Internet Censorship 2 Essay, Research Paper

Internet Censorship

Statement: People put incriminating material on the Internet, they should be allowed to do it.

I. Problems with Internet Censorship

A. Pornography

1. Underage Children

2. Available to anyone

B. Racism

1. Hatesites

C. Religious Discrimination

1. Ku Klux Klan

II. What can be done?

A. Have software installed

1. Net Nanny Software

B. Have parents watch over children

1. Get parents involved

III. Free Speech

A. Don’t Restrict Anything

1. No Restrictions

2. No Censorship

B. Have government back off

1. Remove all laws put on the Internet

2. The government doesn’t own the Internet

Internet Censorship

This report will demonstrate how the government has taken some of our rights as listed in The Bill of Rights. Its main focus is toward the Internet, which in the last couple of years has been expanding tremendously, with more and more ISP’s as well as more Internet users. Through the wonders of technology people have been able to reach out across the world by means of this computer network, The Internet. As many good things that come out of using the network, there are bad ones. People post incriminating material on the net, such as Pornography, acts of Religious Discrimination, and Racism. The fact of the matter is that people should be allowed to do this, its their own right.

Yes, the Internet is a good way to find information about any subject you could think of. But at the same time you may find more than your looking for. For example, Pornography, yes it is out all over the net and practically available to anyone, including children. To many this poses a problem, although there is a way to keep children away and the Internet untouched, the parents could restrict access to the “bad” parts of the Internet by contacting their ISP and getting a proxy server . Another way of doing this is getting software that doesn’t allow them to go there, a well-known program is called “Net-Nanny”. The same things can be done toward other acts of that material, such as Religious Discrimination, and Racism. There are some clans that have their own web pages, for example, The Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK does such religious acts such as Cross Burnings and White Only marches.

When such sites appear many people get angry and want to take these sites down. But, in the Bill of Rights under Amendment 1 it clearly says, “Congress shall make no law Abridging the Freedom of Speech, or of The Press.” This Amendment clearly shows that what people are posting and saying is the press, and that congress can make NO law forbidding us of doing so. Plus, the Internet doesn’t belong to anyone, it’s millions of computers all networked together to create one giant network, but in 1995 President Bill Clinton signed a law into affect. This law was called the “Telecommunications Act”, This act has violated the 1st Amendment Right, but more importantly another Right has been stolen from the American People which the Framers of The United States Constitution worked to hard to keep.

Who can we blame for this? The answer lies in the House of Representatives, Congress, and the Senate, these elected officials who do nothing but worry more about how much they are getting paid and who has the majority voted in, Republican or Democrats. It is these people who affect our everyday lives and alter then by adding more laws that take the American People’s rights away.

Works Cited

Leone, Bruno and Cozic, Charles. The Information Highway

San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996

Marshall, Joshua. Will Free Speech get tangled in the Net?

American Prospect: 1998

Oliver, David. Censoring Cyberspace

Relin: 1996

Winters, Paul. The Information Revolution

San Diego: Greenhaven Press: 1998