easily into altered views of the real world. When it comes to our children, censorship is a far less important issue than good parenting. We must teach our kids that the Internet is an extension and a reflection of the real world. We have to show them how to enjoy the good things and avoid the bad things. This isn't the government's responsibility. It's ours as parents. (Miller 76)Self Regulation of the InternetSome restrictions on electronic speech imposed by major online companies are not so bad. Most of these communication companies have restrictions on what their users can "say in public forum areas” (Messmer). They must, however, respect their customer's privacy. 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 Playgirl and Penthouse have started to regulate themselves. Both of these sites 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, and similarly, if Internet users want to avoid government imposed regulations, maybe it is time they began to regulate themselves. EncryptionGovernment attempts to regulate the Internet are not just limited to obscenity and vulgar language. These attempts also fall into other areas, such as data encryption. By nature, the Internet is an insecure method of transferring data. A single e-mail packet may pass through hundreds of computers from its source to its final destination. At each computer, there is the chance that the data will be archived and someone may intercept that data. Encryption is a means of encoding data so that only someone with the proper "key" can decode it. "Why do you need” encryption? “It's personal. It's private. And it's no one's business...
