Censorship On The Internet Term paper

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During the past decade, our society has become based solely on the ability

to move large amounts of information across large distances quickly.

Computerization has

influenced everyone's life. The natural evolution of computers and this need

for

ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected

computers

to develop. This global net allows a person to send E-mail across the world

in mere

fractions of a second, and enables even the common person to access

information

world-wide. With advances such as software that allows users with a sound

card to

use the Internet as a carrier for long distance voice calls and video

conferencing, this

network is key to the future of the knowledge society. At present, this net

is the

epitome of the first amendment: free speech. It is a place where people can

speak

their mind without being reprimanded for what they say, or how they choose

to say it.

The key to the world-wide success of the Internet is its protection of free

speech, not

only in America, but in other countries where free speech is not protected

by a

constitution. To be found on the Internet is a huge collection of obscene

graphics,

Anarchists' cookbooks and countless other things that offend some people.

With over

30 million Internet users in the U.S. alone (only 3 million of which surf

the net from

home), everything is bound to offend someone. The newest wave of laws

floating

through law making bodies around the world threatens to stifle this area of

spontaneity. Recently, Congress has been considering passing laws that will

make it

a crime punishable by jail to send "vulgar" language over the net, and to

export

encryption software. No matter how small, any attempt at government

intervention

in the Internet will stifle the greatest communication innovation of this

century. The

government wants to maintain control over this new form of communication,

and

they are trying to use the protection of children as a smoke screen to pass

laws that

will allow them to regulate and censor the Internet, while banning

techniques that

could eliminate the need for regulation. Censorship of the Internet

threatens to

destroy its freelance atmosphere, while wide spread encryption could help

prevent

the need for government intervention.

The current body of laws existing today in America does not apply well to

the

Internet. Is the Internet like a bookstore, where servers cannot be expected

to

review every title? Is it like a phone company who must ignore what it

carries

because of privacy? Is it like a broadcasting medium, where the government

monitors what is broadcast? The trouble is that the Internet can be all or

none of

these things depending on how it's used. The Internet cannot be viewed as

one

type of transfer medium under current broadcast definitions.

The Internet differs from broadcasting media in that one cannot just happen

upon a

vulgar site without first entering 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).

Jim Exon, a democratic senator from Nebraska, wants to pass a decency bill

regulating the Internet. If the bill passes, certain commercial servers that

post

pictures of unclad beings, like those run by Penthouse or Playboy, would of

course

be shut down immediately or risk prosecution. The same goes for any amateur

web site that features nudity, sex talk, or rough language. Posting any

dirty words

in a Usenet discussion group, which occurs routinely, could make one liable

for a

$50,000 fine and six months in jail. Even worse, if a magazine that commonly

runs

some of those nasty words in its pages, The New Yorker for instance, decided

to

post its contents on-line, its leaders would be held responsible for a

$100,000 fine

and two years in jail. Why does it suddenly become illegal to post something

that

has been legal for years in print? Exon's bill apparently would also

"criminalize

private mail," ... "I can call my brother on the phone and say anything--but

if I say

it on the Internet, it's illegal" (Levy 53).

Congress, in their pursuit of regulations, seems to have overlooked the fact

that the

majority of the adult material on the Internet comes from overseas.

Although many

U.S. government sources helped fund Arpanet, the predecessor to the

Internet,

they no longer control it. Many of the new Internet technologies, including

the

World Wide Web, have come from overseas. There is no clear boundary between

information held in the U.S. and information stored in other countries. Data

held in

foreign computers is just as accessible as data in America, all it takes is

the click of

a mouse to access. Even if our government tried to regulate the Internet, we

have

no control over what is posted in other countries, and we have no practical

way to

stop it.

The Internet's predecessor was originally designed to uphold communications

after

a nuclear attack by rerouting data to compensate for destroyed telephone

lines and

servers. Today's Internet still works on a similar design. The very nature

this

design allows the Internet to overcome any kind of barriers put in its way.

If a

major line between two servers, say in two countries, is cut, then the

Internet users

will find another way around this obstacle. This obstacle avoidance makes it

virtually impossible to separate an entire nation from indecent information

in other

countries. If it was physically possible to isolate America's computers from

the rest

of the world, it would be devastating to our economy.

Recently, a major university attempted to regulate what types of Internet

access its

students had, with results reminiscent of a 1960's protest. A research

associate at

Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study of pornography on the school's

computer networks. Martin Rimm put together quite a large picture collection

(917,410 images) and he also tracked how often each image had been

downloaded

(a total of 6.4 million). Pictures of similar content had recently been

declared

obscene by a local court, and the school feared they might be held

responsible for

the content of its network. The school administration quickly removed access

to all

these pictures, and to the newsgroups where most of this obscenity is

suspected to

come from. A total of 80 newsgroups were removed, causing a large

disturbance

among the student body, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the

Electronic

Frontier Foundation, all of whom felt this was unconstitutional. After only

half a

week, the college had backed down, and restored the newsgroups. This is a

tiny

example of what may happen if the government tries to impose censorship

(Elmer-Dewitt 102).

Currently, there is software being released that promises to block

children's access

to known X-rated Internet newsgroups and sites. However, since most adults

rely

on their computer literate children to setup these programs, the children

will be able

to find ways around them. This mimics real life, where these children would

surely

be able to get their hands on an adult magazine. Regardless of what types of

software or safeguards are used to protect the children of the Information

age,

there will be ways around them. This necessitates the education of the

children to

deal with reality. Altered views of an electronic world translate easily

into altered

views of the real world. "When it comes to our children, censorship is a far

less

important issue than good parenting. We must teach our kids that the

Internet is a

extension and a reflection of the real world, and we have to show them how

to

enjoy the good things and avoid the bad things. This isn't the government's

responsibility. It's ours (Miller 76)."

Not all restrictions on electronic speech are bad. Most of the major on-line

communication companies have restrictions on what their users can "say."

They

must respect their customer's privacy, however. Private E-mail content is

off limits

to them, but they may act swiftly upon anyone who spouts obscenities in a

public

forum.

Self regulation by users and servers is the key to avoiding government

imposed

intervention. Many on-line sites such as Playboy and Penthouse have started

to

regulated themselves. Both post clear warnings that adult content lies ahead

and

lists the countries where this is illegal. The film and videogame industries

subject

themselves to ratings, and if Internet users want to avoid government

imposed

regulations, then it is time they begin to regulate themselves. It all boils

down to

protecting children from adult material, while protecting the first

amendment right

to free speech between adults.

Government attempts to regulate the Internet are not just limited to

obscenity and

vulgar language, it also reaches into other areas, such as data encryption.

By nature,...

Emler-Dewitt, Philip. "Censoring Cyberspace: Carnegie Mellon's Attempt to
Ban
Sex from it's Campus Computer Network Sends A Chill Along the Info Highway."
Time 21 Nov. 1994; 102-105.

Lehrer, Dan. "The Secret Sharers: Clipper Chips and Cypherpunks." The Nation
10 Oct. 1994; 376-379.

"Let the Internet Backlash Begin." Advertising Age 7 Nov. 1994; 24.

Levy, Steven. "The Encryption Wars: is Privacy Good or Bad?" Newsweek 24
Apr. 1995; 55-57.

Miller, Michael. "Cybersex Shock." PC Magazine 10 Oct. 1995; 75-76.

Wilson, David. "The Internet goes Crackers." Education Digest May 1995;
33-36. You should cite this paper as follows:

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