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Pornography on the Internet Pornography is an age-old phenomenon that has been under much modern-day scrutiny. With the recent proliferation of online pornography, possible social ramifications of sexually explicit material on uncontrolled mediums have become the subjects of intense debate. Proponents of a liberal approach toward pornography argue that access to online smut is a constitutionally protected freedom and a harmless diversion that serves to satisfy curiosity and relieve sexual tensions. 5 Opponents of this view are particularly concerned with the social effects of online pornography and its effect on the values and morals of minors who can access pornographic images. I will argue for the liberal side and argue that porn in both print form and electronic form should be constitutionally protected. The major piece of legislation that would infringe on the rights of Internet users was the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996. The CDA labeled the transmission of obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, indecent, or patently offensive pornography over the Internet a crime.
It was attached to the Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, which was then passed by Congress on February 1, 1996. The bill was created to outlaw obscene material on the web and impose fines of up to $ 100, 000 and prison terms of up to two years on anyone who knowingly makes indecent material available to children under eighteen 5. The Act used sweeping generalizations, which banned all forms of nudity in written and graphic form on the Internet. The clauses of the Act were so broad that posting pictures of famous works of art on the Internet, such as Michaelangelos David, would be grounds for a heavy fine. Sexually related articles and photos, which are constitutionally protected in tangible form, would have been deemed unconstitutional in electronic form. Although the United States Supreme Court declared the Act unconstitutional, many congressional representatives still feel that the Act should remain intact.
One major flaw of the CDA is that it uses community standards to judge what is considered legal on the Internet. Unlike most forms of media, the Internet has no defined community; it is a decentralized, ungoverned body that is accessible to every person with a computer and a telephone line in the world. If there are community standards, to which community do they belong? Do they belong to the communities of the Netherlands where prostitution and marijuana are legal, or to the communities of Bible-belt American, where family values are top priorities? The CDA went beyond its jurisdiction by claiming that community standards was the device with which to measure indecency. The standards of conservative lawmakers should not be the standards that gauge the appropriateness of the Internet, and these lawmakers are wrong to assume that their morals are mirrored in community standards throughout America.
The vast library located on the Internet would be transformed into nothing more than a childrens reading room, where only material suitable for minors could be viewed and discussed, since the bill would have made books such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye illegal in electric form 5. Banning books solely because they are in electronic form is a direct infringement on every Americans First Amendment rights. If the Act were ruled constitutional, adults would find no educational value in using this new medium that has so much potential for progressive growth. If intellectual books were banned for no other reason than Congresss attempt to protect Americans youth from the ills of society, the net would be abandoned by many individuals over the age of eighteen. When The Catcher in the Rye and the King James Bible become symbols of the ills of society, then maybe I will see the Cda's point. Until that time, it is every Americans constitutional right to read and share protected information with others around the globe, especially if the information is legal in print form.
Additionally, the Internet is an entirely different medium than television and radio, and it deserves to be treated as such. When one examines the manner by which pornographic material is obtained on all three of these mediums, the Internet is actually the least dangerous and imposing. When one channel surfs while watching television, there are no warnings that precede the next channel a viewer is about to watch. If a person is viewing a program on channel 10 and progresses to channel 11, there is no message that explains what the viewer is about to bear witness to.
The same argument applies to radio listening. If a person is changing the radio frequency searching for a good song to listen to, there is no saying what the person may come across while searching. There is no warning as to what the listener is about to hear. However, on all Internet sites that contain pornographic material, there exists a title page to the web site that clearly states that there is pornographic material on the following pages. Most of these title pages state that if the viewer is under 18, they must abandon the site.
Furthermore, if a person does a web search, for every page that pertains to his search string, an explanation of the pages content is listed. A web user knows exactly what he is about to see before he actually sees it. This fact alone shows how the Internet provides a less imposing environment than that of television and radio. Due to the anonymity factor that accompanies web surfing, the Internet has been called a breeding ground for online child molesters presenting a danger to Americas youth. However, there is no evidence that suggests that there is an online threat to minors greater than the thousands of threats children face every day 1. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there have been a mere 12 reported cases in 1996 of minors being seduced or harassed due to online predators.
This small amount of cases is insignificant compared to the nearly 800, 000 children that are reported missing every year in the U. S. alone 1. There is very little to suggest that the Internet is a physically harmful environment which requires strict regulation that could possibly infringe on constitutional rights.
Furthermore, the Cda's broad clauses would make providers of online services, such as America Online and Prodigy, responsible for conversations that were held in private chat rooms on their servers. Holding America Online's CEO Steve Case liable for a sexually explicit conversation that occurred in a private chat room between two of his six million customers is absolutely ridiculous. This is comparable to arresting the CEO of AT&# 038; T because two people had a sexually explicit conversation over one the companys telephone lines. There is no way that every telephone or online conversation can be monitored, and it is wrong to hold the providers of these services accountable. If the CDA were ruled constitutional, commerce on the net would be greatly reduced. Companies such as CD NOW who sell popular music titles over the Internet would probably lose thousands of dollars in revenues if the best selling CD in the world contained sexually explicit lyrics in its title.
It should not be illegal for CD NOW to post the title of a song on the web considering the CD can be bought in any music store across America. Art sellers who use the Internet as their means of reaching a larger clientele would also be hurt if they could not post paintings of nude bodies on the web. Most disturbing, the CDA completely negates a parents right to set her own childrens standards. The Internet has been compared to a large city, such as New York. It is a parents responsibility to make sure that her children are not wandering through Times Square at four in the morning, just as its her responsibility to make sure that her children arent wandering through the bad neighborhoods of the Internet. If parents are concerned that their children are able to access dangerous areas of the web, it is their individual responsibility to buy the cheap software that prevents Internet users from logging onto sites that contain pornographic material.
It is not Congresss place to say that all American children should not be exposed to pornography on the Internet and its not Congresss place to play the role of a responsible parent. Only the couple who gave birth to a child knows what is best for that child, and ultimately, everyone is an individual and deserves to be treated as such. In the wake of the Supreme Courts ruling on the CDA, Congressional Representatives and parents alike are split over what can be done to prevent children from accessing online smut while not infringing on Americans Constitutional rights. Parents, as well as the government, have legitimate concerns about what minors are being exposed to. Conservatives must realize the overall benefits of the Internet and consider what children might miss if their access to this vast resource is limited. Congressional representatives must keep in mind the importance of preserving constitutional rights, such as the right to privacy and First Amendment rights, when making laws that restrict freedoms.
While society attempts to deal with problems that arise due to Internet use, computer software designers must also come up new technological advances to give Internet users increased control over a network that is, by design, largely out of control BibliographNational Center for Missing and Exploited Children (web) 2. Stop the CDA Homepage (Error! Bookmark not defined. ) I. Analysis of the Revised Communications Decency Act II. Analysis of the Original Proposal III. A Constitutional Analysis and People For The American Way IV.
Relevant Policy Posts on The CDA 3. American Present Situation of Pornography Online, by Masataka Sugimoto (Error! Bookmark not defined. ) 4. Civil Liberties Union: Reno v. ACLU: The Appeal (Error! Bookmark not defined. ) Statement of Jonathan Taking, President, National Writers Union Statement of Candace Perkins Bowen, President, Journalism Education Association Philip Elmer-Dewitt, Time Magazine, On a Screen Near You: Cyber porn; July 3, 1995 Volume 146, No. 1, cover story 33 d
Free research essays on topics related to: pornography on the internet, communications decency act, catcher in the rye, television and radio, first amendment rights
Research essay sample on Communications Decency Act First Amendment Rights
