What is a Censor?
A censor is someone who is given the power to control information by removing or suppressing what is considered objectionable. The material that is censored can be morally problematic, politically incorrect, dangerous for national security, or objectionable on other grounds, which may be public and stated or private and unstated. The word censor originated in ancient Rome, where two magistrates were in charge of registration of citizens and their property — with associated tasks such as taxing, and later had supervision of public morality added to their purview. The office of censor was first created in 443 BC and ended in 22 BC with the assumption of their powers by the emperor. Rome, however, was not the only civilization with a censorial office. In China in the Qin and Han dynasties from 221 BC to AD 220, a censor was assigned the task of scrutinizing the emperor. Later, the office acted on behalf of the emperor, seeking out official corruption and mismanaged government. Eventually
