Millions Exscinded: The Hindrances of Internet Censorship
Approximately 270,000,000 million people use the internet in the US and the government hold the power to access and use the information of any one of them (“Censorship”). Furthermore, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting people’s information and censoring for the past decade (“Censorship”). The internet began as a “linkage of powerful information technology to free, open, global communications [that made] gigantic contributions to civilization and commerce” (Mueller). But, the government has initiated more policies under the NSA for censoring the US, and if violated, perpetrators would be jailed (“Censorship”). The debate continues as in recent years, the International Telecommunications Union has debated on …show more content…
Although federal bodies insist that censorship of the internet through regulation protects citizens, it actually takes away from citizen’s rights as they become victim to abuse by of regulatory power.
To begin with, acts that censor and regulate the internet can be classified as unconstitutional and bend the true meaning of the constitution. A policy of flexible interpretation of the constitution by government bodies has allowed them to pass laws that can be deemed unconstitutional (“Censorship”). An example of this is that government bodies have “narrowly tailored” laws on free speech to censor “constitutionally” (Axelrod-Contrada 19). Government bodies have violated the fourth amendment by creating the NSA because it can observe peoples actions without a warrant (“Censorship”). Similarly, the Supreme Court has ruled certain words that may cause “imminent lawless action” are not protected by the constitution (Axelrod-Contrada 19). These words are not specified in the law, but are to be determined by the Supreme Court whether or not they are generous. According to the Constitution, the government is restricted from creating laws that
Approximately 270,000,000 million people use the internet in the US and the government hold the power to access and use the information of any one of them (“Censorship”). Furthermore, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting people’s information and censoring for the past decade (“Censorship”). The internet began as a “linkage of powerful information technology to free, open, global communications [that made] gigantic contributions to civilization and commerce” (Mueller). But, the government has initiated more policies under the NSA for censoring the US, and if violated, perpetrators would be jailed (“Censorship”). The debate continues as in recent years, the International Telecommunications Union has debated on …show more content…
Although federal bodies insist that censorship of the internet through regulation protects citizens, it actually takes away from citizen’s rights as they become victim to abuse by of regulatory power.
To begin with, acts that censor and regulate the internet can be classified as unconstitutional and bend the true meaning of the constitution. A policy of flexible interpretation of the constitution by government bodies has allowed them to pass laws that can be deemed unconstitutional (“Censorship”). An example of this is that government bodies have “narrowly tailored” laws on free speech to censor “constitutionally” (Axelrod-Contrada 19). Government bodies have violated the fourth amendment by creating the NSA because it can observe peoples actions without a warrant (“Censorship”). Similarly, the Supreme Court has ruled certain words that may cause “imminent lawless action” are not protected by the constitution (Axelrod-Contrada 19). These words are not specified in the law, but are to be determined by the Supreme Court whether or not they are generous. According to the Constitution, the government is restricted from creating laws that