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---------------------------------Internet Regulation
What is the Internet?
The definition of the Internet put in one sentence is: A worldwide network of computer networks that use
the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange, where anyone with a computer
can access the internet through an ISP (Internet Service Provider).
The Internet consists of a three level hierarchy composed of backbone networks (e.g. ARPAnet, NSFNet,
MILNET), mid-level networks, and stub networks. These include commercial (.com or .co), university (.ac
or .edu) and other research networks (.org, .net) and military (.mil) networks and span many different
physical networks around the world with various protocols, chiefly the Internet Protocol.
The Internet is a global network connecting millions of personal, institutional and company computers.
The number of computers used by the internet is growing rapidly. The United States is connected with
over 100 countries worldwide and linked together to exchange of data, news and opinions. The Internet is
decentralized design. This means that there isn't just one computer that stores all of the information from
the Internet. There are many independent host servers located throughout the US and the world that store
the information made available to the global Internet community.
The Internet is primarily used for these functions:
1. To send and receive e-mail.
2. To transfer files from one computer to another (the files may be text, images, audio, video, etc.).
3. Research to locate information for either government, educational, commercial, etc.
4. To communicate with other computers, either one at a time (Instant message) or many at once (chat
rooms or discussion groups).
The internet is a work in progress and will continue to evolve.
What is Internet Regulation?
Internet regulation is basically restricting or controlling access to certain aspects or information. Internet
regulation consists of mainly two categories: Censorship of data, and controlling aspects of the Internet.

Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the
general public and is concerned with some form of censorship.
Other forms of Internet regulation is domain registration, IP address control, etc. In domain registration,
once a domain is purchased the Webmasters address has to be registered at the time of purchase.
A governmental agency can track someone down if they put up information, that the government
considers unacceptable.
IP address is you Internet identity when you are connected to the web. It is synonymous to a postal
address. It consists of a 32 bit binary number that is denoted by XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX, and is used in the
forwarding of data to your host, when requested.
The giving out or allocation of the IP address is done by an agency by geographical location, and so it is
not portable. This means that if you change your location, then your IP address will change with it. It is a
way the federal government can track you down if you are involved in illegal activities on the net.
The internet is censored in order to enable adults to protect children from unsuitable material.
An analogous situation is an organizations management controlling their employees' use of computers at
work.
Software on the user's computer is the only practical way to control access with the flexibility required for
differing children. A PICS based system will be inexpensive or free for users and does require new laws or
government intervention - although funding for ratings services would probably accelerate it.
Censorship of Internet communications can not be practically achieved, it would be far too inflexible to suit
the many approaches to "child suitability" which responsible adults have for the various children in their
care, and would constrict all Internet Communications to a single "child-safe" level.
The restriction of for example how to make a bomb via the Internet is also controversial, however, any
good library has lots of explosives information. PICS might be able to stop some of this information
flowing via the Internet. However, the amount of information in general is increasing and even with
restrictions information of this sort will increase.
Restrictions might enable adults to control their own access to material so they do not stumble across
things (advertising, violence, erotica/pornography, religious or political material etc.), which offend them.
This enables community standards to be maintained - the standards of the particular community, which
the person chooses to be a member of.

-Some people propose to maintain one particular set of "Community Standards" by making it possible to
restrict certain material. The proposition that there is one "Community Standard" for all Americans is
difficult to sustain (depending on what the proposed standard entails) because there are so many
communities
Even if censorship of Internet communications could practically be achieved, it would be far too inflexible
to suit the community standards of any country, any particular community or any particular person's
position in that community.
The government imposing a single set of restrictions on the communications of all adults, where the aim is
to restrict communication of material including that, which can be legally possessed. This is plain, ordinary
censorship, whether it concerns erotica, or material, which is critical of governments or religions.
For instance some censorship proponents refer to "obscene" materials, as if a single definition of
obscenity exists. Those proposing outright censorship argue that the communication of all citizens should
be restricted according to some single "Community Standard" for:
-Their own good.
-The good of society in general. (See Peter Webb's speech and his references to this argument by Lord
Devlin.)
-The good of children
-Or some mixture of these three reasons.
Some of the most common methods for information regulation is through ISPs filtration channels. Many
ISPs AOL, being one of the top, provide a built in method for which parents can restrict access to certain
sites containing information that they do not want to see.
There is also software that can be downloaded and installed on personal computers that do the same job
of filtering material viewed on the web. The biggest of all is governmental laws that restrict people from
viewing certain information on the web.
Especially for the pornographic sites, there is a law that requires password authentication to enter the site.
There are numerous laws enforced by the government that basically restricts information. They are all in
place because the government feels that it is dangerous for society to have easy access to the
information in question.

Government has been the foremost in the restriction of information. There have been numerous
committees and agencies set up primarily to perform this task or upholding the laws that have been
established for this reason.
Most of the bills that have been introduced in congress regarding Internet regulation have failed. The
reason being that it is so closely connected with the first amendment that it will naturally be met with firm
opposition.
Everyday Americans are now a click of the "mouse" away from instant worldwide computer
communication. The Internet has brought society more than the fruits of faraway knowledge, new
business opportunities and round-the-clock entertainment. It has also stirred up thorny legal and ethical
questions surrounding crime detection, sexual morals, free speech, copyright protection and socioeconomic status. Not surprisingly, radically different ways to meet the challenges of the technological
revolution have been proposed.
Some argue for dramatic changes in laws and customs to accommodate the digital era, yet others
propose that existing structures be adapted.
Check out these sites for more info:
Internet regulation 'a threat to civil liberties'
We need Internet Regulation
Audience Questions - Internet Regulation
Internet behavior is regulated as explained by Lessig
CSIS Forum Explores Emerging International Pressures
Civil Rights and Internet Regulation
On Internet Regulation

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