USERS PERCEPTIONS OF INTERNET REGULATION - AN EXPLORATORY-STUDY

Immediately after President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 Telecommunica tions Reform Act, which included the Communications Decency Act-an att empt to censor the Internet of any obscene, indecent, or annoying comm unications-several of those opposing the Act initiated litigation to h ave the Act declared unconstitutional. These actions are the foundatio n for this study, a study that attempts to assess the perceptions of I nternet users regarding the censorship of Internet-accessed material. Specifically, demographics of Internet users as well as estimates of t heir reported Internet usage per week were used to establish who, if a nyone, feels the need for regulation of the Internet. Although essenti ally all Internet users in this study perceived the need for regulatio n of the Internet, it was those who used the Internet 6 or more hours per week that were more likely to see the need for regulation.