Education Not Censorship Is The Answer

The internet was born as an open network which works on the principals of information sharing for all.

As with any other form of media, not everyone will agree with everything said, discussed or used. That's OK. That's what make democracies so great.

I am not opposed to the curbing of items and issues that abound like child pornography and illegal activities such as identity theft. The world would be a much better place without these.

Unfortunately though, censoring the internet is NOT going to curb these types of activities.

A complete takeover by any government, government department or any other 'giant' company will only lead to a violation of the true intent of the internet - information sharing.

Let's face it, everyone's version of utopia differs wildly - and internet censorship will not be any different.

Any type of stringent regulation on the internet would lead to limited access of information based on the likes and dislikes of the individual in charge of monitoring the regulation.

Having said that, the only true viable solution appears to me to be quite simple.
Spend the money that we are going to spend, not on censorship but rather on EDUCATION!

Educate people on the wise use of the internet as a tool to gather information that is freely available rather than trying to control that information.

Ensure that children know that the internet is NOT the be-all end-all repository of information and just as we teach them 'Stranger-Danger', teach them the possible pitfalls and dangers of the internet!