Internet Censorship

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Everyone has heard of the Internet and how it is going to help set the world free. The Internet is the fastest growing form of communication and is becoming more and more common in the home. Companies these days do big business over the Internet, and online shopping has grown tremendously in the last few years. For instance, the online auction site eBay sells millions of items every year online. Many companies are making even more plans to expand their business to the Internet. Unfortunately, there have been numerous attempts lately to censor the Internet. If the Internet is controlled, regulated, restricted, or censored it will have harsh effects on its capabilities.
In recent years, America’s economy has become increasingly dependent on the need to instantly move large amounts of information across long distances. Computerization has changed everyone’s life in ways that were never before possible. The global network of interconnected computers allows people to send electronic mail messages across the world in the blink of an eye and stay updated on world events as they happen; the world has become a much smaller place as a result of this global communication and exchange of ideas. There have also become thousands of online “communities” of people who share common interests through message boards, chat rooms, and electronic mailing lists (Wilmott 106). Right now, the Internet is the ultimate demonstration of the first amendment: free speech. A place where people can speak their mind without being punished for what they say or how they choose to say it. “The Internet owes its incredible worldwide success to its protection of free speech, not only in America, but also in countries where freedom of speech is not guaranteed. For some, it is the only place where they can speak their mind without fear of political or religious persecution”. (“Cyberchaos”).
The Internet is also one of America's most valuable types of technology; scientists use email for quick and easy communication. They post their current scientific discoveries on online newsgroups so other scientists in the same field of study all over the world can know in minutes. Ordinary people use the Internet for communication, expressing their opinions in the newsgroups, obtaining new information from the WWW, downloading all types of media files, or just “surfing“ for their own personal enjoyment. User...

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...aphy is legal. The solution to keeping kids from getting into inappropriate websites is to monitor their access, use filtering software, and teach them morals. Censoring the Internet can only be harmful to everyone else who uses it.

Works Cited
Cleaver, Cathleen A.
“Cyberchaos: Not First Amendment’s Promise.” http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/6805/articles/cda/cleaver-cyberchaos.html “Current Internet Censorship Efforts.” [Online]. Available www.epic.org/freespeech/censorship. 3 April 2001.
Dibbel, Julian. “Muzzling the Internet.” Time 18 December, 1995: 75.
Hentoff, Frances. "Indecent Proposal." Entertainment Weekly 31 March, 1995.
“Legal Definition of Obscenity/Pornography.” [Online]. Available http://censorware.net/essays/obscene_jt.html. 23 March 2001.
Levy, Steven. “U.S. v. the Internet.” Newsweek 31 March 1997: 77-79.
Miller, Michael. "Cybersex Shock." PC Magazine 10 Oct. 1995; 75-76.
“Parental Control Ware.” Newsweek 12 February 1996: 12.
Rheingold, Howard. “Rheingold's Tomorrow: Why Censoring Cyberspace is Dangerous & Futile.” [Online.] Available http://www.well.com/user/hlr/tomorrow/tomorrowcensor.html.
Tyre, Jim. “Sex, Lies, and Censorware.”

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Internet Censorship