Is Free Speech Under Attack?

There has been a LOT of talk on the Internet recently about censorship issues. Whether it be Piracy, “hate” speech, or cyber-bullying there have been all manner of new laws suggested attempting to control what we all do on the Internet. From the recent SOPA and PIPA acts that were attempted to be pushed through The House and Senate respectively, to the new Bill in Arizona that could make it illegal to “annoy” someone online. Almost all of these laws have met with a severe backlash from the online community declaring them to be nothing more than censorship. The biggest argument used is that they are unconstitutional in that they violate the First Ammendment of the United States, which states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Now, as an Atheist, I hold this particular ammendment near and dear to my heart. After all, it’s MY contitutional guarantee that I will never be forced to practice any religion as a condition of my citizenship, nor risk imprisonment should I refuse. It’s also a very important ammendment when it comes to the Internet. It’s what allows any of us to get online and say how we feel about anything! You don’t like the President? You’re allowed to get online and say so! Don’t like the American Idol results? Keep it to yourself, no one cares You’re allowed to share that too! Some of the Bills, such as SOPA, would allow companies claiming copywrite violations to shut down entire websites. Others, like the AZ Bill would threaten legal action against anyone who “offends or annoys”. Obviously – at least to us actual Internet users – these laws are far too broad reaching and give far too much power to corporations or the Government for things that could be subjective. But is it really censorship? In some cases, I would agree that it is. In others however it’s not that clear cut. Let’s look at the AZ bill for example, in it’s current form (it is being revised) it states: It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person. It is also unlawful to otherwise disturb by repeated anonymous electronic or digital communications the peace, quiet or right of privacy of any person at the place where the communications were received. Now, you can see that they have good intentions, they really are trying to extend current laws that cover harrassing phone calls to also protect people against the new trend of “cyber bullying”. The problem is that the language is FAR too broad. Lewd or profane language? For some that would mean words like “fuck”, “shit”, etc… for others it could mean words like “hell”, “damn”, etc… This bill would put it in the hands of the government to determine what words you could say in the Internet. That right there is the very definition of censorship, and – as far as I’m concerned – extrememly unconstitutional. SOPA on the other hand is not so clear cut as to whether or not it’s truly “censorship”. I don’t support it at all, however it doesn’t place laws or restrictions on what can be said on the Internet. Instead it focuses on copywrite violation, giving power to corporations who claim a violation to shut down entire websites with little or no real proof of a violation. In my opinion, it has nothing to do with the First Amendment, and everything to do with comanies trying desperately to dam what they think are the open flood gates of online piracy. Attacks on free speech are nothing new in this country. There are always going to be people who think they know better than the rest of us and will try to force everyone into their mold. What is important is that we educate ourselves and fight to never give up our First Ammendment rights.