by Jessica Redmond
Most people realize the amount of influence the Internet has on the world, how it has closed the gap between seas and brought nations closer. However, most people do not realize that it pushes apart the foundation for these nations--families. Parents are upset about the time that their children spend sitting in front of a screen, and children find it hard to tolerate the regulations that parents put on what they can or cannot pull up on the screen. Senator J. James Exon brings to the surface a Telecommunications Reform Bill that will tighten what are now the very slippery laws of censorship on the Web. His bill would bump the existing fine from $50,000 to $100,000 and increase the time of incarceration from 6 months to 2 years (144).
Georgia State University's law students have done much research about current censorship legislation. These students say that approximately 30 people have actually been accused of Internet crimes and have served up to 7 months in jail and paid a minimum of $1,000 in fines. Some citizens find that having or even tightening laws against Internet users violates the First Amendment, which clearly states there will be no prohibiting or "abridging the freedom of speech of the press" (145). Senator J. James Exon states, "I say the framers of the Constitution never intended for the First Amendment to protect pornographers and pedophiles" (145).
Computers are a medium that creates problems between parents and their children mainly because the children have more knowledge about them than their parents do (145). A national statistical poll in USA Today states that 73 percent of children know more about computers than their parents do. I feel this number may change because of the number of adults graduating from college with a degree in computers or learning more knowledge about them. A website called Peacefire teaches children how to disable the blocking software that their parents load onto computers for censorship purposes. The motto of the Web site states, "Its not a crime to be smarter than your parents." Parents cannot monitor every move that children make on the computer. Moreover, any parent who believes their children cannot or will not find innappropriate material does not know their youngsters, says Senator Exon (146).
The bottom line is that there are laws out there to protect children from viewing offensive sights, the problem is finding those responsible for disseminating the materials. Making stricter laws is not going to stop anyone from searching for pornography or other objectionable matter, just as the death penalty does not stop people from killing. So, instead of finding ways to censor the Internet, I believe people should concentrate their efforts on developing more efficient blocking programs that keep inappropriate websites away from the eyes of children.
Exon, J. James. "Keep Internet Safe for Families." CyberReader. 2nd ed. Ed. Victor J. Vitanza. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999. 144-145.
jessicaredmond80@hotmail.com
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