Group items tagged

Australian censorship laws reach a new level.

I'm not certain how this fits into the RC internet filtering, but by requiring artists to lodge a $500 application for expert appraisal to certify an image 'art' as opposed to any old image that is subject to child pornography laws, you implicity RC everything else.

I think the title says it all, really.

In almost an exact mirror of the situation in Pakistan, Bangladeshi authorities have banned Facebook and thousands have taken to the streets to protest. This is in response to the "Everyone Draw Mohammed Day" page that was set up on Facebook. One man has been arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) over the images. Images of Bangladeshi leaders were also posted to the site.

Very timely for our forthcoming privacy class. Google has been wardriving. Which makes perfect sense. Useful for business and so easy to do when they're driving by. Who owns info that we put out on the street?

Google Australia will today be sent a "please explain" letter from two local privacy organisations demanding to know why the company has been collecting personal Wi-Fi network data from Australian homes alongside the images it takes with its Street View cameras. Google has taken some heat lately about its commitment to privacy after officials from 10 governments - including New Zealand, Canada and France - wrote a letter to chief executive Eric Schmidt to express their concern over data collection for Street View and the implementation of its Buzz social networking tool.

Google speaks out on censorship and the violation of user privacy in China. Yahoo in the US agrees but its Chinese partner Alibaba Group does not. Are they afraid of a backlash from Beijing and fear for their ungoing business success? Makes me wonder how bad the quagmire in China really is...

This article discusses the potential problems managing your reputation and identity online when a person (known or unknown) decides to attack you. As the article reads: "The proliferation of blogs and Web sites can allow angry clients, jealous lovers or ruthless competitors to define a person's identity. Whether true or not, their words can have far-reaching effects" The question to ask is - how do we stop this from happening, and manage it when it does?

Copyright holders are suing Google for using images of books and other media in its search results without properly compensating anyone. This issue and lawsuit will have huge impact on public life. Where do we draw the line between who to protect, the creators or the public?

What happens when an institution that is supposed to be safe, violates your personal rights? This article discusses how a high school in Philadelphia installed software on their lap tops that would capture photos of the user of the lap top. Though the software was intended for recovery measures of stolen lap tops, it appears that the software goes beyond photos taken from the software contained images of chats, and content that the user was viewing, to the users themselves dressing., as it spies upon the user's interactions with peers. This brings to question whether or not to trust institutional technology, and whether or not they should stipulate that some software installed may violate the users right to privacy.

How YouTube has created porn sites made in it's image e.g. YouPorn, Porntube and its impact on the industry.

Since May 20, some Muslim Nations ban Facebook and You Tube after the publication of groups and videos like "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" a Facebook group that encourages users to post images of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.