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Freedom of Speech on the Internet by Anne Fiedler, Ph.D. ExtensionActivities Extension Activities Go on-line and investigate the Internet filtering policies of various foreign governments. Write a report on the filtering policies and the reasons given for these policies. One good source of information is the Country Report on Human Rights Practices (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/) provided by the U.S. Department of State. Present a discussion on whether or not you support those policies and what you believe might be possible outcomes of implementing them. Note to the teacher: If students visit the U.S. State Department website referred to in this assignment, they will find a Human Rights report on each country. Scrolling through each country report, they will find information on freedom of speech in general and on Internet freedom in particular for the country that they have chosen. For example, if the student chose France, they would find the following information under Internet Freedom, "There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. In December the French parliament adopted an antiterrorist law that, among other provisions, permits official probing on the Internet and in mobile telephone records (see section 1.c.). Some civil rights groups and left-wing opposition parties have expressed concern that the law gave authorities too much power to invade citizens' privacy and encourages confusion between immigration and terrorism. Access to the Internet was widely available throughout the country. However, the authorities shut down at least one Internet site during the year for threats against Jews (see section 2.c.)." An interesting twist to this assignment would be the have students choose two different countries on two different continents and have them compare the degrees of Internet freedom in those two countries.

Freedom of Speech on the Internet

by Anne Fiedler, Ph.D.

ExtensionActivities

Extension Activities

Go on-line and investigate the Internet filtering policies of various foreign governments. Write a report on the filtering policies and the reasons given for these policies. One good source of information is the Country Report on Human Rights Practices (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/) provided by the U.S. Department of State. Present a discussion on whether or not you support those policies and what you believe might be possible outcomes of implementing them.

Note to the teacher:
If students visit the U.S. State Department website referred to in this assignment, they will find a Human Rights report on each country. Scrolling through each country report, they will find information on freedom of speech in general and on Internet freedom in particular for the country that they have chosen. For example, if the student chose France, they would find the following information under Internet Freedom,

"There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by electronic mail. In December the French parliament adopted an antiterrorist law that, among other provisions, permits official probing on the Internet and in mobile telephone records (see section 1.c.). Some civil rights groups and left-wing opposition parties have expressed concern that the law gave authorities too much power to invade citizens' privacy and encourages confusion between immigration and terrorism. Access to the Internet was widely available throughout the country. However, the authorities shut down at least one Internet site during the year for threats against Jews (see section 2.c.)."

An interesting twist to this assignment would be the have students choose two different countries on two different continents and have them compare the degrees of Internet freedom in those two countries.