Expression & Censorship

What is Google?

Google is many things. To some its a symbol of the success of the dotcom ideal. To others it has become an activity online (to google), and to others it is almost synonmous with our experience of the Web and maybe the Internet since most people no longer differentiate these two things.

The position of Google has taken such proportions that we no longer remember the time before Google. Not many years ago the main search engine was Altavista – its still there, but it no longer commands the position it once did. Google has been moving in all manner of interesting directions. Just to menation a few: Google desktop, Gmail, Google Scholar, Google Maps and Google Earth.

Google’s position has spawned some interesting spoofs: for example Googlism – which shows what google “thinks of you, your friends or anything”. Another example is the mirror version world of elgooG. A final example is Woogle which uses the picture search to tell stories in pictures.

Even prior to this diversification there were voices being raised about the position which Google was creating for itself in the everyday online lives of users. The question, stated basically, is what happens if we become dependant upon a private company for our information? Google is not a public office but is a private company whose primary goal is not truth but profit. In this vein we have seen that Google stores vast amounts of information about its users and has acquiesced to Chinese demands to censor information to users in China.

The role of search engines is becoming an important area of research, recently Matthew Rimmer at the Law Department of the ANU has organised a public forum on Google entitled “GOOGLE – Infinite Library, Copyright Pirate, or Monopolist?” (9 December).

The audio files from the Public Forum are online so for those of us who could not make it to Australia in time we can now listen to the presentations.

Posted on by mklang

Försvara den privata äganderätten!

Välskrivet och intressant inlägg av Ulf Pettersson:

Lagen fråntar köpare rätten att använda skyddade CD, mjukvara, e-böcker och annat på de sätt de själva önskar, en självklar rättighet vid köp av andra ting. Förbudet kan inte försvaras med att köparen är informerad och har avtalat bort sin rätt.

Ulf Pettersson � Blog Archive � Försvara den privata äganderätten!

Posted on by mklang

Vietnam disagrees

Recently (17/11) the Reporters without Borders (RWB) published The 15 enemies of the Internet and other countries to watch. among the top (bottom?) 15 was Vietnam of which the article wrote:

The country closely follows the Chinese method of controlling the Internet, but though more ideologically rigid, the regime does not have the money and technology China has to do this. It has Internet police who filter out â??subversiveâ?? content and spy on cybercafés. Cyber-dissidents are thrown in prison and three have been in jail for more than three years for daring to speak out online in favour of democracy.

This article was not recieved happily by the countries on the list and now the Vietnamese news agency has written an article which argues against RWB putting Vietnamn on their list. The Vietnamese article is published by the VietNam News Agency (VNA) which is the official news service of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The “VNA is directed by the Government and is authorized to make official statements reflecting the State’s points of view on important national and international issues” (more info about VNA). The article argues against the RWB list and claims that:

The RWB made groundless and ill-intended allegations against these nations for “violating the right to freedom of speech on Internet, censoring liberal sources of news, strictly controlling Internet services.” It accused these nations of “shutting the mouth of dissidents, making troubles, repressing and even imprisoning those who expressed on the Internet opinions running counter to the Government’s policies.”

the article then goes on to describe the development of Internet services in Vietnam. Which is naturally followed by the consequences of such development.

The country’s poor management capacity and infrastructure facilities have been blamed for the Government’s inability to control inflammatory, false and libelious information and pornographic images posted by several local Internet providers. The fact has caused concern among the people. Viet Nam has also failed to introduce effective measures to prevent hostile and reactionary forces and political opportunists at home and abroad from using the Internet and on-line forums to speak ill of achievements gained by the people.

The article then moves on to meeting the actual accusations which places them on the RWB list

Like other countries, Viet Nam discourages and restricts the dissemination of information calling for subversive attempts, and puts firewalls on websites that are not suitable to the morals and fine customs of oriental people in general, and the Vietnamese people in particular.

The main motivations for censorship are the twin threats of subjecting children to pornography and terrorism. Vietnams main defence, in his article, seems to be “everyone else is doing it”:

After the Sept. 11 incident, haunted by terror threats, many Western nations have tightened control over the Internet – a move considered by some citizens to violate individual privacy. The United Nations has been calling for the establishment of a UN Internet Surveillance Agency, which will map out and implement Internet administration policies, covering the most imperative areas of the global network, namely the distribution of domain names, Internet security and crimes, spam, and the protection of individual information on the net.

