Internet Censorship In The United States

In today's society, the amount of information that is censored from the world grows rapidly every passing minute, and most people have no idea that it even is occuring. One could argue that this is one the most unfought topics that is affecting our everyday lives. What is “internet censorship” exactly? Internet censorship is a term that covers the control or suppression of what can be published or viewed on the internet be it by companies, schools, the government, or even parents trying to block their kids from certain things. In recent years, political runnings, questionable content on YouTube, country wide censorship, and monitorings have come into effect. Today, a steadfast debate has come to fruition arguing whether this is a good thing

With that being said, there is still an unbelievable amount of censorship that exists. The most prevalent censorship that is seen in the US is internet filtering. Filtering is primarily used in both schools and business. The place it is most prevalent is in schools. Within the 10 years of the internet being made, almost all schools with access of it began to filter large portions of it. “almost all public schools with Internet access (96 percent) used various technologies or procedures to control student access to inappropriate material on the Internet” (NCES) This censorship includes the blocking of websites that has key words that are placed into a software. If you are to go to a site and a word that is on the list of inappropriate words is found, the site will be unable to be reached. The reason for this censorship is because of an act that was passed in the supreme court called the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”) This act has made it hard for protestors against censorship to act to get rid of it. Because of this, an uproar of protesters against the use of internet censorship has increased as more and more sites are being blocked from them. They believe that it is their right to view what they please (under jurisdiction). They believe their rights are being infringed upon. They also believe that a lot of the information that is on those blocked

Both arguments either for or against Internet censorship have strong reasons for their different beliefs, and each equally present their arguments through their own research of what they believe is the best for their country. The first and most prevalent argument shown in each is the appeal of emotional standpoint. When presented by the anti-internet censorship population, the use of children and keeping them safe and secure online has a very strong emotional aspect. On the other hand, the blocking of some sites does little to help the child and may actually be detrimental to their education. Another argument is the belief that a country can help themselves look better than they actually are. The counter argument still exists though that the information that is being held from them is eliminating their rights and freedoms as people. Internet censorship can better help keep many countries people safe and make one's country look the best it can, but it can also have its many flaws. Each argument continues to fight for their beliefs as they persistently as the digital world continues to grow and