Is Censorship Legislation The Solution To Regulating Offensive Material On The Internet?

Censorship on the Internet is a volatile issue surrounded by much debate. Many user-groups feel that it is the responsibility of the federal government to regulate offensive material on the Internet; others feel that it is a parent's responsibility to monitor what is viewed in the home and deemed "offensive". Due to increasing numbers of on-line porn, child pornography and on-line harrasment sites on the Internet, the Communications Decency Act was proposed by the United States Government in 1996, to regulate such material. As a group, we have examined the motivating factors behind the legislation and both sides of the censorship debate.

Members of the United States Government have attempted to impose legislation and government regulatory controls in the past (such as the Exon Ammendment of 1995); yet the Communications Decency Act was the first regulatory bill to cause such heated debate among Internet users on the issue of censorship. Sharmila Ratnam explores the history of Internet regulation and the future of the Communications Decency Act. Included in her study are ethical and legal aspects of the Act as well as criminal charges that accompany violations to the Act. Sharmila also uncovers some of the problems associated with regulatory legislation.

The Internet is a useful communication tool that provides users with both information and entertainment. Unfortunately there are increasing numbers of sites on the Internet that contain pornographic materials which are offensive and unnapropriate for certain audiences. These audiences include youths under the age of 18. Jennifer Lomas explores why pornographic sites need to be censored, and how we can go about regulating them on-line . Jennifer suggests that regulatory agencies such as "Cyber Angels" may help to remove various types of pornographic sites from the Internet.

Internet user-groups such as Families Against Internet Censorship, the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition and the American Civil Liberties Union are against government regulated Internet censorship. Claire Fayers explores premises that motivate anticensorship groups and ways in which these groups would like to self-regulate offensive material on the Internet. Claire looks at blocking software packages like Net Nanny and Safe Surf as possible alternatives to government censorship legislation.

Internet censorship is not an issue that has a black or white solution. If the government regulates offensive material on the Internet, some groups will feel as though their First Ammendment rights have been violated. On the other hand, an un-censored Internet will increase the likelihood of children visiting pornographic sites. As a group, we have identified blocking software packages as the most effective and unintrusive methods of regulating what one's child views on the Internet. As for regulating offensive material posted on the Internet, agencies like "Cyber Angels" may serve as viable policing mechanisms for controling pornographic web sites. For further information on this debate, please visit our annotated bibliography .

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The porn eraser functions of Media Detective are required to do a proper PC cleanup; cookie cleaners will not leave your pc cleaner of media files than before. Internet eraser and internet cleanup tools only serve to leave internet history cleaner. Various other hard drive clean up tools only really delete cache entries etc. leaving actual pornography on the computer.

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CNN.com - Web challenges traditional obscenity standard - Dec. 11 ... The Supreme Court has not taken up the question of what is considered obscene since 1973, before the VCR and the Internet revolutionized how people view ...

Internet Use Policy - Enoch Pratt Free Library - Baltimore, MD ... to Internet material containing visual depictions that are obscene , contain child pornography, or are harmful to minors) on its Internet computers. ...

Regulation of Obscene and Indecent Materials Transmitted Through ... ... ie the number of Internet users in Hong Kong and the incidence of Internet users encountering obscene or indecent materials on the Internet . ...