Abstract
Politicians and advocacy groups concerned about media effects have often turned toward legislation and other public policy efforts to combat what they feel are pernicious public health concerns. This chapter details efforts to curtail, regulate, or censor media, particularly in industrialized democratic nations which have to balance such efforts against free speech concerns. In many cases, proponents of regulation or censorship distort or exaggerate the evidence for media effects to promote an atmosphere of fear conducive to support of legislation. However, across the twentieth century, the general trend in public policy has gradually favored freedom of speech and become increasingly critical of arguments for media effects. These issues and trends are discussed within this chapter.
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Ferguson, C.J. (2013). Public Policy, Censorship, and First Amendment Issues. In: Adolescents, Crime, and the Media. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6741-0_10
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