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Is Internet Regulation Around the Corner?
Posted in Work At Home Internet Marketing Business
In mid-2008, Rasmussen conducted a poll to find out how Americans felt about Internet regulation. Almost half said that they thought the government should regulate the Internet in much the same way that it regulates television and radio.
This trend toward government regulation of the Internet is apparently due to fears about child pornography and other tasteless websites being available for children to view, as well as social networking abuse by predatory adults.
A Glance at Censorship.
Internet censorship is rising, and it is not just limited to communist China. In the United Kingdom, for example, a page within Wikipedia (and in some instances, the entire Wikipedia site) was blocked due to a complaint filed with the IWF, a quasi-governmental agency. An album cover was viewed as offensive and inappropriate. Since it was a photo of a physical good, there was the possibility that Amazon’s US auction and shopping content would be blocked from UK viewers.
Also in the censorship arena is the increasing volume of politicians who are complaining about blogs not correctly reporting the facts about their campaigns or other political events. Add to this mix the journalists and mainstream media who are seeing online content take a bite out of their readership and sales. While Internet news publishing is not currently regulated in the US, it would not be surprising if politicians begin to talk about journalism requirements or some form of authority rank for blog owners and other online reporters.
Filtering on a National Scale.
If it passes Parliament, Australia’s ‘great firewal’ may become the most obtrusive form of government control of the Internet in a democratized country. Ostensibly for filtering out child pornography, the firewall has sparked intense debate, including free speech arguments. The government reportedly will ban at least 1300 websites, but it has not disclosed exactly what sites are on the banned list. Although the filter is not completely accurate and its effectiveness is therefore questionable, it slows down Internet speeds by up to 86%.
Internet Taxation.
On a federal level in the United States, there have been rumors about Internet taxation for many years but nothing has come of it. Many Americans, including their representatives in Congress, are leery of an Internet sales tax. However, state governments are eyeing the Internet as a source of much-needed revenue. For instance, the state of New York has imposed a tough state sales tax law that would make non-resident vendors responsible for reporting taxes on sales to New York residents. Amazon, which has affiliates all over the world, has sued, and as of this writing, a decision has not been rendered. Do not be surprised if Internet taxation becomes an issue in upcoming years.
Licensing and Disclosures.
Some legislators have talked about licensing Internet use. Their argument is that is a person needs to be licensed to drive a car, then he or she should be licensed to surf the information highway. License requirements would include basic knowledge about anti-virus programs, email use and so forth. It is unlikely that this idea will gain any traction, but on the flip side, licensing and disclosures for Internet content publication may not be so ludicrous. Regulatory accountability is not a far-fetched idea, particularly if one views copyright suits, politicians complaining about the accuracy of news and blogs, and stringent regulation of medical claims with respect to health products. Take, for instance, Canada’s proposed Internet regulations (to be heard in February 2009) which would address Canadian copyright issues and might impose a rating system on websites that is similar to movie rating systems. Given the opinion of many Americans that the Internet should be regulated in the same way that radio and television is regulated, the logical conclusion is that Internet publishers will need to register with whatever agency is created to administer online media.
Conclusion.
The above examples provide a glimpse into what the future may hold when it comes to Internet regulation. Given the increasing public opinion that the Internet should be regulated, it is likely that we Internet publishers will see an increasing amount of regulatory proposals that may affect us.
The first step toward protecting oneself from Internet regulation is to publish a legally sound privacy policy statement on your website. Learn how to write a good privacy statement and policies page at the Not Guru blog.
From time to time, Internet regulation and trends are reviewed here: Internet Regulation articles at the NotGuru blog.