1. Censorship on the Internet
From Filters to Freedom of Speech
Ying Shi

2. Wendy Herumin Contents Exploring the Internet Concerns on Cyberspace
Censorship on the Internet
Schools, Free Speech, and the Web

3. Exploring the Internet
Changes:
20 years ago, only few people had access to computer
In 2002, more than 605 million prople worldwide were using the Internet.
Researchers and scientists were the first to go online, and needed certain amount of training.
New services help more members of the general public to use the Internet.

4. Exploring the Internet (cont.)
The World Wide Web links users to millions of different sites at the click of a mouse.

5. Exploring the Internet (cont.)
Regulations on differen media
Broadcast vs. Print Media
Radio and TV are more closely regulated by government
Over-the-air broadcasts reach the public more easily
for printed materials, people must be literate and make effort to find them
broadcasting industry must work to protect children from inappropriate language and images

6. Exploring the Internet (cont.)
In 1996, the court in philadelphia ruled that the Internet was more like the print media than the broadcast media.
The courts have given books, magazines, newspapers, and other print media more freedom from regulation than other form of mass communications
Therefore, the Internet enjoys this high level of freedom
First Amendment attorney Robet S. Peck wrote:
The U.S Supreme Court has concluded that cyberspace receives the highest level of protection that the First Amendment affords. As a result, the same considerations that apply to printed words and images apply as well as the electronic word and the digital images.

7. Concerns on Cyberspace
Concerns for young Internet users
Inappropriate content
Harmful strangers
Invasion of Privacy

8. Concerns on Cyberspace (cont.)
Inappropiate content
Pornography
Bomb-making instructions
Hate Speech
Violence toward animals and humans
Information about illegal drugs, gambling
The sites promote religious cults, witchcraft

9. Concerns in Cyberspace (cont.)
Pornography
Difficult to make definition
According to NRC, pornography means sexually explicit "materials that is used to create sexual arousal or desire."
People use the term to mean both indecency and obscenity
it is a subjective term
Easy to find
Internet search
unsolicited , spam
use deceptive links to lead people to porn sites
mousetrapping

10. Conflicts in Cyberspace (cont.)
Online Bomb-Making instructions

11. Concerns on Cyberspace (cont.)
Hate Speech
exalts one group of people by denigrating another
on the basis of race or religion
the Council of Europe regard hate speech as a serious offense and outlaw it on the Internet
In America, free speech traditions protect offensive speech
"Even where the United States government finds the views expressed to be misguided and repugnant-and surely those are appropriate words to describe racism-our Constitution commands that we neither prohibit nor regulate speech merely because we disapprove of the ideas expressed."
---Department of Justice

12. Concerns on Cyberspace (cont.)
Harmful Strangers
According to a report from NRC, potentially harmful strangers pose the greatest threat to children online
Meeting a sexual predator through a chat room or is far more dangerous than viewing inappropriate images
A study found that one in five young peope aged received an unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet
Some of them had been encouraged by people they met on the Internet to run away from home.

13. Concerns on Cyberspace (cont.)
Cyberpredators
Use the Internet to disguise themselves and their intentions.
Young users may put themselves in danger if they give away too much information or plan to meet people they do not know.
The Sexual Predator Punishment Act (1998)
The act made it illegal to contact minors online for sexual purposes or to transmit obscenity to them

14. Concerns on Cyberspace (cont.)
Invasion of privacy
Children are giving away personal informations about themselves as surfing the Web
Young people leave their names and address in public place like chat rooms
In 1998, Federal Trade Commission surveyed 212 comercial children's sites, 188 of the sites were building files of personal informations. Less than 48 sites told visitors to ask for their parents' permission before giving out informations.

15. Censorship on the Internet
How to censorship on the Internet
Law enforcement
CDA
COPA
CIPA
Technology tools
Filters

16. Censorship on the Internet (cont.)
CDA
the Communications Decency Act (1996)
made it a crime to send inappropriate material over the Internet to a person under 18
the act apply to all forms of Internet communication
including , chat rooms, newsgroups, and WWW
a person could be fined, sent to jail, or both while violating
force Web site operators make effort to keep minors from finding inappropriate material
establish a credit card vertification scheme to screen out minors

17. Censorship on the Internet (cont.)
COPA
The Child Online Protection Act (1998)
" the son of the CDA"
Differed from CDA in 3 improtant ways
apply only to material on WWW, not to other services
only commercial pornographers were targeted
use a more precise legal definition to describe objectionable materials
regulate content that is "harmful to minors"

18. Censorship on the Internet (cont.)
CIPA
the Children's Internet Protection Act (2000)
Require schools and libraries to put technology protection measures on their computer networks.
Libraries and schools could lose federal funds unless they kept minors from finding harmful material on the Internet.
Adults in public libraries could not use library computers to find inappropriate material.

19. Censorship on the Internet (cont.)
Technology Tools
Filters: use one or more technologies to restrict forbidden contents
Use lists of Internet address to steer where you go online "white" lists vs. "black" lists
Use keyword blocking.
eg. "sex", "satan"
label recognition.
assign a rating, similar to movies', but not widely used

20. Censorship on the Internet (cont.)
Filters
Over-block
filters can block legal and useful informations
why it happens?
Rapidlly changing information on the internet
Entire Web site is blocked because of a single page
Different opinion may account for some over-blocking
Under-block
filters cannot block all objectionable material on the Internet
Consumer Reports tested leading software filters in 2001, filters allowed 20% of the objectionable sites through in their entirety.

21. Schools, Free Speech, and the Web
Most schools now have Internet access in the U.S.
Students can use the Internet to master skills, perform research, and connect with others

22. Schools, Free Speech, and the Web (cont.)
How schools protect students online
Accoriding to a survey in 2002, 78% of school relied on teachers to supervise online activities, 90% had installed filtering software on school computer
Filters regulate online user in several ways:
limit the amont of time
block controversial materials
keep students from visiting chat rooms or newsgroups
avoid giving out sensitive information such as address

23. Schools, Free Speech, and the Web (cont.)
Off-campus Web sites raise questions
Students create Web pages at home
disturb school administrators
criticize teachers, school policies, and classmates
contain threatening words
Case: a Pennsylvania eighth grader treatened to kill his math teacher in 1998

24. Schools, Free Speech, and the Web (cont.)
A victory for students for free speech

25. Schools, Free Speech, and the Web (cont.)
An Ongoing debate
Schools and students continue to debate freedom of speech offline and in cyberspace
Filters are controversial in school as in libraries
School clamp down on activities when they threaten the stability of the school environment
Students challenge rules they believe to be unfair
Still discovering how to best use the internet

26. A Final Note The free speech debate affects young people
Filters on school and library computers limit not only pronographic content but much useful and legal information, too.
Children can be targets for cyberpredators and marketers.
It is necessary to find a solution to protect minor online.
Education, public policy, and technology tools all have a role to play.
Responsible thinking and acting is a important first step to help young on the Internet

27. The end
Any question?