Freedom of Expression on the Internet: Comparison between Canada and the United States :: Free Speech in Cyberspace

I. Introduction Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of saving, or of the press as stated by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution1. Most subsequent democracies view as adopted this fit as good, believing that it is a fundamental part of what makes a participatory system effective. For example, Canada has given their citizens the skillful to freedom of speech but give c ar the United States, they have placed certain limitations which restrict its usage. The limitations were put in place because the skillful to free speech had been abused, especially when considering its use in profits. dischargedom of speech in cyberspace is inherently a world(a) issue because the Internet is so pervasive, so Canada and the United States are existence extremely cautious by using preventative techniques. After feel at the ethical issues involved, I believe that speech in cyberspace should not be completely free and should be regulated by i ncreasing the security measures placed on Internet websites.II. Background In order to thoroughly grasp the significance of free speech in cyberspace, it is important to review the basics of free speech in general. Free speech is the rightfulness to express any opinion in existence without censorship or restraint by the government, but also the right to listen/read/watch another persons right to free speech.2 Although this definition states that the government cannot use censorship, the government has afforded itself some loopholes. The 14th Amendment extends the right of free speech to state and local governments as well as government-run institutions ( semipublic schools, colleges, and universities). Private schools are not restricted, yet most make out to adopt the policies of free speech anyways or are mandated to do so by the state governments.3 The key words to notice here are public and private, as they can easily demonstrate the right to free speech. If the free speech t akes place in a public forum, such as in books or at the park, then it cannot be censored. However, if it takes place in a private forum, such as at heart a private building or organization, then the free speech can be censored.The Canadian government provided a constitutional plug of freedom of expression in 1981 under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the Canadian courts have used Section 1 of the Charter (provides that all rights are composition to such reasonable limits as can be justified in a free and democratic society) to justify various forms of censorship.