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Because the Internet is not regulated by the government, not subject to the Communications Act of 1934, and has done little self-regulating, many people see it as the one true venue for unlimited free speech under the First Amendment. Its current global expansion is comparable to the early days of broadcasting, when economic and technological growth outstripped law and regulation.

Early debates about what forms of expression should be allowed on the Internet typically revolved around issues such as civility and pornography. Those discussions have continued (see “Converging Media Case Study: Online Bullying”), but the debate has expanded to issues like government surveillance and how traditional means like wiretapping and search warrants can be expanded to include the turning over of Internet browsing histories and other data. As this medium continues to expand rapidly, we will need to consider some important questions: Will the Internet remain free of government attempts to contain it, change it, and monitor who has access to it? Can the Internet continue to serve as a democratic forum for regional, national, and global interest groups? Many global movements use this medium to fight political oppression. Human Rights Watch, for example, encourages free-expression advocates to use blogs “for disseminating information about, and ending, human rights abuses around the world.” ⁹