Internet Censorship Essay Research Paper Internet CensorshipSurfing

Internet Censorship Essay, Research Paper

Internet Censorship

Surfing the Internet is like strolling through a library. With just one click of the

mouse, a person can enter an amazing world of information. The Internet takes away the

inconvenience of having to drive to the public library, plus, the Internet is open

twenty-four hours a day. But, not only can a person research information on the Internet,

he can shop for products, read the latest news and stocks, meet new people, not only in

the United States, but in other countries as well, look for a job, and more. With the many

application of the Internet, so many more opportunities for individuals exist. Also, a new

meaning of .It.s A Small World After All. comes to mind when surfing through the World

Wide Web. But not all is grand and spectacular in the Internet world. The Internet has

been a major concern of the American people and government for the last few years with

controversies over certain types of web sites displayed over the Internet including

pornography, hate group web sites, .inappropriate. literature, and other various kinds of

web sites. Their main concern for these types of web sites is that this material is easily

accessible to a young, impressionable audience. Some believe that censorship of the

Internet is not the best solution. There are other alternatives to censorship that won.t

violate the free speech clause as stated in the First Amendment.

First of all, the reason why censorship is not the best solution is because the

censorship of expressions of speech is a violation of the First Amendment of the United

States Constitution. This argument is supported by the United States Supreme Court

ruling in the landmark case of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) v. Janet Reno.

.On June 26, 1997, the Supreme Court held in ACLU v. Reno that the Communication

Decency Act, which would have made it a crime to communicate anything .indecent. on

the Internet, violated the First Amendment. (ACLU) This ruling declared that the Internet

is entitled to the highest level of free speech protection. In other words, anything printed

on the Internet deserves the same amount of protection as any book or magazine that is

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sold at a store or available at the local library; this is why surfing the net is similar to going

to the public library.

Although the Communication Decency Act (CDA) was declared unconstitutional,

a supporter of the act, Senator J. James Exon, did have good intentions in trying to come

up with a solution for the Internet problem. The main goal of the CDA was to protect

children from the .indecent. material accessible on the net. I think that protecting the

children is a very crucial element that must be considered in developing the best solution,

however, not at the expense of free speech. Abridging the First Amendment right of free

speech is the flaw associated with the CDA, which is the reason why it is wrong.

Another reason why Internet censorship should not go into effect is that the

methods of censorship including rating systems and filters are prejudice; rating systems do

not accurately judge. Rating systems are deficient because they will cause controversial

speech to be censored. According to the ACLU, .Kiyoshi Kuromiya, founder and sole

operator of Critical Path AIDS Project, has a web site that includes safer sex information

written in street language with explicit diagrams, in order to reach the widest possible

audience. (ACLU). If his web site is rated, it will be in the same category as pornography

as a result of its references to sex and it will be blocked by a majority of the audience that

he wishes to view his web site. In all actuality, his Critical Path Aids Project web site is

just an informative speech about the prevention of AIDS, not pornography. This type of

rating system is not fair because even though his web site mentions sex or deals with sex,

it shouldn.t be considered pornography or placed in the same category as pornography.

Rating systems are simply unequipped to properly rate or judge the diversity of content

that is available on the Internet. To put it briefly, rating systems are based on taste and

opinion, which does not accurately fit the disposition of the general population.

One question that poses a problem with the rating system is how will foreign

material be rated. Since .half of all Internet speech originates from outside the United

States,. how would American rating make sense to a Turk whose standards and beliefs are

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totally different from American culture (ACLU).Despite all good intentions, the

application of rating systems is unsuitable for the Internet. The Internet isn.t like the

television where the Playboy channel can be clocked and the Discovery channel is kept

unblocked as well. There.s just too much information in cyberspace to keep tabs on.

Even if all controversial

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