The really worrying effect is that it ' ll probably limit the kind of questions that people are now willing to ask , since asking the wrong question could get you in all kinds of shit . Guilty for being curious . Known as the chilling effect . People selfcensor what they say and show interest in due to the underlying threat of punishment for wrong think . That leads nicely into a Chomsky quote The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion , but allow very lively debate within that spectrum If it becomes known you ' ll get investigated for doing an internet search for a place or person or book which has been deemed dangerous or suspicious , then people will stop asking those sorts of questions .