Should the government subsidize the Internet access?

Answer 1

The government should censor the internet for many reasons.

1. to protect children

2. self-esteem issues

3. people are making examples to make bombs on the internet

and that's just to name a few

congress shal make no law respecting an estabblishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech,or of the press or the right of people peacably toassenble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

Answer 2

Yes, to a degree. The government of Canada works with our police department to catch lechers conning teenagers into meeting with them. These people prey on the young and the end can be disastrous. In this case yes. In freedom of speech no! Both the U.S. and Canada are being monitored on the computer as we speak. The words President, Bush, bombs, etc., are a red flag. Most of it isn't serious, but with terrorism lurking in the U.S. and Canada our governments have no choice. They aren't much interested in most of the other things we do on the Internet.

Answer 3

Well it depends on what kind of regulation you are talking about. And you need to understand that it is regulated to some extent already.

The contents of the Internet are regulated by each country that accesses it, such as the anti-child pornography laws in the US. That is a form of regulation if you think about it. Also you can not post certain things on the net without having them subject to investigations like hate speech or threats.

So if you think about it, the Internet is already regulated to some extent, there are even state laws, like Florida's that prevent people from doing certain things on the Internet like sending threats, harassing others and so on.

If you are referring to charging money for things on the Internet, you will find that is already happening also. If you order an item from a company in the states, and you live in the same state or certain states, you pay a tax on that item. So there is another form of regulation.

As for a uniformity regulation, there is already a type of regulation that limits the type of things you can put on the net, that is limited by the browsers we use. They require HTML language to be used so it can be viewed. That's another form of regulation.

There are even regulations (rules) on what types or formats names of pages take on the Internet, you have to conform to a naming format or your pages will not show, another type of regulation.

So when it all boils down to it, the Internet is already regulated quite a bit, and that's why it works the way it does.

If you are referring to some other type of regulation of the Internet, then let me know and I will try to address that one specifically. :)

JD

RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE ANSWER:

The internet is NOT regulated. It has become well known on how to get around any small areas that might be regulated. When discussing regulation you must talk about what that means and why it needs to happen. The internet has become a major tool of anonymity for people to abuse. Children are making porn videos. Not surprisingly since most of the internet consists of free porn videos to view. When the internet intially came about, it was simply viewed as a way of networking or sharing information. It wasn't automatically thought of as a place of mischief. Now it is completely. It is completely apparent, through centuries of history and the history of the internet, that people abuse too much freedom. You've heard the saying, "Too much of anything is bad for you". The internet is living proof.

Because modern culture has become strictly a corporate one, human needs are suffering. ALl the things we used to teach our children are not being taught at all. People are allowing themselves to be busy due to the demands of the evil corporate empire. Kids are getting neglected and to fill the void, they are getting more television, Pop Music, internet, and other material things. They are learning nothing about life. Life isn't something that grabs you. WE are all responsible for how life turns out in the next decade. Its up to us. But the way kids are being raised today is the exact opposite. The internet is the primary tool being used to contaminate our children.

If anonymity was completely removed from the internet, all problems would be solved. All this talk about privacy is an excuse for bad people to get what they want. Rich people and businesses are goind to lobby in favor of privacy because it allows them to continue to feed the lurkers for profit. Porn is especially in this category. Before the internet, people were held accountable at all times because you didn't make an action without everyone knowing who you are. Now you can pretend to be John Smith. This has turned the world upside down. If anonymity was illegal, then people would learn to behave ONCE AGAIN. This would help eliminate terrorists online, predators online, and because children wouldn't be viewing porn or other garbage, their minds would become full of good things ONCE AGAIN. Until people wise up and agree with what I am saying, the world will continue to become darker. You'll see.

Answer 4

no because if you wanted some information it could be blocked of what your trying to get and then you wouldn't get the right information.

Currently, the United States is trying very hard to develop a method to allow the regulation, taxation and monitoring of the Internet. They feel that this would allow them to make the Internet more "honest". This also would allow our Government to collect billions in taxes from people like us that use the Internet everyday.

The concept of freedom of speech certainly comes into play here and the Government is trying to limit this by reducing our ability to access the Internet or post what we wish.

The flip side is also true. What about the crazies that post tripe on the Internet? Should we allow terrorists and other scum to use the Internet to pass on their agenda? Maybe we should, but it seems difficult for me to accept that as a needed element of freedom.

I believe that the current system of access to the Internet is a threat to the current political system of the United States because it allows intelligent people to see how terribly abusive the current system has become. War is able to be seen for what it is far easier today then ever before. The disgusting waste in spending by our Congressmen is also available for us to see. The idea that 70% of our GDP is now a debt is able to be conveyed to millions instantly.

It is this very freedom that our Administration fears. The freedom to see their waste for what it is. That is why they desire to regulate and stop us from having this awesome tool of freedom.

Allowing too much freedom is what causes unrest. Limiting the information allows Governments to regulate what you are able to view and thus believe to be true.

Answer 5

Yes.

The amount of control varies from country to country.

Probably, although not for very long, and not reliably. Internet traffic moves across lines that are mostly owned by telecommunications companies. These companies are subject to very limited government control, particularly with regard to the content that travels on their lines. That content, and the right to express it, is protected by the First Amendment to the constitution.

The government could nationalize (take ownership) of the telecommunications companies and control internet traffic that way, but that would be an extremely drastic measure, and would not be supported by the electorate.

The government can and does monitor at least some internet traffic. There are provisions in the PATRIOT Act for the government to obtain wiretapping orders secretly in order to monitor communications between suspected terrorists and other criminals. During the Bush administration, it was discovered that the judicial warrant process (a wiretap order is essentially a search warrant, and must be signed by a judge based on probable cause) have been circumvented numerous times and the government had essentially unrestricted access to the lines of major telecommunications carriers like AT&T. It's likely that some of this still takes place.

China attempts to control internet traffic in and out of the country, but people get around this all the time. Google recently pulled its service out of China because the Chinese government insisted that Google censor the search results it returned from Chinese inquiries. Through the use of proxy servers and anonymizer sites, among other methods, Chinese internet users are able to access information their government doesn't want them to have. The Chinese government owns all of the telecommunications resources in the country, and is still unable to deny their citizens information they disapprove of. Therefore, it's unlikely the U.S. government could be much more effective, even if it did take control of the internet backbone.

Answer 6

"http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Should_Internet_be_regulated_if_so_by_whom

Answer 7

No, it should just create and enforce fair trade laws that require companies not to charge exorbitant prices for something that should be cheap.