Internet Censorship

Internet censorship is a violation of free speech. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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."This is the first amendment of the US constitution. It states that Congress cannot abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press. To define what exactly the press is, "In Lovell v. City of Griffin, Chief Justice Hughes defined the press as, "every sort of publication which affords a vehicle of information and opinion." The First Amendment's Freedom of the Press Clause has been extended to media including newspapers, books, plays, movies, and video games."Pulled from http://en.wikipedia.org.... Remember, this case was decided in 1938, before the Internet. However, since articles are found both in newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, I think it is safe to say, that, if he was living today, Chief Hughes would include the Internet in that list. The censorship of information is a violation of free speech. Say, the military did something immoral or something corrupt occurred in the US government. The people would surely be mad if they knew what was taking place - but, alas, they don't. But, according to the First Amendment, "and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."Now, blocking information from the people goes against the Constitution - since we have the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the government is blocking these grievances from us, then they are violating the Constitution. Confusing, I know - but what I am saying is that by hindering the truth from us, the government is not letting us know what is going wrong, and is blocking our ability to petition based on their acts. The government isn't allowing us to know what they are doing, and are therefore hindering our ability to complain. This is a violation of free press and the ability to petition the government. Nations that have Internet censorship suffer human rights abuses. If you look at a map of countries that have medium to large amounts of Internet censorship, you will notice that these nations suffer from a lack of free press, free speech, and that their governments are typically corrupt. Let's take China as an example. "Second, King and his team found that Chinese censors focus on posts that refer to, instigate, or are otherwise linked to grassroots collective action such as protests, demonstrations, and even apolitical mass activities, and that the regime seems comparatively more comfortable with criticism of the government."This was pulled from http://www.theatlantic.com.... This act may be legal in China, a country that is ruled by the Communist Party, but it would be completely illegal in the US. Why?"or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."Internet censorship prohibits the spread of information, which prohibits the right of an individual to complain since they do not know the truth. The constitution provides us the right to protest peacefully - something that is censored in China - and provides for free press, something else that is violated by Internet censorship. You can argue that we censor things such a child pornography and that protects the rights and privacy of the victim. Yes - but child porn is illegal. That is why it is erased from the web. The press is not illegal, and that is why it is not wiped out from the web - if the press was illegal, then there would be no newspapers, magazines, etc. My stance on Internet censorship is that it is a violation of free speech, free speech, and our right to protest the government - three violations of the constitution. Nations that heed to Internet censorship often suffer political oppression and human rights violations, so why would we want to follow their path? Why would we want to join them?