Internet Freedom or Suppression

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RyanThomas

Mr.CosminRitiviou

English102

7May2015

InternetFreedomorSuppression

Theinternetcanbeplacedwiththemostinfluentialinventionsinhumanhistory.With

almostthreebillionusersithasbecomeveryenormous.Becauseithasbecomesuchalarge

andefficientresourcetherearemanygovernmentsthatarebeginningtofeeltheneedto

regulatetheusageoftheinternet.Thisviewoftheworldwidewebisstartingtobecomea

verycontroversialtopic.Ononesideoftheargumenttherearethosewhoexpresstheir

concernaboutlosingtheirrighttospeakastheypleaseontheinternet,andontheotherside

therearethosewhowanttoexertcontrolovertheinternetandthosewhouseitsuchas

governmentswhowanttoincreasetaxrevenue.Havingtwoverystronglyopinionatedsides

makesforaveryheatedargumentonwhatshouldbedonetomaintaintheinternet.Themain

contendersofinternetfreedomaresmallindependentusersandorganizationsthatpromote

theflowoffreeinformationandmaterialsforanyinternetuser.Themaincontendersof

internetcensorshiparemainlylargecorporationsandgovernmentaffiliatedorganizations

whoareconcernedaboutpublicsafety.Thesetwogroupsareattemptingtoleavetheirmark

ontheinternetandhowweinteractwithit.Becausetheinternetisnotlocatedwithinasingle

sovereignstateitwouldbeunrealistictocensorallpartsofitequally.Theinternetisalways

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expanding,whichmeansitisalwayschanging.Itseemsimpossibletoestablishasetofrules

fortheinternetasawhole.Theinternetsgrowthshouldnotbehinderedbyhaving

inconsistentrulesandregulationsplaceduponthosewhouseit.

Internetcensorshipoccurswhenthepublicoragroupofindividualsaredeniedthe

abilitytousetheinternetastheywish,includingblockingorprohibitingcertainonline

materials.Someviewthisasprohibitingthepracticeoffreespeech.Theinternetstartedto

becomepopularduringthe1990swhenpersonalcomputersbecameprominent.Sincethen

therehasbeenalargesurgeofusersthisalsoproducedalargeincreaseofvirusesand

hackers.

Virusesarenotsomekindofsicknessthatcomputersgetfromjustbeingonthe

internet.Acomputervirusisamalwareprogramthatisunintentionallydownloadedontoa

computersharddrivecausingunpredictablememorylossorprogramcorruption.These

virusesgetontothecomputersharddrivewhenaharmfulhyperlinkisactivatedorwhen

corruptedfilesareopened.Thevirusesarehiddeninhyperlinksthatcanbefoundin

advertisementsorincorruptedfilessentinspamemails.Someofthesevirusescontaincodes

thatallowhackerstohaveabackdoorintoaninfectedcomputer.Thesebreachesofsecurity

cancausepersonalprivateinformationtobeexposed.Thesedatabreacheshavebeen

catchingthepublicsattentionandcausingidentitytheftconcerns.

Computerhackershavealsobeenontherisesincethebeginningoftheinternet.

Thieveshavefoundthevalueofobtainingpeoplesprivateinformationsuchascreditcard

numbersandhealthrecords.Privateinformationisvulnerabletobetamperedwithorstolen

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unlessproperencryptionisused.Hackerscanbefreelancingoremployedbygovernmentsor

corporationstobreakencryptioncodes.Forinstanceacompanyownerhasclassified

informationaboutthecompanythatwouldbevaluableforanothercompetitor.An

unscrupulouscompetitormaypayahackertogetthisinformation.

Initiallytheinternetwasarelativelysafeplacetosendandreceiveinformation.

However,thissafetywasfoundonlyincertaincountriessuchastheUnitedStatesof

AmericaandmostofWesternEurope.OthercountriessuchasIndia,China,andcountriesin

SouthAmericadonotconsistentlyhavethissafeexchangeofinformation.

