Dexta Malawi: iWritings

Do you think the internet should be regulated?

I think the internet should be regulated. This should be done to reduce the risk to individuals, companies and governments. Access to some sites should be restricted if they pose a threat to national development. Other websites are not suitable for children without adequate parental supervision. Given the social issues in the Jamaican society the Jamaican government should play a role in regulating and collecting information on the internet and on the users of the internet. Regulating the internet would also provide several jobs for information technology specialist, administrators, secretaries and a host of other professionals. The internet would be a much safer place to store and share ones information. By regulating the internet, the issue of identity theft and hacking could be tracked and these crimes reduced effectively. Issues such as copyright and other forms of intellectual property must also be regulated on the internet. The people that promote porn websites and are given access to the internet should be prosecuted. The internet provider is making money out of these sites and should also be prosecuted .They are the people who could block these sites and they should be helping the authorities trace the source of these sites at the moment they are aiding and abetting this kind of obscene material

There are offenders on the internet going on some social sites grooming children. These sites should be regulated and monitored closely, along with other sites that endorse violence, drugs and other felonies that have a massive impact on the social order. ". Individual countries could crack down on large data centres within their country although this doesn't then give any control over what people put on foreign servers or run from their own home PC. One example of Internet regulation on a large scale is China, the "Great firewall of china" controls and stops access to thousands of sites that their government deem "not allowed" or "bad and wrong. Many people may argue that the internet allows us to express ourselves openly and that if the internet was to be regulated it would breech our rights to free speech. My opinion is that Its all well and good having freedom of speech but if that freedom is going to cause more harm then good then is it worth it?

Challenges to regulating the internet in Jamaica may arise since inadequate police force weakens the security of property rights and judiciary lacks adequate resources, and this creates delays. Additionally the lack of sufficient IT specialists will limit the ability of government to set up the required systems. Other problems are also foreseeable. If they delve too deep it can start to infringe privacy rules.

Written by: Leroy “Dexta Malawi” Taylor