INTERNET REGULATION: POLICING CYBERSPACE .
The Internet is a method of communication and a source .
of information that is becoming more popular among those who .
are interested in, and have the time to surf the information .
superhighway. The problem with this much information being .
accessible to this many people is that some of it is deemed .
inappropriate for minors. The government wants censorship, .
but a segment of the population does not. Legislative .
regulation of the Internet would be an appropriate function .
of the government. .
The Communications Decency Act is an amendment which .
prevents the information superhighway from becoming a .
computer "red light district." On June 14, 1995, by a vote .
of 84-16, the United States Senate passed the amendment. It .
is now being brought through the House of Representatives.1 .
The Internet is owned and operated by the government, .
which gives them the obligation to restrict the materials .
available through it. Though it appears to have sprung up .
overnight, the inspiration of free-spirited hackers, it in .
fact was born in Defense Department Cold War projects of the .
1950s.2 The United States Government owns the Internet and .
has the responsibility to determine who uses it and how it .
is used. .
The government must control what information is .
accessible from its agencies. .
This material is not lawfully available through .
the mail or over the telephone, there is no valid .
reason these perverts should be allowed unimpeded .
on the Internet. Since our initiative, the .
industry has commendably advanced some blocking .
devices, but they are not a substitute for .
well-reasoned law.4 .
Because the Internet has become one of the biggest sources .
of information in this world, legislative safeguards are .
imperative. .
The government gives citizens the privilege of using .
the Internet, but it has never given them the right to use .
it. .
They seem to rationalize that the framers of the .
constitution planned & plotted at great length to .