Internet Regulation 3459

The Internet is a method of communication and a source of information that isbecoming more popular among those who are interested in, and have the time tosurf the information superhighway. The problem with this much information beingaccessible to this many people is that some of it is deemed inappropriate forminors. The government wants censorship, but a segment of the population doesnot. Legislative regulation of the Internet would be an appropriate function ofthe government.

The Communications Decency Act is an amendment which preventsthe information superhighway from becoming a computer "red lightdistrict." On June 14, 1995, by a vote of 84-16, the United States Senatepassed the amendment. It is now being brought through the House ofRepresentatives. 1 The Internet is owned and operated by the government, whichgives them the obligation to restrict the materials available through it. Thoughit appears to have sprung up overnight, the inspiration of free-spiritedhackers, it in fact was born in Defense Department Cold War projects of the1950s.2 The United States Government owns the Internet and has theresponsibility to determine who uses it and how it is used.

The government mustcontrol what information is accessible from its agencies. This material is notlawfully available through the mail or over the telephone, there is no validreason these perverts should be allowed unimpeded on the Internet. Since ourinitiative, the industry has commendably advanced some blocking devices, butthey are not a substitute for well-reasoned law. 4 Because the Internet hasbecome one of the biggest sources of information in this world, legislativesafeguards are imperative. The government gives citizens the privilege of usingthe Internet, but it has never given them the right to use it.

They seem torationalize that the framers of the constitution planned & plotted at greatlength to make certain that above all else, the profiteering pornographer, thepervert and the pedophile must be free to practice their pursuits in thepresence of children on a taxpayer created and subsidized computer network.3People like this are the ones in the wrong. Taxpayer's dollars are being spentbringing obscene text and graphics into the homes of people all over the world.The government must take control to prevent pornographers from using theInternet however they see fit because they are breaking laws that have existedfor years. Cyberpunks, those most popularly associated with the Internet, aremembers of a rebellious society that are polluting these networks withinformation containing pornography, racism, and other forms of explicitinformation.

When they start rooting around for a crime, new cybercops areentering a pretty unfriendly environment. Cyberspace, especially the Internet,is full of those who embrace a frontier culture that is222 hostile to authorityand fearful that any intrusions of police or government will destroy theirself-regulating world.5 The self-regulating environment desired by thecyberpunks is an opportunity to do whatever they want. The CommunicationsDecency Act is an attempt on part of the government to control their "freeattitude" displayed in homepages such as "Sex, Adult Pictures, X-RatedPorn", "Hot Sleazy Pictures (Cum again + again)" and "sex,sex, sex. heck, it's better even better than real sex"6.

"What we aredoing is simply making the same laws, held constitutional time and time again bythe courts with regard to obscenity and indecency through the mail andtelephones, applicable to the Internet."7 To keep these kinds of picturesoff home computers, the government must control information on the Internet,just as it controls obscenity through the mail or on the phone. Legislativeregulations must be made to control information on the Internet because thedisplaying or distribution of obscene material is illegal. The courts havegenerally held that obscenity is illegal under all circumstances for all ages,while "indecency" is generally allowable to adults, but that lawsprotecting children from this "lesser" form are acceptable. It'scalled protecting those among us who are children from the vagrancies ofadults.8 The constitution of the United States has set regulations to determinewhat is categorized as obscenity and what is not.

In Miller vs. California, 413U.S. at 24-25, the court announced its "Miller Test" and held, at 29,that its three part test constituted "concrete guidelines to isolate 'hardcore' pornography from expression protected by the First Amendment.9 By lawspreviously set by the government, obscene pornography should not be accessibleon the Internet. The government must police the Internet because people arebreaking laws.

"Right now, cyberspace is like a neighborhood without apolice department."10 Currently anyone can put anything he wants on theInternet with no penalties. "The Communications Decency Act gives lawenforcement new tools to prosecute those who would use a computer to make theequivalent of obscene telephone calls, to prosecute 'electronic stalkers' whoterrorize their victims, to clamp down on electronic distributors of obscenematerials, and to enhance the chances of prosecution of those who would providepornography to children via a computer." The government must regulate theflow of information on the Internet because some of the commercial blockingdevices used to filter this information are insufficient. "Cybercopsespecially worry that outlaws are now able to use powerful cryptography to sendand receive uncrackable secret communications and are also aided by anonymousre-mailers."11 By using features like these it is impossible to useblocking devices to stop children from accessing this information.

Devices setup to detect specified strings of characters will not filter those that itcannot read. The government has to stop obscene materials from being transferredvia the Internet because it violates laws dealing with interstate commerce. Itis not a valid argument that "consenting adults" should be allowed touse the computer BBS and "Internet" systems to receive whatever theywant. If the materials are obscene, the law can forbid the use of means andfacilities of interstate commerce and common carriers to ship or disseminate theobscenity.12 When supplies and information are passed over state or nationalboundaries, they are subject to the laws governing interstate and intrastatecommerce.

When information is passed between two computers, it is subjected tothe same standards. The government having the power to regulate the informationbeing put on the Internet is a proper extension of its powers. With aninformation based system such as the Internet there is bound to be material thatis not appropriate for minors to see. In passing of an amendment like theCommunications Decency Act, the government would be given the power to regulatethat material.BibliographyBuerger, David.

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