Internet Censorship

Internet Censorship S. Agarwal, SXC, Kolkata.

Outline • What is Censorship? • Brief History • Why and why not censor the Internet? • Pornography • Hate Speech • Censorship Abroad • What can be done • Conclusions

What is Censorship? • Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters.

What is Censored? • Television (News) • Newspapers • Magazines • Radio • Movies/Music • Any other type of mass media

History • 1994: Banned Newsgroups From Carnegie-Mellon University • 1995: The Great Cyberporn Scare • 1996: The Communications Decency Act • 1996: ACLU v. Reno • 1997: Reno v. ACLU

Why Censor the Internet? • Too easy for children to gain access to pornographic material • Enable adults to avoid material that offends them • Impose certain moral frameworks (Terrorism) • Information used to commit crimes • All other forms of media are censored, why not the internet

Why not to Censor the Internet? • Freedom of Speech (1st Amendment) • Filtering Software can block key words even if they are no bad intentions • The user knows best • Parents have the right for filtering their own home computer

What is Pornography? • Any sexually explicit writing and/or picture intended to arouse sexual desire

Other definitions • Sexually oriented material that is not considered acceptable to the viewer; the same material when judged subjectively acceptable is often referred to as "erotica." • Writing or pictures intended to provoke feelings of lust in the reader or viewer. Such works are often condemned by critics and teachers, but those which can be shown to have literary or artistic value are viewed less harshly.

What is so bad about it? • Changes perception of women • Pornography pollutes brain of men • Most people who get addicted to porn, start early • Early addiction leads to escalation • Desensitization eventually sets in • Acting out your sexual fantasies • Creates sexual predators

Laws to combat against Internet Pornography • Communications Decency Act (CDA) • Child Pornography Protection Act (CPPA) • Child Online Protection Act (COPA)

Hate Speech • Hate Speech is comprised of verbal, pictorial or symbolic expressions of hatred against racial, religious, or ethnic groups, homosexuals, and women • Hate groups are found extensively on the internet • Hate Speech, although free, is governed • Users can access chat room speeches • Can lead to violence

Censorship in other Countries • China – built a national firewall • Chile – motion filed to censor the internet • Australia – has internet censorship in effect

What else can be done? • ACLU and other free speech groups • Filtering Software • PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection) • User awareness

Conclusions • The internet is protected by the first amendment • If it is against the law, it shouldn’t be there • Pornography is like any other type of entertainment • Hate speech, while derogatory, is free speech • The internet is no different than the city • The U.S. is against internet censorship, abroad as well

Internet Censorship The Legislation and Issues of Internet Censorship Around the World S. Agarwal, SXC, Kolkata.

Internet Censorship in the US • The United States was one of the first countries to consider censoring the internet • Legislation • Communications Decency Act • Child On-Line Protection Act

Communications Decency Act • Began as part of the 1996 Telecommunication Act • Goal: To protect minors from exposure to harmful or disturbing material on the internet • CDA’s battle through congress • Rino vs Civil Liberties Union (1997)

Child On-Line Protection Act • In 1998 President Clinton put into law COPA • Goal: To be the sequel to the CDA but only avoid the constitutional boundaries that it’s predecessor had crossed. • COPA’s battle through congress • US district court (1998) • US federal court (1999)

COPA’s battle through congress • In 1999 a Philadelphia federal court provided the following reasons for COPA being unconstitutional • They deny all access to adults without credit cards • They require all interactive speech on the web to be placed behind verification screens, even speech that is not harmful to minors • They deter adults from accessing protected speech because they impose costs on content that would be free, eliminate privacy, and stigmatize content • They allow hostile users to dive up costs to speakers • They impose financial burdens on speakers that will cause them to self-censor rather than incur those boundaries

COPA’s battle through congress • This Act is still being debated in courts today • The fine for breaking this law would be $150,000 for each day of violation and up to 6 months in prison

Internet Censorship in China • Internet in China is state owned • Banned material generally falls into 2 categories: • Sexually explicit material, violence, murder, suggested alcohol abuse, and gambling • Political sites with the threatening material

Internet Censorship in China • Popularity of the Internet • Second only to the US in number of users • Reasons for this number: • Difficulty of obtaining an account • Fear of consequences

Internet Censorship in China • Problems faced by the government • Inconsistency • Websites such as Google, Yahoo, The New York Times, and CNN have been banned at one point in time • Certain websites are banned in some areas and not others • The list of sites banned changes, literally daily

Internet Censorship in Australia • Censorship is broken down into 2 levels • Commonwealth Laws • State/Territory Laws • The Commonwealth Law • Requires ISPs and ICHs to delete content from their servers that is deemed objectionable or unsuitable for minors, by the Australian Broadcasting Authority • The State/Territory Laws • Requires ordinary users to adhere to the same guidelines as the ISPs and ICHs

Putting the laws into effect • The first Internet censorship bill • If it had went through congress un-amended it would have required ISPs to block adult access to content on sites outside of Australia • The censorship law passed in 2000

The Alternative to Censorship • Filtering Software • Used in schools, libraries, home, and workplace • Firewalls • Saudi Arabia

Internet Censorship