Freedom of Expression: Rights and Legalities

The first amendment of the constitution states that congress cannot and will not attempt to limit the establishment of religion or prohibit the practice of it, nor will it attempt to abridge the right to free speech or free speech of the press. It further states that people have the right to peacefully assemble and to address the government for redress of grievances.

The first amendment applies not only to congress, as named in the First Amendment, but the entire Federal Government, as expressed by the Supreme Court (Reynolds, 2007). Free speech applies to all, while freedom of press rather obviously applies to the various media outlets.

Violations

Free speak obviously cannot be so free as to injure others. As such, there are laws applying to different forms of communication that injure or harm another person's reputation, ability to obtain an elected position, gain a job in a certain field, etc.

Defamation: A communication that makes a false claim that is stated to be fact which causes an individual, business, or the like harm. There are two forms of defamation: slander and libel.

Slander: A harmful statement made in the form of speech or another non-permanent form.

Libel: A harmful statement made in written form (newspaper, book, weekly journal, etc.) This can also take the form of a picture or electronic broadcast.

Defamation deals with untrue information being spread, so it is truth that allows for prosecution of offenders. Only when the truth is revealed in court, and shown to be the truth, can a defamation case be settled.

The Protection of Children Against the Internet's Freedom of Material

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is an act protecting children from viewing obscene content online and aimed at Federally funded schools and libraries. Among the benefits of the act are the privacy and safety of a child while online through cooperation of nondisclosure of a minor's information, protective measures against predators or exposure to inappropriate material online through electronic communications (e-mail, chat rooms, IM, etc), and protection from website containing inappropriate materials. Additionally, penalties apply for those libraries and schools who fail to comply with or meet the requirements of the law.

Key elements of the Children's Internet Protection Act include:

-The protection of children from exposure to inappropriate content on the web. This includes pornography.

-Requires schools receiving Federal funding to implement regulation measures to ensure inappropriate content is neither viewed nor available on library or school campuses.

Disadvantages presented by CIPA include:

-Possible lower quality internet connection available in schools and libraries, especially in schools with lower funding or income resources.

-Schools have to keep up with the latest filtering technology in order to comply with regulations to protect minors. This can mean extra spending on the technology when other software or computer components are needed.

-Possible disabling of the system by hackers, administrators, or other users.

-Possibility of software blocking legitimate and useful sites.

-Possible transference of power over education to software companies.

References

Reynolds, G. (2007). Ethics in information technology. 2^nd edition. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology