Regulating the Internet

There is no denying that there are websites easily accessible to the young and old alike that feature pornography of all kinds and promote promiscuity.

Young men and women are particularly vulnerable to social media and are being exploited through networks that encourage indecent behaviour. 

With advent of the Internet and the widespread use of smartphones that make access to the web within the reach of most people, it is time to regulate these websites and social media. 

No parent can now control what his son or daughter sees on his or her smartphone much less prevent them from doing so. 

Viewing pornography has, therefore, spread beyond control in the country and must be stopped before it wreaks havoc with the social fabric of society. 

No one wants to advocate or promote censorship or the suppression of freedom of expression, but what is being shown on the screens of mobile phones, laptops and tablets is disgusting and goes way beyond the reasonable limits of freedom of thought or expression. 

There comes time when the government must step in and block access to the proliferating number of porn sites, especially among the young and the innocent.

Besides, unregulated Internet may also spread radicalism and terrorism. This is an added reason for applying some reasonable control over it. 

Just as the press is denied the liberty of printing anything that is offensive or damaging to national security, the freedom to use the Internet must likewise be protected from abuse by articulating certain minimum standards for its use. 

While it is no longer fashionable to defend decency, it is still incumbent on the government to adopt the necessary legislation to protect the public from the commercialisation of indecency and misconduct.