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The Internet is a carrier of a vast array of information. It provides people all over the world with the opportunity to publish their thoughts, opinions, and virtually any type of information. At the same time, it allows for this information to be accessed by anyone with access to a computer worldwide. This has caused ongoing debate regarding the freedom of expression. The idea of freedom of expression is an existentialist view. This view is that people have the right to choose what they see or say on the Internet.
To protect these rights, the Electronic Frontier Foundation launched a program called The Blue Ribbon Campaign to raise awareness of civil rights issues in the electronic world by displaying blue ribbons on web sites. However, there is an issue of whether or not unrestricted access should be allowed. There is a large amount of information on the Internet that is very harmful and found to be socially unacceptable. This type of harmful information can influence people lead to participate in criminal or harmful activity, thus become a threat to our society. For example, the instructions on how to build a bomb are readily available on the Internet. Some people who view this may be influenced to build the bomb.
This could lead to the terrorism of innocent people. There is a recent tragedy in Littleton, Colorado where two troubled boys terrorized their high school, by setting off bombs and shooting fellow students. Could these boys have been influenced by information on the Internet about terrorism or did they read about how to make bombs? No one can say for sure, but the possibility is there. Due to issues like this, it is important to weigh out both sides of the debate.
The Internet carries a vast amount of positive and beneficial information. The issue of censoring information that may be harmful to one person, but beneficial to another (in a positive way) can be looked at in a utilitarian view. If the Internet is censored, it will make the lives of many people very unhappy. This disagrees with utilitarianism, which suggests that whether or not an action is right will depend on if it produces maximum happiness for the individual. Censorship of the Internet may cause unhappiness to many people and will take away information that may have been beneficial.
For example, children should not view a large portion of what is available on the Internet, but that does not mean that the information should not be available. There are ways of limiting what children see on the Internet, such as the use of software like Net Nanny. If the harmful information that is on the Internet is censored from individuals under the age of eighteen, maybe we would be one step in the right direct towards censoring harmful information from the group who may be influenced the most by it.
Free research essays on topics related to: freedom of expression, censored, harmful, beneficial, information on the internet
Research essay sample on Freedom Of Expression Information On The Internet
