Censorship On The Internet
...information across large distances quickly.
Computerization has
influenced everyone's life. The natural evolution of computers and this need
for
ultra-fast communications has caused a global network of interconnected
computers
to develop. This global net allows a person to send E-mail across the world
in mere
fractions of a second, and enables even the common person to access
information
world-wide. With advances such as software that allows users with a sound
card to
use the Internet as a carrier for long distance voice calls and video
conferencing, this
network is key to the future of the knowledge society. At present, this net
is the
epitome of the first amendment: free speech. It is a place where people can
speak
their mind without being reprimanded for what they say, or how they choose
to say it.
The key to the world-wide success of the Internet is its protection of free
speech, not
only in America, but in other countries where free speech is not protected
by a
constitution. To be found on the Internet is a huge collection of obscene
graphics,
Anarchists' cookbooks and countless other things that offend some people.
With over
30 million Internet users in the U.S. alone (only 3 million of which surf
the net from
home), everything is bound to offend someone. The newest wave of laws
floating
through law making bodies around the world threatens to stifle this area of
spontaneity. Recently, Congress has been considering passing laws that will
make it
a crime punishable by jail to send "vulgar" language over the net, and to
export
encryption software. No matter how small, any attempt at government
intervention
in the Internet will stifle the greatest communication innovation of this
century. The
government wants to maintain control over this new form of communication,
and
they are trying to use the...
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