The fleeting glimpse of Janice Jackson's breast and Howard Stern's use of the English language are but a few of the instances where the first amendment is being tested. With Video-Telephony the world will once again define what it means by "freedom of expression."

Each person carrying a Video phone will - in essence - become an on the spot reporter. No doubt there are people who will record material offensive to others - personal and private acts as well as the "close-up and personal" aspects of natural disasters, pestilence, plague and war.

As has happened with Corporate Governance, so too Government will become transparent and along with those two areas - our personal lives. What are the rights of a person making a video-based phone call? What, if any, material will be censored and by whom?

There will be the same objections raised by objectionable material on Internet. People will again say, my children are watching this material and I don't want them to see it. Well, you can always let the phone ring and not answer it.

Many people practice ethics depending on who is watching them. "Would you..." do this or that if no one were watching. What happens when the world becomes transparent via the ubiquitous use of small, cheap, low-power video cameras that will be carried and embedded everywhere.

What will become the ethics of a world filled with video cameras?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First Amendment: an overview

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. See U.S. Const. amend. I. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly and to petition the government for a redress of grievances, and the implied rights of association and belief. The Supreme Court interprets the extent of the protection afforded to these rights. The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. Furthermore, the Court has interpreted, the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as protecting the rights in the First Amendment from interference by state governments. See U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

Two clauses in the First Amendment guarantee freedom of religion. The establishment clause prohibits the government from passing legislation to establish an official religion or preferring one religion over another. It enforces the "separation of church and state. Some governmental activity related to religion has been declared constitutional by the Supreme Court. For example, providing bus transportation for parochial school students and the enforcement of "blue laws" is not prohibited. The free exercise clause prohibits the government, in most instances, from interfering with a persons practice of their religion.

The most basic component of freedom of expression is the right of freedom of speech. The right to freedom of speech allows individuals to express themselves without interference or constraint by the government.

by Terry Wellman

Powered by CityMax.com