A survey likely to cause a new burst of debate about Internet censorship suggests that many Americans support government efforts to protect children from pornography.
Chilton Research Services, a research component of ABC News, reported Tuesday that 80 percent of respondents to a random telephone poll taken last month answered "yes" when asked: "Do you think that the government should take steps to control access to pornographic or sexually explicit material on the Internet to protect children and teens under 18 years of age?"
The response was less dramatic for people with Internet access in their homes, of whom 63 percent said they favor government intervention. Still, Chilton researchers said they were surprised by the uniformity of the response.
"There were some minor differences demographically, but in general the response was overwhelming," said Barbara Nuessle, research associate and spokeswoman for Chilton. "People really do want protection and some type of censorship at the government level.
"I was startled by the numbers," she added.
A Chilton poll on a more general question last year - whether the government should regulate the Internet - found 44 percent of respondents opposing such control and 39 percent favoring it. Nuessle said that a combination of sensational media coverage "about murders, different kinds of atrocities, and kids lured into relationships on the Internet" combined with the 1997 survey's specific focus on children and pornography, accounting for respondents' strong support for government involvement.
But the new survey was met with skepticism by activists favoring freedom of expression on the Net. David Banisar, staff counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the survey only validates the necessity of the First Amendment.
"We have to make sure the individual is protected from being tyrannized by a majority of people who are scared into something by mass hysteria," Banisar said.
Banisar also questioned the scientific validity of the survey, though he said he had not reviewed the survey's methodology. Researcher Nuessle conceded that the survey only briefly touched on censorship and did not "take on the issue in depth."
Government regulation of Net content is an issue that has spilled from the glossy covers of US newsmagazines into Congress, more than 20 state legislatures, and federal courts. The best known legislative effort is the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which seeks to clamp a ban on indecent Net speech. The US Supreme Court is reviewing the law, which drew an appeal from a wide coalition of civil liberties group. A decision is expected by early July.
In other findings, the survey:
Said Americans are concerned about their own privacy and the security of transactions over the Internet. Slightly more than 84 percent of respondents said they worry about unauthorized access to their personal and financial data on the Internet.
Said 93 percent of those calling themselves "computer users" said they are concerned about security on the Internet, as did 92 percent of people who have Internet access in their home.
The survey, which has a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, was conducted among 1,012 people across the United States between 16-20 April. The survey addressed a broad range of questions regarding the Internet - such as the size and scope of the user population - much of which Chilton plans to publish Wednesday, Nuessle said. She said Chilton conducted the survey after hearing so many different contradictory reports about Internet use patterns.
