as the Bill of Rights, states under Amendment I that “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” (Cigler and Loomis A-12). The Internet is basically like the Greek agora, a marketplace wherein all types of commerce, conversation, and transactions occur among the participants. The Internet is also a peaceful assembly of individuals from all countries, from all trades, and from all walks of life exercising their right to free speech and thought. This monumental ability to share trade, ideas, thoughts and other aspects of life instills terror and fear in governments and moral zealots from London to Singapore. Many governments are trying to bring the Internet under legal control, to regulate its content and to find ways of editing what is and is not exchanged in cyber space. These efforts range from the worst of government abuse to more moderate efforts to reign in what many consider uncontrollable by nature, “In Singapore, the plan appears to be simple: the whole island is to be put behind a firewall, as if it were a single company, and everyone connecting out to the Internet will have to avoid a list of sites of which the government disapproves. These could be pornographic or political. In Britain, Internet Service Providers are being pressured by the Metropolitan Police not to carry certain newsgroups which routinely carry pornographic material” (Brown 1).
No one denies that the benefits of Internet technology outweigh the negative aspects of its use. However, it is difficult to apply terrestrial law to a non-terrestrial domain. Whose laws should rule in cyber space? Further, many critics point to the fact that there are only two answers to the question of Internet censorship and both are...