IntheUnitedStatesofAmericaeverycitizenhasfreedomofspeechaccordingtothe

FirstAmendment.Citizensinothercountriesdonotalwayshavethisfreedomgivenbythe

governmenttoexpresstheirownviews.Havingtheserestrictionsinsomecountriesandnot

inotherscausesproblemsforthosewhoaretryingtogoverntheinternetasawhole

encompassingallthecountries.However,comparingthefreedomofexpressionheldbythe

peopleintheUnitedStatesofAmericatothoseheldincountriessuchasChinaorNorth

Korea,itissafetosaythatthesimilaritybetweenthemhassubstantialdifferences.The

citizensoftheUnitedStatesofAmericahavethefreedomtopublishnearlyanythingthey

choosetopost.TheyhavethisrightduetotheFirstAmendmentwhichstates,

Congressshallmakenolawrespectinganestablishmentofreligion,or

prohibitingthefreeexercisethereoforabridgingthefreedomofspeech,orof

thepressortherightofthepeoplepeaceablytoassemble,andtopetitionthe

Governmentforaredressofgrievances.(BillofRights)

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ThispassagestatesthatthecitizensoftheUnitedStatesofAmericahavetherightto

speaktheirmind,andtopracticewithinreasonwhattheyascitizensfeelisright.Nowthis

onlyappliestothosewholiveintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Thisiswheremanyofthe

issueswithinternetregulationarise.Howevertherearemanycountrieswhodonothavethis

samerightfortheircitizens.AccordingtolegalexpertJonathanZittrainandscholarJohn

Palfrey,

Asanormativematter,broad,informalInternetfilteringseemslikean

infringementofthecivillibertiesor,putmoreforcefully,thehuman

rightsofallofuswhousethefree,public,unitary,globalnetworkof

networksthattheInternetconstitutes.Butstateshaveastrongargumentthat

theyhavetherighttocontroldomesticmatters,whetherornottheyoccurin

cyberspace,andthereisoftenlittlethatotherstatescandotoinfluencethem.

ThefutureoftheInternet,ifnotallgeopolitics,hangsinthebalance.(Zittrain,

Palfrey30)

Thecontentsoftheinternetcanbeaffectedbyanyuser.Sincethisisthecaseany

countrywholimitstheuseoftheinternetischangingtheinternetscomposition.Alsoefforts

putforthtoadjusthowcertaingovernmentsmonitortheircitizensuseagearemorethanfutile

atbest.Theinternetsfutureisatstakeiftheseproblemsarenotresolved.

Wikipediaisoneofthemostusedwebsitesaroundtheworld.Therearemorethanfour

milliondifferenttopicsonthisonlineencyclopediaeverythingfromreligion,sports,business,

entertainment,andgovernmentrelatedsubjects.SinceWikipediahassuchabroadrangeof

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topics,somecountrieshavestartedblockingthewebsiteasawholebecausethereissucha

surplusofmaterialsthatcannotbefilteredoutindividually.Chinaforexamplehasblocked

Wikipediainthepast.

TheblockingandunblockingofWikipediainChinaaswithallotherfiltering

inChina,withoutannouncementoracknowledgmentmightalsobegrounded

inafearofthecommunal,criticalprocessthatWikipediarepresents.The

purposeofWikipediaistocreateanddistributeamultilingualfree

encyclopediaofthehighestqualitytoeverysinglepersonontheplanetintheir

ownlanguage,andthemeansofcreatingitisthroughengagementofthe

publicatlargetocontributewhatitknowsandtodebateinearnestwherebeliefs

differ,offeringsourcesandargumentsinquasiacademicstyle.(Zittrian,Palfrey

29)

TheblockingofWikipediaisanexampleofgovernmentcensorship.Wikipediais

givingpeopleallaroundtheworldaccesstoinformationintheirownlanguage.ForChina

thisiscouldjeopardizealltherulesandstandardsofcommunismthattheyhaveestablished

tokeeporder,sotheyusekeywordlistblocking.Whatthisdoesispreventaccessto

websitesthatcontaincertainwords.Chinaisnottheonlycountrytousekeywordlist

blocking,thereareahandfulofcountriesthatusethismethod.SaudiArabia,Yemen,and

manyothercountriesusekeywordlistblockingalongwithIPblocking.

