Could be an April Fool's joke on the part of India-based Tech2.com, but the site reports that India's Home Affairs Ministry is considering banning overseas-based social-networking sites and requiring domestic ones to "maintain records of all user activity including 'change of status, profile picture, favorite sitcoms etc.'." Here's the part that's suspicious in comedic terms: "Intelligence … [Read more...] about India to ban SNS? April Fool’s, maybe
Law & Policy
‘Sex offender label problematic’
That's the view of former FBI agent Ken Lanning, WAAY TV in Huntsville, Ala., reports. "Lanning spent 35 years as a special agent for the FBI. He now trains law enforcement officials across the United States on how to investigate allegations of sexual abuse. But even though he's seen and investigated some of the worst cases in the country, he doesn't like the title of sexual predator." Lanning … [Read more...] about ‘Sex offender label problematic’
Social Web for good, bad
There are so many good things about social-networking, from the social activism it supports to the lives saved to the way far-flung friends can stay in touch. But there's a definite darkside, and JuicyCampus is a good example of a corner of it, reports my ConnectSafely.org co-director Larry Magid in the San Jose Mercury News. "The site, which was reportedly founded by a 1995 Duke graduate, … [Read more...] about Social Web for good, bad
Middle-schoolers arrested for nude photos
Four sixth- and seventh-graders in Alabama were arrested for taking and sending nude photos of themselves with their cellphones. The two boys and two girls "were charged with possession of material harmful to minors, a misdemeanor," the Birmingham (Ala.) Press-Register reports, adding that "the law was intended to prevent copies of hardcore pornography from sitting on the same shelves as Sports … [Read more...] about Middle-schoolers arrested for nude photos
Participatory justice
NPR aired a story about a shop owner whose security cam recorded a thief scooping up and making off with a couple of watches. "After filing a police report, [the retailer] handed out fliers with the suspects' pictures and posted the surveillance tape on YouTube." Whether the motive is public humiliation or catching the thief, the Internet is increasingly being used to "right" wrongs. To law … [Read more...] about Participatory justice