I. Introduction
II. Body
A. Limiting Rights
1. Freedom of speech/press.
2. Availabiliy of unbiased information.
3. Conflicting views on certain things.
4. Government conspiracies.
B. Personal Control
1. Private computer censorship.
2. Parental Controls for underage.
3. Some websites ask age to enter.
4. Need to pay to order some websites.
C. Sufficient Current Government Access
1. Government already uses the internet.
2. Used to track individual internet usage.
3. Shut down and prosecute illegal use of the internet.
III. Conclusion
I do not believe the government should be able to censor the internet because it limits our rights, we can control what we view, and the government already has sufficient control concerning the internet. Censorship would interfere in American citizens rights to freedom of speech or freedom of press and make it difficult to find unbiased information. Also, we already have personal controls on private computers that can censor which websites are viewable and certain websites have age requirments. Furthermore, the government already has access to the internet for the purposes of enforcing laws or gathering information that concerns public safety. The internet is a place for public communication and media, it is censored by the people who use it and law enforcement when there is something that pertains to breaking the law.
The government should not be able to censor the internet because by doing so it limits our individual rights as given to us by our government. First, and possibly most important, is our freedom of speech and through that freedom of press. The point of freedom of press is to express and communicate through media and the internet is one of those sources. It is also a source of some unbiased information that should be accessible without the government’s opinion being taken into account. The government may have conflicting views on what should be censored and what shouldn’t be compared to different people and places around the nation. Also, information on possible government conspiracies, whether true or false, are really only available on the internet and some people feel that the internet is the only place you can find some truth that isn’t covered up. The government should not censor the internet because information they may censor is important to some people and it should be allowed to be seen and used.
Each individual or company has its own personal control of Internet access which makes it unnecessary for the government to censor. Private controls allow people to block certain types of websites they may not be interested in or a business may not want available on their employee used computers. Parental controls also allow websites to be blocked or not depending on