re infringing on their freedom of speech. When taken to the Supreme Court in 1997, the court was forced to abolish the Act because it was unconstitutional.
             Internet censorship can sometimes vary depending on the country. For example, in communist countries such as China, Western ideologies conveyed on the Internet are seen as harmful to the solidarity of the Chinese government. As such, all E-mails leaving and entering the country are screened and edited by government officials. Sometimes messages are even deleted if they are seen as harmful to national interests. Recently, the Chinese government has tried to develop its own "China World Web" which will hope to censor any unwanted western messages.
             Today, the Internet is more like the everyday world, with all of its promises and problems, than a reflection of academia or an island village. While it's become a tremendous tool for commerce and information, the 'Net has also become a home to thieves, terrorists and vandals. The Internet provides concealment for malicious users.
             The remote nature of the 'Net also creates a false sense of security. Many users log on in blissful ignorance, believing they're okay because they can't see or feel any threats. Even after learning their workstations or Web sites have been broken into multiple times, many fail to understand the threats lurking on the other end of the wire. Routinely are systems attacked from multiple vectors, worms carried in by e-mails, bandwidth consumed by floods of bogus traffic, and workstation CPUs hijacked through some unpatched vulnerability.
             Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN). Under E-SIGN, "A signature, contract or other record relating to [a] transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form." For the first time, it's not essential that a physical ("wet") signature be inscribed onto paper to bind a co...