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CHAPTER ONE
What Are the
Origins of
the Online
Pornography
Controversy?
T
he history of the controversy over online pornography can be
traced back to computer hobbyists in the 1970s and 1980s,
who traded pornography on the electronic bulletin board sys-
tems (BBSs) that predated the World Wide Web. When personal
computers became more affordable in the mid-1990s, a national
controversy erupted over how to protect children from accessing
online pornography—and perhaps falling prey to sexual preda-
tors online. As freedom of speech supporters battled against anti-
pornography activists in the courts, the online pornography in-
dustry exploded. As it grew, it advanced cutting-edge technologies
like e-commerce and streaming media—technologies that are now
central features of modern society.
Before the World Wide Web
Online pornography existed before the World Wide Web, which
was not made available to the public until 1993—a date most
use to mark the beginning of the modern Internet. Before 1993
