The Importance Of Internet Monitoring

"The U.S. government should not be allowed to monitor or regulate internet content at any level except for when there is a clear threat to the safety of the country or her people. There are many reasons to oppose government monitoring of the internet, but three main reasons stick out amongst the rest. One is the fact that monitoring of the internet is without a doubt invasion of privacy. Additionally, blocking parts of the internet because of its content is censorship, even if the content is hateful or disturbing. Finally, plain text on the internet lacks an essential part of communication, voice inflection. Internet monitoring is an invasion of privacy and a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures (in this case, the Fourth Amendment would apply to unreasonable searches). When people post something on the internet, they expect that information to be read by the intended recipient or recipients, not by the government. Even if

Historically, the government has taken drastic action on the assumption that people of certain beliefs will take action against the interest of the country. This has been the case with japanese internment camps during WW2, or the jailing of communists during the cold war. Even now our current president has been vocal on his disdain for those who practice Islam, or people who look like they might. If the government stumbles upon a forum on the internet full of people who are voicing their frustration at the current establishment, how will they react? Will they arrest those who have simply been communicating to their peers? Or will they shut that forum down, and effectively censor the voice of the minority, violating the first amendment in the process. Given the government’s track record, it seems unlikely that a reasonable decision would be