Sunday, September 1, 2019
Internet Censorship Essay
Thà µ capacity of thà µ information supà µrhighway has à µxplodà µd in thà µ rà µcà µnt yà µars. It à µncompassà µs thà µ à µast and thà µ wà µst, thà µ land and thà µ sà µa, and anything our human mind could drà µam of. This is a good thing, right? With thà µ knowlà µdgà µ of thà µ world just on onà µÃ¢â¬â¢s fingà µrtips, it must bà µ good, right? Surà µ, if it is usà µd thà µ right way. A saying goà µs likà µ this, ââ¬Å"Too much of a good thing is bad. â⬠It is truà µ. Thà µ Intà µrnà µt doà µs accommodatà µ a lot of information. In a way, it has too much information. The Internet contains certain information that we DONââ¬â¢T want minors to have access of. Some of these unwanted information might be pornography, gambling, and some sensitive issues like homosexuality. So what do we do about the stuff that we donââ¬â¢t minors to see? Do we just make some law and erase it from our precious Internet? No. First of all, this would be impossible to do because there is just too much unwanted information. Second of all, this would defeat the purpose of the Internet. In the article ââ¬Å"The Online Cooperative Publishing Act,â⬠it called the Internet ââ¬Å"the manifestation of humankindââ¬â¢s quest for limitless two-way interaction with thoughtâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Cooperativeâ⬠internet). Since there is a vague line of what is appropriate and what isnââ¬â¢t, why should there be a straight-cut line of what things should be banned on the Internet. There should be a loose regulation on the content of the Internet that would encourage more interaction with this wonderful tool. Instead of the government dictating what minors should see, parents and teachers should be the ones stepping up and TEACHING minors whatââ¬â¢s right and whatââ¬â¢s wrong. To maximize the productivity of the Internet, there must be a balance of restriction and freedom. When that balance is reached, the Internet will fully flourish. ââ¬Å"Why should we protect the Internet? Why should we protect all those pornographic websites? â⬠you might ask. The Internet is a wonderful thing. Even the heads of our nation, the President and Vice President, believe that the Internet is a ââ¬Å"powerful educational tool for our childrenâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Familyâ⬠internet). It should not be viewed as an evil thing. Its unique ability to link the worldââ¬â¢s knowledge together fulfills any researcherââ¬â¢s dream. There is no more need to visit dozens of libraries to find everything one needs. Everything is at oneââ¬â¢s fingertips. Without a doubt, little kids wouldnââ¬â¢t need the Internet to do research; they donââ¬â¢t have any research paper due. One mustnââ¬â¢t forget the Internet is not just for research academically. It could be used to research recreationally. One can research on topic of his interest. A teen male can research about cars. A mom can research on recipes. And a little kid can research on his favorite Disney character. Because of the Internet, a kid can do a lot more things kids before didnââ¬â¢t have the privilege of. A kid can know anything and everything around the world, and even out of this world, without leaving the comfort of his home. Anything, anything at all. If the Internet is censored, a large amount of these wonderful knowledge will not be accessible anymore. Although censorship does not mean a complete ban, there is no measure at the present that can effectively restrict access and still not block out good website. According to a study done by Electronic Privacy Information Center, the filtering programs block 95-99 percent of the material available on the Internet that might be of interest to young people (ââ¬Å"Faultyâ⬠internet). I am not defending the protection of pornographic websites. Neither am I advocating an easier access to pornography. I just want to point out the fact that websites dedicated to pornography is only a very small percentage of the Internet. If we use the inefficient censorship products out there, we will miss out a lot of the goods that the Internet has to offer. The Supreme Court believes the same. When the Supreme Court struck down the Communication Decency Act in 1996, it found that ââ¬Å"the interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorshipâ⬠(ââ¬Å"Faultyâ⬠internet). So, should we sacrifice all the goods that the Internet could offer for those measly pornography websites? The Supreme Court shared the same vision for an uncensored Internet when it struck down the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that outlawed ââ¬Å"indecentâ⬠communications online. In the ruling, it declared the Internet a free speech zone.
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