Internet Censorship Essay, Research Paper

Speech II Outline

Intro: Censorship is when a third party makes decisions about what can be communicated between two people; even if the two agree that the censorship is okay, it is still censorship. Although the Internet was created in the 1960s as a communications tool of the U.S. military that would withstand even the most severe nuclear war and still be operable, it was not until after the government opened it up to public use in the late 1980s that the Internet became a unique communications phenomenon. Nobody could predict the speed by which people all over the world latched on to this new form of technological communication. A wealth of information is readily available to those who possess the technological means to access and to contribute to it. However, this availability has some individuals and governments worried. Enter the ominous presence of the Internet censor.

I. “The Good Internet”

A. Information

1. The internet provides a nonstop flow of information on basically anything and everything imaginable. This can be used for anything from cooking dinner to finding out the latest movie showtimes.

2. Being such a good source of reaching people, the internet can change the way society works. It is an entire new way of communication. A small phone wire or data cable from a network can transmit data that is then interpreted by us, the user, as communication, interaction. By using the internet we are not only looking up information, we are also communicating to the world via electronic impulses.

B. Commercial

1. The internet is a way of providing businesses with a new way to commercialize their items and after all, it’s our first amendment right.

2. The new form of information allows for thousands of new jobs to be created, which can provide services for the public, saving the government and people money.

II. “The Bad Internet”

A. Pornography

1. The number one most searched word on the internet is sex. The internet, with its supreme availability and ease of communication, supports a plethora of unsanitary material, namely pornography. Pornography is destructive to today’s society and is harmful to children. It is nearly impossible to block a child or an uninterested bystander from coming across some type of improper display of the human body.

2. Many illegal forms of pornography exist on the internet. Pornography, when viewed by mature adults cannot be discriminated against, yet it is very destructive to today’s modern society.

B. Too much information

1. The internet can provide an insane person with the recipe to create a bomb that will destroy an entire school building. Things that are placed on the internet are for all to see, which can turn into a problem.

2. Other forms of communication can be easily traced or kept track of. The internet allows the exchange of hazardous information to those who have it. Many illegal things can be done over the internet that would be regulated and safe if the government took a part in maintaining the internet.

III. What is being done now

A. Court Battles

1. The censorship issues have been in court for years now. The most recent one is the Communications Decency Act. This was signed by Bill Clinton two years ago making the internet a safer place for children by enforcing more strict rules on the way pornography sites must allow users to log in.

2. The first amendment is what is really in question here. It is everyone’s right to free speech in any form of communication, how can the internet differ?

B. Today’s Focus

1. Hackers are starting to become an even larger problem with the growing internet. Nothing can truly be safe on the internet which is causing the debate for free speech to be so controversial.

2. The internet has become an essential part of today. It is the wave of the future and must be preserved. It would be unwise to regulate the internet, which could slow the exponentially growing technological society that we live in today.

Conclusion: Even in its short lifespan, the Internet is living up to its potential as being quite possibly the most vibrant and egalitarian form of communication in the media. By becoming active producers of information rather than passive consumers, citizens are also engaging in a high degree of on-line political discussion and education and grassroots organizing to influence public policy. Indeed, the positive implications of the Internet are enormous. However the integration of interactivity on the internet can be harmful to children and unaware bystanders. Information harmful to society can be easily found and used, providing a source of mischeviousness for all of mankind. The internet thus must be used wisely, however since there is no one there that can enforce that law we cannot make a clear judgment on if the internet must be controlled.

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