Censorship+Online

=** Censorship Online   **= = Central Question: Is censorship //justified// ?= **Why does the government censor certain information or websites?** media type="youtube" key="XPAvg6CU6sI" height="248" width="317" align="right"

//**Why**// and //**how**// did censorship begin? - People, especially the young, were using the internet for amusement, shopping,chat rooms, and videos - However, people soon began to access pornography - There became the conflict between adult porn and child porn. - Child porn became illegal because innocent victims were being exsposed - Adult porn became seen as “victimless porn” because the porn was for citizens over the age of 18 and couldn't harm children - Parents began to see what their children were being exposed to. - Affected: adults, children, teens, parents, and politicians - Consequently, Congress took action **__ Issue of censorship: __**  - The controversy is that censorship is a violation of the 1ST amendment rights and  no law can abridge these amendment rights. - The question becomes who owns the internet? Because the Department of  Defense first created the internet but then private companies began spreading   and promoting their own source of internet ISP(Internet Service Provider) at@t, Verizon, Comcast, the dish,   - The conflict arrose if parents should monitor and keep a close eye on their child’s internet usage   - Unites people to protect minors   - Divides people because censorship affects adults’ access to websites and can create overblocking of valuable websites  <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> -But due to the "broadband era" ( high speed internet) acces to websites are even faster, which furthers the production of higher quality filtering software

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**__The Ultimate Solution to issue:__** filtering software   -Problem created over blocking of valuable sites especially in libraries <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- 1995: Graduate student Jake Baker of University of Michigan <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- Baker posted graphic stories about rape, torture, murder, and kidnapping to an internet news group called “alt.sex.stories” <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- One story contained a classmate of a rape <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- Case released questions about how the legal system should police the internet <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- Baker became suspended from the university <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- Charges were dismissed because the judge declared he could not be punished because the first amendment protects freedom of speech. He could only be prosecuted if the information was a direct threat <span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">- ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) defended Baker <span style="color: #3aa5df; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**__Initial Legal actions towards censorship:__** <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - 1996: Communications Decency Act: states that it is a federal crime to transmit “obscene or indecent” material to anyone under the age of 18. ( sparked from the controversy of minors accessing pornography)
 * __<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">- Court case that introduced censorship and harmful material on the internet __**



**__ Supreme Court Cases: __** <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - Reno v. ACLU: Supreme Court declares Communications Decency Act unconstitutional <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - Miller v. California: Supreme Court declares a 3-part question test to determine if the materal on the website is obscene Q1: if the average person considers the material inappropriate Q2: if the website lacks artistic or literal value Q3: if the website appeals to the “purest “interest and describes any offers towards sexual conduct However, the issue becomes more debatable because everyone has different values. Different people will have a wide range of judgments and differ between disturbing and obscene material. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - 1999-COPA: Child Online Protection Act: The law stated that there will <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> be harmful penalties for internet websites who distribute  <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> harmful material to minors. They would be fined up to 50,000, 6 months in jail, or both. <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - 2000: Congress passed Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA): <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> law requires libraries to input filtering software into their computers in order to receive federal funding As a result, libraries became unhappy because valuable sites were being blocked or censored. For instance, literary works have been banned such as Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Also, websites for research topics tend to be offensive and these sites were being blocked.

- 2003: U.S. v. American Library Association : uphelds the governement requiring libraries to install filtering software in their computers for the governement funding __** Recent! **__ -2009: ACLU v. Mukasey: COPA not enforced! <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - Supreme Court denies COPA <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - COPA unconstitutional because COPA made every website provider <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> abide by the normal “community standards” <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - Law violates first amendment rights <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> - No way to protect minors from exposure towards harmful materials and burdens adults access <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 2010: -President Obama has declared a "Network Neutrality" : the internet is neutral to  <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> anyone with an idea. That person can create a website and distribute it <span style="display: block; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"> componets of this act are: 1. access any lawful content 2. use any applications or services 3. connect any devices that do not harm the network 4. benefit from competition among network providers **<span style="color: #15289d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">So should government censorship certain websites and block certain materal in order to protect minors? ** **<span style="color: #15289d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Does this censorship affect more adults than minors? **



__ Sources __ <span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">ACLU v. Mukasey -- Challenge to Internet Censorship." //EPIC - Electronic Privacy Information Center//. Web. 17 May 2011. [].  Internet Censorship." //American Civil Liberties Union//. Web. 18 May 2011. []. Marzilli, Alan. //Policing the Internet//. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2005. Print "Network Neutrality 101 - Why the Government Must Act to Preserve the Free And Open Internet." //American Civil Liberties Union//. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.aclu.org/free-speech-technology-and-liberty/network-neutrality-101-why-government-must-act-preserve-free-and->.