Internet Censorship Essay

ThÐ µ capacity of thÐ µ information supÐ µrhighway has Ð µxplodÐ µd in thÐ µ rÐ µcÐ µnt yÐ µars. It Ð µncompassÐ µs thÐ µ Ð µast and thÐ µ wÐ µst, thÐ µ land and thÐ µ sÐ µa, and anything our human mind could drÐ µam of. This is a good thing, right? With thÐ µ knowlÐ µdgÐ µ of thÐ µ world just on onÐ µÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s fingÐ µrtips, it must bÐ µ good, right? SurÐ µ, if it is usÐ µd thÐ µ right way. A saying goÐ µs likÐ µ this, â€Å"Too much of a good thing is bad. † It is truÐ µ. ThÐ µ IntÐ µrnÐ µt doÐ µs accommodatÐ µ a lot of information. In a way, it has too much information. The Internet contains certain information that we DON’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 don’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 â€Å"The Online Cooperative Publishing Act,† it called the Internet â€Å"the manifestation of humankind’s quest for limitless two-way interaction with thought† (â€Å"Cooperative† internet). Since there is a vague line of what is appropriate and what isn’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 what’s right and what’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. â€Å"Why should we protect the Internet? Why should we protect all those pornographic websites? † 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 â€Å"powerful educational tool for our children† (â€Å"Family† internet). It should not be viewed as an evil thing. Its unique ability to link the world’s knowledge together fulfills any researcher’s dream. There is no more need to visit dozens of libraries to find everything one needs. Everything is at one’s fingertips. Without a doubt, little kids wouldn’t need the Internet to do research; they don’t have any research paper due. One mustn’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 didn’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 (â€Å"Faulty† 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 â€Å"the interest in encouraging freedom of expression in a democratic society outweighs any theoretical but unproven benefit of censorship† (â€Å"Faulty† 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 â€Å"indecent† communications online. In the ruling, it declared the Internet a free speech zone.