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The Internet is a phenomenon which has burst into public awareness in dramatic fashion over the last 18 months. It has been the subject of much hype in the media, yet there is little doubt that it is one of the most significant technological developments of recent years. It makes more readily available the vast range of human written and graphical information than has ever been possible. It provides many new opportunities for the church, which are explored in a parallel report of the Board of Communications. The Society, Religion and Technology Project is producing "John Knox's Guide to the Internet" to explain in simple terms what it is all about and how to get connected, and also to comment on some of the new questions it poses. The Internet also gives a new focus to some familiar issues, such as pornography and censorship. This report looks briefly at this area, in response to a request at the 1995 General Assembly.
The Internet is indiscriminate : while information is being sent, it is simply so many bits of data. Thus anyone with access to the Internet can put anything they like on it. This also means there is no way to stop it, and no one in a position to control it. Its very nature transcends national boundaries and the normal means of control exercised by a society. It is individual and anonymous. The individual "surfer" on the Net can flit from one site to another, view what they want, then move on silently and anonymously, never interacting humanly, an extreme case of individual consumerism. There is no one to watch where anyone goes, and this can have many advantages, but it can also open up a whole world of temptation. This includes children, who are not only naturally more curious to know "what happens if...?" , but are often far more au fait with the Internet, its techniques and tricks than their parents.
The Internet reveals more readily and indiscriminately, and to more people, more of what goes on in human society, than perhaps any form of communication yet devised. This indiscriminate opening up of "all human life" brings areas to light that are normally hidden, brings some questions to light which have been far from most people's thoughts or experience. Should some controls be applied? There is much debate and effort going on into whether it should be possible to introduce some sort of control to restrict the access of pornographic and certain other material, especially into the home. The subject is both technically difficult and highly controversial.
At an individual level, it is possible to do a first level of control of access to this type of material, but it is not foolproof. It is possible to choose a "service provider" (an organisation via whose computer individuals are connected to the Internet) which refuses to give its subscribers access to certain sites and groups, or to have them located on its computer. Some make a point of it in their advertising, but only some would offer this. To effect a more general ban would require national (and probably global) legislation, and ways would inevitably be found around it. The more obvious "banned" sites and newsgroups would disappear beneath another level of encryption, move to a site with a less obvious name, or communicate taboo words by using euphemisms.
It is also possible to buy one of a growing number of programmes which will filter out the more obvious sites, such as the alt.sex series. These typically use an updateable blacklist of such sites and newsgroups, defined by categories or certain keywords. Within a family, these can provide another "line of defence", but they are not proof against competent young hackers or someone whose parents didn't bother. It also raises the question of abrogating parental responsibilities to "technological fixes". It is one thing for parents who are already keeping in touch with what their children are watching, to have such a piece of software to send a clear message of the standards of behaviour expected for the whole family. The temptation is to use it as a substitute for the much trickier task of educating a child on what the world is like, what people are like and what sort of personal standards are good ones to live by.
The future of the Internet depends on the discipline and imagination brought to bear in the use of this remarkable technological development. The danger is to let its potential dictate terms to us, instead of the other way round, or to respond in an exaggerated and high handed way. Christians should welcome this new development, but see it in its place and not beyond it. Some are already working to give positive alternatives to the things that others will undoubtedly find to do with it. By the exercise of our imagination, of developing and sharing the things about life and living which we as Christians believe are of eternal value, we can be an influence for better things. If we do not, the agenda will be set entirely by the rest of the world. We who see value in wisdom and understanding more than mere information, and in relationships of self-giving love than mere individual experiences, have something to say.
Go to SRT Internet Ethics Pages
We'd also welcome any comments you may have. We don't claim to have said the last word!
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This page was last revised on 4 January 1999 in content and in March 2006 in layout.
