by Jessica Rendall

Created on: February 27, 2008

Individuals should be allowed to communicate freely, and Internet community sites have very little right to judge what is or is not appropriate material.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was established to protect the general public from inappropriate broadcasts - that is, since the open airwaves are limited, the government regulates them to ensure they are being used in the public's general interest and not for perpetuation of smut. However, no such limitation is warranted in the case of the Internet because of its infinite capacity for content.

Unlike broadcast radio and television-both regulated by the FCC-the Internet must be specifically accessed, and community sites must be specifically brought up in the user's browser. This very willingness to view community submitted content eliminates protection under the law, as the public may communicate as it wishes under protection from the First Amendment.

There is a certain need for news and information, which may be satiated through FCC-protected public outlets like broadcast radio and TV, or even journalistic websites without user-submitted content. When viewing community forums, users should have a certain expectation to stumble across some contrary or even offensive views - which is exactly why many community sites offer a "block this user"-type function.

Community sites that regulate user-submitted content are not acting in the general interest of the public, but in their own self-interest. Such sites may want to distance themselves from views that are popularly thought to be negative or unflattering; to align themselves as "family friendly fare; or to bring tyrannical structure to what should be free and open debate.

A note on family-friendliness: Parents-that is, good parents-monitor their children's Internet use. Sites should not be kept "clean" for the sake of young, impressionable eyes, as those eyes ought not to explore sites that have open forums due to other dangers like the predisposition to believe everything they read and child predation. Once children are old enough to participate in open community sites, they are certainly old enough to be exposed to the world's myriad differing views.

Internet community sites should uphold the very freedoms that allow them to exist by allowing their users to participate without regulation - anything else would display a very false sense of community.

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