The Boston Globe:

  • A proposal pending before the Federal Communications Commission ...would provide Internet service to all Americans - with a catch. Content would be censored, free of "any images or text that otherwise would be harmful to teens and adolescents" under 18 years old.

    No one wants young children viewing pornography. But to enforce the FCC standard, someone would have to decide where the "harmful" line should be drawn. What about medical illustrations, or a Globe story about female genital mutilation in Africa? To be safe for all ages, censors would have to exclude vast amounts of useful, lawful content. And since only 57 percent of Americans have broadband connections today, the censored service would for many people be the only service.