Google: Internet freedom is declining - 1 views
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Saida K on 23 Sep 10The Government censorship has expanded outside of China.
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Saida K on 23 Sep 10This news item meets the requirements for ITGS because it includes all strands of the ITGS Triangle: Social/Ethical Issues, Application to Specific Scenarios and IT Systems. The Social and Ethical issue includes security, the digital divided and equality of access and surveillance.The government has decided to block certain videos from youtube, or articles from other websites regarding the negativity of the country. In other words, citizens and residents of that country won't be allowed to access "negative news" about the country they're currently living in. The digital divide and equality of access is relevant in this case because many other countries can see what different countries have blocked, meaning that for example, a person living in Germany that was not allowed to access information over "neo-Nazi content" may find information that was banned in Thailand about "the Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, with feet near his head." Surveillance also is considered a social impact because the government is monitoring the actions of others, in terms of what they're posting online. The application to specific scenarios would be politics and government since the government is controlling the use of information through censorship. In all, the article explains what the government has controlled over the internet in company with Google, which includes Blogger, YouTube, AdWords, Google Maps and others. But the fact that the government is isolating the amount of information does not suffice the statement that people have the right to have their internet freedom.
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Mohammad A on 24 Sep 10This is really interesting! I didn't know about this digital censorship around the world. I knew about how most information is censored in different places in the world, but not in regards to places such as Germany. There are various methods of censorship and more ways than one of being able to get past them; one example is the use of proxies. Again this strikes me as something absurd. I have never heard of digital censorship in a country such as Germany, where there are so many sources for access to data. Why the government would ban such information I still cannot fathom, but the impacts that this arouses are serious, especially in regards to surveillance and the digital divide and equality of access. But ultimately, this was a very captivating post.