As the Internet continues to grow throughout the world, more governments may try to impose their views onto the rest of the world through regulations and censorship. It will be a sad day when the world must adjust its views to conform to that of the most prudish regulatory governments in existence. If too many regulations are enacted, then the Internet as a tool will become nearly useless, and the Internet as a mass communication device and a place for freedom of mind and thoughts, will become nonexistent. There exists a very fine line between protecting children from pornographic material and protecting the inherent rights that all Americans are born with. The users, servers, and parents of the world must protect themselves using data encryption, so as not to force government regulation that may stifle the best communication instrument in history. If encryption becomes as widespread as Zimmerman predicts it will, there will no longer be a need for the government to intrude in the matters of the Internet, for the Internet users will protect themselves from the threats to security and privacy they face. The biggest problems will work themselves out. The government should rethink its approach to the censorship and encryption issues, allowing the Internet to continue to mature on its own to reach its full potential.
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