Are Facebook Posts Protected Speech?

A student of Mesa Verde Highschool in California was suspended for calling a teacher on Facebook, a “fat ass who should stop eating fast food, and is a douche bag.” The comment was posted after the kid received an unusually large amount of homework and was done on his home computer after school hours. In a similar incident, an employee was fired for making derogatory remarks about a supervisor in a Facebook status update. In both cases, though the speech was not threatening, it was rude and offensive. The American Civil Liberties Union is now claiming that these people’s free speech rights were violated.

The internet has created a new area where traditional boundaries do not apply. If the student had made that remark during class, it would be clear that the school was right in disciplining him. However, the fact that it was made at home and on his own time, that now blurs the limits of the disciplining power of the school. As we’ve learned in ICT class, how the freedom of speech is to be protected and regulated should be a function of technology, which is why I somehow agree with the ACLU. Today’s generation have a new medium of expression, that is, through social networking sites. It’s the new form of conversing among friends, and we should be free to vent to our friends. I do think that it is protected speech, it’s just that I believe manners are also important which is why we shouldn’t call people names out “in public.”

*to read the article, go to http://mashable.com/2011/02/01/facebook-free-speech-high-school/

Prepaid Card Registration

Since the January 25 bus explosion incident, there have been moves for the registration of prepaid Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) cards. According to police investigators, the bomb used to blast the north-bound Newman Goldliner in EDSA bus was cellphone activated, the SIM card in the phone prepaid.

Prepaid SIM card registration would have been feasible had the idea been thought of, say, twelve years ago, when each prepaid SIM card cost Php1,000. Materials used for SIM cards were too expensive. Thus, prepaid SIM cards were not mass produced.

Now, there are more SIM cards in the Philippines than human beings! Prices of silicon and other impurities used to make that gold plated chip are now insanely cheap, so prepaid SIM cards are mass produced. A single SIM card distributor in Divisoria can sell thousands of SIM cards in one transaction.

SIM cards can be as low as Php10. And they don't have to be from Smart or Globe to be effective bomb activators. With this cheap price, prepaid SIM cards are virtually disposable. A bomber can just throw away every SIM card he uses for every bomb he activates.

There are too many prepaid SIM cards available in the market, and registering each one of them would entail useless costs. Perhaps the only way to prevent use of prepaid SIM cards to activate bombs is to eradicate prepaid SIM card usage entirely, ordering telecommunications company to deactivate all prepaid accounts. People would have to apply for postpaid accounts, now with Php300 plans. This, of course, would cause uproar if not an uprising.

The point is, prepaid SIM card registration is not the solution. We have to do better than that.

Kate Lomoljo
Entry No. 11

Stop ICT If You Can

The world, especially the technology community, was taken aback when Egypt shut down its Internet and mobile phone access barely a week ago. An evident concern was the country’s capability to promptly recover after it resolved to cut its most critical link on world communication and commerce.

Egypt justified its move by citing widespread civil unrest. Apparently, the Egyptian government chose to wipe itself off the world’s online maps over considering its vast potential loss in terms of credibility with the Internet community and the world economy.

The end was yet to justify the means.

But these speculations need to soon enough move over because Egypt is back online, with net access quickly returning to normal. Connectivity has been recently restored including 3G mobile networks and BlackBerry services. Facebook and Twitter are now also available and the four major Egyptian internet service providers are back in business.

It is of note that even before the government ordered the reinstatement of Internet and mobile phone access, alternative services came forth, offering digital information to propagate, most famous of which is speak2tweet by Google, Twitter and SayNow. This allowed Twitter updates to be dictated by voicemail messages, effectively bypassing Internet closure through telephone calls.

And even if it is still unclear to what extent the offline period will prove to have affected the Egyptian economy, one thing was made clear--technology still found its way around the authoritarian blockade.

Indeed, ICT has become invincible.

