Government Monitoring Internet

"In an increasingly digital world, we must contend the question of what role the government at all levels must play in monitoring the internet. The beauty of the internet is the freedom it affords, and because of this freedom, it has given rise to major American companies like Apple and Google. According to Nielsen, the internet was responsible for 68.2 billion dollars of the United States’ GDP in 2010. That’s not even counting countless businesses that rely on the internet to provide goods and perform services, or accounting for growth since then. The internet is becoming more and more important in our modern digital age, and we must confront the question of whether and how the government may monitor content.

The Obama administration took steps to prevent government and private monitoring of internet content when it passed net neutrality rules, which state that internet service providers must treat all content the same when providing their service. Thus, Comcast or Verizon are not allowed to slow down Netflix at the expense of Hulu, or the Washington Post at the expense of the Wall Street Journal. These rules allow the internet to remain free and open

During the 2016 election, Russian actors used social media ads and fake accounts, or bots, to influence voters in key states. The depth of this interference is not even known. These actors have the right to distribute their content because of a free and open internet, and I believe that the government should not infringe upon that right. While free speech has its limits, we must ensure that it remains as free as possible. We live in a democratic society, in which citizens have a right to access many differing views and types of media. Therefore, it is the consumer’s responsibility to evaluate the accuracy and trustworthiness of these