Regulation and Free Speech in Cyberspace: Concepts and Analysis

This report delves into the intricate relationship between cyberspace regulation and freedom of speech. It begins by defining these concepts and exploring their significance in the digital age, emphasizing the importance of the First Amendment in the U.S. and the global variations in free speech protections. The report examines the role of censorship, discussing its application in various countries and its impact on information access. It highlights filtering technologies as an alternative to censorship, analyzing their advantages and disadvantages, and their potential for protecting children while respecting adult access. The report also explores the regulation of commerce and speech in cyberspace, including spamming, and the evolution of technology from stand-alone machines to networked systems. It underscores the importance of ethical considerations and codes of conduct in the context of technological advancements, advocating for the adoption of filtering technologies and international standardization to ensure sensitive information is not accessed or shared. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and providing recommendations for future directions in cyberspace regulation, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that protects both freedom of expression and public safety. The report includes links to relevant articles and websites to support the analysis.

Running head: CYBERSPACE REGULATION 1
Regulation and Free Speech in Cyber World
NAME
UNIVERSITY/AFFILIATION
COURSE

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Introduction
Cyberspace freedom of speech is concerned with an act of an individual sharing any
information without constraints (Bajaj, 2014). Basically, internet is used widely hence enhancing
availability of varying information. The term ‘information age’ gained popularity since early
1900 as most countries incorporated information technologies into their operations. Currently,
organizations use advanced technologies such as cloud computing, virtual reality and Internet of
Things (IoT). The significant growth of technology has negative and positive effects (Kelly,
Suryadevara & Mukhopadhyay, 2013). Positive impacts include enhancing communication while
negative impacts include ethical and trust problems. The main aim of writing this paper is to
discuss concepts related to cyberspace freedom of speech and regulation.
Cyberspace Freedom of speech
Links: https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cem/cem97/cem9732.html
https://thediplomat.com/2018/03/the-hard-limits-of-pakistans-media-freedom/
Cyberspace freedom of speech is concerned with an act of an individual sharing any
information without constraints. For instance, the first amendment in the U.S. supported freedom
of speech (Bajaj, 2014). In his ruling, Judge Steward Dalzell made it clear that the government
should not regulate the internet. For instance, the Congress was restricted from making any law
that abridges freedom of speech. The first amendment was not only limited to the U.S.
government, but also to public institutions. However, information availability has threaten
operations of most countries as sensitive information can be shared; thus, there is a need to
restrict media and the citizens of a particular country from sharing certain information. This is
referred to as censorship. Child pornography is one of the speeches that has been regulated in the

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U.S. to protect children (Menuey, 2009). For example, the following are some of the children
protection acts; COPA and CIPA. Apart from child pornography, threats and hate speech are also
unconstitutional. If found guilty, a person can be imprisoned or fined. Regarding cyberspace, the
citizens are restricted from sharing threats such as kidnapping over the social media sites, for
example, Facebook and Twitter.
Other than censorship, filtering technology plays vital role in ensuring that a specific
content has been shared over the internet. The information related to child pornography can be
filtered out. Filtering technology is viewed as a possible alternative for restricting access to
information other than censorship (Barnes, 2006). Filtering laws plays some vital roles in
ensuring that children are protected from pornography content. Plans are underway to ensure that
vendors have incorporated filtering technologies. Filtering not only restricts children but also
adults from accessing pornography. However, access will be granted for adults after some
information has been provided. Other than the United States, there is also censorship in other
countries such as Pakistan. For example, internet filtering is carried out by different ministries
and agencies such as Ministry of Information Technology (Moit) and Federal Investigation
Agency (FIA). On the contrary to the United States, the information which is filtered out
includes anti-Islamic (Aceto et al., 2016). Also, the government has restricted the public from
accessing military websites. Moreover, regarding Myanmar, the media is monitored closely by
the government. For instance, the government has blocked foreign websites.
From my point of view, filtering technology is very important; thus, it should be adopted
by governments across the world. However, standardization should be considered for easy
implementation. Hence, the same content should be filtered out in all countries.
Regulating Commerce and Speech in Cyberspace

