Russian blogs on uprise on the eve of presidential elections
February 20, 2008
The Russian blogs are seemingly trying to outplay mainstream media, by harshly criticizing the main Presidential candidate, Medvedev, AP reports, quoted by editorandpublisher.com.
“The postings by Web commentators, professionals and amateurs alike,” the website reads, “are sometimes barbed, frequently satirical and always unfiltered — a marked contrast to most of Russia’s major media, where many reporters, editors and producers are wary of angering the Kremlin.”
Yet there are alleged and real limitations to Russia’s blogosphere watchdog effort. “There are also allegations the Kremlin has organized teams of its own bloggers to attack or rebut critics of the government through Web postings.” The natural limitation is access to Internet, which is scarce and slow, oftentimes.
Picture: Flickr
Zoom in next door even on vacation, using Google maps
February 20, 2008
Google’s expansion of its successful Maps program to searchable street views brought about Fred Stutzman’s reaction on his Unit Structures blog, where he outlines the main pros and cons of the new development.
“First and foremost, the streetview maps are really interesting,” Mr. Stutzman writes. “The technology and integration is very cool, and the maps are useful. […] Please don’t accuse me of not appreciating the maps.”
The author articulates several issues, tackling particularly the issues of privacy and its technology-driven expanding nature. Mr. Stutzman relates to the “living publicly” concept. In the context, he points out the short-hand that the new Google Maps feature provides for even a “non-stalker type” to see one’s place of living.
“With streetview, Google has gained significant agency in your offline identity,” the author writes. “Your house is now searchable by anyone; others may peer into your windows, zoom in and out, and explore your house from multiple perspectives. Is this simply another tradeoff we’ll make so we can gawk at the houses of others? And to put it more bluntly, has Google gone mad with power?”
Picture: Unit Structures
Censorship of online whistle-blowing ignites outrage
February 20, 2008
Following a Californian court decision a Swiss bank, Bank Julius Baer, obtained a restrictive order against Wikileaks, a whistle-blower site, reported various news agencies and blogs. The move had caused a massive outcry in the blogosphere and among free speech rights defenders.
“Although other versions of the site can still be accessed via mirror versions in India, Belgium and Christmas Island, the ruling has caused a wave of outrage around the world,” writes Antony Loewenstein on his blog. “The owners of the site remain defiant.”
The author digs out a quote, cited by Wired: “Julie Turner, a Californian attorney in California who has previously represented Wikileaks, told Wired that: “It’s like saying that Time magazine published one page of sensitive material so (someone can) seize the entire magazine and put a lock on their presses.”
Recently Mr. Loewenstein sees an alarming number of internet censorship cases. “The last few years have seen a steadily growing number of cases featuring wealthy litigants threatening, and often succeeding, against owners of websites that publish uncomfortable truths. Exiled Iranian blogger Hoder is a recent example.”
Nate Anderson writes on Arstechnica blog that “the restraining order against Wikileaks is temporary, and in the order Judge Jeffrey White notes that the group can fight the block during a February 29 hearing. Wikileaks says that it has several lawyers in San Francisco willing to work pro bono on the case.”
Picture: Flickr
Moroccan Facebook user faces prison for fake royalty profile
February 19, 2008
Today, February 19, many Moroccan bloggers are on strike, protesting against the imprisonment of a Moroccon Facebook user who created a fake profile.
Sami Ben Gharbia writes on a Global Voices Online blog about a case of imprisonment of an IT engineer who created a fake Facebook profile of a Morocco royalty, Prince Moulay Rachid.
Fouad Mourtada confessed he created the fake profile as a joke, following the example of many other Facebook users who create fake accounts of celebrities.
According to the blog, “Fouad Mourtada could face five years in prison “for having done what thousands of people throughout the world do everyday: Create a profile of a celebrity or a star on Facebook,” his lawyer Ali Ammar said, adding: “This is a cultural problem. This is the first time that a Moroccan poses as a very important personality on the Internet (…) This is already a common practice in Europe and the United States.”
“This frivolous gesture earned him a terrifying response from the Moroccan state, as he tells in his own words on a website set up by his family,” writes eatbees on a Talking Points Memo blog. “Happily, Fouad has found support in the Moroccan blogosphere,” the author also writes.
