by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: February 23, 2010

The internet is a fairly free forum for people to use for the many purposes that they use it. Restricting internet usage is a bad idea for many reasons. If we begin to restrict internet usage, we lose the freedom that we have to receive and send information that may be extremely important. Although illegal things happen on the internet and should be stopped, restriction of how we use our internet connections otherwise should never happen.

Here is why restricting usage of the internet is a bad idea:

Freedom

In the United States, we have certain freedoms. Among those freedoms is the freedom of speech. If internet usage is restricted, it takes away our right to free speech in one of the biggest ways possible. Restricting internet usage would mean that someone, somewhere, is telling us what we can and cannot say when we get on the internet. That is unacceptable to the American way if you are an American.

Decisions

Who would decide what is restricted when it comes to internet usage? Would it be the respective governments from each country? Would it be one power that decides it all? What would those decisions be based on? All of these things matter greatly. What one person sees as a "bad" thing another might not see as bad at all. How does anyone decide what is right for the rest of the world? They can't. Internet restrictions would leave open the possibility that the internet may not even exist anymore for the purposes that most people use it for.

Leaves Too Much Open

Restricting internet usage simply leaves too much open for discussion. It is no one else's business what people do on the internet as long as it is not illegal. Our internet is a personal thing to us. It should not be restricted because it takes away what gives us some individuality. No two people do the exact same things on the internet. Although we do similar things, no one does exactly the same things. It is not up to anyone else to decide what we should and shouldn't do there.

It is fine to restrict people from doing illegal acts on the internet such as child pornography. What is not alright is to restrict usage on a wide level. It is not up to anyone else what information we use and learn from. It isn't for you or anyone else to decide if a person can do the things that he/she wishes to do when connected to the internet. There are problems with the internet. There is bad stuff out there. However, who makes the final decision as to what we view? It should be the individual who is looking at it.

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