Virtually Obscene: The Case for an Uncensored internet

Citation

Matthews, M.F. (2007), "Virtually Obscene: The Case for an Uncensored internet", Online Information Review, Vol. 31 No. 5, pp. 715-716. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520710832450

Virtually Obscene: The Case for an Uncensored internet is a powerful and informative publication discussing the arguments against a controlled internet versus the author's support of a sovereign internet. The main part of the book consists of seven chapters, chapter notes, a bibliography and an index. The Introduction uses examples of the past such as the history of free public radio to discuss the importance of an unrestricted internet.

Chapter 1, “The unknown territory and the quest to tame the internet beast”, reveals how the internet works and the attempts to control sex on the internet. Sex on the radio and television are more restrictive than on the internet, and libraries utilize blocking to prevent access to porn on the internet.

Chapter 2, “The failure of current legislation: obscenity and community standards in the United States”, is about efforts to maintain control of sex on the internet. Chapter 3, “Why free speech alone should not protect internet obscenity and pornography”, covers the defence of sex on the internet by the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Chapter 4, “Harm to children”, talks about how the accessibility of sex on the internet creates problems for children, and the author's differing opinion. The chapter shows that the Child Online Protection Act 1998 was not effective and that millions have been spent on educating children to refrain from sexual relations.

Chapter 5, “Harm to women”, addresses the assumption that sex on the internet results in victimization of women, and the author's disagreement with this opinion. Chapter 5 also argues that countries like the The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, with the most pornography, have fewer sex‐related crimes. Nations in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, with less pornography, have more sex‐related crimes. Chapter 5 shows that pornography is more prolific these days, yet women continue to achieve more than ever before.

Chapter 6, “Harm to the moral environment and offence”, divulges the view that sex on the internet interferes with human decency, and White's differing speculation. Chapter 6 addresses the false assumption behind pornography's claim that all women want sexual abuse. Chapter 7, “Regulation: a bad idea”, concludes with White's belief that the internet should not be regulated.

Unmistakably, the author of Virtually Obscene supports an unrestricted internet for understandable and clear reasons that she articulates well. Undoubtedly this publication is a significant guide to reasons for and against an unconstrained internet as seen from a particular perspective.