Research Perspective

CENSORSHIP--THE POWER OF A FEW

by Susie Etter

James Harrington's essay "Beware of Chilling Freedom of Expression" addresses the issue of censorship and whether the American government should regulate the promulgation of sexually explicit materials on the Internet. Harrington states that the passage of the Communications Decency Amendment of 1996 interferes with the basic American freedoms of "speech, assembly and press" (147).

The primary purpose of the Communications Decency Amendment was to ban material deemed "obscene or indecent" on the Internet. This Amendment was designed to protect children's access to material deemed inappropriate. According to Harrington, the Communications Decency Amendment "allow[ed] the most conservative community in the nation to hold the rest of the country hostage to its very narrow definitions of 'obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy or indecent'" (147) material. In other words, the will of a conservative minority is imposed on the will of a liberal majority. On June 26, 1997, the United States Supreme Court declared the Communications Decency Amendment unconstitutional.

Recently, the debate has stirred again. In 1999, Congress has passed the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires public libraries and schools to install software that blocks access to sites deemed inappropriate to children. Organizations such as the American Library Association, the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have come together to fight this legislation. EFF, an organization very concerned about many issues including censorship, was founded to educate Americans about and to protect their civil liberties. EFF has many concerns about CIPA. One of the major concerns is "subjective filtering criteria, in which a software company gets to decide broadly what is and is not available to some or all library patrons via library Internet terminals" ("EFF Statement"). While the intent of CIPA is to shield children from accidentally accessing inappropriate sites, it inadvertently provides an avenue for censorship, which may regulate what adult users can access online. In his essay, Harrington writes, "[I]f an adult wants to access sexual materials on the Internet, that right belongs to the adult" (147). EFF and Harrington, proponents of free speech, warn of the dangers of legislation that attempts to regulate any material deemed inappropriate by certain groups or individuals.

Although there is no danger in trying to protect children from access to sexually explicit Internet sites, the danger lies in what sites are deemed inappropriate by certain individuals. Censorship of the Internet based on what individuals feel is personally offensive to them can be subjective. For instance, in some Georgia schools, there is a movement to ban J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye. Although some may find this literary work offensive, it can be accessed on the Internet. Should this novel be censored online as well? There is no clear-cut answer to this question. What one person finds offensive, another does not. Legislation designed to protect children from certain Internet sites could inadvertently result in the censorship of all sites.

"General Information about Electronic Frontier Foundation." Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). About EFF. 24 Sept. 2001. <http://www.EFF.org/abouteff.html>.

Harrington, James. "Beware of Chilling Freedom of Expression." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 146-148.

"Mandatory Library Censorware Bill Fears Cure Worse than Disease Will Be." Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). EFF Statement. 22 Dec. 2000. 24 Sept. 2001. <http://www.EFF.org/ 20001222_eff_hr4577_statement.html censorship2000>.

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