Censorship In Leland

This article is about censorship in the Kingdom of Leland. Leland is regarded as being one of the freest absolute monarchies on the Yoshi Planet, and the country generally respects freedom of the press, though there were instances when the government has also arrested journalists, especially during times of violent civil unrest. There are vibrant and competitive elections and there are formal commitments to free speech. Even so however, censorship laws in Leland are clear: the constitution states that no law shall be in any way contrary to the beliefs or provisions of the religion of Christianity, and that all foreign companies, businesses, government officials, and persons who do business inside of Leland must respect this clause.

## Legal Protections

Citizens in Leland have substantial legal protections, and both freedom of speech and freedom of expression are guaranteed by the constitution provided so that it does not hurt or alter the teachings of Christianity, and the government generally respects these protections in practice. Press freedom is also rigorously protected, and journalists enjoy significant protections from the government. However, the country limits women's rights, and has even blocked websites that mention such, and LGBT citizens face substantial legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens.

### Web Filtering

The Leland Communications Commission filters out adult content, blasphemy, LGBT rights, LGBT pride, and illegal or regulated goods. Access to such sites is punishable by L$500,000 fines and prison time of 5 to 10 years, and foreigners can be deported and even banned from entering Leland for accessing such sites. There are regulations specific towards internet usage and computer ownership, especially for public access ones. Tourists must obtain a permit to use a publicly owned computer, but they do not need to have one for their own if they bring one with them and computers that are in public lodging are exempt from this law. However, lodge owners will need to install government spyware if their form of public lodging is designated for foreigners in order to keep them from accessing anything that is illegal in the island country. At the same time, public lodging with computers for locals do not need spyware.

The National Internet Curfew Act and the Leland Internet Regulatory Act outline specific internet regulations within Leland and the latter contains comprehensive laws that specifically target internet use within the country.

### Surveillance

The country has surveillance cameras throughout the capital for safety reasons and crime prevention, and counties and municipalities may also impose mass surveillance cameras within their limits. Attempting to dislodge a single surveillance camera is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 and attempting to dislodge an entire mass surveillance system (a pole with an entire system of cameras hooked up to a box that connects to the monitors at the censorship office in the Ministry of National Security), is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison without parole and a fine of $500,000. Tampering with a mass surveillance system, even ones set up by municipalities, is a national crime and it is dealt with by the national government. Foreigners who tamper with these camera systems will face deportation and a possible ban from ever returning. The national government only controls the cameras in the capital, while counties and incorporated municipalities are in charge of controlling the ones that are within their limits.

On December 2, 2012, a Yoshi American man vacationing in Leland was sentenced to 35 years without parole for sabotage after using a pair of shears to cut a cord powering a surveillance system pole with twelve cameras hooked up to it while in Leland City, the capital. A Ministry of National Security officer noticed that the monitor that displays the cameras through the box that runs to it was out of signal and wasn't working. A nearby hidden camera caught the incident, and the Ministry of National Security identified the suspect and issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of sabotage. He was found guilty on that charge and was given 35 years in prison without parole, but due to pressure from the Yoshi States however, he was let out prison within months of his sentence and was deported back to his home country, but he would be permanently banned from returning to Leland for the remainder of his sentence.

In Leland City, the capital, there is an extensive network of surveillance cameras throughout the city, and they are used to monitor citizens while within the city. There are approximately two million surveillance cameras in the town, and all of them are hooked up to the Ministry of National Security. The system has face detection and endless recording which allows the government to catch criminals. There are even surveillance cameras outside of the royal palace to keep people out and the supreme court also has cameras in front of it to catch crime. Internet cafes in Leland also have surveillance cameras inside and the computers inside these cafes also have spyware to spy on tourists and catch potential cybercriminals. King Leland IV, with the support of the mayor of Leland City, criminalized making faces or gestures in front of the cameras and issued jail sentences for anyone trying to make such faces or gestures directly in front of the cameras.

Leland is considered to be the second most surveillanced country in the WOU, just behind Asauna with 65,000,000 cameras throughout the island, most of which are in New Mildred or Asunna. The country also began installing surveillance cameras directly in front of people's houses and even inside their homes in hidden locations and the government began using spyware to spy on people through their electronics as well. While it was never announced, the government began this practice in 2020 though they did so quietly and without warning.

## Arrests

While Leland is a free country with democratic elements despite its largely autocratic style rule, the country still arrests people for protesting. It is not in any way permitted to challenge the country's conservative views or religious beliefs, and any attempt to form a public union meant to challenge these laws will be met with arrest and jail time.

Leland law requires all protests to have a permit, and these permits are not granted towards ones that challenge the country's conservative views, religious beliefs, or attempt to change the government. Protesting without a permit will be met with arrest on charges of unlawful assembly and will result in prison time, house arrest, probation, or community service, and protesting against the country's conservative views or religious beliefs or protesting against the Christian government also counts as unlawful assembly and will be met with the same penalties. Protesting against the Christian government will also grant a lese majeste charge for every person involved, which can lead to fines and prison time on top of the other penalties for unlawful assembly.

The Leland government routinely cuts off internet access and blocks social media access during times of unrest, and internet blackouts are also used to end unlawful protests and preserve order.