The US Government Has Banned Information Platforms Long Before TikTok. It Didn’t Go Well.

How it Turned Out: The censored news coverage led to a degree of apathy on the home front that the government realized was damaging the war effort. Two years into the war, the government wound up allowing reporting on the brutality of the war—meaning, accurate reporting.

The Hays Code

What It did: Fearing the government’s move toward banning certain movies as immoral or obscene, Hollywood created this self-censorship body in 1930. It edited scripts and forced the elimination of any scenes that dealt not only with sex and violence but also childbirth, heavy drinking, cursing, interracial relationships, or anything considered anti-Christian, including poking fun at priests and pastors.

How it Turned Out: The coming of TV and the popularity of foreign films meant competition for movies, which loosened up the censorship so it could continue to draw audiences. In 1968, the Hays Code disappeared, replaced by the somewhat gentler moving rating system.

The Trading with the Enemy Act

What It did: Passed when the U.S. entered WWI in 1917, the law gave the president sweeping powers to restrict trade with aggressor nations. These powers included banning books, magazines, newspapers, and movies created in specified countries. Intended as a temporary measure only, the law survived into the Cold War, when it was used to restrict the entry of materials from socialist countries.

How it Turned Out: In 1977, Congress cut back the president’s power to wartime only.

The Comstock Act

What It did: Passed in 1873, it prohibited the Post Office from transporting any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious, and filthy book[s] …. or other mail matter containing any filthy, vile, or indecent thing.” The law didn’t just ban nude pictures, it banned information on sex education and birth control as well. In 1921, Comstock was used to keep James Joyce’s novel Ulysses from bookstores.

How it Turned Out:  Women’s rights and other groups filed enough court challenges (notably Griswold v. Connecticut, which established a right to contraception) to render the law toothless. All but unenforceable in the digital age, the law is still on the books, however, and some worry that it will be used to prohibit the mailing of abortifacient medications.