Your Last Name 1 Students Name The Name of the Course Date (for instance, 21 September 2012) Internet

Censorship The accessibility and variety of information throughout the Internet is mesmerizing. The level of exposure perpetuated by the unstoppable and all-absorbing era of digital technology increased immensely for the past decade, creating new controversies and bringing new colors to the issues that everyone thought were already solved. The role of the Internet in peoples lives contributes to the creation of another wild debate around the censorship problem. The ubiquity of the Internet has definitely changed humans beliefs, morals and values. Some may say that this change was rather drastic due to the fact that people today have no values, no principles and no boundaries. Others will strongly argue about the opportunities that the humanity has gotten because of the Internet and its derivatives. In such way, the question of Internet censorship becomes a battlefield between those, who believe that the World Wide Web is a source of, and/or a contributor to depravity and degradation, and those, who are convinced in the necessity of having such informational platform like the Internet in its primordial self-regulatory state. First of all, the position of those, who stand for the Internet censorship, must be examined. The factor of obviousness in ones desire to establish censorship on violent, pornographic and other information exposed on the Internet is out of question. Things like Child Pornography, Intense Racism, and other offensive things are already commonly censored from books and film. Just because these things are on the Internet as opposed to some other form of medium doesnt mean that they, too, shouldnt be censored (Butt 2009 quot. in Internet and the First Amendment). The supporters of the Internet censorship believe that the freedom of speech that has reached new horizons with the development and

Your Last Name 2 routine usage of the web is not an absolute right, as it does not imply a freedom of intimidating, frightening or harassing other people (Banas 2009 quot. by Zuchora-Walske 2010). To them, freedom of speech is a concept that has limitations, and that is why they believe that the Internet community should have limitations and boundaries as well. Ordinarily, the weakness of the points used to support Internet censorship is rooted in the variety of interpretations of the freedom of speech concept and right. The heart of the matter is that the discussion of limits of the freedom of speech right may seem naturally absurd, though necessary, and thus, very subjective. It is quite challenging to find the appropriate words and phrases to describe the limits of this freedom and incite minimal or zero contradictions. Some may say that the battle over the Internet censorship inevitably becomes the battle over the freedom of speech. Naturally, there are people, who appear against the Internet censorship. Their claim is that the Internet is a different, genuinely worldwide phenomenon (Gaita 1999) that should not be confused with the media or any other source of information. The Internet is viewed as an unbiased platform, where everyone should be allowed to say whatever they want. The user, in turn, becomes a witness to anything that happens in the world, and thus, has a chance to develop his own opinion, and not just adopt a previously edited and censored vision of the events provided by the paper publications and television. The Internet creates an opportunity to think independently and observe everything that is going on in this world. The supporters of the free and uncensored Internet do not deny the existence of violence or anything that is thought of as inappropriate, immoral and degrading. However, they deny the necessity to censor all of the harmful and/or offensive material due to the existence of content-control software, which can be exploited by those, who stand for the Internet censorship (Censorship Bill: Pros and Cons). However, there is a difference of opinions even on the matter of the content-blocking programs, as some people do not

Your Last Name 3 consider such kind of parental control as censorship, while others believe that these programs do fall under the mentioned category. Part of fighting censorship is urging people to think for themselves, and you cant think critically for yourself if you believe that your parents are always right (Haselton quot. by Day 2001). Interestingly, the motto that unites those, who fight against censorship on the Internet, is actually conveyed in the first part of Haseltons phrase part of fighting censorship is urging people to think for themselves, as those, who adhere to the opinion that Internet censorship is an excessive measure, believe that the problem is not in the Internet exposure of the pornography and/or violence; the problem is in pornography and violence, they are in the root area of human degradation and decay, not the Internet. The latter only displays things that are good and that are bad, as without bad things it would be more difficult to know what really good is. The common ground between those, who strive for the Internet censorship, and those, who view it as the contradictive interpretation of the freedom rights, is in the fact that both sides want only good things for the humanity, however, approach this goal differently. The Internet censorship supporters believe that the limitations set on the exposure of the certain materials over the web, will guard people from everything bad and evil; while those, who fight against censorship on the Internet, want people to think for themselves by being warned and informed of everything that is going on in this world.

Your Last Name 4 Works Cited Censorship Bill: Pros and Cons. Retrieved on September 21, 2012 from http://samantha01.hubpages.com/hub/Censoring-the-internet-Pros-and-Cons. Day, Nancy. Censorship, or Freedom of Expression? Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. Print. Gaita, Raimond. Good & Evil: Absolute Concepts. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. Internet and the First Amendment. Retrieved on September 21, 2012 from

https://sites.google.com/site/internetandthefirstamendment/pros-and-cons-for-internetcensorship. Zuchora-Walske, Christine. Internet Censorship: Protecting Citizens or Trampling Freedom? Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. Print.

Your Last Name 5 Annotated Bibliography Censorship Bill: Pros and Cons. Retrieved on September 21, 2012 from http://samantha01.hubpages.com/hub/Censoring-the-internet-Pros-and-Cons. In the form of the Internet-blog, the pros and cons concerning the establishment of the Internet censorship are examined. The article is rather objective, leaving the decision to the reader. Day, Nancy. Censorship, or Freedom of Expression? Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. Print. Day discloses the issue of censorship from different perspectives, being rather precise and avoiding blatant and empty statements. The author agrees that there must be some boundaries and limitations, however, she takes into consideration different factors, such technological progress and its influence on the concept of censorship, age appropriateness etc., and thus, provides, well-rounded conclusions. Gaita, Raimond. Good & Evil: Absolute Concepts. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. Internet and the First Amendment. Retrieved on September 21, 2012 from

https://sites.google.com/site/internetandthefirstamendment/pros-and-cons-for-internetcensorship. The author researches various issues, one of which happens to be Internet censorship. She provides a pros and cons list, staying unbiased and precise. Zuchora-Walske, Christine. Internet Censorship: Protecting Citizens or Trampling Freedom? Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. Print. Christine desires to talk about the Internet censorship in a more intimate, so to speak, way, relating real life stories and tragedies to the theoretical statements of both supporters and oppositionists.