Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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8 Censorsh Okay, it's time to talk about sex. I am deliberately playing up the word ??j.u? 4- ? 1.1, sca m me mat aciitciiw ui una ai uuc because it is guaranteed to at least double my readership, and who can argue with that? You know, Fm not the only one who has stumbled upon the attention-grabbing power of sex. I can name three of four major political figures in Washington who have been shamelessly milking words like sex and pornography for all they are worth lately. Even worse, these politicians had been adding on other words, like Internet and communications. Perhaps the most prolific "sex offender" this year has been Sen. James Exon of Nebraska. Earlier this year, he decided that we needed to save our online society from child pornography and smut. So, the Senate passed the Communications Decency Act. The problem is that the Communications Decency Act isn't very decent. In fact, many believe it to be a blatant violation of a little known thing as the First Amendment. Why am I against the CDA? First of all, it was passed by senators voting for the bill were predominately on-line illiterates, out to capitalize on the general public's mistrust and lack of understanding when it comes to online communications. The problems with the CDA don't stop there. The legislation would seek to criminalize types of speech and expression that are currently allowable in print and protected by the First Amendment. For example, horrible things like the "seven dirty words" wouldn't be allowed in public areas on the Internet, where impressionable children might by corrupted by them. You could read the "dirty words" at your local bookstore, but not in a publicly-accessible area of the Internet. Expect for generating political capital for its creators, the CDA is largely unneeded. Many of the things the CDA outlaws are already covered by existing U.S. law. In many respects, administration of the act is impossible. After all, So f7 ip not nec TECHmABBLF~^~ MARC LaFOUNTAIN how can the federal government hope to police a global information network that runs 24 hours a day and isn't controlled by any central authority? And how much of a burden can the government realistically put on users and content providers to make certain that all of their online communications are decent? Public education. Many people may believe the online world is an electronic brothel, seething with obscenity and perversion. Why? Because that is what their politicians and their journalists have often been telling them. A prime example is the now infamous Tune" magazine cover stoiy, "Cyberporn," which quoted from a study done by a Carnegie Mellon student earlier this year. The study claimed that pornography constitutes an overwhelming percentage of online communication, and that the pornography is easily accessible to all. Unfortunately for Time," the study was proven to be greatly flawed and is now widely viewed as inaccurate and misleading. Much of the study data came from private, adult bulletin board systems that are not accessible by the average user. Many of the report's conclusions are not even supported by its data. Time has been vilified on the Internet and in the mainstream press for its usage of the study without first making certain the research and documentation done by the study were sound. To get more information of the controversy surrounding Time" and the study, point your World Wide Web browser at http://www.wired.com/special/pronscare/. The site is maintained bv "Wired" magazine and takes an extensive look Dexte vou call Dl * T1 (Too bac Life can be complicated and we'll subtract 25?/ special offer ends sc No fees essary for at the issue, helping to clarify the real pornography situation that exists online. Common sense. It angers me that so many politicians and journalists complain about the sexual content of the Internet and online services, as if it was being forced upon them. In reality, you have to be actively looking for sexual content to find it. It isn't just going to pop up on your screen. In preparation for this article, I gave myself one horn* to see how much sexual content I could find on the World Wide Web. I was unable to find some extremely explicit text and images. However, to find those things, I had to spend time doing keyword searches and browsing indexes. Once I found sexual content, I almost always had to click on a link saying I was over 18 and willing to view the explicit material. Only then could I see the images and text. It isn't as if sexual content was thrust upon me by accident. You need to remember that the Internet and online services are nothing more than a virtual reflection of our physical world. Both the real world and the virtual one have bad neighborhoods. I wouldn't want to browse some of the more hard core bulletin boards online, just like I wouldn't want to spend time in some of the seedier shops on Two Notch Road. In the virtual, you have to watch where you go, just like in the real one. So, when you. are browsing the Internet and online services, use a little common sense. If you see a newsgroup called "alt.sex.bestiality" and you don't happen to like bestiality, then don't go there. The same goes for web pages, chat rooms and file sites. If you see a chat room called "netsex" and you have being propositioned online, then don't go in there. Little Kiddies. "Okay," you say. "But what about unsuspecting kids who happen to wander into this sexual stuff? Don't we need laws to protect them?" No, that is their parents'job. I would hate to offend any parents who read this column, but if you are letting your chil not hi You sus r. Nusblatt, tie C3.ll i; I about the . AT&T True Savings it b off your AT&T bill* Spe )on, so you've got to cal No lists. And no circle: * Internet dren go online without supervision, then you are not doing your job as a parent. It is your responsibility to find out what is out there and provide your children with help and guidance in exploring it. Just like you wouldn't let your child walk around Columbia alone, you should not allow them to be online alone. Its a dan gerous world for kids out there, both online and offline. If you are looking for help in controlling what kinds of material you children can view on the Internet, check out a program called SurfWatch. It has a database of sites that contain profanity and sexual content. You can install SurfWatch on your computer, so that when your child tries to access an explicit site they are prevented from doing so. For more information on the program, point your web browser to http:// www.surfwatch.com/. The future. A House/Senate conference committee will take up telecommunications reform in September. In addition to the CDA, other legislation will be considered that would put severe restrictions on what can legally be done online. For more information on the legislation, point your web browser to the Center for Democracy and Technology at http://www.cdt.org/cda.html. If you are against the legislation, write to your representatives in Congress and let them know. Don't send email or form letters to Congress, as most members know how easy they are to produce and give them little weight. A handwritten letter expressing how you personally feel is the best way to get the attention of Congress and stop unconstitutional regulation of the online world before it starts. Marc LaFountain, a journalism senior, can be emailed at lafountain-marc @ sc.edu. To get an electronic version of this column, email listserv@univscvm.csd.sc.edu with "SUB TBABBLE YourFirstNameYourLastName" in the message body. s usual sell pect the S your family s cheal consultt 1 1 /+* <+ r\ > simple, just spend jiu ;nd $50 a month, get 30 11800 TRUE-ATT to ei s. That's Your True Cboit Augus ? ~g 1*/teAUS ViPiT LA&T ^Vskj/ ll I - illliSy lm/?inT 1 |^g.hi e^^eM<?eegDj / Eim\vLa1 Tl^Ufev/ -C'ja ^j?rr A CAQrroo ?4 / ??H i""r"i r louAgAcTgd.x . / ?(IS^H?1?? 1 -poviT^e^UA^ / Qes um, % w J ?UT\oMAnMyviTineo^T?.oe, acosE . ^5^ * ^\% I "Og PWLT MgKT i4eAL-TM AUb V m V -.ffiaE . mTl. rdfH'lilll LITERACY, AT RISK MIlLIlrll kids hunger ?"* VM?l MM you CAN MAKE (Ha hah.) A DIFFERENCE. i Call or come by the Office of LrameCOCK Community Service advertising works, alsa. I vpf hark hnmp. v m v# jljljl itiOTl fee.) I a month on long distance i% off. Guaranteed. This iroll by September 15. :e'MAT&T. H I , ('Certain e