Charlie bit me is more than just the title of the most viewed amateur video on YouTube, with over half a billion views. It is shorthand for how the Internet fulfills one of the most primal of human needs — self-expression and the need for humans to communicate with others in a way that conveys the finest nuances of expression.

The video features Harry and Charlie, two English brothers aged three and one. It opens with the boys playing together before Harry places his finger in Charlie’s mouth. Charlie catches the finger between his teeth, mildly at first, and then with juvenile grace, increases the bite force.

Harry’s reaction builds up from a mild protest, to a shrinking back from pain and climaxes in desperate squeals of anguish. Finally, Charlie lets go the finger and then gives vent to what may be cyberspace’s most infectious chuckle.
The video was uploaded by the boys’ father in May 2007.

While science may be unclear about the origins of the brain’s ability to construct, process and communicate complex ideas, there is near unanimity that this faculty is unique to or most highly developed in the human mind. Self-expression is not just a handy survival and evolutionary tool.

It is hardwired into the human psyche. One of the genres of human self-expression and communication is amusement through play and creating a spectacle — a display that is meant to capture the attention and curiosity of another human.

Because of the rise of language and other forms of communication as tools for social organisation, the the control of public communications became a powerful instrument of exercising official power. This gave rise to the age-old conflict between censorship and unlimited self-expression.

People naturally resent and resist any form of restraint on their freedom to receive and communicate information and ideas. They have always revolted against having their interactions with one another mediated by the establishment.

The Internet is a technology platform that is built around the human values of democracy and self-determination. Any person with a smartphone may upload a video online and manage access to it.

Most platforms that provide user-generated content place the tools of censorship with the people – an open, decentralised, culturally diverse and ever-expanding collective of users who not only post their own content but also flag inappropriate content posted by their peers. It is the participation of this large and open public constituency that makes the Internet what it is.

Most of these platforms have teams of content monitors who act on user alerts for inappropriate content and also independently apply guidelines or terms and conditions to take down and if necessary take further action against users who violate the law or the guidelines. This includes users who post pornography, child abuse imagery and content that is gratuitously violent, shocking, repulsive, dangerous and any content that violates intellectual property rights.

What makes Charlie bit me such compelling viewing for millions of viewers around the world? First and foremost, the fact that it is a video. It almost certainly would not attract hundreds of millions of reads if it were a written anecdote and even if it was co-authored by a team of literary geniuses.

Written words are second-hand tools of human expression. They are no match for the facial expressions, body language, laughter, and emotionally expressive forms of communication that are so poignantly preserved by video.

By placing unhindered self-expression at its centre and control at the fringes and by democratising both censorship and access to the tools of mass communication, the Internet has become more than just an icon of popular culture. It is a mosaic of the world’s social and cultural unravelling told in words, pictures, symbols and moving images captured and shared by ordinary people with the least expenditure of time, effort and money.

It is a modern-day illustration of the collaborative power of people and communities and of the richness and diversity of the human experience, curated for the world through user-generated content.

All over the world, parents, guardians, teachers and communities want their young ones to thrive, to grow in knowledge and understanding and to find amusement and entertainment. They also want to be protect them from inappropriate material, whether on the street, in print, on radio, on television and online.

The user-driven, technology-powered and community-mediated model for content creation meets a number of concerns about online safety and security. Because of the distributed nature of the Internet and the convergence of technologies, the public square is today a far more populated and diverse online space.

Moreover, individuals, technology companies and content providers are building both the technological and human intervention tools for the protection of children into the architecture for delivering that content.

As Uganda and the International Telecommunications Union host an African regional conference on child online protection, it may be expected that common themes will include the role of technologists to continue developing and refining the tools that give the individuals and communities the power to participate as creators and mediators of online content; and the role of governments in overseeing operating environments in which self-expression and innovation are nurtured and thrive.

Michael Murungi is Google’s head of policy and government affairs for East Africa