Web Filtering

6910 Words14 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay about internet censorship

Web Filtering

As the Internet continues to grow, so do the vast amount of information and resources that are available. The Internet is the driving force of the information super highway. From online banking to creating your own company to getting historical information about the American Revolution, virtually anything can be found on the Internet today. But because of the mass amount of information that is available there is also material that is not suitable for one to see. From online pornography sites to how to make a bomb these are just the few types of objectionable subject matter that can be found on the Internet. But with the advent of web-filtering technology, a software product now could filter out web sites from ones viewing. The problem had been solved. Now someone could surf the Internet and not have to worry about coming across offensive a material. However, the solution was not complete, a number of issues have surfaced relating to the controversial and ethical use of web-filtering software.

There are many legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of web-filtering software. Globally, different countries use web-filtering software to solve different issues but each has its own controversies. In the first section of my paper I start out with a FAQ about web filtering, followed by the current use of web-filtering in the Untied States and China. Each country has its own controversial and ethical issues regarding this issue. I will then conclude with a comparison between the use of web-filtering software between the United States and China.

What is Web-filtering?

Web Filtering is a software product used to control access to material on the World Wide Web. Typically, a web filter is used to block out w...

... middle of paper ...

...om2001/ (27 March 2001)

8 Lisa M. Bowman, "Library Web filtering ruffles feathers", CNET News.com, January

2002, http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-807607.html (10 January 2002).

9 Lokman Tsui, "The Internet in China, Part 5: The Internet and the law",Radio

Netherlands, December 2002,

http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/china021213.html (13 December 2002)

10 Michael Chait, "Controversial Web Filtering Storms Schools", Internetnews.com,

September 2002, http://www.internetnews.com/xSP/article.php/1465271 (18 September

2002)

11 Ralph G. Neas, "Why filtering laws just won't work",CNET News.com, July 31, 2002,

http://news.com.com/2010-1071-947431.html (July 31, 2002)

12 Wendy Sheu, "China and the Internet", Stanford University, Winter 2000,

http://www.stanford.edu/~wsheu/China.html (Winter 2000).

Show More
Related

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Veterans

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), originally associated with combat, has always been around in some shape or form but it was not until 1980 that it was named Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and became an accredited diagnosis (Rothschild). The fact is PTSD is one of many names for an old problem; that war has always had a severe psychological impact on people in immediate and lasting ways. PTSD has a history that is as long and significant as the world’s war history - thousands of years. Although, the diagnosis has not been around for that long, different names and symptoms of PTSD always have been. Some physical symptoms include increased blood pressure, excessive heart rate, rapid breathing, muscle tension, nausea, diarrhea, problems with vision, speech, walking disorders, convulsive vomiting, cardiac palpitations, twitching or spasms, weakness and severe muscular cramps. The individual may also suffer from psychological symptoms, such as violent nightmares, flashbacks, melancholy, disturbed sleep or insomnia, loss of appetite, and anxieties when certain things remind them such as the anniversary date of the event (Peterson, 2009).

    Read More

  • Diagnosis and Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1181 Words  | 3 Pages

    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event (Riley). A more in depth definition of the disorder is given by Doctor’s Nancy Piotrowski and Lillian Range, “A maladaptive condition resulting from exposure to events beyond the realm of normal human experience and characterized by persistent difficulties involving emotional numbing, intense fear, helplessness, horror, re-experiencing of trauma, avoidance, and arousal.” People who suffer from this disease have been a part of or seen an upsetting event that haunts them after the event, and sometimes the rest of their lives. There are nicknames for this disorder such as “shell shock”, “combat neurosis”, and “battle fatigue” (Piotrowski and Range). “Battle fatigue” and “combat neurosis” refer to soldiers who have been overseas and seen disturbing scenes that cause them anxiety they will continue to have when they remember their time spent in war. It is common for a lot of soldiers to be diagnosed with PTSD when returning from battle. Throughout the history of wars American soldiers have been involved in, each war had a different nickname for what is now PTSD (Pitman et al. 769). At first, PTSD was recognized and diagnosed as a personality disorder until after the Vietnam Veterans brought more attention to the disorder, and in 1980 it became a recognized anxiety disorder (Piotrowski and Range). There is not one lone cause of PTSD, and symptoms can vary from hallucinations to detachment of friends and family, making a diagnosis more difficult than normal. To treat and in hopes to prevent those who have this disorder, the doctor may suggest different types of therapy and also prescribe medication to help subside the sympt...

    Read More

  • Communication Technology and Canadian Identity

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Internet, originally arising from the American military, has grown to a main source of communication for millions around the world and has helped in creating a global village. The Internet started gaining fast acceptance in the 1990's especially in North America. Countries such as China however, still have limited access and control over the contents on the internet allowed ...

    Read More

  • Children Should be Taught About the Consequences of War

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    The soldiers that come home from the battlefield are not the only ones that suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. More than two-million children have also been affected by their parent’s PTSD. Combat-related stress disorders have always been around but throughout history this phenomenon has been given different names, like “Soldier’s Heart” in the Civil War, “Shell Shock” in World War I, “Battle Fatigue” in World War II and “Vietnam Syndrome” in Vietnam War as. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was first recognized as distinct psychological disorders in 1980.Providing veterans with an opportunity receive proper medical treatment because it was not classified as a mental health problem. Delays of the proper treatment resulted in the Veterans going into substance abuses and depression.

