Censorship On The Internet

Censorship on the Internet


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 boo
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