by Penelope Illston

Created on: April 16, 2008

This is a tricky one. I personally think that the Internet shouldn't be taxed, because what right does the government have to tax it. The Internet isn't theirs to own or place tax on it, and we already pay enough for the installation and daily connection anyway - why should we pay more?

Theres not just the ethical considerations when it comes to regulation and taxation of the Internet, there are also the practicalities which need to be considered. How does one go about deciding how much to tax on a person for going online? Will it be pay-per-view, a monthly or one-off payment like a car tax disc?

I do however believe that there should be a special unit who monitors the Internet, such as the regulatory bodies which are in place monitoring the television and radio, and print - to see if they adhere to standards such as quality control and whether they are suitable for a younger audience.

The Internet is a vast multimedia platform, and as everyone knows its extremely easy to log on to a website which is from another country. Therefore it would most likely mean that every single country with access to the Internet would have to monitor every single website from their own and foreign sources.

The reason I talk about global censorship which lets face it, is the impolite version of monitor, is because if the US government were to tax and monitor the Internet then these are the kinds of points they would need to take into consideration.
Of course some countries and establishments already censor the Internet, China and the United Arab Emirates to name a few, and to me this isn't a heartwarming concept. To be told you can't go on websites like Youtube because the government doesn't like it is metaphorical asphyxiation of your human rights and I don't really like that idea.

Its all about freedom of expression. But what if that freedom of expression is being abused, and putting members of the public at risk? I think this is the reason for the Internet to be monitored to an extent, but to what extent is the problematic deciding factor, and I certainly don't think that I am the right person to be deciding that one, and I'm not quite sure who would be the right person to decide it either.

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