    Read More

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are hundreds of different kinds of psychiatric disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV). One of them is called Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based on the research, post-traumatic disorder usually occurs following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape (Harvard Women’s Health Watch, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, diagnostic criteria and tests, treatment, prognosis and future research and approaches to treat this psychiatric illness of post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Read More

  • What´s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rosen’s study, focused on the root cause of PTSD, showed that stress (major anxiety or nightmares) shown by soldiers before sent into deployment lessened or deliquesced in 13% of soldiers (Herbert 2). Additionally, those that did develop severe PTSD had suffered emotional problems prior to deploy-ment—especially child-hood abuse or exposure to violence.

    Read More

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wiederhold, Brenda K.: Wiederholder, Mark D. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. 1st ed. American Psychological Association., 2004. Print.

    Read More

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Life comes with many challenging obstacles that entirely change the foundation of our very lives. Among these obstacles are situations that can be difficult to cope with. Everyone has a different way of dealing with these situations. Feeling nervous, fatigued, finding it difficult to sleep and having your thought process scrambled are all normal reactions to traumatic events. Usually these symptoms decrease over time and everyone returns to the lives they had before the experience. However, when this is not the case, the individual is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

    Read More

  • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder

    2116 Words  | 5 Pages

    When I graduate I will be a nurse in the military. I expect to be taken care of soldiers coming back from war quite often. It is important for me to be able to assess a military member and be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of PTSD. Not only do I as a nurse need to be able to recognize the symptoms, but I also need to know how to care for someone with the disorder in order to improve their quality of life. Understanding how to care for military members suffering from PTSD is important and not well understood. In April 2010, statistics show that eighteen United States soldiers were committing suicide every day due to the depression related to PTSD (“Understanding Combat PTSD from the Inside, Out”, 2007). It seems as though it is not being recognized that military members coming back from war are suffering from PTSD. As health care providers, it should be mandatory to screen for PTSD in soldiers coming back from war to prevent it from going unrecognized. Then, it is the nurses’ responsibility to know how to care for these suffering military vet...

    Read More

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

    1623 Words  | 4 Pages

    National Institute of Mental Health 2009, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), viewed 18 August 2011, .

    Read More

  • Public Libraries Should Not Block Internet Pornography

    1800 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the internet has been available in schools and libraries in this country, there has been a debate about what should be accessible to users, especially minors. The amount of information disseminated on the world wide web is vast, with some sources valuable for scholarly and personal research and entertainment, and some sources that contain material that is objectionable to some (ie. pornography, gambling, hate groups sites, violent materials). Some information potentially accessible on the internet such as child pornography and obscenity is strictly illegal and is not protected under the First Amendment. Some information available on the internet that may be valuable to some is at the same time perceived to be worthless or potentially harmful to some. For libraries serving the public, there has been controversy on the issue of providing the internet, free of censorship or filtering, to users. While some librarians and their professional associations align with ideals of free and unfiltered access to all information provided by the internet, some feel that filtering internet content to exclude possibly objectionable materials is a reasonable measure to prevent potential harm to minors.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Internet Censorship

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    Internet is a powerful tool that allows users to collaborate and interact with others all over the world conveniently and relatively safely. It has allowed education and trade to be accessed easily and quickly, but all these benefits do not come without very taxing costs. This is especially true when dealing with the likes of the Internet. Countries in the European Union and Asia have realized this and have taken action against the threat of net neutrality to protect their citizens, even at the cost of online privacy. Internet censorship is required to protect us from our opinions and vices. Every country should adopt Internet censorship and regulation since it improves society by reducing pornography, racism/prejudice, and online identity theft.

    Read More

  • Essay on Internet Privacy - Ethical Issues Raised by Privacy Service Providers

    2877 Words  | 6 Pages

    Abstract:  This paper examines the use of Internet technologies (specifically SafeWeb.com) to counteract invasions of personal privacy and censorship.  The paper begins by exploring the methods by which governments, corporations, and commercial agents invade personal privacy.  It also discusses Internet censorship on the corporate and governmental levels.  It then proceeds to discuss SafeWeb.com, a technology that allows Internet users to surf the Web privately and view censored content.  The paper finishes by exploring some of the ethical issues raised by Internet privacy and censorship in specific relation to SafeWeb, concluding that the application of SafeWeb in circumventing the authority of governments and corporations is inherently unethical.

    Read More

  • Internet Filters

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    The invention of the internet has been one of the major advances of the modern world. It has allowed people from all over the globe to communicate with each other and ideas to be shared. In addition to this it is a free platform. Unlike television and radio it doesn’t cost anything to put your idea on the internet, making it a base of personal expression. This freedom coupled with the global access attracts around a billion users worldwide. Unfortunately, just as easily as the information is produced it is abused. The internet, although mostly used appropriately does harbour all manner of illegal activities. These range from phishing scams, trying to steal someone’s personal details, viruses, malicious code that attacks a person’s computer and websites that are morally questionable or illegal under Australian law. To combat this, the Rudd government has started action to impose an internet service provider level internet filter. An internet service provider is any company that provides internet services to its customers. Most notable of these is Telstra which is one of the top internet service providers in Australia. This filter will prevent a list of websites, the blacklist, from being accessed in Australia. In theory this is an excellent plan, but in reality, once implemented it will have little effect on preventing the illegal activity which occurs on the internet. The major arguments against the proposed filter are, cost of the filter, the ineffectiveness of the filter to stop illegal activity and the possibility of the blacklist expanding to block anti-government websites.

    Read More

  • Lack of Internet Security and Privacy

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    As can be seen, from the information presented, the need for laws and restrictions concerning internet data collection is greatly needed. Moreover, the government can search private citizens data without warrant or cause. Also, companies are not only collecting internet user data but also selling it. The companies and agencies who commit such crimes should be fined or either closed down. In closing, the privacy and security of individuals on the internet should be upheld by the United States government.

    Read More

More about Web Filtering

Open Document