The Japanese government is proposing a new law that will affect the Internet in Japan. This week’s article provides information about what the law will do and how it will change Internet use in Japan. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that addresses my questions and expresses your views.
How much influence do you think the new law will have on Internet use in Japan? Do you agree with the government’s position or with the critics of the new law? Why do you feel that way? If you were an Internet user in Japan, how would you deal with the changes that this law will make? What do you think about the mobile-services filtering that is already in place in Japan?
Japan Article
20 comments:
Japan is a country that is known for using a lot of internet because high-speed internet is widely spread among the nation. The new law, which will reduce the usage of internet in Japan, will have a great impact on Japanese people who spend a lot of time on internet. I do not agree with the government’s position because they should not restrict the usage of internet. People have the right to do whatever they want, as long as it is legal. As long as the person does not use internet for harmful reason, the government does not need to restrict the internet. If I was an internet user in Japan, I would be angry but I would just get use to the new policy.
This new law, if it passes, will alter the definition of internet as we know it. I agree with the critics- internet is a symbol of the modern times-of freedom of speech and press, and suppressing it would go back to the “Dark Ages.” If I were facing this problem in my country, I would protest against the law and encourage and enlighten other people to do the same. The mobile-filtering services that is already in place is the beginning of the “Dark Ages”-the beginning of the end of freedom of speech and press.
Japan is one of the most countries to have advanced technology in the world. One of their major technologies is high speed internet. This new law will reduce the usage of internet in Japan because people don’t like to be watched or monitored by the government. There are many people in Japan who use internet and this law will only reduce the amount of these people. So yes, this new law is going to make a major change in the country. No, of course I do not agree with the new law. People should have the right to do whatever they want on the internet, as long as they don’t break the law or do anything illegal. Fine, the government wants to restrict usage of internet to have more control and more safety in the people and country, but not like this. Limiting or restricting internet usage is a bad thing to do, so no, I do not agree with this law also because I would not want this happening in my country. I would like to enjoy surfing the web freely; going to any sites I want and staying as long as I want on them. Limiting or restricting me from doing that is the last thing I or anyone else would want. People should be given the right to use internet however they want, as long as they don’t abuse it. If I was living in Japan during the insertion of this new law, I would personally not have the power to do anything. I'm not going to waste my time and go on a riot or anything, neither am I going to meet with the government or anything. The government wants to create new laws that the people don’t agree with, than fine, we the people would have nothing to do about it, but I think it's just wrong. The mobile filtering service is something else I wanted to talk about. Dev made a great comment on that, and I think he's right. Things in Japan are starting to change, personally I think it's for the worse. It’s the beginning of the end of freedom and individual rights. Sure I think it's wrong but what can we do? How can we, the people, do anything to stop the government?
I personally do not believe in government’s regulation of such thing as internet service. It sounds quite strange that a country like Japan, well known for its high technology, has restrictions on internet usage. This new law will greatly reduce country’s overall internet usage since people naturally hate being monitored by someone else especially when it comes to privacy concern, including internet. As I said, I do not think this is a smart thing to do. I would strongly protest against the bill if I were in Japan.
Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the world, and if the government reduces the usage of the internet, it will have such a great impact on the people because there are a lot of people who use the internet constantly and if they reduce the time of usage, it would be like cutting off an important meal of the day. And people will stop using the internet permanently if they were being monitored constantly. And if i was an internet user in japan, I would defiantly protest against them until they change the law back.
Yes, this new law will no doubt change the internet. I don't agree with the law because, like what Laith said, people should be able to do whatever they want on the internet as long as they're not committing any illegal activity. The feature that they're applying that is similar to "Parental Guidance Control", that is pretty reasonable to deal with, but not blocking practically everything and you needing your guardians password. Most of us teenagers [under 18 of course] are exposed to too much of the things that they are trying to block just in every day life. Most of us are mature and old enough to handle something quite as small as what they might consider to need parental guidance. This new law is just limiting people’s usage of the internet. Where would students go to get research done if the topic they're researching "isn't allowed"? Yes, Japan is a very technically advanced, but I think they are going a little bit too far with this thing.
The new law in Japan will obviously reduce internet use. The new law is a very stupid one, the government shouldnt control internet usage but it should be a personal thing you do not need permission to use. If i was in Japan and this law took effect on me i would make a big deal out of it. I would try to start a boycott with a huge group of people to boycott the internet until the policy changes. The mobile-filtering in Japan is an invasion of privacy and i do not wish to elaborate because it bothers me greatly.
If this law does indeed pass in 2010, the government will channel its internet browsers to view what the government wants them to see. I disagree with what the government is trying to do, as long as the average civilian shows no threat through browsing the internet, there is no reason to punish him in such a way. I feel this way because the internet plays to big of a role in our daily lives for it to be limited in such a way. I really would oppose the law, but i wouldn't know how, if you can actually break their filter. Filtering what people see is simply pointless, that will only create a conspiracy that the government is trying to hide something. To conclude, this law should be stopped immediatly, because the internet is what connects people around the world.
The new law will have a big influence on Internet use in Japan. Even though the new law makes the Internet a safer environment for young users, it’s also starting to block sites that aren’t bad. I don’t agree that the government should be the one to choose which sites to block and unblock because they can be bias towards certain things. I would try to hack into the Internet if I had to deal with the Internet changes. The mobile-services filtering thing is stupid I would register using a fake identification card or just let my parents register for me.
