Censorship Of The Internet example essay topic

Censorship is a word that breeds strong emotions in many people. Whether it is associated with speech, fashion, or the access to information. Censorship has been around since before the time of the bible. It has caused wars and revolutions. Censorship has always been a staple of Dictatorship and Totalitarian governments. These types of governments thrive off censorship because it gives them power to control, restrain, and limit what people hear, read, see, and speak.

Since the beginning of mass media mediums such as newspapers, radio, and television some form of censorship has been attempted. Often only subtle forms of censorship are accepted in most nations but in the totalitarian governments absolute censorship is the way of life. Absolute, Prior, or Formal censorship requires getting approval from the government or a high leader before any content is broadcast or published. In the early 90's a new medium, the Internet was opened to the public and its' popularity grew in enormous amounts. The growth rate of the online community continues to grow and the Internet has become almost an inevitable part of our daily lives.

And like all its predecessors attempts have been made to censor it. This is a political issue that has yet to be concluded on. There are many who feel the Internet should face strict censorship like supporter Senator Jim Exon, coauthor of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Senator Exon would like to make it a criminal offense to make available anything that is indecent using the protection of children as his basis: "The CDA makes it illegal to transmit or make available indecent material to children... The Decency Act stands for the premise that it is wrong to provide pornography to children on computers just as it is wrong to do it on the street corner or anywhere else" In opposition there are those who feel censorship of the internet would step on their freedom of speech and freedom of expression rights.

Many organizations have formed as a result of this social and political issue such as the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (C IEC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) all of which feel the censorship of the Internet is unconstitutional. Both sides have equally good arguments as to why the Internet should or should not be censored and an examination into both points of view is necessary. After digging into both sides of this argument and taking a look at where the issue stands today a conclusion and opinion can be formed. I already have a biased opinion but I will refrain from presenting it until both sides of this emotionally intense issue is looked over. Before examining the opposing sides of this issue a brief explanation and history of the Internet is appropriate.

In the early 60's the United States Department of Defense sensed the need to develop an agency specializing in advance research. This department is known as ARPA, the Advanced Research Project Agency. In efforts to develop a method of communication that would survive a nuclear attack the ARPA focused its attentions on developing a system of networks linking super-computers in the United States and so, the Internet not as we know it but the idea was fist conceived. As this network develops it uses remained limited. The electronic mail system was organized and email became a predominate feature of ARPANET as it was titled. By 1976 Queen Elizabeth goes online to send the first royal email message.

In the mid 80's the computer's size was reduced greatly from the giant room size computers to a smaller desktop version. This caused a boom in the ownership of personal computers. Along with the boom in personal computers powerful network -ready servers were developed allowing companies to join the Internet for the first time. In 1982 the term Internet is used for the first time. At the turn of the decade the ARPANET was decommissioned and the Internet was left to be a public network connecting 3,000,000 computers worldwide. And the rest is history.

The Internet does not simply consist of the World Wide Web. There are many other components such as the BBS (Bulletin Board Systems), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and E-mail (Electronic Mail), Information Services, Newsgroups, and many more. Many supporters of the CDA would like us to believe that the Internet is like other forms of media but it is not. The Internet is unlike any other information medium in history. The free flow of information available through the Internet takes it a step above all other forms of media. The capacity of the Internet is only limited by those who use it and with a computer, network connection, and proper software any one can be a publisher on the Internet.

This also sets the Internet apart from other mediums. Sources: Exon, Jim. "Press Release and Statement from Sen. Exon."Life on the Internet". PBS. Online.