Issue of the Week: Censorship

What would be censored from the Internet?
The Communications Decency Act (CDA) criminalizes "indecent" speech depicting or describing sexual or excretory acts or organs in a patently offensive fashion under conetmporary community standards. However, there always seems to be situations that may not exactly follow this standard, and one may question such content that may or may not fit this description of a crime. It is often times difficult set rules or standards of what may not be posted on the Internet because there's no distinct line.


How is censoring the Internet different from censoring phones, television, and the radio?
Broadcasts of media and phones are supervised by the government. Anyone with Internet access, anywhere can post anything they desire at any time. Sure, some websites may censor or tell you to remove your post if it is inappropriate or copyrighted, but I'm sure there's always a way for people to see it. The government can do little to control radio and television because of a "scarcity" doctrine that limits the government's involvement and regulations. The government does not wish to ban or take one's freedom of speech away, but to seek a time and place where children may not access broadcasted, indecent language (which is why indecent language cannot be banned).


Should the Constitution be revised to keep up with our modernizing society and technology?
Sure, the First Amendment of the Constitution protects one's right to freedom of speech, however, people may think this is not enough because of all the new technological devices and social networking sites. Censorship is seen as something that supposedly protects the public, especially children, from "indecent" acts. Such acts should also not be published on the Internet, where anyone may access it. However, because the Constitution is outdated, it mentions nothing of such technology and issues we have today. So, yes, it may be time to amend the Constitution. Not so much to rewrite the entire document, but to keep it up-to-date and appropriate for our modernizing society.


Sources:
http://www.ncac.org/
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5122669_pros-cons-media-censorship.html
http://censorship.laws.com/censorship/pros-of-censorship
http://www.spectacle.org/freespch/faq.html#3