressively regulated various forms of media, from theater to films and literature, with the government exercising authority over content deemed offensive.
In contemporary times, censorship also encompasses digital platforms, with policies aimed at protecting children from inappropriate content through Internet filters. These measures have sparked debate about the balance between safeguarding public interests and limiting access to information. The complexities of censorship in the UK reflect a long-standing struggle between freedom of expression and societal control, influenced by historical contexts and evolving cultural norms.
History of Censorship in the United Kingdom
Description: Official name (since the early eighteenth century) for the sovereign nation encompassing England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and several offshore islands
Significance: Although the United Kingdom has a long tradition of democracy and respect for civil liberties, it has also had a history of government censorship over the arts
Censorship in the United Kingdom under the Tudors, from 1485 until 1603, reflected a close relationship between politics and religion. It considered religious heresy threatening to the state. Even after King Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic church and established the Church of England, the official government policy was to control the press, maintaining unaltered the bond between church and Crown.
Introduction of Printing
After William Caxton introduced the printing press into England in 1476, the state viewed printing as a royal privilege and became the licensing authority. Under Henry VIII, no book could be published without royal approval from the monarch or from the privy council or a bishop. As early as 1382 the British clergy were empowered to suppress heresy and, with the development of printing, its power was enhanced.
In the mid-sixteenth century King Edward VI forbade the publication and use of materials and prayer books that reflected Roman Catholic tenets. In 1556 the Roman Catholic queen Mary relaxed Edward’s mandates but empowered the Stationers’ Company to seize and destroy unauthorized books considered illegal or subversive. In return for its policing actions, the Crown granted the company monopolistic printing rights.
The Seventeenth Century
Under kings James I (1603-1625) and Charles I (1625-1649), censorship was largely at the whim of the archbishop of Canterbury. When the moderate George Abbot was succeeded as archbishop by the politically reactionary William Laud, harsh penalties were levied against those whose writing threatened the monarchy and the status quo. Some writers, besides being given long prison terms, were publicly flogged, had their ears lopped off, their nostrils split, and their cheeks branded. The Royal Star Chamber in 1637 strengthened the powers of the Stationers’ Company, creating a new, more extensive licensing framework within it.
During the Restoration (1660-1685) following the fall of Oliver Cromwell, King Charles II reestablished rigid licensing laws with the enactment of the Licensing Act of 1662, designed to control sedition and similar to acts the Star Chamber had imposed in 1637. Under Charles II, theaters, closed by royal edict in 1642, were reopened.
The Licensing Act of 1662, renewed by James II’s Parliament shortly after it lapsed in 1679 and renewed again during the reign of William and Mary, finally expired in 1695 and was replaced by secular authority more concerned with controlling obscenity than sedition. With the enactment of the Licensing Act of 1737, theaters fell under the control of the Theatres Royal of Drury Lane and of Covent Garden. These two companies regulated British theater until the Theatre Regulation Act of 1843.
In the modern United Kingdom, censorship has been imposed by various agencies. The customs and postal services are empowered by the Customs Consolidation Act of 1876 to seize materials considered obscene or indecent. When this act was rewritten in 1952, its powers were reinforced and included prints, paintings, photographs, books, cards, lithographic or other engravings, or any other indecent or obscene articles, essentially leaving definition and interpretation to the censors.
Victorian Britain
The Law of Confidence, originally devised by a British judge to prevent the publication of private etchings by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, forbids the publication, if there has been a legal agreement to confidentiality, of private material that might damage people. This law, extended in 1967 to include corporations and corporate secrets, is unique to British jurisprudence and has been employed frequently against the tabloids of the United Kingdom.
Under the Indecent Advertisement Act of 1889, legislation originally promoted by Victorian England’s National Vigilance Association, the posting or display within public view of any material considered obscene or indecent was punishable by fines and imprisonment, penalties that extended to those providing such materials as well as to those displaying them.
Later Acts Relating to Censorship
The Commissioners of Customs and Excise have, since 1978, covertly distributed a frequently updated, classified list, not publicly available, of materials banned from import. Although the Customs and Management Act of 1979 provides for appeals by those whose property is seized under the act, customs officers are not legally bound to inform such people of their rights.
This act is reinforced by the Indecent Displays Act of 1981, aimed primarily at adult bookstores, that makes it illegal to display any indecent material within public view. The Local Government Act of 1982 empowers local councils to regulate sex shops and sex cinemas and to define indecency in terms of local custom.
Censorship in Northern Ireland
Because the split in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants has resulted in widespread acts of terrorism and continued strife, legislation unique to this part of the United Kingdom exists. Section eleven of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provision) Act of 1976 compels all citizens of Northern Ireland and the British mainland to report to the police information they have about impending acts of terrorism and to provide information that might lead to the arrest and prosecution of terrorists. This controversial act applies even to journalists who have interviewed members of dissident groups such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
The Emergency Provisions (Northern Ireland) Act of 1978 makes it illegal for anyone to collect, record, or publish information from which terrorists might benefit about the army, the police, judges, or prison officers. In Northern Ireland, it is forbidden to present television coverage sympathetic or favorable to the IRA. Irish television is banned from carrying interviews with IRA members even if the station states its opposition to the views expressed.
Media Censorship
Library censorship is practiced widely throughout the United Kingdom; a variety of books, such as Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, James Joyce’s Ulysses, and Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male have been or are banned. Film censorship in Britain is controlled by the British Board of Film Censors, established by the film industry in 1921. Under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959 and its amendments in 1977 and 1979, any film that might corrupt audiences is banned from import and may be withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
With the proliferation the Internet, the government of the United Kingdom has also taken measures to censor Internet content. In 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron announced the implementation of default Internet filters to block pornographic content. All of the country's major Internet providers agreed to follow the government's guidelines. Customers have the ability to opt out of the filter, but it is automatically applied if the customer does not cancel it. While the intent was to shield children from viewing inappropriate content on the Internet, a study cited by Forbes found that the implementation of filters overblocked Internet content, resulting in one-fifth of all Internet content being blocked. Critics of the measures said that blocking per government request was censorship and was halting access to potentially important websites and limiting the exchange of ideas.
Bibliography
"Education Resources." BBFC. BBFC, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Loades, D. M.. ed. Politics, Censorship, and the English Reformation New York: St. Martin, 1992
Patterson, Annabel M. Censorship and Interpretation: The Conditions of Writing and Reading in Early Modern England Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1990. Print.
UK Politics. "Online Pornography to Be Blocked by Default, PM Announces." BBC. BBC, 22 July 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
Woollacott, Emma. "UK 'Porn Filters' Block One Fifth of All Websites." Forbes. Forbes, 2 July 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.