Communications Decency Act: Regulation In Cyberspace

Communications Decency Act: Regulation In Cyberspace

Being one of millions of surfers throughout the Internet, I see that

fundamental civil liberties are as important in cyberspace as they are in

traditional contexts. Cyberspace defined in Webster's Tenth Edition dictionary

is the on-line worlds of networks. The right to speak and publish using a

virtual pen has its roots in a long tradition dating back to the very founding

of democracy in this country. With the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications

Act, Congress has prepared to turn the Internet from one of the greatest

resources of cultural, social, and scientific information into the online

equivalent of a children's reading room. By invoking the overboard and vague

term “indecent” as the standard by which electronic communication should be

censored, Congress has insured that information providers seeking to avoid

criminal prosecution will close the gates on anything but the most tame

information and discussions.

The Communications Decency Act calls for two years of jail time for

anyone caught using “indecent” language over the net; as if reading profanities

online affects us more dramatically than reading them on paper. Our First

Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of

religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of

speech, or of the press....” The Act takes away this right. The Constitution-

defying traitors creating these useless laws do not they understand the medium

they're trying to control. What they “claim” is that they are trying to protect

our children from moral threatening content.

This “protect our helpless children” ideology is bogus. If more

government officials were more knowledgeable about online information they would

realize the huge flaw the Communication Decency Act contains. We don't need the

government to patrol fruitlessly on the Internet when parents can simply install

software like Net Nanny or Surf Watch. These programs block all “sensitive”

material from entering one's modem line. What's more, legislators have already

passed effective laws against obscenity and child pornography. We don't need a

redundant Act to accomplish what has already been written.

Over 17 million Web pages float throughout cyberspace. Never before has

information been so instant, and so global. And never before has our government

been so spooked by the potential power “little people” have at their fingertips.