Internet Regulation :: Internet Essays

Internet Regulation What is the Internet? The definition of the Internet put in one sentence is: A worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange, where anyone with a computer can access the internet through an ISP (Internet Service Provider). The Internet consists of a three level hierarchy composed of backbone networks (e.g. ARPAnet, NSFNet, MILNET), mid-level networks, and stub networks. These include commercial (.com or .co), university (.ac or .edu) and other research networks (.org, .net) and military (.mil) networks and span many different physical networks around the world with various protocols, chiefly the Internet Protocol. The Internet is a global network connecting millions of personal, institutional and company computers. The number of computers used by the internet is growing rapidly. The United States is connected with over 100 countries worldwide and linked together to exchange of data, news and opinions. The Internet is decentralized design. This means that there isn't just one computer that stores all of the information from the Internet. There are many independent host servers located throughout the US and the world that store the information made available to the global Internet community. The Internet is primarily used for these functions: 1. To send and receive e-mail. 2. To transfer files from one computer to another (the files may be text, images, audio, video, etc.). 3. Research to locate information for either government, educational, commercial, etc. 4. To communicate with other computers, either one at a time (Instant message) or many at once (chat rooms or discussion groups). The internet is a work in progress and will continue to evolve. What is Internet Regulation? Internet regulation is basically restricting or controlling access to certain aspects or information. Internet regulation consists of mainly two categories: Censorship of data, and controlling aspects of the Internet. Most of the Internet regulation is imposed by the Government in an effort to protect the best interest of the general public and is concerned with some form of censorship. Other forms of Internet regulation is domain registration, IP address control, etc. In domain registration, once a domain is purchased the Webmaster’s address has to be registered at the time of purchase. A governmental agency can track someone down if they put up information, that the government considers unacceptable. IP address is you Internet identity when you are connected to the web. It is synonymous to a postal address.