Regulating Internet

Content
BY:

GROUP III
(IS32FB1-CS32FB1)

-I.T 003N-

ETHICS FOR I.T PROFESSIONALS

TUE.-THURS./4:30-6:00 PM
MR. T.F. REVANO JR.
 INTRODUCTION
Ø Internet – the most effective publishing & broadcasting medium
that has ever been available to the general population.
Ø It is difficult to regulate
Ø Anyone can view anything with the result that anyone can publish
anything and in theory
Ø The content that is transmitted is the aspect of the internet that is
to be discussed.
Ø FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY –
can one exist without others
Ø Plato- The Greek philosopher/thinker known for his dialogues
such as “The republic argues the control of music & poetry in
the education of the young.
Ø The principal forms of legislation that uphold or restrict speech are
briefly examined.
Ø CENSORSHIP, as a GLOBAL ISSUE & some model for regulating
the internet
 IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION
 FREE SPEECH- generally understood to mean all forms of
expression across all media & in all fields of knowledge-
scientific, religious & artistic.
 Has been taken to broadly include openness in literature, art &
music as well as religious tolerance. The allowing of political
divert & the right to question the existing social order.
 Free speech is generally accepted as a foundation of an open,
democratic society and as such has come to be seen a basic
human right. Unfortunately, it is a right that we often taken for
granted
 SOME TO BE NOTED PERSONALITIES
Ø John Suart Mill Salman Rushdig
Ø Nicolas Copernicus Martin Scorsese
Ø Galileo Galilei
Ø D. H. Lawrence
Ø Charles Darwin
 CENSORSHIP
 The suppression of regulation of speech that is
considered immoral, heretical, subversive,
libellous, damaging to state security or
otherwise offensive
 The control & regulation of both of what people
can and cannot say or express and
 They’re what permitted to see read tends to be
more stringent in this of can and under
totalitarian regimes.
 PLATO – one of the most renowned Philosophical allies of
censorship advocates is on by his name.

 “The Republic”, One of his best known dialogues stated
out that:

“We must start to educate the mind before training
the body. And the first step, as you know is always what
matter most, particularly when we are dealing with those
who are young & tender. That is the time when they are
easily moulded and when any impression we choose to
make leaves a permanent mark. Shall we therefore readily
allow our children to listen to any stories made up by
anyone, and to form opinions that they should have when
they grow up?. . . Then it seems that our business is to
supervise the production of stories and choose only thou
think, suitable and reject the rest”.
 Plato Continues:
 “It is only to the poets therefore that we must issue orders
requiring them to portray good character in their poems
or not to write at all; we must issue similar orders to all
artists and craftsman, and prevent them for portraying
the bad character, ill discipline, meanness and ugliness in
pictures of living things, in sculpture architecture or any
work of art and to practice their art among us. . . We
must look for artiste and craftsman capable of perceiving
the young men, living as it were in a healthy climate will
benefit because all of the work of art they see and hear

influence them for good, like breezes from some healthy
country....”

LAWS UPHOLDING FREE SPEECH



Article 18 & 19 of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration
of Human Rights of 1948
Ø Affirm the value and importance of free speech internationally.

BILL OF RIGHTS - one of ten amendments made to the original
US constitution which where designed to protect the rights of US
citizens.
- The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the
press, in the following terms:
- “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or the press or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble and the petition the government for a
redress of grievances.
- The Human Right act of 1998 in article 10 of the U.K-States
also that “Everyone has the right of freedom of expression. This
right shall include and impart in formation and ideas without
interference by public authority and regardless of grievances.”
LAWS RESTRICTING FREE SPEECH


Ø The US supreme court established a three-part test to determine

whether or not speech was considered obscene. Obscene
speech or expression, or expression is anything that falls within
all of the following three categories:
Ø Depicts sexual (or excretory) acts explicitly prohibited by
state law.
Ø Appeals to prurient interests as judged by a reasonable
person using community standards and
Ø Has no serious literary, artistic, social, political or scientific
value.
Ø
Ø In the landmark case of Ginsberg V New York, harmful minors
was defined as follows:

-That quality of any description or representation in whatever
form of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sado-
masochistic abuse, when it:
Ø Predominantly appeals to, shameful or morbid interests of
minors and

 Ø Is patiently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult
community as a whose with what is suitable for minors,
and
Ø Is utterly without redeeming social importance of minors.
Ø

Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000
Ø targets internet terminals in schools and libraries.
Ø Applies only to schools and libraries that participate in
certain federal programs, receiving federal money for
technology
Ø

UK Official Secrets Act, 1989
Ø Prohibits the disclosure of confidential material from
government sources by employees.



