Chapter 17

Citizenship

and the

Internet

Civic Participation

• The internet and the World Wide Web help people communicate and collaborate across borders.

• Mass communication of millions of networked or connected computers all over the world.

Internet

• Started in 1993

• ¾ of the US population has access to the web

• There are more than a billion users

• Helps citizens stay informed and participate in democracy

Gathering Information

• Current events

• Archives – files of older stories

• Not all web sites are nonpartisan

E-Government

• All levels of government have their own Web sites.

• Makes it easier:

– Learn about public policy

– to check on elected officials

– request services

– obtain drivers licenses or marriage licenses

Group Action Online

• Interest groups have their own Web sites

• Newsgroups or Internet discussion forums provide another way to exchange information and ideas.

Election Campaigns

• The Web is the best campaign tool since the phone and television.

• Political party web sites

• Political blogs – personal online journals

• Grassroots web sites – citizens set up their own web sites to support candidates

Challenges to Democracy

• Internet can strengthen and threaten our democracy

• By spreading democratic ideas, many thought it would weaken authoritarian regimes.

Restricting the Internet Access

• Authoritarian governments have implemented “firewalls” to prevent business networks from intruders.

• China encourages citizens to use the Internet, however, the government strictly controls access to the Web to many sites including some dissident groups (people who disagree with the established political or religious system.

• For Americans, Internet aids the free exchange of knowledge and ideas.

• It also empowers intolerant extremist groups that seek to splinter society.

• The Internet also leaves citizens vulnerable to invasion of privacy.

Digital Divide

• The Internet is becoming a necessity.

• It is a way to keep up with gathering information and connecting with consumers.

• Almost all schools have access to the Web.

Extremist Groups

• Internet has become a tool for many hate groups and extremist political groups.

• Internet has become a way to unite these groups and spread propaganda.

• Al-Qaeda uses the Internet to raise money, get recruits, and to coordinate attacks.

• Online activities such as these are nearly impossible to shut down.

Threats to Privacy

• The government, businesses, and even your neighbor can watch what you are doing online.

– Be cautious with information on yourself.

– Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (1998) – Congress passed to protect younger Web users.

Government Surveillance

• Because of crime and terrorism, the govt. conducts a great deal of online surveillance.

– To solve crimes.

– To stop terrorist attacks.

• Keep record of Internet Protocol (IP) address

• National Security Agency (NSA) has technology that can silently monitor millions of e-mail messages an hour.

• After 911, President Bush secretly ordered the NSA to eavesdrop on Americans and others in the US without getting court-approved search warrants.

• Many feel that these “government tools” are necessary to protect our country from terrorist attacks.

• 4th amendment protects citizens against “unreasonable searches”

• To what extent does this apply to internet activities?

• 1996 Electronic Communications Act sets forth some legal standards for protecting online information.

• USA Patriot Act allows some protections to be waived if lives are at risk.

Regulating the Internet

• Free speech has enabled hate groups to fill the Internet with offensive materials.

• School boards and US Congress have tried to control speech on the Internet.

• Filtering software can block Web sites that might be offensive.

• Communications Decency Act made it a crime to display indecent material over the internet to those under the age of 18

• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997) – The Supreme Court declared the indecency portions of the law unconstitutional. Free speech on the internet.

• Other laws and court cases go back and forth on the issue of free speech.

Limiting Free Speech in Schools

• Restrictions apply to school-sponsored newspapers on the World Wide Web.

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeire (1988) – Supreme Court ruled that school administrators can regulate the content of student print publications if doing so serves an educational purpose.

Intellectual Property

• Intellectual property – things that people create, such as songs, movies, books, poetry, art, and software.

• Only artists who create these things has a right to sell it or let others use it.

• Court decisions over copyrights have developed to protect the creators of intellectual property.

• Copyright – is the owner’s exclusive right to control, publish, and sell an original work.

• It is a way to prevent people from taking or copying someone else’s creation without permission.

• Computers and Internet make it easy to copy and widely distribute all kinds of intellectual property.

• File sharing – music and movies

Taxing E-Commerce• E-Commerce involves using the Internet

for purchase and sales transactions.

• Billions of dollars are spent annually over the Internet.

• It allows shoppers to avoid paying local sales taxes.

• State and local governments lose out on a prime source of revenue.

• How to tax E-Commerce? It would be difficult and costly to Internet companies due to the tax rates of different states.

• Efforts are being made to develop a fair Internet sales tax.

Internet at School

• Children’s Internet Protection Act (2000) has installed technology that blocks student access to offensive or dangerous Web materials.

• Many schools use filtering software that allow school officials to decide what is harmful.

• Parents have the right to know what Web sites their children have access to and also what Web sites their children have visited.