Policing the Internet

Chapter 6 Debate 1. Are governments ever justified in regulating what their citizens can access? The Internet was created in the late 1960s so that U. S. Department of Defense researchers could share information with one another and with other researchers. The scientists and academics who created the internet soon saw the power of the new technology: Wires linking computer terminals together in a “web” of networks allow people anywhere in the world to communicate over the computer.

Even though it was developed by the government, the Internet is not government run. The Internet Society, a volunteer organization, addresses usage and standards issues. The term NEA was created by Authors Doc Searls and David Weinberger which is an acronym that stands for: No one owns it, Everyone can use it, and Anyone can improve it. Therefor it is not in any government’s power to regulate what can and cannot be viewed on the internet. It cannot be owned by any government or corporation because the internet in itself is classified as an agreement, not a thing.

It is a communication source where the whole world can stay connected. Countries such as China and Egypt, as well as many other countries in Asia and Europe, continued to have their rights taken away by their government and are blocked from going on news sites that would keep them up to date on world news. Although there are people who would use the internet as a tool to illegal means, censoring the internet for all citizens is not going to prevent a determined person from saying what needs to be said.

It only makes it illegal to do so. Governments that regulate and restrict informational websites end up making themselves look even worse than if they were to just let their citizens have free roam of the world wide web. 2. Should anyone be responsible for policing the internet? No one should be responsible for policing the internet because it simply was not designed to be so. It would take as many people as there are online every second of the day to keep up with the amount of updates and constant uploading.

Even now the government tries to police pirating of movies and music but it simply can’t be done. There will always be people who can beat the system, override it, hack into it, do whatever means necessary to get what they want and do what they want online. Work Cited Bradsher, Keith. “China Toughens Its Restrictions on Use of the Internet. ” Nytimes. com. New York times, 28 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. Searls, Doc, and David Weinberger. “What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else. ” N. p. , 2003. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.