TTS1133 : INTERNET ETHICS AND CYBER LAW CHAPTER FOUR: Freedom of Expression 1Prepared By: Razif Razali

CONTENTS Freedom of speech Obscene speech Defamation Freedom of expression issues ◦ Controlling access to the information on the internet ◦ Pornography The law pertaining to the topic 2Prepared By: Razif Razali

INTRODUCTION Congress shall make no law (...) 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. ” The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States states: Thus, the United States of America has constitutional protection for freedom of speech, which is not interpreted to protect every utterance, despite the lack of exception clauses (rare in a national constitution) in the text of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has found that, when used in the context of the First Amendment, the word obscenity is usually limited to content that directly refers to explicit sexual acts that are publicly accessible. 3Prepared By: Razif Razali

INTRODUCTION The Internet enables a worldwide of news, ideas, opinion, rumors and information. Individuals must often make ethical decisions in regard to how they will use such remarkable freedom and power. The right of freedom of expression is one of the most important rights for free people everywhere. Numerous court decision have broadened the definition of speech to include non-verbal, visual and symbolic forms of expression. The U.S Supreme Court stated that the following types of speech are not protected by the law but forbidden by government: ◦ Obscene Speech ◦ Defamation ◦ Incitement of panic ◦ Incitement to crime ◦ Fighting words ◦ Sedition ( Incitement of discontent or rebellion against the government) 4Prepared By: Razif Razali

FREEDOM OF SPEECH Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on "hate speech". 5Prepared By: Razif Razali

OBSCENE SPEECH An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious. The term is also applied to an object that incorporates such a statement or displays such an act. In a legal context, the term obscenity is most often used to describe expressions (words, images, actions) of an explicitly sexual nature. 6Prepared By: Razif Razali

DEFAMATION Defamation is making and publishing a false statement about another person which damages that person’s reputation. The publication of a statement of alleged fact that is false and that harms another person is defamation. The harm is often of a financial nature, in that it reduces the individual’s ability to earn living. The expression of someone opinion is not considered defamation and usually no action can be taken against someone to express their opinions. 7Prepared By: Razif Razali

SLANDER AND LIBEL An oral defamatory statement is slander ◦ Slander cannot be a crime and is not actionable per se (except in certain limited circumstances). ◦ To prove slander, the claimant must show that it has caused actual damage, e.g. he has lost his job as a result of what was said. A written defamatory statement is libel. ◦ Includes magazine articles, CDs, videos and articles on the internet. ◦ Broadcasting on television or radio is also defined as a permanent medium, as are words spoken on stage during a play. ◦ Libel may also be a crime if it is likely to cause a breach of the peace or if it is obscene. 8Prepared By: Razif Razali

PROVING DEFAMATION To establish defamation it is necessary to prove three points: ◦ The statement was defamatory; ◦ The statement could be reasonably understood to refer to the claimant; ◦ The statement was published. Although defamation is a civil action, a jury may be used to decide the amount of damages awarded. 9Prepared By: Razif Razali

CRUCIAL FACTOR Individual’s apparent ability, because of his relationship with government, to influence the outcome of public affairs. High rank or title is not in itself determinative. Position must be one which invites public discussion apart from that resulting from “the particular charges” in controversy. 10Prepared By: Razif Razali

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ISSUES There are many issues related to freedom of expression, example: ◦ Controlling Access to information on the Internet. ◦ Anonymity ◦ Defamation ◦ Hate Speech ◦ Pornography 11Prepared By: Razif Razali

Controlling Access to Information on the Internet In an attempt to address this issues, the U.S State Government has passed laws, and software manufacture have invented special software, with the goal of blocking access to objectionable materials. Many law rules, method and acts have been introduces, such as: ◦ The Communication Decency Act (CDA) ◦ Internet Filtering ◦ Children Internet Protection Act 12Prepared By: Razif Razali

The Communication Decency Act (CDA) Protecting children from online pornography Act will cause fines $250,000 and 3 years prison. 13Prepared By: Razif Razali

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY A photographic, film, video or other visual representation, whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means, ◦ (i) that shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual activity, or ◦ (ii) the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the age of eighteen years. 14Prepared By: Razif Razali

INTERNET FILTERING Software that can be installed on a PC along with a web browser to block access to certain web sites that contain inappropriate materials. Network administrator may choose to install filter in order to prevent the user from viewing ‘unethical’ web site. The use of filter can also ensure that employees do not waste their time viewing non-business oriented web site. Example of Internet filter: ◦ Net Nanny, Cybersitter, Cyber Patrol, SurfGuard, SurfWatch 15Prepared By: Razif Razali

The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) ICRA is a nonprofit organization whose members include Internet industry leaders such as AOL/Time Warner, Bell South, British Telecom, IBM, Microsoft, Verizon and UUNet. Mission: ◦ To enable the public to make informed decision about electronic media through the open labeling content. Goal: ◦ To protect children from potentially harmful materials while at the same time sufeguarding free speech on the Internet. 16Prepared By: Razif Razali

Instances of Issues In 1998, a former student was sentences to one year in prison for sending death threat to Asian-American students at the University of California. His was signed “Asian Hater”, and in his letter, he said he would make it his life career to find and kill every Asian personally. In 2001, Varian Medical System won $775,000 jury verdict in an Internet defamation and harassment lawsuit against former employees who posted thousands of messages that accused managers of being homophobic and of discriminating against pregnant women. Prepared By: Razif Razali17

The law pertaining… Various countries have different standings on the types of materials that they as legal bodies permit their citizens to have access to and disseminate among their locale populations. The set of these countries permissible content vary widely accordingly with some having extreme punishment up to and including execution for members who violate their restrictions, Example: Iran - where the current laws against pornography now include death sentences for those convicted of producing pornography. India - the Obscenity law is the same as had been framed by the British Government. Charges of obscenity have been levelled against various writers and poets till date; the law has not yet been revised. 18Prepared By: Razif Razali