The Threat of Censorship Essay - 1952 Words

The Threat of Censorship The First Amendment of the Constitution distinguishes Americans from other citizens in the world. The right to free speech, press, and religion is at the core of the Americanvalue system. As a result, when thesefreedoms are challenged people tend to react strongly. However, at times government officials and theirconstituents would argue that censorship, or other violations of Constitutionalrights, are legitimate. With the advent of new technologies, politicians createnew policies to gain control over these technologies. This attempt to exertcontrol appears in the legislation geared towards the Internet. Currently free speech thrives on theInternet. A very large variety ofopinions are expressed on†¦show more content†¦Byanalyzing the specifics of the bills, and why specific groups support them aclear threat appears. However, unlikeCongress the Supreme Court does not believethese bill constitutional, providingsupport for free speech. To illustrate the ways Congress structured the bills to censorthe Internet it is necessary to look at the specifics of the three bills. The first of these three bills to beintroduced was the Communications Decency Act of 1996. In general, this Act dealt with many issuesregardingtelecommunications and obscenities. The major goals of this billwere: 1)obviously label sites that have graphic material, so as to be easilyidentifiable,2) have filters built into Internet software, and 3) to make aboard thatwould oversee limiting the reach obscene sites have concerningchildren (UnitedStates CDA). The maingoalhere seems to be making sites with adultcontent easily censored byparentsor the community in general. The Child Online Protection Act was initiated in 1998after the ACLUtookthe Communications Decency Act to court in Reno v. ACLU,and won; with theSupreme Court’s unanimous declaration that this Actviolated the FirstAmendment. COPA differs from the previous Act in that itdeal t exclusivelywithonline issues. ThisAct states thatthe government has a responsibility to protectchildren fromthings that mayharm them psychologically or physically, suchasShow MoreRelated3d Printed Weapons : Unjust Censorship Of A Public Threat1508 Words   |  7 Pages 3D Printed Weapons: Unjust Censorship of a Public Threat 3D printing has become astronomically popular in the world of today. From toys and guitars to camera lenses and even houses, 3D printing can create just about anything. But with gun control being a prominent issue in American society and 3D printing becoming more readily available, controversy emerges. 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There is censorship happening all around you and most of us dont even notice it. Thats because they are minor