In the last two decades, the Internet has grown at a rapid rate and has become available to people from all walks of life throughout the world. Google now claims to index over 3 billion websites. It is no surprise that the “information superhighway” has become an especially heated battleground for free speech.
The Internet has created unique challenges for those who would try to prevent free expression as well as for those who struggle to defend it . Because the technology for spreading information has developed so quickly, lawyers find it hard to keep up with the possibilities for expression made possible by this new way. However, security measures, sometimes taken together with government efforts to suppress free speech can limit users’ access to certain kinds of content and protect personal information.
Because of its relatively unregulated and generally accessible nature, the Internet quickly became a haven for pornography (色情) as well as for many types of challenging speech including political complaints, hate speech, and corporate whistle-blowing (告密).
Much of the debate and law-making concerning censorship of the Internet is centered on efforts to protect minors from harmful contents. In 2003, the Supreme Court in the US ruled to start the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which required that filters for the content be placed on library computers. Unfortunately, these measures have unexpected consequences (后果) – for example, the filters often block innocent speech by accident.

在过去了的二十年里，国际互联网发展迅速，在全世界范围内，互联网与人如影随形，无处不在．Google 公司近来宣称：它已为超过３０亿的网站汇编了索引．因此，毫不出奇的是，这条＂信息高速公路＂成了一个白热化的战场，在这里，人们言论自由，百无禁忌，慷慨陈词，激辩莫名．

互联网为那些试图压制言论自由的人们，以及那些努力保护言论自由的人们，提供了独一无二的搏弈机会．由于这种信息传播技术发展地过于迅猛，律师们发现，既然人们可以通过这种新的途径随意地发表见解，那么继续限制言论自由的可能性已经微乎其微．但是，人们也会采取一些安全措施，限制用户接触网上的某些内容，同时保证个人信息的安全．这类措施有时是与政府对于自由言论的限制举措结合起来执行的．

由其相对不规范，和通常呈无政府状态的特点所决定，互联网很快成为淫秽色情传播，以及过激言辞发布的天堂，这些过激言论涵盖众多类型，从政治指责，毁谤泄愤，到曝光揭发，应有尽有，不一而足．

许多关于互联网审核制度的辩论和法律制定围绕着未成年人展开，目的是保护未成年人免遭网上有害内容的伤害．２００３年，美国最高法院裁定启用儿童互联网保护法（CIPA)，该法要求在公共图书馆的计算机上安置过滤器．不幸的是，这些举措带来了意想不到的后果－－例如，这些过滤器常会意外地封堵了内容健康的信息的传递．