INTERNET CENSORSHIP AND THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Since it was first drafted in 1776, the United States Constitution has constantly been scrutinized and amended to adhere to changes in society; it has evolved into the rules and regulations that are used to control today’s nation. On the other hand, while the constitution provides the rules for liberty, there have also been many attempts to abridge certain freedoms of the American public. One of the major attacks on the Constitution has been against the First Amendment which provides that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”The Supreme Court has had many interpretations of this amendment with regards to freedom of speech. Governmental regulation of “free speech” has primarily been seen in the media. Television, radio, and other forms of information communication have battled with the Supreme Court over what “freedom of speech” in the First Amendment actually implicates.One of the main controversies that has been debated over is the right to censor media. Radio and television programs are being subjected to governmental control in order keep programs inoffensive to the American public. Is this infringing on the right to freedom of speech? According to the American Library Association, censorship is the change in the access status of material, made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include: exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level change. Censorship has restricted newspapers, television, radio, etc. by not allowing them the right to free speech. Not only has this been thoroughly deliberated in the media, but since technological increases have given rise to the Internet, a new dilemma has evolved: should the Internet be regulated and restricted by government in order to protect today’s children, or does this abridge an individual’s right to free speech? Before attacking Internet censorship, one must understand the limitations of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a right of the citizens of the United States; on the other hand, this freedom is not absolute to the point that society thinks that it is. Some forms of speech are thoroughly outlawed in the US such as fraudulent advertising, child pornography, obscenity, fighting words, help-wanted ads that discriminate on the basis of race, words used in a criminal transaction, unlicensed broadcasts, libel, speech that infringes a copyright, and unauthorized disclosure of data used to make atomic weapons. Naturally, most of these forms of speech have a compelling government interest. Government may regulate, or censor speech if it has a compelling interest, is a public concern, or threatens national safety. In turn, this demonstrates that the ideas and expressions of private institutions cannot be regulated, unless one of the preceding requirements is met. William Turner writes that “Government may not restrict or penalize speech because of its content or its viewpoint. It must remain neutral in the marketplace of ideas”. Overall, government may not regulate speech, unless there is a major national, or public concern. Lately, the Internet, a technological masterpiece, has been the subject of great controversy. Certain individuals feel as though the Internet should be governmentally regulated and censored in order to protect the youth of America. On the other hand, the regulation of material on the Internet would, in fact, violate the First Amendment right to free speech and expression. Thomas Emerson once stated “Those who seek to impose limitation on expression do so ordinarily in order to forestall some anticipated effect of expression in causing or influencing other conduct”. Censorship is a restriction that is not for greater liberty, but for the deprivation of liberty. The Supreme Court’s solution to this problem is to enforce laws that make it illegal to express one’s opinion, or ideas on the Internet. However, I feel as though there is a more efficient way to control obscene material on the Internet. Through the use of special programs designed to filter obscene Internet material, parents can allow their children to enjoy the Internet without the risk of viewing inappropriate images or ideas. Parental regulation is the only way to allow unregulated Internet use and the expansion of knowledge. Even the Clinton administration stated that “unnecessary regulation could cripple the growth and diversity of the Internet . . . the administration supports industry self-regulation, adoption of competing ratings system and development of easy-to-use technical solutions . . . .”