reign computers is just as accessible as data in America; all it takes is the click of a mouse to access. Even if our government tried to regulate the Internet, it has no control over what is posted in other countries, and it has no practical way to stop it. Not all restrictions on electronic speech are bad. Most of the major on-line communication companies have restrictions on what there users can "say." However, they must respect their customer's privacy, and they do. Private E-mail content is off limits to them, but they may act swiftly upon anyone who spouts obscenities in a public forum. Self-regulation by users and servers is the key to avoiding government-imposed intervention. Many on-line sites such as Playboy and Penthouse have started to regulate themselves. Both post clear warnings that adult content lies ahead and lists the countries where this is illegal. The film and video game industries subject themselves to ratings as well. If we, the Internet users, want to avoid government-imposed regulations then it is time we begin to regulate ourselves. It is natural for men and women to want to know all and to be informed of everything that’s going on around us. Governments all over the world seem to have the same interest. The only problem is that it feels that this human curiosity can be applied to the government more than the individual. After all, the one thing that we want to know is how our computers run, so we can get the most out of them and to use them more effectively. Sadly enough, the government’s goal is to use you more effectively. No, our imagination has not gone out of control. Those huge spy computer networks are not fiction and are not a thing to come; they are here today gathering information on almost every citizen of every modern country. Governments develop most technology, and in the case of computers and communication this could not be truer. The spying programs of the cold war and the technolog...