I don't think that the new law will have much affect on the Internet in Japan. I think that people will still post anything they want to on the internet. I agree with the critics of the law. I don't think it is wright to limit what people can do or say on the internet. They should do something to make sure that the internet is safe, but not totally get rid of opinionated stuff. If I were an iternet user in Japan, there wouldn't be a whole lot that I could do to deal with the new change. I would probably continue to use the internet the same way I do now.
I believe that the new law will change the Internet. I don’t think it’s the right thing to accomplish though. People should be capable of doing what they desire, except if it was against the law. I think that that law will corrupt Japan because hackers will begin unlocking the sites and selling the techniques. How will Japanese children learn how to be independent if the government and their parents are taking care everything? As yaz said how will students be able to research blocked topics. So what I am saying is that is the Japanese think that’s the best thing to do they should “think twice”. If I was in Japan and had to follow their laws, hacking would be the first thing on my mind.
When I first read the article I expected people to resist the upcoming law of restricting the internet. However, as I read on in the article, it mentioned that the people in Japan seemed to be indifferent to the situation. In a way that’s understandable because Japan already had previous restrictions on the internet, but to more restrictions would make things even more conservative and I find it surprising that people aren’t doing anything about it. Japan has always been a conservative country and especially after the war, it’s understandable for them to not want to be “Americanized” and resort to censorship. The internet is a very liberal and powerful source and considering Japan’s history, it’s expected that the government would fear the internet. The people of Japan don’t seem too bothered with all these restrictions, however, if I were a user in Japan, I would definitely be annoyed. I want to be able to go to any site I want and read all kinds of news articles from different points of view. I don’t know what I would do to get around the filtering if I were living in Japan, but I don’t really have to worry about that because I doubt I’ll ever live there. Basically, if this kind of restriction were to happen anywhere else I think it would cause an uproar. I expect people in Japan to resist this change but it seems that it doesn’t bother them as much as I thought it would.
Japan is the most technological country in the world and I believe that this law will affect them greatly. I disagree with the government’s position, internet should be a place where people can go online and do as they wish. I would somehow find a way around the law; being the most technological country in the world I am sure that they would find a loop hole. The government should not restrict people to the use of any resources on the internet.
If Japan goes on with its plan to further restrict internet usage, people are going to get very upset and internet usage will decrease. The people of Japan already have all these restrictions on certain websites like news broadcasts and I’m sure they don’t want any more of their rights taken away. The government is doing this out of paranoia to protect itself and to regain control over the internet. The internet is very influential and powerful and the government feels threatened by it. If I were living in Japan, I would get really mad with all these pointless internet restrictions because more time than not these filters censor harmless websites that are completely innocent and have nothing to do with what the government was intending on filtering in the first place. Japan already has so many restrictions, including the mobile filtering service and the last thing they need is the government looking over their shoulder when they browse the internet.
One word: proxies. Look at the other news websites that may have been blocked via "censoring". However, I don't know how I would react. I'd try my best to find a way around it: underground blogs, IRC channels, and the like. Like the saying goes, no only makes us want to do it more. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before things start to go back to normal, if not, well an underground hideaway will form quickly. Also, the severity of how they are censoring could play a large role in this. Depending on what they censor it could be negligible, such as articles on shoewear.
The new law being placed upon the internet will probably make no difference in the amount of internet used by the public. The most memorable part of the 21st century is the high-tech tools that are open to use for the public. If the Japanese government wishes to begin banning sites from the public, then the public will simply adapt to that problem by hacking past the firewalls put up by the government. I personally do not agree with the government. They should not be controlling what the public sees, that is a personal affair, regardless of whether they are viewing influential writers of the 16th Century, or how to create C4 using household items. On the other hand, I think that the government made the right decision by setting up walls to shield the public from viewing personal information that the government would not want disclosed. In a utopian society, maybe the government could trust it's citizens, but we're being realistic here. Better to let the people live in ignorance rather than have them unhappy. Besides, this action is probably one of the less improper actions of governments; I'm sure we all remember the American government tapping into the communications networks after 9/11 to dig out any information on prospective terrorists in the United States of America. So, I agree with the Japanese government. Now if I was an internet user in Japan, like I have said before, I would most likely hack through these firewalls. Think about it, when I try to hack through them it is like a person throwing a stone at a brick wall. If enough people throw stones, that wall will fall. As for the mobile services filtering, now that is crossing a line in the sand, not to mention stupid. Whereas I would commend the Japanese government on being wise by choosing to block only and not track people's internet, here I would call them plain, old morons. If the people want to start fighting for their privacy, suggest they start with their mobiles, no the internet.
Restrictions on internet use, whether for a good reason or not, seem wrong to me. I believe that free speech is important, and the internet is included in that. Granted, Japan employs very strict censorship, but the internet is such a big part of the culture there, which is why, I suppose, they want to monitor it in the first place.
I think that this law will have significant influence in Japan, mainly because so many people in Japan use the Internet. I don’t believe with the government’s position because I think it intrudes on the personal rights of the Japanese people. Considering the fact that they are not only filtering out shady material, they are also changing things such as religion and politics. This can be seen as a form of brainwashing because they are using the media to change what the people believe. If I were an Internet user, unlike the users today, I would try to deal with it in some way. I don’t mean to create a revolution or anything that unrealistically drastic, but basically try to find my way around the law. That also depends on what they would specifically block, because I might not have any trouble with the law in the first place. When it comes to the mobile-service filtering, I personally do not agree with the concept of controlling the youth at such a drastic level. However, this issue touches on the morals and roots of Japanese society that are not up for argument- the rules are rules.
Post a Comment