Topic 4: Regulation and the Internet

Prior to the digital revolution, options of being heard were limited to the ‘Speakers corner’. In the 80’s, chances that you could influence someone were small, as you had to be educated, whereas now, all you need is the Internet and a “click that reverberates around the world” (Lewinsky 2015)

Today, if we speak strongly about something, YouTube can be our Speakers Corner, as well as Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc., as a cultural gatekeeper no longer controls us. Social media gives lenses into a large scale of influence and we discover the influence that each of us have as we recommend things to one another. However, the bigger the platform, the more problems that come with it and the issue of regulation arises. As we become more liberated on the Internet, more and more people take advantage of the lack of regulation and violate this freedom.

Due to lack of regulation, terrorists use the Internet as their major point of contact, where it is manipulated and controlled. Additionally, the child pornography industry is booming because the Internet has material everywhere. Even though authorities have traced and banned some content, it can still be viewed through streaming porn sites where they are viewed free of charge.

Moreover, lack of regulation has led to a ‘culture of humiliation’, where users gain keyboard courage and troll on the Internet. Famous lover of former President Bill Clinton sums up this culture perfectly through her own experience and the impact it had on her life then, and now…seventeen years later.

It is important to highlight that whilst this is an issue, countries such as China have attempted to tackle this. They use monitoring systems, shut down publications/websites and jail dissident journalists and bloggers. Although China’s censorship can never defeat the Internet, before the Internet, all people could do was watch TV. However, I believe that this form of regulation is putting China behind in the worlds competition in the coming decades and is rather ironic as China is one of the worlds most technologically advanced and oriented countries.

Conclusively, the openness of the web is something that provides both freedoms for the user and dangers in regards to lack of regulation, but is not something that will change anytime soon. Removing the one thing that has allowed the Internet to flourish…freedom would result in a knock-on affect of chaos.

References:

Lewinsky 2015, Available: http://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame#t-315225 [Accessed 21st March 2015]

Image:Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqioRs7ylQU [Accessed 21st March 2015]