an’s constitutional right to read and share protected information with others around the globe, especially if the information is legal in print form.Additionally, the Internet is an entirely different medium than television and radio, and it deserves to be treated as such. When one examines the manner by which pornographic material is obtained on all three of these mediums, the Internet is actually the least dangerous and imposing. When one "channel surfs" while watching television, there are no warnings that precede the next channel a viewer is about to watch. If a person is viewing a program on channel 10 and progresses to channel 11, there is no message that explains what the viewer is about to bear witness to. The same argument applies to radio listening. If a person is changing the radio frequency searching for a good song to listen to, there is no saying what the person may come across while searching. There is no warning as to what the listener is about to hear. However, on all Internet sites that contain pornographic material, there exists a title page to the web site that clearly states that there is pornographic material on the following pages. Most of these title pages state that if the viewer is under 18, they must abandon the site. Furthermore, if a person does a web search, for every page that pertains to his search string, an explanation of the page’s content is listed. A web user knows exactly what he is about to see before he actually sees it. This fact alone shows how the Internet provides a less imposing environment than that of television and radio.Due to the anonymity factor that accompanies web surfing, the Internet has been called a breeding ground for online child molesters presenting a danger to America’s youth. However, there is no evidence that suggests that there is an online threat to minors greater than the thousands of threats children face every day1. According to the National Center for...
