Federal Government Censorship Of The Internet

Living in the twenty first century we are all exposed to things we wish we were not or things our parents wish we had not been exposed to. Things like porn, cyberbullying, and invasion of privacy are a very real thing of today even more than it has been in the past years because our society is very technology based and as consumers we can get our hands on anything we desire as long as we have a connection to the internet. Does this mean that the federal government should be allowed to regulate information on the internet?

The Internet was first used in the nineteen sixties by a small group of technology professionals. Since then the internet has become an essential part of today’s world, from communicating through texts and emails to banking, studying, and shopping, the internet has touched every aspect of our lives. With the growing use of the internet, protecting important information has become a must. While some believe they have the right to privacy, and feel that the government should not be at the center of their lives. Others feel that the Internet has evolved into a weapon for our enemies, and believe the government must take action by proactively

Between trying to prevent obscene video content, shielding minors from harmful content, and the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech, it would be very rigorous for the government to actually change internet policies. The history itself shows that in order for the United States to be truly free, as intended to be in the U.S. Constitution, platforms such as the internet cannot be touched or messed with. Too many times has the government tried to make an effort and put energy into acts that have failed. Winston Churchill, a Prime Minister during WWII, once said “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat

Because of the first amendment, our government can not mislead citizens into believing information that can only be used to benefit the government. For example, The Soviet Union spread false information in order to control what it citizens were aware of. The purpose behind spreading false information was to mold the citizens thoughts into the ideal Soviet Union mindset. However, the government would also be able to regulate the information on the internet for the citizens own good. Information on the internet can be inaccurate and can mislead many people into believing something that is entirely untrue, however, and because government cannot intervene and delete this incorrect information, citizens are susceptible to learning information that is not true, therefore regressing the intelligence of society. Although there are both positives and negatives to both sides of the argument, our federal government should continue to be restricted from regulate information on the internet for the safety of the citizens of the United

Just as we have laws against dumping garbage on the interstate, we ought to have similar laws for the information superhighway"[3]. The content that individuals can post on the Internet should be filtered and monitored to protect our children which make people feel uncomfortable. The dispute against this claim is that it takes away from the rights of adults which was concluded by the federal courts that "it violates the free speech rights of adults by broadly prohibiting the knowing transmission of 'indecent' messages to minors and displaying 'patently offensive' sexually explicit images in a manner available to children"[4]. Some believed that restricting the content on the Internet will be problematic because "it will only stifle the free flow of information, discourage the robust development of new information services and make users avoid using the system" and "Banning on-line anonymity would go much too far, stifling the 99 percent of legitimate speech in pursuit of the 1 percent of criminal speech"[5]. The controlling of content on the Internet will disrupt the flow of information which will discourage individuals to use the Internet and oppress content that is truthful and valid.

"Most people in America use the internet, and when they use it they should expect to be free to search and post what they want; that is except unless they're intentionally posting or viewing something that is against the law. It's been a theory for some time that the government can view the American peoples' internet searches and browsing history, but are they and should they be doing it at all? Like in the earlier stages of our country, we will and most likely continue to have conflict with our government about certain issues, but the internet and things concerning it seems to be one of the major issues right now.

To what extent in the U.S. does the government–federal, state, and local–have the duty to monitor internet content? This is a question that many U.S citizens don't know the answer to. Everyday, people around the country search up anything they want without censorship. If you were warned that the government can see everything you search, would you browse what you usually do ever again?

