Five years after the first world wide web was launched at the end of 1991, The Internet
has become very popular in the United States. Although President Clinton already signed
the 1996 Telecommunication ActI on Thursday Feb 8, 1996, the censorship issue on the net
still remains unresolved. In fact, censorship in cyberspace is unconscionable and
impossible. Trying to censor the Internet its problematic because the net is an
international issue, there is no standard for judging materials, and censorship is an
abridgment of democratic spirit.
Firstly, censorship on the Internet is an international issue. The Internet was
constructed by the U.S. military since 1960s, but no one actually owns it. Thus, the
Internet is a global network, and it crosses over different cultures. It is impossible to
censor everything that seems to be offensive. For example, Vietnam has announced new
regulations that forbid "data that can affect national security, social order, and safety
or information that is not appropriate to the culture, morality, and traditional customs
of the Vietnamese people." on June 4, 1996. It is also impossible to ban all things that
are prohibited in a country. For instant, some countries, such as Germany, have
considered taking measures against the U.S. and other companies or individuals that have
created or distributed offensive material on the Internet. If the United States
government really wanted to censor the net, there is only one solution - shut down all
network links of other countries. But of course that would mean no Internet access for
the whole country and that is disgust by the whole nation.
Secondly, everyone has their personal judgment values. The decision of some people cannot
represent the whole population of those using the net. Many people debate that
pornography on the net should be censored because there are kids online. However, we can
see there are many kids of pornographic magazines on display at newsstands. It is because
we have regulations to limit who can read certain published materials. Likewise, some
people already use special software to regulate the age limit in cyberspace. Why do
people still argue about that? It is all about personal points of views. Justice Douglas
said, "To many the Song of Solomon is obscene. I do not think we, the judges, were ever
given the constitutional power to make definitions of obscenity."II. In cyberspace, it is
hard to set up a pool of judges to censor what could be displayed on the net.
Thirdly, censorship works against democratic spirit, it opposes the right of free speech
and is a breach of the First Amendment. Do you remember Salman Rushdie and his book The
Satanic Verses? Iranian government announced a death threat to kill Rushdie and his
publishers because his book speaks against Islam. No one wants that to happen again. If
you are one of the Internet users, you should have seen a blue ribbon logo. The blue
ribbon symbolizes a support for the essential human right of free speech. Let think about
what happen if we lost the right of free speech. How can we stay online? Who gives
courage to the web's designers to put their opinion on the net? On the same day when the
1996 Telecommunication Act signed in law, a bill called House Bill 1630 was introduced by
Georgia House of Representatives member Don Parsons. It is so repel that this law even
limits the right of choosing email addressesIII. "Freedom of speech on the Internet
deserves the same protection as freedom of the press, freedom of speech, or freedom of
assembly." said Bill GatesIV.
In addition, information in cyberspace can be changing from second to second. If you put
something on the web, everyone on the net can access it instantly. It is totally
different from all traditional media. Everything on the Internet is just a combination of
zero and oneV. It is very difficult to chase what has been published on the information
superhighway.
After President Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunication Act, lots of net users reacted
in outrage. Although the Federal court in Philadelphia and New York have overturned that
Act, The government has appealed the ruling and the case has been referred to the U.S.
Supreme Court. Since censorship is an international issue, people have different judgment
and censorship works against the democratic spirit. Censorship in the Internet is totally
unacceptable. According Justice Potter Stewart's words, "Censorship reflects a society's
lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Long ago those
who wrote our First Amendment charted a different course. They believed a society can be
truly strong only when it is truly free.VI". If we allow those few in society to censor
whatever they find offensive, we have forfeited our right of freedom and have lost our
power as a democratic nation.
I.) On Thursday Feb 1, 1996, Congress approved legislation to dramatically restrict the
First Amendment rights of Internet users. President Clinton signed into law Thursday Feb.
8, 1996
II.) Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, 46 (1973), Justice Douglas, dissenting opinion.
III.) The bill makes it illegal for email users to have addresses that do not include
their own names.
IV.) Bill Gates, Microsoft Magazine Volume 3 Issue 4 Page 54, TPD Publishing Inc.,
1996
V.) The way in which computers read data.
VI.) Ginzburg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463, 498 (1966)
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