Censorship: a growing trend?

It appears that the banning of blogs (access to social networking tools) is something that has largely been ignored or perhaps more accurately hidden but is now becoming an issue - highlighted at this particular moment in time by the banning of James Farmer's edublogs site at the School district level. This is not a single incident ... as Leigh Blackall found when trying to use Flickr with his students. There seems to be two strands to this [banning/censorship] at the moment: one that is about censorship of individual blogs (more on this anon) and two, blocking access to services that provide ways of linking to networks and content outside the boundaries of what can be Institutionally controlled. The second of these is in every sense far more worrying. Blocking access at this level is not yet anywhere near the kinds of control imposed in countries like China yet it seems to be indicatative of a desire to re-impose social and community boundaries i.e. pull them back within the grasp/control of the Institution or State. Almost a process of 're-normalising' and one that is hidden under the social agendas of responsibility, safety and protection.