The Internet

by Myron M. Cherry

Garbage or gravy?

We often use the term "Wild West" to refer to the lawlessness that occurred when everyone carried a gun, save when Wyatt Earp was around, and did what they pleased. Is it fair to use this same term in reference to the Internet and, if so, where is Wyatt Earp?

Not long ago, talk of the Internet or wireless communication did not exist. Do you remember when you first made a cellular telephone call, sent and received your first electronic mail (E-mail) or when you first conducted research utilizing a Web site or simply performed a general search for a topic on the Internet? Today, the exchange of information is widespread and instantaneous. A headline in Hong Kong can be viewed in Chicago moments after it is written, and a small landowner in Kenya can learn the price of grain or cattle with the push of a button!

We are a long way from the rudimentary aspects of the Internet when defense department personnel first began communicating with each other. Information sent from one place to another, your computer to mine, or from a Web site to almost any location happens so frequently in one hour that it is almost mathematically impossible to compute. The Internet allows companies to present their products, consumers to perform comparative shopping and individuals to converse with one another.

The Internet is also detailed enough to allow you to research almost any subject of interest to you.

Technically, the Internet works by breaking words into numbers, tossing them into the air and reassembling them once they reach their intended destination. Pictures are sent the same way as an image is broken up into pixels and later reassembled. The more pixels the image is broken down into, the sharper the quality of the picture at the opposite end. Hence the reason why you purchase cameras with mega pixels!

All of this that I have just described seems pretty orderly and pretty good—like frosting on a cake or potatoes with gravy. Obtaining information quickly and easily from someone else or receiving information in an effort to generate interest sounds appealing. After all, if people living in a dictatorship are on the verge of discovering democracy, they may petition for a different form of government. Similarly, if you are low on marketing cost, sell your product on the "Net." If you want to organize a campaign or raise money for a worthy cause, establish a Web page and "let ‘er rip."

Today, no one is limited as to what he or she can say or do on the Net. Want to swear? Go ahead. Want to run around naked, record yourself and upload the movie on YouTube? Have at it. Want to smear your competition? Feel free—you do not even have to sign your name as you can use initials, a fake name or someone else’s.

Internet communication is, of course, nothing more than speech. Our Constitution protects free speech as it was a specific subject of one of the first 10 Amendments, the so-called Bill of Rights. Additionally, free speech protection was a direct condition for the adoption of our country’s Constitution.

Over the years, we have carved out exceptions and limits regarding what we can say outside of the Internet. We know that if a defamatory statement is made about someone orally, or in writing, that person can be sued, and some states have laws criminalizing improper speech. For example, you cannot yell “FIRE” in a crowded theater if there is no fire since your free speech could cause damage to the individuals who took action based upon what you said. Even newspapers, our bastion of free speech, have limitations. Newspapers cannot appear reckless or aim to harm someone, and they may even be prohibited (or punished) for publishing such items as pornography, trade secrets or information which could harm the U.S. government in a time of war.

Generally, most people do not spread lies about others; however, those that do typically do not take out a full page ad to describe the rumor or mail its details to millions. In other words, we know who is credible and who is not. Trying to correct or extinguish a lie or rumor, while not the simplest thing to do, is more manageable in connection with ordinary speech as it has not yet reached the masses. If an individual is telling lies about you to a customer, an acquaintance or in connection with a potential relationship, you usually have enough information to track down the source, correct the false statement and explain your side of the story. People are more careful when spreading rumors because they have a personal interest in the information and can monitor it. Even newspapers have organized procedures for verifying facts. Often newspapers need two sources, and correspondents usually speak with the person who is the subject of the rumor to get his or her side of the story. Even radio and TV (outside of lucrative political ads) will not broadcast information they believe to be untrue.

However, with the advent of the Internet, none of this matters. A statement can be released on the Internet and thereby becomes impossible to determine who read it or received it. If the statement is posted on a Web site, it can be broadcast throughout the world even before someone knows it was made. Moreover, the person making the statement does not have to identify him or herself. All this considered, it is fairly simple in today’s world to manufacture a lie, mask or hide its creator, but nevertheless, have it reach more than 100 million people in less than one hour; and unfortunately, the rumor is never gone. Instead, it lingers in the atmosphere forever.

We currently have no rules addressing this matter. It is now possible, essentially without consequences, for someone to very easily embark on a campaign with the goal of adversely affecting a person, thing or business in an instant. In the decades since the Internet’s inception, Congress has passed a cyber squatting law making it improper and illegal to use another individual’s name or identity for their own profit; however, there is little more than this law regulating the Internet. While rules regarding defamation certainly apply to the Internet, no one is creating a standard. Most sites allow you to post ANYTHING, and many are not monitored so you can lie, swear, defame, curse and do so without even giving your name. Take a look at an AOL Web page some day and observe the comments posted regarding any story. Check out the New York Times or any blog and you will notice it is possible to say ANYTHING! Where is the missing balance in a free society?

The issue is complicated since we want to encourage Internet communication for all that gravy. But with that gravy comes all the garbage, and no one has even begun to ponder the ways in which these competing interests could be compromised. How would you strike the balance? What would you do? One day Congress will begin to pass legislation regarding this subject and, after a period of time, the courts will deal with it. Until then, you are going to be the recipient of an extensive amount of garbage and, worse yet, you may even think it is gravy.