Internet Censorship and Government Regulation

1044 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Internet censorship essay

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 innovation and technology and it would promote civil unrest.
First of all, if the Internet was regulated by the government, this would violate the first amendment and the citizen’s right to privacy (Parrish). More than 55 percent of U.S citizens agree with the fact that the federal government should not regulate the Internet (Wark). One of the main rights granted to Americans was the right to free speech and freedom of the press. Censoring the Internet would go in direct violation of this amendment. It would also take away the citizen’s right to privacy. Censoring would mean that the government is in some way controlling the people which would rid of them their privacy rights. It is mainly used in some sort of dictatorship. The federal government regulating or censoring the internet would decrease the value of democracy in our country. Also, the people have the right to know specific information. Censoring the internet would mean that the government would be keeping information away from the citizens ...

... middle of paper ...

....d. Web. 12 May 2014. .
Redwin, Breanna. "A Look at the Pros and Cons of Censorship." Suite. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. .
Saad, Lydia. "In U.S., Online Education Rated Best for Value and Options." In U.S., Online Education Rated Best for Value and Options. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. .
Today, Usa. "Top 10 Internet-censored countries." USA Today. Gannett, 5 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 May 2014. .
Wark , Robin. "Should Governments Regulate The Internet?." ParetoLogic Inc.. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Censorship in Lord of The Flies by William Golding

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    "A Global History of Censorship." Guarding Public Morality: A Global History of Censorship. N p.g., 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Censorship is Not an Effective Way to Protect Children

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    National Coalition Against Censorship. National Coalition Against Censorship. Ed. NCAC. n.d. Web. April 22 2012.

    Read More

  • CBA

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are over 2,405,518,376 internet users on a global scale. More than 50% of the world has a form of Internet censorship, and of those countries China, North Korea, Iran, and Vietnam heavily restrict its citizens. This recent topic has reached new heights in the US with the growing number of internet access. More and more people are debating whether the internet should be censored. Internet censorship is the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the internet.

    Read More

  • Internet and Politics - Despotic Regimes and Internet Censorship

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Internet is impossible to censor, right? Not if you are a despotic regime throwing all your resources into it. You won't stop everyone and everything, but if the aim is to prevent enough citizens from getting free speech to topple your regime, then you can succeed.

    Read More

  • America's Decline of Freedom of Speech

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mintcheva, Svetlana. "Land of the free?." Index on censorship 42.2 (2013):70-73. Web. 11 November 2013.

    Read More

  • Concerning Internet Censorship

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Internet not be censored because people have the right to judge what is right and wrong to look at, red, or watch. Because of this many people feel that is the person or the person parents responsibility to censor what they are watching on the internet tv or what ever it may be. Censoring the internet will just lead to many downfalls for people in the future. It is not a good idea because the people who are making the cites that people are visiting would lose much money and become corrupt.

    Read More

  • Internet Censorship

    2830 Words  | 6 Pages

    The rights put forth by the first amendment protect the Internet. The first amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (Wallace). In layman’s terms, this means that the government does not have the right to take away freedoms that involve speech or the press of the American people. The Internet’s lack of censorship encompasses Americans’ freedom because of the first amendment.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Internet Censorship

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    Internet is a powerful tool that allows users to collaborate and interact with others all over the world conveniently and relatively safely. It has allowed education and trade to be accessed easily and quickly, but all these benefits do not come without very taxing costs. This is especially true when dealing with the likes of the Internet. Countries in the European Union and Asia have realized this and have taken action against the threat of net neutrality to protect their citizens, even at the cost of online privacy. Internet censorship is required to protect us from our opinions and vices. Every country should adopt Internet censorship and regulation since it improves society by reducing pornography, racism/prejudice, and online identity theft.

    Read More

  • Privacy: Security, Confidentiality, or Convenience?

    3152 Words  | 7 Pages

    The evolution of the Internet started from the department of defense's project, and rapidly distributed to world wide. With the rise of the Internet age comes with the benefits and the concerns. Because of the easeness to communicate information and displaying data, the first amendment needs to be applied to this communication channel. How are we using and communicating information without offending and harm others? Since the evolution of the Internet, there has been acts from Congress to regulate the use the Internet such as the Communications Decency Act in 1996 and the Child Online Protection Act in 1998. These acts aim to forbid Internet users from displaying offensive speech to users or exposing children of indecent materials. The Internet raises other issues that people might have. The biggest and most debatable topic is the privacy issue. Is the Internet a safe place to protect personal information such as financial information, medical data, etc…? Some people who are computer literate or at least with some experience in software and technology would not trust to release the information on the web or at random sites . As a matter of fact, any unknown or small vendor on the web would have difficulty getting many customers to do business online. Big vendors such as Amazon would want to secure their network infrastructure to protect the users information, so that their server would not be hacked. However, even this style of protecting personal information is not enough. The users demand further protection such as ensuring their information is not being sold to other vendors for misuse, or spam the users mailbox with soliticing.

    Read More

  • To What Extent Should The Government Regulate The Internet

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first reason the American government should not regulate the internet is because of cost. The government would to spend money on the equipment to regulate the internet. According to Robert McDowell from the Washington post "Paired with the amount of money that would have to be spent on creating filters and sifting through the almost infinite amount of information available would be staggering" (3). This would just something else the government would have to spend the countries money on. This would take people to go through the internet and the

    Read More

  • Regulating the Internet

    2312 Words  | 5 Pages

    The internet has been one of the most influential technological advancements of the twenty-first century. It is in millions of homes, schools, and workplaces. The internet offers not only a way of communicating with people around the world, but also a link to information, shopping, chatting, searching, and maps. This freedom to be anyone and to "go" anywhere right from the comfort of home has become a cherished item. However, there is always a down side to every up. Because of the freedom to post anything and access anything on the internet, the issue of regulation has arisen; for example, what should and should not be allowed on the internet? Who has the right to regulate this space that we cherish for its freedom?

    Read More

  • Should Government Monitor Internet Content

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    The biggest issue with the government monitoring internet content in recent news is the repeal of Net Neutrality. Many have argued that repealing net neutrality could be in violation of the First or Fourth Amendments, however, net neutrality has only begun to exist in recent years. It’s hard to argue the repeal to be unconstitutional when the act itself was only so recently enacted. The repeal of net neutrality would allow to government to censor some of the internet content that has been available to us. This issue has left many citizens of the U.S.

    Read More

  • Internet Regulation

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the general public and is concerned with some form of censorship.

    Read More

  • Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace

    2593 Words  | 6 Pages

    Free speech on the Internet is a very controversial subject and has been the key problem surrounding the Internet today. The attempt to regulate and govern the Internet is still pursued by government officials. This subject has been intensified due to terrorist attacks against the United States and around world within the past years. The government believes that by regulating the Internet, it will protect the general public from criminal actions and eliminate the exposure of children to pornography or vulgar language. Senator Jim Exon of ...

    Read More

  • Internet Censorship: Is It Really Necessary?

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Internet is an extremely educational and communicative tool. Everyone can access a tremendous amount of information and connect with people on the other end of the planet; it is capable of doing everything. Nowadays, the society is facing a variety of challenges and controversies which are mostly related to religion, morality, the economic crisis, etc., and the most talked-about issue in today’s world is “Internet censorship”. Although the Internet is very useful, many people are suggesting the idea of censoring the Internet; however, the government should not censor the Internet because a free and open Internet usage has many positive impacts on people’s lives.

    Read More

More about Internet Censorship and Government Regulation

Open Document