Naturally the fact that other countries are behaving badly is something which the RWB is aware of even countries that did not make the list (yet) are included in the study as countries which need to be watched. Among the more interesting statements in the article is a sentence at the end “Why did RWB try to politicise a technology that has brought vigorous changes to daily life worldwide?”…Nice try – but when was technology apolitical?

Posted on by mklang

Enemies of the Internet

The Reporters Without Borders have published the 15 enemies of the Internet list. However it is equally interesting to pay attention to the countries that the Reporters Without Borders deem interesting to pay attention to.

The 15 enemies of the Internet
(in alphabetical order)

– Belarus
– Burma
– China
– Cuba
– Iran
– Libya
– The Maldives
– Nepal
– North Korea
– Saudi Arabia
– Syria
– Tunisia
– Turkmenistan
– Uzbekistan
– Vietnam

Countries to watch (in alphabetical order)
– Bahrain
– Egypt
– European Union
– Kazakhstan
– Malaysia
– Singapore
– South Korea
– Thailand
– United States
– Zimbabwe

Reporters sans fronti̬res РWSIS

Take a look at their “Internet Under Surveillance” report 2004

Also, if you have missed it, check out their “Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents”

Posted on by mklang

Simpsons in Russia

In Russia the Simpsons cartoon has given a hard-core adults-only rating. The show is being blamed for corrupting Russian schoolchildren and degrading family values.

The Russian State Duma have voted (417-1) to limit the cult of violence and cruelty on television. This legislation will have serious effects on the Simpsons. One MP said, “The experts gave just the result we feared. They found The Simpsons were crammed with violent and aggressive episodes. These cartoons also introduce antagonism between children and parents.” Did they need to hire an expert to find out that the Simpsons include violence???

Law & Internet Cultures

The Russian television channels are faced with a choice: self-regulation or censorship.
The vote asks for television companies to more strictly adhere to a voluntary code of conduct signed in June by the chief executives of six leading national channels to avoid promoting a “cult of violence and cruelty”. The First Deputy Speaker Lyubov Sliska said it was a “yellow card” for the channels (was this an intended pun we ask?)

Considering the troubles in Russian with crime (organised or not), poverty and terrorism you might think that the Simpsons was the least of their worries.

The Simpsons Channel

Posted on by mklang

New Swedish NGO

The new Swedish NGO has now established its first web presence. http://www.libre.se/.

The “Association for free culture and software” (Föreningen Fri Kultur och Programvara) is called Libre for short and will be active in four areas Infrastructure, Culture, Access & Digital Rights. Since the main focus of the NGO is to bring a major part of an international discussion into the Swedish domain the site is in Swedish.

Posted on by mklang

Vägval Vänster & Upphovsrätt

Vägval Vänster har lagt upp information om mötet nu på onsdag (imorgon).
http://www.vagvalvanster.se/arkiv.asp?id=666

Upphovsrättsfrågan som politik och kulturuttryck Varför är upphovsrätten så omdiskuterad? Varför är så många intresserade av begrepp som copyleft, fildelning, GNU-licenser och open source? På onsdagen den 5 oktober diskuteras en av vår tids största politiska stridsfrågor och mest tidstypiska kulturuttryck.

Posted on by mklang

European Culture Online

The European Commission today unveiled its strategy to make Europe?s written and audiovisual heritage available on the Internet. Turning Europe?s historic and cultural heritage into digital content will make it usable for European citizens for their studies, work or leisure and will give innovators, artists and entrepreneurs the raw material that they need. The Commission proposes a concerted drive by EU Member States to digitise, preserve, and make this heritage available to all. It presents a first set of actions at European level and invites comments on a series of issues in an online consultation (deadline for replies 20 January 2006). The replies will feed into a proposal for a Recommendation on digitisation and digital preservation, to be presented in June 2006.

EUROPA – Rapid – Press Releases

Posted on by mklang

Privacy, GPS & Children

After taking a short look at some of the products available on the market (and it is a growing market, I did a similar small survey about a year ago) it is obvious that GPS surveillance of children (but obviously not only children) is only going to grow. Privacy & childrens rights be damned this fear of the terrible has led to “paranoid parenting” (Furedi 2001).

