Charles Platt

In the following viewpoint, Charles Platt claims that hate speech on the Internet is not the problem that many anti- hate groups portray it as. In fact, he argues that most people who use the Internet are uninterested in physical differences such as ethnicity or nationality. Platt maintains that hate speech on the Internet will never be regulated, since it is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Charles Platt is a contributing writer to Wired magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. Why might some racist newsgroups serve a useful purpose, according to Platt?
2. In Platt’s opinion, how many of the 10,000 Usenet groups in existence have a racist agenda?
3. What kind of speech is not protected under the First Amendment, according to Scott Charney"

Rabbi Marvin Hier...