A. CONTENT REGULATION
The legal regulation of content on global networks poses complex philosophical, political, and practical considerations. Fundamental political freedoms in one jurisdiction may be threatened by the risk of liability in another jurisdiction. Censorship of information is abhorred in some countries, like the U.S., but not in others, like Singapore and China. Even within any nation, the regulation of information content poses a fundamental political issue for a democratic society. (Id.) The issue of freedom of speech on the Internet receives a considerable amount of international attention. For most countries, the major concerns come from the increased availability of "illegal" content on the Internet.
Some governments have implemented restrictions at the national level. The United States and Germany are the most notable examples, having sparked a flurry of legislative and legal battles over how to regulate the Internet. (Id. at 768.) Content regulation on the Internet takes many forms: the U.S. wants to protect children from obscene materials; Germany wants to eliminate racism; and France has banned an "inappropriate" book. At the same time, governments of countries with less-developed telecommunications networks, such as those in Eastern Europe and Asia, have actively limited growth of the Internet. (Sheri A. Dillon, Douglas E. Groene & Todd Hayward, Computer Crimes, 35 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 503, 540 (Spring 1998).) Asian countries have sought to completely control the information disseminated on the Internet so as to align the Internet with the norms of their countries cultures. (Id.) The laws of every country share a common purpose of preventing "illegal" materials from reaching curious eyes.