Freedom of Expression and Censorship Online

 

The first real controversial policy issue connected to the Internet was the Communications Decency Act, part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which initiated criminal penalties for the transmission of "obscene, lewd or lascivious" information over the Internet. No other issue has galvanized the Internet-using community as much as the CDA, yet Internet activists were unable to prevent the bill's passage, by nearly unanimous Congressional votes, nor its signing by President Clinton. However, in June of 1996 the CDA was ruled unconstitutional by a federal panel of judges in Philadelphia and that decision was upheld in the Supreme Court.

 

What young people may encounter online continues to be a simmering controversy, however, and this controversy has intensified with the appearance of "friends" sites like MySpace, Facebook and College Humor. Should the government do something to help parents protect their children online?

 

The seminar will look at legislation such as the Child Online Protection Act, the Deleting Online Predators Act, and the Global Online Freedom Act, which addresses growing concerns over censorship of the Internet outside the United States, especially in China. The policies of American companies like Google and Yahoo, when they do business in countries that censor the Internet, have attracted criticism, and have been the subject of controversial Congressional hearings. Should the U.S. government encourage freedom of expression outside the borders of the country?

 

Readings:

 

Lessig, Chapter 12

 

EPIC's Communications and Decency Act Resources, Electronic Privacy Information

 

"Cyberporn," Philip Elmer-Dewitt, notorious Time magazine cover story that launched intense Internet debate, July 3, 1995. At: http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/21cp/syllabus/time_cyberporn_article.pdf.

 

"Protecting Children from Online Pornography," by Elizabeth Kaufman, LBJ School of Public Affairs, Spring 2003. At http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/21cp/syllabus/ekaufman_paper.pdf.

 

Look at the bill summary for the Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006, at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR05319:@@@D&summ2=m&, and at a related article on News.com, "MySpace.com May Face Legislative Crackdown," by Declan McCullagh, &tag=6092989&subj=news.

 

Review materials and links on the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) on the

The Legal Challenge to the Child Online Protection Act, Electronic Privacy Information Center,

 

Consider watching the online video for the PBS Frontline news series, "Growing Up Online," at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/. This is an hour-long program but presented online in smaller segments. Recommended only for background, and only with a high-speed Internet connection. This is not assigned, just recommended for this class topic.

 

"China Squeezes PC Makers," The Wall Street Journal, June 7, 2009, at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124440211524192081.html.

 

"Censorship "Wikipedia, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_cyberspace.

"The Connection Has Been Reset," by James Fallows, The Atlantic, March 2008, at http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/chinese-firewall.

 

"Google Censors Itself in China," BBC News, January 25, 2006, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4645596.stm

 

"Human Rights and the Internet -- The People's Republic of China," Google's written statement for the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Congress hearing, January 2006, at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/human-rights-caucus-briefing.html.

 

"Promoting Free Expression on the Internet," by Pablo Chavez, Senior Policy Counsel, Google, May 20, 2008, at http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2008/05/promoting-free-expression-on-internet.html.

 

Review the summary of the Global Online Freedom Act of 2006 on Thomas, at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR04780:@@@D&summ2=m&.

 

Further,

 

Cyber Rights: Defending Free Speech in the Digital Age, by Mike Godwin, Times Books, 1998.