Internet Censorship and Government Regulation

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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 ...

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....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. .

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