DISADVANTAGES OF INTERNET

 

Allowing for freedom of speech and expression on the Internet has many pitfalls. Not everybody is safe on the Internet, especially not children. There are untold numbers of websites that show nothing but pornography and are available with a click of the mouse. Children do not necessarily have to look at those sites, but they are vulnerable to seeing pornography on the Internet in the form of explicit advertisements that pop up on innocent sites, and everything is only a click away.

The dangers of the Internet are not limited to pornography. There are many sites where, due to the anonymity of the Internet, people try to solicit sex from innocent children through chatrooms. There are many children who do not know and assume that the person they are chatting with is a "friend" who is their age and harmless.

Another frightening phenomenon on the Internet is the proliferation of sites hosted by hate groups. These groups put all sorts of anti-government material on the Internet and even try to recruit members. Another aspect of these groups is the fact that one can find thousands of sites that offer dangerous materials such as guns or bomb-making material for sale to the public. The Internet contains sites that inform the public how to make home-made bombs, how to rob banks, how to kidnap, etc.

The solution to the problem seems to be rather simple: ban people from hosting any sexually explicit content on the Internet. This, however, cannot be done. The First Amendment of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech does not allow the government to shut down those sites. Since the Internet is an open platform, shutting down Internet sites would be a violation of the First Amendment. Watchdog organizations have been formed to make sure that there is no violation of people's rights and that there is no censorship of the Internet of the internet.