With this ready access to information from a variety of sources, and the ability to post information easily and quickly, comes a variety of concerns. One of them is the issue of privacy. The largest concern in this area has been the ability of commercial sites to use and share the information consumers may disclose about themselves online. As recently as 1999, the Federal Trade Commission did not recommend regulating the misuse of personal information about people, as it felt the industry was doing a good job of regulating itself, using four widely-accepted “fair information” practices: notice, choice, access and security. These practices ask commercial sites to give customers notice of the use of information they disclose, the choice to leave the site without disclosing information, access to the information the company has about the customer, and security systems to prevent access by others to that information.A year later, the Federal Trade Commission changed its mind, recommending legislation for establishing “basic standards of practice for the collection of information online.” This legislation would require consumer-oriented commercial Web sites “that collect personal identifying information from or about consumers online” to “comply with the four widely-accepted fair information practices.”
Another issue has been the use of the Internet to post material that is considered indecent by many. Of particular concern is the easy access children may have to these kinds of sites. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the U.S. Communications Decency Act as a violation of free speech as guaranteed in the First Amendment. In 1998, Congress passed the Child Online Protection Act, which requires commercial sites to fence off content that meets a “harmful to minors” standard, defined as sexual material that lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” This law has been challenged repeatedly in court, with many arguing that the “harmful to minors” standard is so vague it could include almost anything someone happens to think is harmful to children.
The Internet will continue to be a vital tool in the sharing of information and ideas. (The chart at the right shows Internet usage in 2011) These are the same values that libraries, the press and other free speech advocates have consistently maintained as being essential to a working democracy. Without the means for sharing ideas and opinions, we cannot expect to better understand the issues that affect us all, or make changes in the present way of doing things. It is very important for each of us to be aware of all sides of the issues which affect us.
