November 16 appeared to be a seemingly routine day, that is until I logged onto Facebook after classes. I noticed a lot of people posting and sharing links warning others about the new bill in congress that is currently being debated. This new bill is about the U.S government censoring the internet, or completely shutting down sites all together. This bill is very important for the future of certain websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr because these websites allow users to share their thoughts almost completely uncensored.
This bill is not a new idea though. The Motion Picture Association of America brought up the idea to congress in 2008 when the association became nervous of movie pirating. And in 2009 with the Cybersecurity Act which allowed the government to access anyone's online forms/ records without a warrant.
As you can imagine, this is causing and uproar for many. It comes across as a violation to our 1st amendment as United States Citizens. The internet has become a way of life for everyone. It is used every day and helps with everything from big business' sharing files to friends reconnecting. But according to Sen. John Rockefeller, "Would it have been better if we’d have never invented the Internet." That is probably the stupidest thing I have ever heard. The internet has done so much for us and has allowed us to advance in technology and education immensely. Sure people break the law on it and make threats toward governments, but you can do that without the internet as well.
-Paul Poremski
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/11/16/us-contemplates-unprecedented-internet-censorship-bill-proposes-web-site-closure
Interesting article, Mr. Romenksi. This is a very current topic that I think most people who use the internet on a daily basis care about. It will be interesting to see how this issue unfolds.
ReplyDelete- Sean Adam Boucher
This is pathetic but I did not even hear about this issue.
ReplyDelete-Britney Villafane
Mr. Romenski,
ReplyDeleteYour article accentuates how corrupt the government is getting when it comes to money. Even though it didn't pass, I'm still worried for any potentially harming bills that could be passed through congress.
Stay strong,
Patrick
Paul, I liked your article. You seem to have a good understanding of what's happening as far as the issue goes. You probably saw tumblr's attempt at informing its users about the censorship, it was pretty effective.
ReplyDeleteCullen
Hey Paul,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job conveying the main points of the article. I particularly like your closing statement which suggests that, as with anything, there will always be a way to use the internet negatively. I agree with you when you say that more good has come from the internet that harm.
Sean McGurl
I agree the internet has become a way of life. I went on tumblr and all I saw were people saying how crazy it what, how they couldn't do it, and of course poking fun at the ridiculousness of censoring it. It's crazy to think of the government censoring it in the United States for us, as well as thinking about all the other places in the world were they do have crazy censorship, like North Korean telecommunication bans; they ban most internet usage and seize cellphones at the airport.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to think of how this would work in the United States. There are so many jobs based off the internet, and popular websites that influx the economy. It just seems that so many things can be effected by censoring the internet, especially in the society that we live in today in the United States.
This is a really good topic to pick though. I feel like there's a lot to talk about, but I haven't heard much about it lately.
-Kristen Carraher