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Links: https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~shanew/finalcda.html
https://www.webjunction.org/documents/webjunction/
Filter_Schmilter_Libraries_and_Internet_Filtering_Software.html
Cyberspace can be defined as a virtual environment that enables people to communicate.
It is made up of networked systems. Cyberspace regulation is the process of determining which
content should be available online (Menuey, 2009). It can be divided into two; content regulation
that is concerned with speech and process regulation that is concerned with commerce.
Cyberspace regulation includes regulation of sending and receiving of emails; thus, email
spamming is perceived as unethical. There are different examples of spamming, for example,
vendors can sent messages to their customers informing them about the new product or services
offered. The fact that emails are sent without customer’s consent, renders it as unethical. Hence,
privacy is violated through such messages. Besides, viruses can be spread through emails, thus
most governments are against spamming (Menuey, 2009. For example, a person who is found
guilty of email spamming in the U.S. can be charged for harassment.
The U.S. government has been working extensively to ensure that internet usage has been
regulated. For example, Communications Decency Act (CDA) was put in place in 1996 (Barnes,
2006). This act restricted any citizen from sharing information that aimed at annoying. Other
than hate speech, CDA act is also against child pornography. Other than CDA, other acts include
COPA and CPPA. Apart from United States, Germany has also enacted laws in relation to hate
speech. For instance, a person’s account is blocked immediately after posting illegal content.
Such information includes anti-immigration messages (Kahn, 2005). Currently, technology has
advanced greatly. Initially, technology was characterized by stand-alone machines (Tavani,
2011). However, in 1970’s to 1980’s, networking made it possible for connecting these

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machines. In 1900, there was a significant technological growth as internet became available.
However, most governments were not willing to adopt the new technology as ethical and trust
issues became evident. Hence, the code of conduct is vital to ensure that security and privacy is
guaranteed (Bowern, Burmeister, Gotterbarn & Weckert, 2006). Technology advancement has
led to introduction of Software filtering which is vital in regulating content. However, its
implementation has faced a lot of challenges. For instance, a person can be denied access to
biology content as a result of filtering terms related to pornography such as sex.
From my point of view, cyberspace regulation plays some vital roles to ensure that
sensitive information is not accessed or shared. Therefore, governments should embrace
information technologies such as filtering technologies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has explained explicitly concepts related to cyberspace freedom
of speech, cyberspace regulation and ethics. Besides, technology has also been discussed.
Information technologies have played vital roles in ensuring that information is available when
needed. Technology can be used as competing tool by organizations. For instance, video
conferencing can be used to facilitate online meetings. However, technology has led to several
issues such as trust. Therefore, IT professionals should adhere to their code of ethics. Besides,
countries should use censorship to ensure that sensitive information such as military is not
accessed by the public. Furthermore, pornography sites should be banned to ensure that children
have not accessed such webpages. The future direction of restricting access to specific web
content is filtering technologies. Hence, countries should be ready to adopt this technology
despite implementation issues.

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References
Aceto, G., Botta, A., Pescape, A., Awan, M. F., Ahmad, T., & Qaisar, S. (2016, September).
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Barnes, S. B. (2006). A privacy paradox: Social networking in the United States. First
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Bajaj, K. (2014). Cyberspace: Post-Snowden. Strategic Analysis, 38(4), 582-587.
Bowern, M., Burmeister, O., Gotterbarn, D., & Weckert, J. (2006). ICT Integrity: Bringing the
ACS Code of Ethics up to date. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 13(2).
Kahn, R. A. (2005). Cross-Burning, Holocaust Denial, and the Development of Hate Speech
Law in the United States and Germany. U. Det. Mercy L. Rev., 83, 163.
Kelly, S. D. T., Suryadevara, N. K., & Mukhopadhyay, S. C. (2013). Towards the
implementation of IoT for environmental condition monitoring in homes. IEEE Sensors
Journal, 13(10), 3846-3853.
Menuey, B. P. (2009). CIPA: A brief history. Computers in the Schools, 26(1), 40-47.
Tavani, H. T. (2011). Ethics and technology: Controversies, questions, and strategies for ethical
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