The Internet And The Rights Of Private Citizens - 1369 Words

The Internet and the Rights of Private Citizens Good afternoon Ladies and Gentleman. Today I would like to discuss a few of the laws that govern one of the world’s greatest assets, the Internet. It is the finest source of inspired, diverse, enabling and democratizing communication ever to tie people across the globe together. Anyone with some simple computer equipment can communicate their ideas to countless people at one time through what can truly be called the world s first true mass media. Serving as a tool for community organizing and citizen participation it stimulates tolerance and encourages mutual consideration by joining people from all over the world. It is multifaceted indispensible tool for freedom. If free speech and†¦show more content†¦The Communications Decency Act (CDA) was written to stop and or target online obscenity and child pornography, however, these types of speech were previously illegal under other current federal laws. According to the CDA it is a crime to send, display or view any content considered to be that is considered â€Å"indecent† or â€Å"patently offensive.† Problem arises in the useable definitions of indecent and patently offensive. In the past, the CDA has banned and attempted to prosecute constitutionally protected speech on the Internet on topics like sexuality, reproduction, civil liberties, and human rights. There were multiple lawsuits and court cases after President Clinton signed this bill into law in 1996. Various online communication users and providers from political, educational, medical, artistic, and social value venues were all possible targets for prosecution under CDA. This government censorship was unnecessa ry because there are already laws and filtering technologies in place to protect children in schools and libraries. Parents also have access to screening and filtering technology to protect their children if they choose to use them. Parents can also limit computer access and be diligent about scrutinizing where their children go on the Internet. The CDA’s law banning indecent and patently offensive material is an