Graduate Diploma English 25.03.

2018

Hasan Cerit

Question: Is total internet freedom possible or desirable?

The Internet is one of the most important inventions in the world which aims to

interconnect the computers worldwide. The Internet can be explained as a network which is the

sum total of different network areas such as business, academic, governmental and commercial.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is estimated that more than 3 billon people have

access to the internet in 2015. (Davidson, 2015) It is important to mention that Internet is an

irreplaceable tool of the individuals' everyday lives. However, the Internet is facing with some

sort of restrictions all around the world in order to protect users' security. Although some people

believe that total internet freedom is possible and any restriction toward internet is a violation of

human rights, dangerous materials especially child pornography and online drug trafficking must

be prevented under any circumstances.

Total internet freedom is impossible as well as undesirable due to the reason that child

pornography is growing rapidly and threatening individuals’ securities and moral values

throughout the world. In order to avoid people reach this kind of contents and preclude child

pornography from all over the Internet, people need to be aware that it is necessary to give up

some of the rights to protect our children from this insecureness. Although almost every country

fighting against child pornography, there are still some countries, which do not take enough

action to create worldwide protection. There are two important countries, Russia and Japan,

which are far behind the worldwide protection of children from child pornography. The UNICEF
report shows that in both Russia and Japan, which are the members of G8 countries, possession

of child pornography is legal. (Kato, 2009) In this type of environment, it is impossible to create

worldwide awareness of how child pornography is the most threatening online crime in the

world. Thorn, an organization to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, statistically

proves that 25 million images are reviewed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited

Children annually. (Thorn, 2016) This statistical data need to be taken seriously, and

governments, as well as international non-governmental organizations, should be responsible to

provide safe Internet throughout the world.

Unfortunately, some people trying to find some breaches in the jurisdiction to continue to

provide child pornography, which is a multi-billion dollar industry. One of the counter-

arguments, which unbelievably trying to legitimate child pornography is the debate of child

pornography and freedom of expression. For example, an artist, Ulla Karttunen, created a debate

after arrested by Finnish police due to the reason that she used sexual contents of children in her

art exhibition and later made application to European Court of Human Rights to support her

actions as a freedom of expression. (Fathaigh, 2013) It is important to realize that underage

children are unable to understand the meaning of freedom of expression, therefore it is

impossible for an artist to claim that her art exhibition is an example of freedom of speech.

Another counter-argument about government restriction on child pornography raised some

questions in Canada, where some people believe that government regulations for surveillance on

individuals without a warrant in terms of child pornography is unacceptable due to the reason

that it is possible to reach child abuse materials online without consent. Therefore, these people

believe that Canadian government threaten human rights by using child pornography. (Cross,

2012) However, everyone should give up some of their rights in order to protect children, who
are unable to protect themselves and also unable to be aware of sexual abuse. Furthermore, it is

necessary to protect our children from this types of materials in order to prevent any lifelong

psychological trauma which they may suffer after being an online child abuse victims. Therefore,

every country needs to put as many restrictions as possible to protect our children.

In addition to child pornography, online drug trafficking is another important crime that

needs to prevented by authorities in order to protect societies especially young people. Due to

technological improvements and increasing usage of cryptocurrencies, which allow drug dealers

to sell illegal drugs via the Internet while hiding their identities. The first online illegal drug

marketplace, called Silk Road, was invented by Ross William Ulbricht in 2011. This marketplace

created a new type of environment that provides a chance to buy illegal drugs via the Internet

without leaving any trace. (Norrie, 2011) After the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

arrested Ulbricht and sentenced him to life imprisonment, different types of illegal drug

marketplace evolved and they are still threatening individuals' lives. (Greenberg, 2013)

During the trial of Ross William Ulbricht, his defence team created a new debate that

some people believe that Ulbricht invention of the Silk Road may decrease the drug-related

crimes because buying illegal drugs on the streets are much more dangerous than buying drugs

online (Ferro, 2015). Aldridge and Décary-Hétu also claim that the “virtual location” of the deals

reduced the potential for violence, intimidation, and turf wars (2013). However, it is obvious that

the supporters of these counter arguments do not seem well-informed due to the fact that most

people die due to not only drug-related crimes but also drug overuse, which makes online illegal

drug marketplaces is a life-threatening criminal organization. According to National Institute on

Drug Abuse, drug overdose deaths increased dramatically between 2011 and 2016. Furthermore,

64,000 people died due to the drug overdose in the U.S in 2016. (National Institute on Drug
Abuse, 2017) Therefore, it is necessary to fight for online illegal drug trafficking under any

circumstances to protect our societies.

As it has been previously stated, total internet freedom is neither possible nor desirable

due to growing online criminal activities through the Internet. Although there are so many

different types of crimes that threaten people on the Internet, two of these crimes need to be

considered as a priority which is child pornography and drug trafficking. These crimes are the

priority due to the reason that they are not only multi-billion dollar industries, but also directly

affect children which are unable to protect themselves from dangerous materials on the Internet.

Firstly, child pornography is one of the most important crimes that need to be prevented

throughout the world. Although most of the countries are fighting against child abuse materials

on the Internet, these regulations are not enough without decreasing the demand by increasing

restrictions on the Internet. It is undeniable fact that these restrictions not only prevent child

pornography but also negatively affects people's freedom of using the Internet. However, it is

necessary to abandon some of our rights to protect children, who can be only protected by

restrictions, regulated by the governments. Secondly, online drug trafficking is another important

problem that needs to be eliminated by law enforcement and government regulations in order to

protect young generation. It is necessary to realize that drug overdose rates throughout the world

can not be underestimated. It is governments' duty to prevent drug trafficking on the Internet by

practising limitations on the Internet. As a result, even though some people believe that

regulations to prevent online crimes also negatively affect people freedom, every individual

should be aware of the outcomes of these crimes, and understand that it is impossible and

undesirable to provide total Internet freedom in the world.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aldridge, J. & Décary-Hétu, D., 2014. Not an 'Ebay for Drugs': The Cryptomarket 'Silk Road' as a
Paradigm Shifting Criminal Innovation. 13 May, pp. 1-29.

Cross, A., 2012. National Post. [Online]

Available at: http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/online-surveillance-bill-critics-are-siding-with-child-
pornographers-vic-toews. [Accessed 25 March 2018].

Davidson, J., 2015. Here's How Many Internet Users There Are. 26 May, p. 1.

Fathaigh, R., 2013. Free Speech Debate. [Online]

Available at: http://freespeechdebate.com/discuss/child-pornography-and-freedom-of-expression/
[Accessed 25 March 2018].

Ferro, S., 2015. Business Insider UK. [Online]

Available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/did-silk-road-make-the-drug-industry-safer-2015-
5?r=US&IR=T. [Accessed 25 March 2018].

Greenberg, A., 2013. Silk Road 2.0 Launches, Promising A Ressurected Black Market For The Dark
Web. The Forbes, 30 October, pp. 1-3.

Kato, M., 2009. Japan hit over child porn. The Japan Times, 7 October, pp. 1-3.

National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2017. National Institute on Drug Abuse. [Online]
Available at: https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates
[Accessed 25 March 2018].

Norrie, J., 2011. Drugs Bought with Virtual Cash. The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June, pp. 1-4.

Thorn, 2016. wearethorn. [Online]. Available at: https://www.wearethorn.org. [Accessed 25 March

2018].