| | Words in the News |
INTRO | | Following the internet babies for sale scandal, BBC News Correspondent Stephen Gibbs reports on the question of how to regulate the Internet. |
IN FULL | |  | Listen to the report in full |
 |  | 25th January 2001
Regulating the Internet |
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NEWS 1 | | | Listen to the first part of the report |
| | | The fact that nobody owns the internet means that regulating is problematic. But that hasn't stopped governments from trying. Where they've had some success is in controlling the internet's use, within theirown territories.
In the United States, for example, a lawwas passed last year requiring schools and libraries to install software on their computers, to block material deemed harmful to the young. In Britain, the police now have legal access to private e-mail and other online communications. In South Korea, access to online gambling sites is banned. |
WORDS | | regulating: controlling
problematic: something that is difficult is problematic
their own territories: their individual countries or regions.
requiring:if you are required to do somethingyou have to do it
install:put a computer program onto a computer
block material deemed harmful: restrict access to material people have decided is not suitable for children
legal access to private e-mail: the right of the police to look at people's private emails |
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| NEWS 2 | | | Listen to the second part of the report |
| | | But attempting to prosecute the providers, as opposed to the users, of material on the net to which individual governments object has proved much more difficult. The first problem is who is responsible for the material: the original author - who may be impossible to trace, or the Internet service provider, who may be unaware of what is being posted on its site?
Then there's the difficulty of attempting to legislate across national boundaries. Whose law should apply? The law of the country where the data is stored, or where it is accessed? International bodies from the World Intellectual Property Organisation to the European Union hope to provide definitive answers to these questions; but in the meantime much of the Internet will remain unrestrained. |
| WORDS | | attempting to prosecute: trying to bring criminal charges against someone as opposed to: rather than
responsible: the people who are in control or in charge Internet service provider: a company that gives access to the internet legislate: make a law
World Intellectual Property Organisation: (WIPO) an international organisation dedicated to protecting the rights of writers, musicians and other artists
unrestrained: not controlled or limited in any way |
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| | | Read about the background in BBC News Online |
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