Internet regulation

[m5lange1]

There probably is a forum on this somewhere but I could not find it.

I am all for the freedom of speech thing and think the FCC is strutting around like "Barney Fife" ever since we got a shot of Janets' boob.

However...

I really am for some increased regulation of (NOT PROHIBITION OF) several aspects of the internet.
It is becomming more and more part of our lives and I believe it will still go far in replacing many (not all but many) stores and businesses.

There is simply less overhead.

Here are some areas I would like to see regulated.

Start taxing the sales. We could use the revenue and it is helping to put tax paying businesses out of work.

Porn. Don't completly eliminate it ( ) but I should have to look for it. It should not be looking for my kids. Regulation so that it cannot pop into my home uninvited I believe is reasonable.

THose J&*())*(&^*&)()(ING Popups.....
That scene in "Scary Movie III" where she turns on a computer and it is just a sea of popups is going to be fact if we don't get some regulation there.
Trojan Horses, Hijackers, Popups. You can spend a fortune and they keep figuring out how to get past you.

I still refuse to support ANYTHING that pops up on my computer uninvited. It has cost me a couple of things I actually used to use like Ebay.

Thoughts on this?

[PatrickHenry]

Read my lips, "NO NEW TAXES!" The gov will just misuse them anyhow.

Porn has already had a new law directed against it, I think.

Popups are a simple software fix. There are freebies...

Give the FEDS the go ahead on "correcting" the Internet, and the whole thing will fizzle. This board will be taken down as a bunch of terr'ists.

[Comrade]

Every time I hear about people trying to take people to court about Internet matters, it is dismissed on freedom of speech grounds. In America. They already regulate (some of) the Internet in Europe.

And, we all know country-wide firewalls in certain countries. Information is deadly to tyrany.

[Lava]

> Information is deadly to tyrany.

Yup. And many other bugs of life we live with, like plain old ignorance.

The annoyances any grown up can deal with. If you want to restrict what your kids see (and theyve all seen porn by age 13 anyway) then there is software to do it. Lots and lots of it. A problem in the eyes of some users to which the solution is widely available.

Personally I think the free flow of information on the net is of inestimable value, and will change our society vastly for the better. Anyone who wants to sacrifice that is a true fool. (IMHO the mark of a true fool is that they try to ensure their own ignorance.)


Regards, Lava

[waterfalllife]

Ahhh yes, internet censorship. A topic I can finally really dig my teeth into.

Pop ups: if you dont want pop-ups, download yourself an Ad Killer or Spyware destroyer. Then combine that with a browser with automatic pop-up blocking (check out Mozilla and Firefox). Problem solved.

Porn: Even though many people find it offensive, it is a HUGE money making industry. Taking in billions of dollars, the internet helped make people like Jenna Jameson and Brianna Banks some of the richest people alive. And thats ok by me. Whatever you want to do to get rich is your own damn business, unless it impedes my path to wealth.

Recently a case was brought up to the Supreme Court regarding this topic

Originally posted by BBC
The US Supreme Court has narrowly ruled that a law meant to protect children from online pornography is probably an infringement of free speech.
Five of the court's nine judges opposed the law, which was passed in 1998 and is backed by the Bush administration.

The majority said a lower court was right to block it, as it may have violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution on freedom of speech.

The case has been sent back to a lower court for a trial.

A new trial will allow the court to discuss any technological developments that may permit adults to see and buy legal material - while keeping it away from children.

souce: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3850813.stm

So what does this mean? It means that its the people that need to take responsibility, not the government. We have internet watchdogs, and they are cracking down BIG TIME on child porn fiends. Which is a good thing. But to restrict Porn across the board is an infringement of the 1st ammendment.

[Compugasm]

Govt doesn't need to do anything. Private industry (like Microsoft) needs to do it. Better code, that's all that's needed. They've had the ability for some 30 years now. I guess people haven't lost enough money yet to change the system.

[admiraladz]

Wasn't sure which side of the fence to come down on for this one. Uh, well that was until my computer got infected with ANOTHER java based redirect. I've run all the software and removed various things, but still have to deal with my re-directed homepage and a casino plaza desktop icon until I can be bothered to edit my registry. BUT when you consider that my friends call me with questions like "how do I send a picture with this email" you can see the problem.

No? Well basically if you want to avoid these pop-ups (and it's not just porn) you need to know how to protect your computer. But to remove these objects you have to know how to reprogram your computer. Yep, it's boot disk time, hey-ho time to re-edit my registry-> for me 10 minutes, for a complete computer buffoon ... one way ticket to PC hell and a large Technical Support phone bill.

So I agree with Waterfalllife - if you protect yourself you'll be fine. (Just like all those clever people who use condoms to avoid AIDS, but what about all those other people who still don't understand AIDS and go sleeping round anyways?)

I also agree with Compugams - make it the responsibility of the software manufacturers to maintain the integrity of their platforms.

BUT.. I also think that companies who knowingly exploit these bugs for marketing should be fined (HEAVILY&#33. One of the latest ones is a scripting bug that changes your homepage to newsearch.com and then pops up a window saying "your computer is infected - click here for FREE scan". You do it and then when you've installed stuff and filled in all the forms, it shows you all the infections it found .. then asks for £39.99 to remove them. THAT my friend is demanding money with menaces. They are infecting your computer and demanding money to remove it. I know that, but would your mom understand that? Or would she just pay it?

[Lava]

Thank god the net is the one place on earth we dont have a bunch of dumbasses telling us what we can and cant read! Based on their understanding, or shortage thereof.

Regards, Lava

[castille]

Europe (the French) have talked about censoring the Internet, although their aim is to stop "cross-cultural exchange" (that is, preventing people from being too interested in other cultures).

Singapore does the same - Singapore's internet providers block any sites deemed "anti-government". China is also looking at the Singaporean method, and Russia has talked about it.

Of course, even those Frenchmen know the Internet cannot be censored. If you block one site, you have dozens of new sites cropping up. The Internet was designed to be made impossible to block due to its extremely decentralized system.

[Zeebadee]

Stop with the incessant call for the government to "do something". The government can't even run itself efficiently, why do people continually look to it for the remedy to every supposed problem, real or otherwise? That being said, regulation and taxation are inevitable. There's simply no way the government is going to let this source of money get away.