Regulation And Security Of The Internet Essay

, Research Paper

May 28, 2000

Period 3

Privacy and the Internet

If privacy is outlawed, only outlaws will have privacy (Siegel 9). When something as vast, influential and readily evolving as the Internet is introduced to the world, there is bound to be countless issues of controversy surrounding it. In the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability to move large amounts of information across great distances quickly and efficiently. The growing need for high-speed communications is causing a global network of interconnected computers to develop, commonly referred to as the Internet, or the World Wide Web. The Internet is having a drastic effect on the lives of people around the world. Children are exposed to it at school and at home. The Web is hastily replacing television and radio as the most frequently used information and entertainment-broadcasting medium in the world. Because Internet has become the primary key to communications in the world, the United States government, Internet users, and civil rights activists are debating over what must be done to protect Internet users and at the same time national security without stifling the innovation of the Internet. The proposals of all of the above parties have various flaws, many of which are clearly worse than others. Government regulation would restrain the permutation of the Internet and destroy its unfettered atmosphere, while self-regulation of Internet businesses cannot be enforce without the interference of the government. Because of these difficult circumstances and the urgency of some form of protection, Internet users must protect themselves from privacy and security hazards on the Internet before the government imposes strict laws that would damage the prosperity it has seen.

Many proud Americans see the Internet as the epitome of free speech. It is a place where people can express their thoughts candidly, without the fear of being judged. It has been claimed by many that the Internet can extend and enhance democracy (Beecham 13). Because there is so much freedom of speech and press on the Internet, people from around the world, in places where the government does not protect free speech, can come together to express their feelings on any issue without fear of being punished. The Internet has seen a more rapid growth in subscribers than any other medium in the history of the world. In under a decade, the user base of the Internet has gone from under one million to over 300 million subscribers. This sudden burst in popularity has made the Internet evolve so suddenly that current laws are unable to keep up with the advances in technology (Kutais 35). With so many people promoting innovations and advances on the Internet, it is nearly impossible for legislators to keep their laws relevant to current issues. When they try to make laws regulating the Internet, there is always fierce opposition to it. The problem with trying to satisfy Internet users is that it is an endless and impractical task (Dunley 124). With over 300 million users (http://www.C-I-A.com), and over one third of them in the United States, there will always be opposition to laws regulating and deregulating the Internet.

The biggest problem legislators face in policing the Internet is finding a precedent to follow. The current body of laws existing today does not apply well to the Internet. How do they classify the Internet. Is it a broadcasting medium, where the government monitors each broadcast. Is it like a bookstore, where servers cannot be expected to review every title. Is it like a phone company, which must ignore what it carries because of privacy. (Beecham 15). The trouble with trying to classify the Internet is that it can be all or none of these, depending on how it is used. The Internet cannot be viewed as one type of data transfer medium under the current broadcast definitions. The Internet differs from the broadcasting media in that one cannot just happen upon a vulgar site without first keying in a complicated address, or following a link from another source. “The Internet is much more like going into a book store and choosing to look at adult magazines” (Miller 75). Because what the Internet is used for varies from person to person, its classification is interpreted in a number of different ways. Unfortunately, it appears that the Internet cannot fit into any category, so it must undergo years of debate over how it must be controlled. Without a legal precedent to follow, it will be a long fight to freedom (Davies 68). Writing legislation on such an issue could take years.

One of the main reasons legislators are urging prompt regulation of the Internet is that they believe that the Internet threatens the security and innocence of children. The most serious safety concern is presented by the posting of personal identifying information by children–information that can be used to identify children, such as name, postal or e-mail address–in public areas, like chat rooms and bulletin boards, that are accessible to all online users. The FBI and Justice Department’s “Innocent Images” investigation has revealed that online services and bulletin boards are quickly becoming the most powerful resources used by predators to identify and contact children (Beecham 18). Evidence indicates that many children that surf the Web claim to experience problems such as inappropriate advan