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Why should we censor the Internet? Why not? Should we not censor the information superhighway so people can be perverts and terrorist. Think about all of the terrible people out there; an uncensored internet gives them an easier and more accessible way to harm and exploit innocent people. One example of horrible material on the Internet is all of the pornography. In adult stores you have to be eighteen years old in order to purchase pornographic viewing material. On the Internet there are actual sites that say if you are not eighteen don’t come in to this site and there is no way for anyone to check an ID. This enables a child to have full access to pornography with the click of a mouse. One example of this type of site is Ampland.com. This site gives full non-restricted access to any one who clicks on it’s icon. Censorship would restrict such sites or at least require a credit card number or an ID of some sort showing that the user was eighteen years of age. An incident occurred last summer, “the Los Angeles Times reported that a computer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was being used to store and distribute hard-core pornography.” Over the internet. “Despite the lab’s elaborate security precautions, investigators found more than one thousand pornographic pictures. The computer was shut down and the FBI called in”(Exon, 436). If the internet was censored this incident would never have occurred. Pornography goes much farther than this. Pedophiles use pornography on the Internet to abduct and exploit children. “The Washington Post reported on a case where a group of investigators signed on to a major computer service with false identifications and pretended to be children. They posted a few innocuous messages on teen bulletin boards and the next day they had ‘solicitations for nude pictures, phone sex, and offers to meet in person for sex’”(Exon, 436). This kind of situation needs to be prevented and censorship would do just that. The scariest by far is the access to terrorist, warfare, and drug related materials. Everyone is more than likely aware of the Columbine shootings that occurred last year. The two kids involved in that incident obtained their information on tactics and bombs off the Internet. There are things on the web that are hard for anyone to imagine. One website that I located sent chills up and down my spine. This site was anarchistcookbook.com. On anarchistcookbook.com a person can find information on “making bombs, plastic explosives, picking locks, counterfeiting money, hot wiring cars, growing marijuana, LSD, as well as how to kill some one”(Anarchistcookbook.com). Law’s state all of the actions listed above as illegal, so why should information on how to perform them be legal on the Internet. It makes no sense. Murder is a horrible thing that takes place around the world everyday. More horrible than a murder, is one that goes unsolved. Many things can contribute to an unsolved murder. One of which is the black market of weapons. On the Internet people can gain access to and even purchase unregistered guns. A gun is registered so it is traceable to its owner. If someone is murdered with an unregistered gun, the gun is not traceable and can contribute to an unsolved murder. There are steps taken to ensure that not just anyone can get a gun. People such as children, the insane, and criminals cannot just purchase a gun. There is also a grace period. This means people have to wait a certain period of time before they can have a gun. Both of these precautionary steps are eluded when a black market gun is purchased. This is against the law and therefore should not be allowed on the Internet. People should be allowed freedom in all areas and aspects of life; but if freedom is hurting others and causing devious behavior it needs to be stopped. The information superhighway gives the freedom to access all kinds of information and is a good research tool. When was the last time a teacher assigned a paper due on bomb making? What use does this type of information have? None, the only use a bomb has is to hurt people. Censoring the Internet would take away these harmful materials and stop any tragedies before they happen. Horrible things will occur even if censorship takes place but at least the information causing such tragedies will not be accessed through the simple click of a mouse. Bibliography: Works Cited Exon, J. James. "Censoring the Internet: Is It Necessary?" Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston: BedfordSt. Martin's, 1999. 435-437. http://www.anarchistcookbook.com Word Count: 810
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