The internet is a marvel of the twentieth century and is an invention that has changed the world. The internet brings the whole world into our living rooms by way of the personal computer. The Internet is a valuable resource in gathering information for research or simply for just general knowledge. We as a people are able to keep in touch with distant relatives and find lost school friends with just a click of the mouse. The internet for all its wonders has a dark side, a seedy underbelly that is rarely spoken of in polite company. Internet pornography (porn) is a problem that must be dealt with at the highest levels of our Government. Having ease of access to hardcore pornographic material is dangerous for children, is addictive, and increases the amount of sexual crimes that happen in the US. Some people say “I am an adult and I can make my own choices concerning Internet Pornography. The men and women who make the movies are adults, they can choose to be in the movies or not.” Voluntary participation in Porn doesn’t always happen; many men and women are forced into the industry to fulfill the growing demand that the internet has placed on the Porn industry. An example of this is Linda Lovelace; she was the first real Porn star. In 1972, she made a movie called Deep Throat and it was a huge success. Deep Throat was shown in legitimate theaters and it made Linda Lovelace a star. The reality was that her husband/pimp was beating her and would threaten her with fear of death if she did not make the movie. She was forced to undergo Hypnotism in order to reduce her gag reflex and during the movie the bruises on her legs were very apparent (Grady). Linda Lovelace is just one example of somebody that was forced into the industry against their will. Pornographic images are dangerous for children to view and the internet provides easy access to graphic images. Hardcore porn is addictive and has a toxic effect on the brain (Downs). The volume of internet traffic and the amount of porn sites is growing every year. Exposure to porn frequently results in sexual illness, unplanned pregnancies and sexual addiction. Viewing graphic images for arousal can become addictive and the need to see more extreme images in order to become aroused is greater every time somebody views them. The internet gives such easy access that it can become very difficult to stop from watching them (Protectkids.com). In a CNN article from 2003, by the author Jeordan Legen, there were approximately 1.3 million porn websites. In a more recent article in 2010 by the author Jerry Ropelato there were around 4.2 million, which is a 323% increase in just 7 years, making porn one of the largest industries in the United States. Obscenity laws do not apply because the line between art and pornography is so blurred that it is tough to make the distinction between porn and art. Justice Potter Stewart said “I might not be able to define porn but I know it when I see it.” Even at the highest level of our legal system the distinction between porn and artistic free expression is undefined. There is a definite need to make clear the line between porn and art. There is a simple solution to the problem with porn on the internet; it is to ban the viewing, downloading and producing porn for use on the internet. It is necessary to make the offenses a criminal act that carries jail time and financial penalties. It is also important to make clear the definition of sexual material as obscene and not art. In countries like Saudi Arabia, there are web filters that restrict the viewing of pornographic material; also being in possession of pornographic images is a criminal offense. Banning internet porn will result in preventing the ease in which children can view pornographic images. It will reduce the amount of cases of sexual addiction and other sexual illnesses. It will also help protect the men, women and children who are being exploited by engaging in the making of porn. By reducing the on-line demand the industry will get smaller and it will mean that people who want to make the movies will and won’t be forced into it. If we do not ban porn on the internet, the amount of adult web sites will grow and competition between these sites will get more extreme. It will eventually make it unsafe for kids to go on the web even when supervised. A child can be on a perfectly safe site and with an accidental click be taken to a site that may damage a child with the viewing of explicit material. Sexual addiction and sexual crimes will also continue to rise. Rapist and child molesters report having viewed on-line porn before perpetrating their crimes (protectkids.com). If a ban does happen parents will not have to worry about graphic images that their kids might see. It will be safer to allow your children to enjoy the internet without the fear of being bombarded with explicit and graphic images of people engaging in sex. Someday we will be able to rid the global internet of graphic and dehumanizing images. The dangers of porn are real and allowing those images to be seen on the Internet only gives ease of access to them. Cyberporn (internet porn) is harmful to children, it is addictive and internet traffic at these sites is continuing to rise. We must put a stop to it now before it becomes worse. If we stand together on this issue we can rid the web of graphic and hardcore porn that is a danger to all of us.