Internet Censorship
Economic Impact
A system that would be capable of censoring all the material coming into a country from cyberspace would cause money (Riley 3). This cost would be put on the Federal Government who would have to put these laws into place and then enforce them. They would also hurt the internet service providers who would have to use expensive technology to block material from coming in, and leaving, from everyone of their clients (Riley 7). This cost would trickle down to the people who use the internet who would need to pay extra for both the internet service provider to run this technology and in taxes to have the government make and enforce the laws to censor the internet (Riley 5).
To properly censor material a program would slow the speeds of whatever internet it is on. Although this wouldn’t be a major problem for some people who have very fast internet, there are still individuals using dial-up who would find their internet to be hardly moving at times (Riley 9). This would affect the small business the most who can’t afford the high speed internets, this cost would then force them to either upgrade to a faster internet, or make due with what they have; both cases have possible financial consequences (Riley 11).
Another financial cost would be to the biggest victims of a censorship, the owners of the cites that gets censored. Although often frowned upon, the people in the pornography industry make a living from material that, if online, would most likely be subject to censorship should such a law be passed and enforced. There is also a chance that business websites would get accidently blocked by a censor program causing them to lose money, even if they had no inappropriate material on their cite.
A new market has opened up as phones have begun to be capable of internet access. Cell Phone sales have reached a all time high with a lot of help from this. Should the internet be censored the decline in sales could indirectly hurt the cell phone businesses (EiE p Moble par 1).
On the other hand having an open internet can actually hurt businesses in several ways. First, the internet can be a source of unwanted programs likes viruses, spyware, and bugs which if they get on a computer can cause serious harm to the information on it. If the virus gets on the network of a business it can do anything from find out company secrets to crashing the network (Hewett 6).
A mass censorship could also block out illegal download cites that provide free files such as music, movies, games, etc. to people at the expense of the companies and people who made these. Although some band such as Korn might advertise the want for some of their videos and songs to be ripped, many bands want the commercial success that comes with making their music (CMTA 2)
To properly censor material a program would slow the speeds of whatever internet it is on. Although this wouldn’t be a major problem for some people who have very fast internet, there are still individuals using dial-up who would find their internet to be hardly moving at times (Riley 9). This would affect the small business the most who can’t afford the high speed internets, this cost would then force them to either upgrade to a faster internet, or make due with what they have; both cases have possible financial consequences (Riley 11).
Another financial cost would be to the biggest victims of a censorship, the owners of the cites that gets censored. Although often frowned upon, the people in the pornography industry make a living from material that, if online, would most likely be subject to censorship should such a law be passed and enforced. There is also a chance that business websites would get accidently blocked by a censor program causing them to lose money, even if they had no inappropriate material on their cite.
A new market has opened up as phones have begun to be capable of internet access. Cell Phone sales have reached a all time high with a lot of help from this. Should the internet be censored the decline in sales could indirectly hurt the cell phone businesses (EiE p Moble par 1).
On the other hand having an open internet can actually hurt businesses in several ways. First, the internet can be a source of unwanted programs likes viruses, spyware, and bugs which if they get on a computer can cause serious harm to the information on it. If the virus gets on the network of a business it can do anything from find out company secrets to crashing the network (Hewett 6).
A mass censorship could also block out illegal download cites that provide free files such as music, movies, games, etc. to people at the expense of the companies and people who made these. Although some band such as Korn might advertise the want for some of their videos and songs to be ripped, many bands want the commercial success that comes with making their music (CMTA 2)