DA( Defence Advisory) Notice:
Ø a notice to the media strongly recommending the
withholding of publication of certain material that is
deemed to be of importance to national security. This is,
however, only a voluntary code.
Ø Human Rights Act, 1998


Ø upholds the right to freedom of expression in article 10.

Ø It states that:


Ø The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it

duties & responsibilities, may he subject to such
formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as
are prescribed by law and are necessary in a
democratic society, in the interest of national
security, territorial integrity or public safety for the
prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of
health or morals, for the protection of the reputation
or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of
information received in confidence, or for
maintaining the authority and impartiality of the
judiciary.


FREE SPEECH & THE INTERNET
Ø There are 5 characteristics in which have made the censorship in
the internet more difficult
Ø Many to many communications
Ø Dynamic
Ø Scale and size of the internet
Ø Global
Ø User-adults and children
Ø

Internet Technologies Supporting Free Expression:

Technologies that tends to enhance free expression are as follows:
Ø Electronic Mail
Ø Newsgroups/Usenet technologies
Ø Internet chat facilities
Ø The web
Ø Cryptography
 
Internet Technologies As Tools For
Censorship:
Ø 3 Technologies as tools for censorship are
discussed as follows:
ØCancelbots– a robot program that sends a
message to one or more Usenet
newsgroups to cancel or remove from
posting a certain type of message.
ØEncryption – protects confidentiality and
privacy and can thereby enable freedom of
expression.
ØContent filters – a web filter is a piece of
software that prevents certain web pages
from being displayed by a browser
ETHICAL & PROFESSIONAL ISSUES


GLOBAL CENSORSHIP ISSUES



Ø In Burma,(Myanmar today) They banned the use of the Internet

or creation of web pages without official permission, the
posting material about politics and the posting of any material
deemed by the government to be harmful to its policies.
Ø In Saudi Arabia, on 1999, was the only one to gained access to
the Internet, after the government installed a centralized
control centre outside Riyadh, the control center also blocks
pornography and gambling and many other pages that seems
to be offensive within religion Islam.
Ø In Vietnam, they was a filtering software to find and block anti
communist messages coming from other countries.
Ø In China, it do not allows to direct all internet traffic through a
single control center. Instead it allows many internet service to
make their own connections outside China.
Ø In Singapore, on 1996, the government justified its censorship
attempts in part by citing the censorship efforts in the US. In
1999, the country made a great effort to build a high-tech
economy, related enforcement of internet censorship laws but
did not change them.
INTERNET GOVERNANCE


Ø Web and internet – created many opportunities for data

sharing and e-Commerce
Ø Posed some formidable problems for law makers of
national government.
Ø Internet – has traditionally been decentralised and self –
governing, and it has so far evaded strict/systemic
regulations.
Ø There are at least 3 basic top-down models that have some
plausibility and are worth a cursory review:


ØDirect state intervention

ØCoordinate international intervention
ØSelf governance

SUMMARY


Ø Briefly examined the issue of freedom of expression within the

context of computer technology and specifically in terms of the
internet.
Ø Looking at some of the arguments/philosophies in defence of the
motion of free expression
Ø Examples showing the suppression of free thought has
historically, curtailed the speed of human advancement in
science and the arts.
Ø The ideas of Plato’s “The republic”
Ø The impact of computer technology on freedom of expression,
internet technologies that enable free speech and those who
have tended to restrict it.
Ø Outlined the arguments in favour of & against anonymous
expression in cyberspace.