The Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act that was signed into law by President
Clinton over a year ago is clearly in need of serious revisions due, not only to its vagueness, but mostly due to the fact that the government is infringing on our freedom of speech, may it be indecent or not. The Communications Decency
Act, also know by Internet users as the CDA, is an Act that aims to remove indecent or dangerous text, lewd images, and other things deemed inappropriate from public areas of the net. The CDA is mainly out to protect children.
In the beginning, the anonymity of the Internet caused it to become a haven for the free trading of pornography. This is mainly what gives the
Internet a bad name. There is also information on the Net that could be harmful to children. Information on how to make home-made explosives and similar info such as The Jolly Rodgers and the Anarchist's Cookbook are easily obtained on the Net. Pedophiles (people attracted to child porn) also have a place to hide on the Internet where nobody has to know their real name. As the average age of the Internet user has started to drop, it has became apparent that something has to be done about the pornography and other inappropriate info on the net.
On February 1, 1995, Senator Exon, a Democrat from Nebraska, and Senator
Gorton, a Republican from Washington, introduced the first bill towards regulating online porn. This was the first incarnation of the
Telecommunications Reform Bill.
On April 7, 1995, Senator Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, introduces bill S714. Bill S714 is an alternative to the Exon/Gorton bill. This bill commissions the Department of Justice to study the problem to see if additional legislature (such as the CDA) is even necessary.
The Senate passed the CDA as attached to the Telecomm reform bill on
June 14, 1995 with a vote of 84-16. The Leahy bill does not pass, but is supported by 16 Senators that actually understand what the Internet is. Seven days later, several prominent House members publicly announce their opposition to the CDA, including Newt Gingrich, Chris Cox, and Ron Wyden. On September 26,
1995, Senator Russ Feingold urges committee members to drop the CDA from the
Telecommunications Reform Bill.
On Thursday, February 1, 1996, Congress passed (House 414-9, Senate 91-
5) the Telecommunications Reform Bill, and attached to it the Communications
Decency Act. This day was known as "Black Thursday" by the Internet community.
One week later, it was signed into law by President Clinton on Thursday,
February 8, 1996, also known as the "Day of Protest.
President Clinton could have just disapproved and vetoed the whole bill, but he didn’t.
The internet damages us, people have lost their ability to read full articles and don’t fully understand what they read and because of this,our natural intelligence will never be the same with the internet around, thinking for us.
SENATE VOTES 212-298, 393-493, reported by Congressional Quarterly, Washington D.C. September 2, thru October 14, 1995, 2680-3162.
The Internet is fraudulently represented in movies, such as The Net. Movie producers tap into the emotional fears of the public and stretch the fears of the viewers as far as they will go, stopping just before they access the peoples more rational train of thought. The Net, a popular movie in 1995, compels people to think that what is happening in this movie, could just as well happen to them. When the movie The Net came out in 1995, the public was just receiving the basic e-mail accounts. The common person had little to no knowledge of the Internet. As soon as filmmakers found this piece of information, they seized the idea of the Internet, a dangerous place for all. The producers gave the idea that if people type out where they live, what their telephone number is, etc., just to get their e-mail account, the government will track them and quite possibly, be running for their life. The public felt this way because of the misconceptions of where their info is going. They thought that while they were typing it out, it would be presented for many other people to see.
In the early part of the twentieth century, the general idea was that all Americans should have phone service. The other general idea regarding phone service was that the government should assist in promoting this as well. As a result of these general ideas the telecommunications industry became a natural monopoly. AT&T, which traces its routes to the founding of the telephone, promoted a Single Policy, Single System geared towards Universal Service. Thus by 1920, AT&T emerged as the dominant telecommunications company. Until 1934 AT&T was highly regulated by the states with price control per the government's request to protect consumers from abuses often associated with monopolies. The Telecommunications Act of 1934 created the Federal Communications Commission, which took regulation to the federal level.
...ed with a vote of 63-34. It was then sent to the House on October 25, 1999. On April 5, 2000, H.R. 3660 was passed with a vote of 287-141, then there was a motion to reconsider. It was then receive by the Senate on April 6, 2000.
Domestic Surveillance Citizens feeling protected in their own nation is a crucial factor for the development and advancement of that nation. The United States’ government has been able to provide this service for a small tax and for the most part it is money well spent. Due to events leading up to the terrifying attacks on September 11, 2001 and following these attacks, the Unites States’ government has begun enacting certain laws and regulations that ensure the safety of its citizens. From the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 to the most recent National Security Agency scandal, the government has attempted and for the most part succeeded in keeping domestic safety under control. Making sure that the balance between obtaining enough intelligence to protect the safety of the nation and the preservation of basic human rights is not extremely skewed, Congress has set forth requisites in FISA which aim to balance the conflicting goals of privacy and security; but the timeline preceding this act has been anything but honorable for the United States government.
Americans’ over-dependence on the internet is causing more harm than good. Technological advancement, coupled with our easy access to virtual life through computers, cell phones, iPods among others has introduced us into a new era of extreme livelihood and lifestyle; we have gradually expanded internet use to do most of our activities of daily living for us. This growing trend in internet obsession has led to increase in online sexual predators, social withdrawal, Internet fraud and health issues. This social stigma if left unchanged will lead to further deterioration in our emotional, physical and social wellbeing. This paper will take the position that our overly use of the Internet has caused more harm than good.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was enacted in 1986 to revise federal wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping provisions. It promotes the legitimate needs for law enforcement and most significantly, the privacy expectations of citizens. ECPA created the Stored Communications Act( SAC), which has created controversy in criminal cases where electronic communications have been present. Usually, in a case where electronic communications happened, one of the court's main task is to determine whether the crime violated the ECPA or the SCA. The case I will present next is a sample of the holding of a judge in a case where both of the acts became contradiction towards the final decision of the case.
3. Is Internet harmful or useful for children? Internet can be more than useful. It helps children in studies; it’s very easy to find information with the help of Internet. There is no n...
But can having this kind of power be a bad thing. I believe that in some cases it is and the internet can be highly dangerous if it is abused or used in the wrong hands. This is because the internet as much of a benefit it may be does have the potential to put other people at risk for anything from physical to psychological harm. People can use the internet to perform illegal activities such as:
The more we know about the dangers of the Internet the easier it will be to protect us from the threats against our privacy. It should be and can be a safe, fun place to explore. The dangers are many but they should not keep us away from enjoying the vast resources that the Internet offers.
The internet could also be negative to our kids lives. The internet is very addicting to society. Internet has a variety of negative effects on a person. The largest effect is social. People draw from friends in family , instead they are using the computers to inter...
In this modern age using of technological gadgets is very norm and usual, almost everyone nowadays owns a pair of gadget in their hands. Overusing of the technological gadget can not only be risky to the health, but also to psychological aspect of the child. Overusing causes addiction to the gadget which can be the cause of many children and teenagers procrastinating many things. Especially ignoring their studies and pleasing them with the entertainment that the gadget hold within itself. The internet holds a broad range of information that a person can search and explore without consuming a lot of time. The internet also holds plethora of negative effects as it causes a person to think differently and to behave differently.
The use of the internet has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you have more knowledge than at any other time in history. On the other hand, there are violent websites or dangerous content and, in addition, people can be anonymous, which allows generating even more violence.