IPBlockingisoneofthemostbasicmethodsthatgovernmentsusefor

censorship,asitsimplypreventsallpacketsgoingtoorfromtargetedIP

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addresses.Thisisaneasytechnologytoimplement,butitdoesnotaddressthe

problemofindividualcommunicationsbetweenusers.Thismethodisusedto

blockbannedwebsites,includingnewssitesandproxyserversthatwould

allowaccesstobannedcontent,frombeingviewed.(Figliola14)

IPblockingisabroadwaytolimittheaverageuserfromaccessingthosewebsites

whichhavebeenflaggedasapotentialthreat.Websitesareshutdownandcantbeaccessed,

butindividualuserscanstillcommunicatebetwixteachother.Thepersontoperson

communicationsuchasemailandsocialmediaiswhatmostgovernmentsdonotwant.These

formsofinteractionarealwaysveryunpredictable,whichmakesitmoredifficultforany

governmentagencytryingtofindsomething.Thatiswhyemails,socialmedia,andpeerto

peerforumsarethefirsttobecensoredandblocked.Theinformationbeingtransferredfrom

persontopersonistoohardtomonitorsogovernmentshaveblockedwholetypesof

communicationmodesinordertoblockindividualcommunication.Inadditiontotwoway

communicationbetweenindividualsthereisalsoonewaycommunicationintheformof

publicwebsites.Theavailabilityofthesewebsitestochildrenhasbeenusedasjustification

tocensortheinternet.

Concernaboutchildren'ssafetyisavalidconcernbecauseinadditiontothebenefitsof

theworldwidewebtherearealsodangers.MadanRaostates,

DespitethevasteducationalpotentialoftheNet,fearspersistregardingthe

presenceofcontentwhichcouldhaveaharmfuleffectonchildrenusingthe

Internet,especiallysex,nudity,violenceandlanguage.Theseconcernshave

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ledtoanumberofinternationalinitiativestocoordinatehotlinesforreporting

illegalorharmfulmaterial.(Rao2)

Whilechildrenusetheinternet,theyareverysusceptibletoharmfulideas,pictures,

videos,andpeople.Theyruntheriskofseeingillicitpornography.Thisiswhymanypeople

saythatthelawsofthelandshouldbethegoverningguidetotheinternet.YamanAkdeniz

states,

ItwouldbewrongtoconsidertheInternetasalawlessplaceandthereforelaw

ofthelandwouldalsoapplytotheinternetintheory.Thisisalsotrueforthe

availabilityofillegalcontentovertheInternet.Contentrelatedcriminallaws

wouldalsoapplytotheInternetiftheperpetratorsarewithintheUK

jurisdiction.(Akdeniz303)

Everyplaceintheworldhassomekindrulestoadhereto,eveniftheruleisnorules.

Theinternetisnotvoidofthatstandard.Itshouldhavesomekindoflaworlawstogovernthe

activitythatgoeson.Itwouldseemreasonablethatthelawofthelandwheretheuseris

locatedshouldbethegoverningrulesetthatregulatestheinternet.Theseruleshowevercould

encroachoncitizenspersonalfreedomsandleadtoinappropriategovernmentsurveillance.

Theinternetisaveryusefultoolthathasbeenabletohelpalotofpeoplefindcopious

amountsofinformationonnearlyeverytopicimaginable.Itwouldseemlikeabenefitto

haveunlimitedaccesstoatoollikethis.Howeverthisisnotcompletelytrue.Therearesome

benefitstohavingtheinternetregulated.Terrorismisamajorproblemontheinternet.Most

terroristsusetheinternettocommunicatewitheachother,torecruitnewmembersandto

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accomplishtheirwork.Iftheinternetwasregulatedthiswouldslowdowntheirinteractions

ortheywouldhavetofindanothermediumtocommunicatewith.

Anotheradvantagetohavingtheinternetmonitoredistheterminationofchild

pornography.Childpornographyisillegalbutitisstillhighlycovetedbymanymenand

women.Highlystrictmonitoringfortheinternetwouldimpedemostviewersfromtaking

partinit.

Fraudisalsoalargeproblemthatwouldbedealtwithiftheinternetwassupervised

morecarefully,thisincludesspamemails,piracy,andtheft.Allofthesearebecomingreal

problemsformostinternetusers.Spamemailsforexamplecausesmanytolosetheirprivacy,

byunknowinglyallowingthirdpartyuserstohaveaccesstoanyfilesonapersonal

computer,suchaspictures,documents,contacts,andlocationsoftheowner..Thishappensto

mainlyolderpeoplewhoaremoresusceptibletonotseeingallthatisinvolved.

Piracyisalsoontherise.Piracyiswhensomeonetakescopiesofaproductor

programthattheydidnotcreateandeithersellitorgiveitawayforfree.Peoplerefertothis

typeofinternetusageastorrenting.Thisiswhenpictures,movies,games,music,andfiles

aresharedanddownloadedbyvirtuallyanyoneforfree.Usuallynomoneyistransferred

duringtorrenting,sotheoriginalowneroftheproductdoesnotreceiveanymoneyforthose

copiesthatweremade.Iftheinternethadstrongerregulationsthenthisfreewayofdata

wouldbeclosed.