Picture: Global Voices Online
Pirate Bay tests limits of copyright laws
February 3, 2008
So, what counts as breach of copyright laws? Pirate Bay founders face two years in jail for “conspiracy to break copyright law and being an accessory,” The Age reports.
Pirate Bay says “since no copyrighted material is stored on Pirate Bay’s servers and no exchange of files actually takes place there, they cannot be held responsible for what material is being exchanged.”
Some bloggers call the website “the world’s most notorious BitTorrent tracking site.”
Ars Technica dug out claims that the information-must-be-free company operated solely out of mercantile purposes. “The profiteers behind The Pirate Bay have no interest in free speech, and they are not running The Pirate Bay because they love music and films,” said Ludvig Werner, chairman of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. “They are totally mercenary and are driven by the desire for personal wealth.”
According to Ars Technica, Peter Sunde of Pirate Bay, said “the site’s high bandwidth, power, and hardware costs eliminate the potential for profit. [It] may ultimately be operating at a loss.”
Picture: Flickr
UK to fight terrorism via Internet censorship
January 18, 2008
Subjected to several terrorist attacks after supporting the U.S. against Iraq and Afghanistan, the UK government wants to curb terrorists materials scattered over the Internet, reports Leo Blanco on 901am.
The only possible way is filtering Internet content. However, it is only in China that Internet policing is enforced. Other countries tried this approach but the idea did not pass because it violates free-speech laws.
According to a news report, the government is working closely with the Internet industry regarding the implementation of this plan. Britain’s Internet Service Provider Association, on the contrary, is afraid this might bring more lawsuits to the providers.
Is encryption a right?
January 16, 2008
Law enforcement officials have long been wary of the spread of encryption technologies, fearing that they could provide an impenetrable cloak for criminal activity, writes Nicholas Carr in his blog. For individuals encryption offers perhaps the only means for keeping private information private in an age of digital communication.
Carr refers to the court case where the suspect refuses to provide the pasword to the encrypted data on his computer that might be evidence and quotes arguments for privacy and for safety, and poses a question about how to balance privacy and civil liberties against the government’s responsibility to protect the public.
Sony BMG lifts digital restrictions for low-sale artists
January 5, 2008
Sony BMG decided to sell part of its online music collection on DRM-free basis, following the example of the other two major entertainment companies, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group, writes 901am.com.
DRM has been a controversial concept over the last years, and some critics argue it imposes restrictions on the usage of creative media that go beyond the current legal framework. Some also say it impedes competitiveness.
Sony BMG decided to lift the DRM restriction for artists who sell less than 100,000 copies, which slightly diminishes the music lovers’ excitement. Yet, the decision is subject to a 6-month trial period, and the conclusions may well provide for a wider DRM-free music distribution.
Picture: 901am.com
Your money can buy even free culture. Wikipedia approach.
December 12, 2007
The Fieryangel wonders on the Wikipedia Review blog about the nature of “free” in Wikipedia business. He kicks off from the recently launched Wikipedia fundraising drive that calls to give us money and we’ll give you “free” information.
The Fieryangel’s understanding of the word seems to oscillate between the notion of “free” as in “freedom” and “free” as in “beer.” The two give him the headache of filtering out which stage of “free” was used by Wikipedia in their fundraising ploy.
Wikipedia builds on the noble notion of “information wants to be free” and the paraphrased “an artist needs audience,” while going after a mere art-stealing profit-seeking pursuit, the author implies.
“If all of this is about ‘free’ as in ‘freedom,’” the Fieryangel wonders, “then wouldn’t it be better to support those artists, writers, musicians and others by attending concerts/buying artwork/buying books, instead of creating the circumstances which allow their work to be stolen in a misguided effort to help ‘poor children in Africa’?”
Picture: Flickr
Young warned over social websites
November 25, 2007
A British watchdog warns young people of potentially serious threats to their careers and personal lives when leaving unsafe electronic footprints, BBC reports. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) finds in a survey that a vast majority of young people would want some personal data removed from the web, before some prospective universities or employers performed a web search on them. “The commission said the young needed to be aware of their electronic footprint. The ICO also said young people could be putting themselves at risk of identity fraud because of the material they post on social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.” The study shows many users of Facebook hardly know all the people who they form a friends’ network with. It would be a piece of cake for either a malicious internet user, or an employer or university, highly interested in one’s personal records, to simply pick up the information from a social network.