Internet Censorship Essay - Internet Needs a Dot Kids Domain :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Internet Needs a Dot Kids Domain The Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 proposes the creation of a second level domain within this Country's United States Top Level Domain that sets aside an address on the Internet and World Wide Web for information that is suitable for minor children of age 12 and younger. Various pro-family groups fully endorse and support this initiative. For example, those at the National Law Center for Children and Families can wholeheartedly say that such a domain is needed, would be a welcome solace to parents and educators who care about the best interests of our children and grandchildren, and is a constitutionally viable program for our Government to provide. There are those who will complain that Congress and our Government should not create domains at all, but Congress and the United States Government created the Internet and have a stake in its development and usefulness, including to children, who are our most dependent citizens. Whether management of a .kids.us sub-domain is beyond direct agency control or whether what is "suitable" is left to the discretion and best judgment of those entrusted with management of the United States domain and the Dot Kids subdomain are not serious problems. The Dot Kids domain would not be a public forum, but rather a proprietary and gratuitous public service of the Government. The courts should not consider it a justiciable issue for challengers to claim vagueness or access rights to this domain or its operation. A Dot Kids domain should be free from judicial review and immune from outside demands, much like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution have the right to manage their own collections and decide what content and links to place on their own Websites, as well as every other Federal agency. If the U.S. Park Service decides to create a playground for children under 13 and exclude older kids and adults, they should be able to do so, and if Congress will create an online safe-haven for kids under 13 to find suitable, age appropriate information and entertainment, it should be able to do so.