Introduction
Internet is a tool of mass communication and is today the most rapidly growing and the largest means of distributing information in the entire world as it can dispense bulk information at a minimal cost and at a very short time.
Although there exists the freedom of speech in most countries all over the world there are certain types of speech which are not protected by this law as they are of insufficient value and they cause a lot of harm in the society. For example, phonographic material that is accessible to children both in the print or broadcast media is never acceptable and therefore internet should not be treated different as it is in the same standard, in addition it publishes materials such as hardcore pornography and intense racial hatred which does not make it less offensive because it is published on the web as opposed to written materials or broadcast media (Michael, 1997).
The importance of adjustment
There is need to regulate the power of the medium and considering that internet falls in visual category attracting captive audience who rewind to view again and distribute more widely very fast, higher level of censorship should therefore be attached to it as moving pictures and sound are more explicit and powerful than texts and photographs.
Although it is very hard to censor internet as it provides great anonymity to pornographers and criminals giving them a great opportunity to abuse the medium, it does not mean that government should not seek to prevent it as doing so is of great importance to the society at large. Government should take measures such as requiring individuals to provide identification before posting content on to the internet as doing this would be an easy way of enforcing laws against very unpleasant and harmful content (Roger, 1996).
The governments should adopt multiple liabilities to internet service providers if they are caught assisting in the dissemination of harmful information and if it happens that the person who posted the information can not be traced the providers can be sued or prosecuted.
The issue of censorship of materials
The issue at hand in censoring materials on the internet is to ensure the protection of non-adults or children, curb any terrorist related activities, check on crime and curtail episodes of racial hatred which are common international problems. Governments should therefore aim at cooperating with others to try limiting the harm caused by the internet (John, 1996).
However censorship is an archaic act and should be avoided if possible as already there is adequate legislation against those who try to produce, distribute or view materials which are prohibited. Furthermore, some materials may be very offensive but the only way a society can deal with it is by being exposed to it.
With the high rate of growth of modern technology, it is possible that in some few years to come, people will be fully reliant upon the internet for news and entertainment and as the same way that the print media is unregulated as it is the primary means of distributing information in society internet should be accorded similar protection.
With the internet the government can be able to regulate the information in their own country but that does not mean that citizens will not access the same information from abroad; also citizens can produce materials and store them in overseas field thus complicating the issue further (Roger, 1996).
True freedom of speech requires anonymity of the producer to protect themselves, if the government introduces identification requirements for internet use that is denying people their basic rights and the freedom of citizens which allows them to criticize the government and offer opinions on matters of state, if censorship is allowed it will interfere with such a system as it would not survive with identification requirements (John, 1996).
Internet service providers are not liable of what get placed on the internet; this is because there is too much control of the technology by big businesses without judging all internet content as there are businesses that carry all their businesses via the internet. Censoring therefore will deny internet service providers their profits or financial interests
Conclusion
In conclusion censorship on the internet has become a contentious issue with many agreeing that censoring violates the amendment of free speech and some believing that it is the government’s duty to censor to protect kids and young people; I say it would be justifiable to censor materials on the internet if they cause harm to others, furthermore the level of interaction between societies, reliance upon global markets, foreign capital, and worldwide communication has grown and so is the other qualities required for everyday life to satisfy national welfare and security. It also offers lowered costs for such activities and a government trying to censor materials on the internet would lose gains it would get from international trade and collaboration.
Sex, cruelty in the media and overt languages are some of the subjects that are extremely inappropriate to some people, yet to some others there nothing wrong and is part and parcel of their lives. Since people have the freedom to make their own independent decisions about what is appropriate and what is not, censoring materials on internet pertaining to these subjects would be unfair to those who enjoy it. (Michael1997) Actually, it does not matter if a person enjoys this type of material or not as they are not forced to view it by anyone and it is not the responsibility of those who post it to be concerned of who looks at it since it is the responsibility of the people to decide the material is appropriate or not; in the internet one has a very good idea of the content of the website and people know what is on a particular site and if they do not know trying to visit the web they have taken an acceptable risk to view it. Certainly, this material should not be censored just because some people can not make coherent decisions for themselves.
References
- Shermer, Michael. (1997) “Doing Donahue: History, Censorship, and Free Speech” In Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time, New York: W. H. Freeman, 175-187.
- Eatwell, Roger. (1996) “Surfing the Great White Wave: The Internet, Extremism and the Problem of Control.” Patterns of Prejudice 30, no.1, 61-71
- Schwartz, John. (1996) “With Innovative Use, the Web Empowers the First Amendment.”Washington Post, WB19.