Alyssa Crane CS 408-01 Assignment 6 Page

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Assignment 6: Hate and the Internet

  1. There are many ways to describe “hate speech.” I would consider hate speech to be anything that insults, offends, or degrades a person or organization. There are many levels of hate speech, and clearly some words can do much more damage than others.
  2. This is a very controversial issue and I am not sure what the best solution is. I do not think that expression should be limited. However, there is a gray area, between acceptable statements and ones that are purely harmful. I think it is great that people are able to voice their opinions, but they need to be aware and considerate of how their statements can affect others.
  3. I think an international consensus on how to define and deal with hate speech would be beneficial, but unfortunately it will be a struggle to reach this consensus. There is a variety of ways that governments across the world deal with speech, but I feel that it may not be possible to find common ground.
  4. Yes I definitely believe that it is appropriate for there to be some level of censorship of hate group websites. Hate groups can be threatening, and there should be filtering of what is said/posted within a group.
  5. I am not sure how I feel about creators of hate-oriented Web sites being held responsible for actions of people who view these sites and then committing hate crime. Yes, we can definitely put some blame on the creators, but ultimately it was the action of the viewer who committed the crime.
  6. I do not think these groups should be available for children to view. This will add to the issue of bullying because these groups will encourage bad behavior, and give children ideas that they otherwise would not have known of.
  7. There should be a distinction between what is legal online and what is legal offline. When people have the ability to say/post things anonymously, they feel invincible. However if people openly hated on a person or group of people in public, there would most likely be more consequences.
  8. Both hate related material and pornography are objectionable, problematic issues in our society. I do not think they should be available for public viewing. If they must be accessed, there should be more security on the site mainly to prevent young children from viewing.