The comparisons that were established during the implementation of the Communications Decency Act are significant because it forms regulations based on conditions that were current and protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment has multiple factors including the right to freedom of speech for all individuals in the U.S. These comparisons are important because they are all different forms of communication types of speech that would be protected under the First Amendment. Adequate assessments and comparisons will allow lawmakers to make fair and effective regulations. The differences between libraries, televisions, and public places are the various forms of how information and speech are communicated to audiences. The library has articles, books, journals, online databases, and other sources to provide information and free speech to users (First Amendment, 209). Television has TV programs, different shows, broadcasts, and advertisements to get a message across. The public places are areas such as local parks, auditoriums, street corners, etc., where individuals can assemble to communicate a message. The main similarity is that all of these methods of information transfer are protected under the First Amendment for freedom of speech. However, the First Amendment does not protect against violence speech, hate, racism, supporting terrorism, employment, intellectual property or copyright infringement, and threats (Holland, 202). The internet has both similarities and differences from libraries,
televisions, and public places. The internet is similar to libraries in that both sources provide vast amounts of information to users. In addition, most libraries now provide online databases and digital book formats. However, I believe a significant difference is the copyright laws at libraries are more regulated as compared to the Internet (Rose, 995). This has brought rise to Internet monitoring and laws from law enforcement that punishes individuals to break these crimes. The internet is similar to television because of the vast amounts of videos that are uploaded to share a message with users. The same forms of communication from television are also present on the Internet through online video sites such as Youtube. The internet differs because video content can be uploaded by any individual as compared to television which shows and programs are chosen by the television station. The Internet regulations for this have created laws that protect against copyright infringement and also enforce websites to take down any content that breaks the law. Copyright laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) also extend to anything that is posted online (Baase & Henry, 208). Public places are similar to the internet in that locations could be accessed through both methods. A difference is that the internet is much faster and capable of delivering information; an example is live streaming. This has created internet regulations for users and streaming sites to abide by the laws and regulations.