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Thomas1
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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