Lab 6

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The First Amendment and Communications professionals

+What is the 1st Amendment?

+Well the 1st Amendment is part of this… but there is more to it than that

+What it really means:

The first Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, and it guarantees a certain number of freedoms to American citizens

Some of the freedoms promised by the 1st Amendment include: Freedom of Press Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech The right to assemble peacefully

+The 1st Amendment also protects religious freedoms

The 1st Amendment also guarantees that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” this is known as the Establishment Clause

This was added to ensure that Congress would not create any laws that would favor one religion over another

The founders were wise enough to be able to predict the massive immigration that would ultimately affect our culture over 200 years later

+A Brief HistoryOf the 1st Amendment

+Ratification

The 1st Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, a piece of legislation that was put into effect on December 15th, 1791

The Bill of Rights succeeded the Articles of Confederation, and gave more power to the federal government so that it was able to effectively run the country

Many Americans were concerned that the Bill of Rights would give the Federal government too much power

+Fears of the Bill of Rights

The citizens of America were very cautious in giving more power to the centralized government,

They were afraid that politicians would use the Bill of Rights to form a type of Oligarchy, and abuse their power

Ultimately, 75% of the states agreed to ratify the Bill of Rights, and ever since 1891 the country has been using it, occasionally adding or modifying the Amendments as the times change

+ The 1st Amendment in today’s world

+The Internet

The Internet was first created in the early 70’s by scientists, but was not available for commercial use until 1992

Since it’s origin in 1992, the Internet has exploded into popularity, quickly becoming one of the most used methods to obtain information

As the potential of the World Wide Web grew, more controversy grew with it which prompted government action

+The many uses of the Internet

The Internet can be used for nearly anything. From obtaining news, watching music videos, to even purchasing goods, the Internet has proven it’s versatility

+Communications Decency Act of 1996

Introduced as an amendment to the telecommunications act of 1996

Had two affects on Internet and online communication: wanted to regulate indecency and obscenity

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that this was unconstitutional, and agreed that the 1st Amendment did apply to all aspects of the Internet

+How to avoid trouble with the 1st Amendment

+Ways to break the 1st Amendment

There are only a few things that the 1st Amendment does not protect. They are: Defamation Words that cause panic Fighting Words Words that incite others to crime Sedition Obscenity Revealing Military/Government information deemed

confidential

+In simpler terms

No spreading outrageous lies about people that damage their well being or reputation

No screaming things like ‘Fire’ in a crowded place

No screaming profanity/slurs to urge people to violence, or to break laws

No trying to convince people to violently overthrow the government

No revealing the positions of troops through journalism or other information that puts soldiers at unnecessary risk

+In conclusion

The 1st Amendment is very vague on purpose. It leaves room for interpretation by the current courts. Things that may have made sense in the 1800’s probably won’t be relevant now

Even for things like Defamation, Obscenity, or Sedition, it is very difficult to prove in court so there shouldn’t be too much of a hassle

+Credits

All images were obtained through Google image search

Information was gathered through Wikipedia searches