The Internet
Since its creation 25 years ago by the US
Defense Department, the Internet has evolved
from a tool exclusively used by the Defense
Department to an information medium used by
millions of people, young and old. Today, the
number of computers linked through the Inter-
net stands solid at about two million, and the
number of users at 14-15 million. The Internet
is vast, linking millions of people worldwide.
Initially, the biggest benefit of communicat-
ing on the Internet was the saving on the cost of
long-distance phone calls. Until recently, these
and other costs were being absorbed by the US
National Science Foundation in its administra-
tion as the central backbone of the Internet.
This is now changing. As users continue to
increase in number, commercial providers of
the Internet begin to appear. With the profits
that are available to be realized by commercial
Internet providers, this luxury of “free” services
will be lessened and providers will charge for
access to the Internet.
As commercial vendors of the Internet con-
tinue to provide the services to individual users,
the Internet faces new privatization challenges.
Commercial providers and their interests are
rapidly transforming the face of the network
from that of a market to explore into that of a
tool for profit. Individual users no longer have
to leave the privacy of their homes to procure
software from retail outlets such as computer
and software stores. The Internet allows users
the opportunity to download software without
ever leaving the comfortable surroundings of
their own home, business office, or friend/rela-
tive’s home. This ensures the anonymity of
users’ retrieving software (which may include
pornographic material), that the person would
be otherwise shy or embarrassed to obtain
publicly.
Just as in a city, when this number of different
nationalities, backgrounds, and types of people
join together under one umbrella, crime in one
form or another is bound to result, so too with
the Internet. The Internet “crime” this paper is
dedicated to researching is the availability of
pornographic materials, particularly of child
pornography, and the access that children can
obtain to this information. There is no definitive
account of “pornography,” and generally,
201
Cyberspace
pornography: problems
with enforcement
Daphyne Saunders Thomas
The author
Daphyne Saunders Thomas is an Associate Professor in the
Department of Finance and Business Law, James Madison
University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.
Abstract
Considers that, in addition to all the positive attributes of the
Internet, negatives are bound to emerge. Negative influences
include the ability of children to access information that is not
suitable for their age and the absence of laws or legal
legislation to limit this access to the material. Laws are in
existence prohibiting young people under the age of 18 years
from accessing sexually explicit or sexually deviant materials.
The problem with the Internet is the fact that there is no
sanction limiting people from posting material of this kind.
Warns that, as an increasing number of children get online,
solutions to these controversial issues must be discussed
openly.
Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy
Volume 7 · Number 3 · 1997 · pp. 201–207
© MCB University Press · ISSN 1066-2243