Speak Up Project

The presentation of free media on the Internet that is controlled by users has been one of the most empowering innovations of the 21st century. In a sense, the promotion of public discourse through online media an awakening experience. Whether through reality television or viral video, Internet surfers are finding more and more entertainment and information that’s generated by their piers. This lack of filtering and editing in much of the media is a problem for some.
These “some” we’re talking about are foreign governments like those of Thailand. In an article put out yesterday by the International Herald Tribune, Thai officials are in a heated battle with YouTube about how to regulate the content that their citizens can access. Surfacing videos highlighting some anti-government propoganda are being accessed by the people of Thailand. The growing uneasiness has been spreading accross other boundaries as well, and different cultures are finding fault with the online video service’s unbridled access to content on the Internet.

There’s a moral conundrum shouting in the face of restraint here. It seems that everyone is terribly hands off about regulating the Internet for the sake of promoting total free speech. Who controls the Internet? What right do they have to that power?

What stands today is that ICANN indirectly controls the access to much of the Internet content that is causing this uproar. ICANN has the ability to control the structuring of the web. In its current state, domains and addresses are all available to users across the globe who get a dial up or more. The speedy pace of technology is making it more possible for youth and adults to access the web on their private devices.

By not taking any action at all, this freedom of information is proving to cause a serious problem in many different demographics of the world. People are claiming that this is a natural evolution. The anarchic qualities of the Internet give way to unparalelled progression. If those tools were to be bound into submission, then we would be robbing people of free speech.

However, the global attitude toward communication and free speech is not always in sync. Many countries frown upon the free distribution of pornographic content on the Internet. Other’s are uneasy at the public mocking of their civic leaders. By letting things like YouTube become a privately accessible forum for individuals to defy the standards set forth by the country they live in, hostilites toward the Internet grow.

The question is does this battle give way to solving a problem?

We’ll be exploring this topic and getting the voices of those who have been in this arena for a long time. What do they think? What are some of the solutions? Stick around to find out more.