Shian+Spaulding

The World Wide Web of Worriesby Shian Spaulding

= = **Guiding Research Question:** When is the internet speech not protected by the First Amendment and when does it become unlawful?



"Feross.org." Freedom of Speech on the Internet Â». N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. .

I chose to research this topic because technology and internet are continually growing and becoming a bigger part of our lives. More of our lives are being put in the open and people are using the internet more to express their feelings and opinions. I want to learn when expression becomes too extreme and needs to be stopped, or if there should be limits. I want my readers to learn that the internet needs to be used cautiously and in the right way. Internet can be useful and entertaining but users need to know boundaries.


 * Pros || Cons ||
 * Everyone’s ideas are considered || Many ideas may be offensive ||
 * Much of the internet is used for good || Free Internet Speech allows for just as much (if not more) bad to happen as good ||
 * It is Democratic || Although it’s Democratic, it can lead to extreme ideas and actions ||
 * || Allows people to be victims of hate without the offender being punished ||
 * ||> It can influence extreme opinions ||

__**Court Cases **__ Beussink, a student at Woodland High School created a home page online that was “highly critical of the administration at Woodland” and used vulgar language. Although the site was not published on a school computer or on school grounds or during school hours, the principal, Poorman, suspended Beussink for 10 days. This case helped to determine if Poorman was constitutionally correct or if his actions pushed the limits of the First Amendment. Because the court ruled in favor of Beussink, this piece can be used as a counterargument that student’s rights on the Internet should not be limited by schools.
 * Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School District. **

Beidler v. North Thurston is a case very similar to Beussink v. Woodland School District, in which a student created a degrading website about school authorities was suspended. This issue went to court and the court ruled in favor of the student and his First Amendment rights, on the grounds that he was not at school when he made it.
 * Beidler v. North Thurston School District.Thurston County **

When principal Niehoff refused to change venues for an event scheduled at her high school, Junior Class Secretary got upset and made many attempts at getting Neihoff to compromise. After trying to talk it through with her principal, Doninger took to the web, sending emails to the general public asking them to petition for a venue change. She also posted on a blog in a disrespectful way, trying to gain attention from the public and principal. Because of these actions, she was not allowed to run for Senior Class Secretary and although she won the election by write-in votes, was not allowed to take the position. This source is a little different from other cases in that the student used email and blogs as opposed to webpages, and she wasn’t suspended/expelled from school. However, the actions did take place outside of school and she was still punished for them. The court ruled in favor of the principal, saying that administration had rights to limit free speech at school and that Doninger did NOT have a First Amendment right to run for office.
 * Doninger v. Niehoff. **

Lori Drew and her daughter Megan created a false MySpace account of a teenage boy and used it to talk to Megan Meier, Drew’s daughter’s friend. Meier began to like the persona of the Myspace boy but suddenly “he” began to tell her things like “the world would be better off without you” and making degrading comments. With a history of depression, Meier eventually committed suicide over the situation. The jury ruled Drew guilty and wanted her to receive punishment but the judge overruled and dismissed all charges against Drew.
 * United States v. Drew **

__**What I Think **__ When given potential writing topics for this essay, none of them especially appealed to me, as I didn't have a passion for any of the particular subjects. However, **I do have a passion for being an American** and enjoying the rights guaranteed to me in the Bill of Rights, as well as current events and government. This led me to **choose the topic of Internet speech** because it is a fairly new subject and issues pertaining to Internet speech are arising more frequently.

Despite my growing interest in the subject, **the position I chose to argue was not what I personally believe**. I believe that Americans have a right to free Internet. I pointed out in my paper (as a counterargument) that some Americans believe that restricting Internet is a step toward Socialism, and I am one of those people. I believe in laissez-faire government, in which the government stays out of the people’s lives as much as possible. They cannot, in reality, fully protect their citizens from all types of “bullies”, be they cyberbullies or those of other types. **The government's efforts to restrict Internet to make it “safer” would be in vain.** If Internet abusers are so determined to continue on in their scams, harassment and bullying, there is no doubt in my mind that they will do just that. The safest way to escape becoming a victim of Internet abusers is to not go online at all. **The truth of the matter is, we are all at risk** when we log in to our social media sites and email accounts or when we read news stories or other articles. **When approached with a potential Internet issue, it is our choice of how to respond.** We can be mature and open-minded users, mindful of the fact that others are simply expressing their opinions or we can get caught up in everything that offends us.

**<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Works Cited ** <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> //Anti-Islam Video Sparks Debate on Censorship//. YouTube <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Beussink v. Woodland R-IV School District. United States District Court <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> E.D. Missouri <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Southeastern Division. 28 Dec. 1998. N.p. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Catfish //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.Dir. Henry Joost.Perf.Nev Schulman. //Http://www.iamrogue.com/catfish//. N.p.// //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> n.d. Web. //

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Censorship Internet Speech." //Censorship Internet Speech//. Freedom Forum// //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> n.d. Web. 27 Nov. //

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hudson <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> David L. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Jr. "First Amendment Center." //First Amendment Center//. Vanderbuilt University and the Newseaum<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 9 Apr. 2002. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. //

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Lori Drew." //The New York Times//.N.p.<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 2 July 2009. Web. 05 Dec. 2012. //

//<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Whitelaw <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Kevin. "Gotcha! Why Online Anonymity May Be Fading." //NPR//. NPR<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 2 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. //

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">WikiLeaks (Documentary) //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. //YouTube: WikiLeaks//. YouTube<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> 03 Jan. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2012.