Onelastbenefittohavingtheinternetcensoredisatemployerownedworkstations.

Inmanydifferentcompaniesandofficestheinternetishighlyrestricted.Thereareacouple

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ofverygoodreasonsforthisdisplayofdecisiveaction.First,manycompanycomputershave

highlyclassifiedinformationthatdoesnotbelongontheinternetinanysense.Second,many

employeesfindittooeasytodriftontotheinternetandspendtheworkdaysurfingtheweb

andnotaccomplishingtheirjobtasks.ThatiswhysitessuchasFacebook,YouTube,and

Twitterareblockedonmanycompanycomputers.Thesescenariosprovidesupportfor

havingstricterrulesandregulationsputontheinternet.However,therearesomedownfalls

tohavingalltheserulesandregulationsinplaceforallinternetuserstoadhereto.

Toproperlyunderstandbothsidesoftheissueonehastoalsolookatthe

disadvantagesofhavingtheinternetsoheavilyregulated.Iftheinternetwasmonitored

continuallyforfraudandotherwiseillegalactivityuserswouldbesubjecttohavingalossof

privacy.Thegovernmentorwhoeverwashiredforthatjobwouldbegoinginandoutof

personalfilesandcookieslookingforillegalthings.Havingtheseregulationsinplacemeans

thatthemajorityofinternetuserswilladheretothemandstaywithintheacceptableareasof

theinternet.However,lawsdonotstopthecrime.Forinstancetherearelawsagainstillegal

drugsfortheirsaleanduse,buttheyarebothstillboughtandsold.Iftheinternethadthese

lawsregardingthetypeofservicesandgoodsexchangedthenitwouldonlymakethosewho

sellandbuygointohiding.Theywouldcovertheirtracksevenmorecarefully,whichcould

leadtoahigherrateofillegalactivitybeingconducted.Anotherhindranceofhavingthe

internetlockeddownaccordingtoMadanRaois,

Apartfromculturalissues,anotherchallengeforgovernmentsisinhelping

createaclimateconduciveforthegrowthofInternetbusinessesand

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ecommerceinitiatives.TheBritishgovernmentrecentlyissuedanInternet

wakeupcalltoallcitizens.TheintentionistomakeBritainthebestplacein

theworldforecommerceinafewyears,thustrimmingtheoutflowoflocal

talenttoattractivedestinationslikeSiliconValley(Rao2).

Theinternethousesaverylargemarketforsellingandbuyinggoods.Regulatingand

monitoringtheinternetcouldharmthegrowthintheeconomiesofmanydifferentcountries,

includingtheUnitedStatesofAmericaandChina.Addingsurveillanceadjustmentstothe

internetcouldadverselyaffectmanycompanies'sfinancialabilitiestocreatejobsand

improvejobbenefitsandwages.Havingarestrictedinternetcouldincreasethepriceof

goodscausinginflationpressureinmultiplecountries.

Thecostofhavingtheinternetcensoredisnotasmallnumber.Thegovernment

wouldhavetospendalotmoremoneyonthetechnologyandmanpowertopatrolandgovern

theinternet.Thecostofhavingalltheselawsandregulationsinplaceisfartoogreatto

reallyconsideritbeingatruefixtothisproblem.Governmentofficialshavebeenworkingon

findingasolutiontothisbigdilemmaforthepastfewyearsandtherehasnotbeenaperfect

fitforthissituation.Thisfactseemstobeagoodexampleofwhyinternetcensorshipisnot

therightanswerfortheseproblems.

Theinternetisaverylargeandvastplacefullofcompletelydifferentthingsranging

fromcookingschoolstovideogames.Takingintoconsiderationthattheinternetisalways

changingandneverthesamefromdaytodayitseemscompletelyunfeasibletotrytoputit

intoaboxthatcomesunderthescopeofcensorship.Eventhoughthereareillegaland

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horriblethingsontheinternet,onecannotlimittheinternetasawholetostopthosehorrible

things.Governmentcensorshipisproposedasanattempttostoptheseillegalactivities,butit

isfarfromworkingeffectivelybecausecriminalswillalwaysfindanotherwaytocarryout

theircrimes,thecostisprohibitiveandtheinvasionofprivacyisintolerable.

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