Browser Wars
I believe most of the data present on the internet is protected by the initial vision of our founding fathers and specifically the First Amendment. I find it very interesting that it is first to be listed on The Bill of Rights.
First Amendment – Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause; freedom of speech, of the press, and of assembly; right to petition
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (1)
Obviously, the authors of our constitution did not have access to the internet or were they privy to the birth of the “Information Age.” They did however; embed ideas and principles that were open to interpretation, flexibility, and the exponential growth of the United States.
With that being said, I do believe that limits need to be established for the first amendment. Government MUST take measures to provide its citizens safety. Since the beginning of the communication and communication devices, the government has always taken an active role in supervision. For example, with the birth of the telephone, came “Phone-taps.” This of course, reached an apex during the Cold War and continues today with the threats of terrorist attacks. Since the internet has become an unprecedented global information mechanism, even more than the telephone, the balance on our freedom versus our security is always in question. How much should respective governments filter web content, who should make these determinations, what are the logistics when dealing with such a vast environment, and do these policies actually work? Some countries are deeply committed in making censorship, work. Countries like China, Egypt, Algeria, Russia, and Thailand are just a few that have taken measures to...
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