Here are some of the products and services available for parents and other amateur Big Brothers:

ULocate http://www.ulocate.com/
uLocate Communications is a leading provider of wireless location-based services (LBS) that leverage an individual’s location to deliver customized, actionable information:
â?¢ last known locations
â?¢ maps
â?¢ directions
â?¢ location-based alerts
â?¢ proximity-based points of interest

Wherify Wireless http://www.wherifywireless.com/
The GPS Wheriphone: Through the convergence of Global Positioning System (GPS) and digital wireless technology – along with Wherify’s patented location technologies – the GPS Locator Phone offers parents, family members and business people peace of mind knowing they can locate loved ones or valuable property, 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The slim, small and lightweight GPS Locator Phone can fit almost anywhereâ?¦from a backpack to a purse to a coat pocket to the family car.

Teen Arrive Alive http://www.teenarrivealive.com/
Features of the Teen Arrive Alive GPS service:
â?¢ Locations are updated every 2minutes.
â?¢ 7 days of location history is available.
â?¢ Location data can be downloaded to your computer.
â?¢ Our service provides physical address, speed, and heading for each location with a corresponding data point plotted on a map. See the route your teen has taken each day.
â?¢ Our patent-pending locator hotline allows parents to locate their teen anytime, from anywhere in the world from any phone.
â?¢ Location data is available in real time, 24 hours a day, everyday.
â?¢ You have unlimited access to location information with no additional fees or charges.
â?¢ Our service is as mobile as your teen. We locate the phone, not the car.
â?¢ The java application on the phone allows the teen to get their physical address and a corresponding street map directly on the phone – useful if they get lost.
â?¢ Choose from 5 different reports to analyze travel data.

DriveDiagnostics http://www.drivediagnostics.com/
Parents can receive:
â?¢ Recieve real time warnings when their child drives aggressively or dangerously.
â?¢ Be informed of specific and recurring aggressive and dangerous maneuvers performed by their teenager.
â?¢ Recieve real time warning messages to the parent via mail, SMS or phone call
â?¢ Gain access to driver profile, guidance and advise as to how to improve the teens driving
http://www.drivediagnostics.com/site/industry.asp?subMenu=teen

GPS Kid Locator Tracker Backpack http://www.spyshops.ca/trackerbackpack.htm
â?¢ Safety: The hours before and after school is in session are when parents worry most about their childâ??s safety. The GPS Kid Locator Tracker Backpack gives them an easy way to pinpoint their childâ??s location at any time.
â?¢ Convenience: The rechargeable battery operates for up to one week between battery recharges. Without having to remove the battery pack from the backpack, simply plug it into any outlet to recharge.
â?¢ Emergency Help: The GPS Kid Locator Tracker Backpack features an emergency call button that can be used to summon help or directly alert a parent to a childâ??s specific location. The child could also use the emergency call button to alert a parent should he or she become lost.
â?¢ GeoFence: Parents can easily construct a GeoFence online using the patented LOBOâ?¢ mapping software. A GeoFence is a defined are in which a parent can be alerted if the child is not inside the area or goes beyond a predefined area.
â?¢ Easy to Use: The GPS Kid Locator Tracker Backpack is self-contained and ready to use. Programming is done remotely online anytime anywhere. Our secure web site transmits programming instructions to the unit implementing them immediately.

Sentinel Watch (30 June 2004) – This may turn out to be vaporware since I have been unable to find updated information.
CPS and Xion collaborate on development of GSM based communications and security device
The new Sentinel Watch is based on a tri-band GSM engine and consistently delivers 100m accuracy in urban, suburban and rural areas. In addition the Watch can be tracked and located indoors and metal framed buildings. The watch also offers:
â?¢ parent/child communication via SMS/MMS
â?¢ a warning for parents if the child moves outside a designated or defined area
â?¢ a panic button which sends an immediate alert message to the parent
â?¢ security clasp and security strap the alert the parent when the watch is removed without authorisation
â?¢ gaming facilities
http://www.cursor-system.com/cps/news_detail.asp?ID=119

and finally the silliest of the lot…
SmartWear Technologies plans to launch a line of pajamas embedded with RFID tags (http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=165701942).

Posted on by mklang