Internet Censorship
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Looking at the First Amendment, Americans are given numerous freedoms. These freedoms are constitutional rights that can not be taken away, but many people take these freedoms to the extreme, and the internet proves this point well. Serious action must be taken when it comes to the censorship on the internet. What is internet censorship? Internet censorship is control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet.
Exploration of the Internet
Research has proven that search results have lead to young children discovering sites they should not be viewing. An individual once did a search on the black hole, included in their list of results was multiple pages showing an African American female and her “hole.” As humorous as it may seem, think of what a parent has to deal with when a child comes to them for explanations on such a topic. Its hard enough to explain the topic of sex to children. When they do, they want it to be something special, not looked at in the extremely distasteful manners that appear online.
We must find a way to fully limit the replies that people get back. There are filters that can be used to negate adult content from search results, but people are beginning to find ways to get around these “fences” that block their websites. When the topic of taking pornography off the web comes up, people become angry. They feel as if their rights are being taken away, but when in actuality, this censorship is already present in todays media. Television has greatly changed over the years. Freedom of speech has been clearly shown on T.V. and in movies, due to the foul language that is now allowed. There is a definite limit on what can be placed on the air though, if you want to see detailed sex acts you must pay, often very expensive prices. You will also never see vivid pictures in newspapers or news magazines.
Government Policies
The First Amendment of the US Constitution provides for the strongest protection of free speech of any Constitution in the world. Even with it, the US Congress and the states have enacted a number of laws mandating censorship of the Internet.
The USA Government has enacted two Federal laws intended to censor offensive online content. Neither of these laws is in force as of March 2002. The first law (the CDA) was struck down by the USA Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds. The second law (the COPA), which is more focused only on communications that are made for commercial purposes on the World Wide Web, is the subject of a Court injunction. Since 1996, four U.S. states, New York, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia have passed Internet censorship legislation banning online distribution of material harmful to minors.
Information on the Federal laws:
The Communications Decency Act (CDA)
The CDA was enacted in February 1996. In the same month, a US Court issued a restraining order preventing its enforcement. In June 1996, a panel of federal judges in Philadelphia ruled the CDA unconstitutional. In June 1997, the US Supreme Court struck down the CDA on grounds that it violated the First Amendment. The CDA prohibited Internet users from using