Did you check your Facebook today? How about your E-Mail? If not, you may be missing something even now! In today’s fast-paced world of instant information, if you aren’t on the internet, you’re almost certainly uninformed. Networks and the internet make up an alarmingly large part of our life. We get our news (both personal and public) via the internet, we talk to friends, shop for things, pay our bills… but how vast is the monster that does all of this? This question, along with many others, is essential in the debate that rages on today: censoring the net. There are governments, not excluding our own, who believe in to some extent controlling who can access certain websites, and which are available to the general public. The very idea

People say that if the government were to censor what users can have access to on the internet, it will make it harder for terrorists to recruit people and even impossible to recruit them online. A problem arises if the government abuses its power. For example, if the government were to see something that don’t agree with say for instance a user on a website attempting to organize a peaceful protest, it could be labeled as an act of terrorism by the government just to get it removed. Actions like these may not happen in the United States but they do happen in other countries where their government has control over almost everything that its citizens have access to. Sally Driscoll and Tracey M. DiLasio said in the article titled “Counterpoint: There is no Need to Create New Censorship Laws Specifically for the Internet” “the influence of the Internet continues to spread around the world, many countries are struggling with the question of how best to control it. The worst censorship occurs in countries such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam. Saudi Arabia and Iran maintain the tightest Internet controls in the Middle East. Some of these ideals may also violate human rights laws.” Punishment for anything that may seem controversial in the eyes of the government in some of these countries can range from imprisonment to being tortured to death. There are people within some of these countries that may have family members outside of the country and their only means of communicating are through the internet. In some countries, you can be sentenced to death just by talking with someone outside of the

However, those who are against censorship on the Internet believe that it violates their right to free speech. Because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates radio and television, Internet users believe this is the only available forum that guarantees the open exchange of ideas. The freedom of expression is a right guaranteed to Americans and therefore should not be restricted by the government.

The Internet’s continuous advancement has produced the need for an on-going debate on whether or not the government should have the power to control the Internet. The idea of the government having control over what each country’s citizens can see on the Internet is also called Internet Censorship. Internet Censorship “is the control or suppression of the publishing of, or access to information on the Internet.” Internet Censorship varies from country to country depending on each country’s current usage and philosophy of how it should be used. (toptenreviews.com) Currently, there are ten countries including

"To what extent in the U.S. does the government–federal, state, and local–have the duty to monitor internet content? The U.S. government should not be able to control what people do outside of school. They need to mind their own business. People are going to do what they want to do regardless of whether they are monitored or not. Social media and the internet has become a huge part in our lives as Americans. We get most of our entertainment, like music, TV shows, instagram, snapchat, facebook, twitter, etc.

The internet is a popular place around the globe, and on there, there is a lot of data circulating around. This data contains many things including, messages, personal information, and even credit card numbers, but what does the government want with this data? Federal governments are constantly looking for new ways to control the people, and what better way than to regulate something than to use the internet, a platform that almost everyone has access to? But isn't the internet a place where you can be yourself and still remain anonymous? One example of a change that would be made once governments had the power to regulate the internet, is that a new EULA would be put into place, and anything that does not follow the agreement would have to be removed. Furthermore, EULA is a way to prevent people from violating rules, such as copyright, hacking, etc by making them accept an agreement which is like a contract(Cato). This would be especially hard on content creators as they would have many things already put up, and they would have to go back and get rid of the things that don't match what the rules say. As of right now, there are already rules about copyright such as the “Fair Use Policy” which allows other people to

These days the internet has become an essential part to living for almost everyone but one of the controversial topics that people bring up is that whether or not the government should regulate information on the internet. Both sides have valid points which form a reasonable argument. Some people would say that they need to because of the dangers lurking around in the cyber world but the reasons for why the government shouldn’t regulate the Internet outnumber the reasons for why they should. The federal government should not regulate or censor information on the internet because doing so violates the first amendment and citizen’s right to privacy, degrades the educational value of the web, prevents the promotion and facilitation of

Internet censorship is developing far and wide and influences us, regardless that as United States citizens, we have additional technological opportunities than what many other nations do. Numerous Americans underestimate the opportunities that living in the United States permits us. Whether we are sending electronic mail, posting on our social media pages, or seeking out the latest news, we are ensured the opportunity of self-expression and an inexhaustible amount of information right at our fingertips. Censorship takes control of people's expression, and many countries, governments, and leaders support it for this reason. Internet Censorship in the United States in comparison to different nations brings to light the global and ethical issue regarding the basic human rights of education, communication, and freedom.