Image Source: http://www.fanoos.com/technology/internet_in_egypt_cut_off_down_disrupted.html

News Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12346929; http://www.slashgear.com/egypt-back-online-internet-3g-blackberry-reported-working-02129921/; http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-01-29/business/27090014_1_internet-access-egyptian-people-facebook-and-twitter  

- Phebean Belle A. Ramos, entry #11

Block-outs and Black-outs

According to an Inquirer article last week, China has blocked the word “Egypt” from the country’s popular twitter-like service, Sina microblogging, which has more than 50 million users. Typing the word would result in the message: “According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown.”[1]

On the other hand, on complete blackout, Egyptians find new ways to go online. An activist from the group We Rebuild twitted “When countries block, we evolve.” "Basically, there are three ways of getting information out right now -- get access to the Noor ISP (which has about 8 percent of the market), use a land line to call someone, or use dial-up," Jillian York, a researcher with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said via e-mail. There are people who have posted instructions about how others can use their mobile phones as dial-up modems, while others are using fax machines to get information into Egypt about possible ways to communicate. We Rebuild has also set up an IRC for people who can help with ham radio transmission from Egypt and so far they’ve picked up Morse codes, but it is possible that people in Egypt are transmitting over shorter-range frequencies according to Allen Pitts (spokesman for the National Association for Amateur Radio).[2]

Whether its to ensure nationals will not get ideas from outside, or that nationals do not organize and let out ideas to the outside, governments may and already have stretched their regulating arm to censor or ban internet access in an effort to stunt communication. But with the ever-developing technologies, creative minds of many, and straight-out pure resilience, people will always find ways to communicate and broadcast to the world. And during these times of unrest in Egypt, I pray for the Egyptians that their country may return to peace.

Ma. Anna Katrina C. Eustaquio, Blog Entry #11

Image from: http://truthorigins.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/internet-censorship.jpg

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[1] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20110129-317311/China-blocks-Egypt-on-top-Twitter-like-service

[2] For the whole story, see: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9207078/Without_Internet_Egyptians_find_new_ways_to_get_online

(#11) Green

The Iloilo City Hall will be the country’s first environmentally friendly government building. The P630M budget for its construction to be completed on August this year is seen as a wise investment for the following reasons:

1. The Solar Powered Airconditioning System will lessen the city hall’s electricity fees in the long run.
2. The Rooftop Garden will help keep the building cool to minimize the need for energy to power the airconditioners.
3. The Rain Harvesting Area will supply water to the building’s bathrooms, garden and for other purposes.

I think it's cool. This is a good example of using state-of-the-art technology to help the environment, and the steep price to be paid for such policy.

Ma. Luisa Manalaysay
Entry # 11


Source: http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2011/jan/13/iloilo-city-launch-philippines-first-green-govt-bu/

Weathering Heights

Image credit: visitpinas.com

Personally I enjoy our weather these days. The sun is there, but it neither scorches your skin nor makes you sweat. I especially love the cool breeze while walking around the UP Campus (not to mention come nightfall). I almost wished that it will always be like this the whole year round, instead of the hot and humid equatorial climate we normally experience.

But when I arrived at our dorm, reality came back too soon. I was struck by the news I just caught on TV: the Philippines come summertime will be rainy. That's odd, I thought. Then, a barrage of force majeure went on: Nonstop precipitation pour in the Caraga region. Flash floods have displaced already 2M in Mindanao--and left four dead so far. The thing is, those torrential rains have shown no sign of abating. Strange weather indeed.

How can we solve this? I believe technology, including ICT, must play a big role. Satellites and high-powered sensors must be able to predict the behavior of environmental phenomena like rains and typhoons. Weather management bureaus around the world must do constant surveillance and correspondence. Our PAGASA personnel must be trained and equipped with the capability to deal with the demands of the apparently uncontrollable changing climate. In short, environmental protection must be a top priority of the government. The nation's coffers will not go to waste if it means saving people's lives and property (rather than going to 'pabaons' for military top brass).

Image credit: inquirer.net

My momentary enjoyment of Manila weather was dampened by a concern for our countrymen suffering such unforgiving forces of nature. The height of this challenge--the bane of climate change--can only be overcome by mustering enough political will and a critical mass of support from everyone, combined with what technology can offer. Come to realize, natural calamities now pose a potent threat to our country's health and survival. Act now we must.

Richmund C. Sta. Lucia, Post #11

Sources:

1. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20110118-315057/Strange-weather-PAGASA

2. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20110201-317865/Floods-force-150000-out-of-homes

BANK TERMINALS

My face must have betrayed my confusion and panic. The guard approached me, “Sir, sa taas po.” Mental headslap! I didn’t see the stairs. I climbed the stairs, berating myself for not noticing in the first place. As I reached the top, I searched, and more panic. There were no paper forms! Then an employee approached me, “Sir, deposit po?” and showed me to the terminals. Internal sigh of relief --- or I hope it was internal.

This was my first time in BPI SM North. The tellers are on the second floor, and there are no more paper forms. Instead, they have installed 3 touch screen terminals --- 2 for ordinary clients and 1 for preferred clients --- where you enter the transaction type, account number, and amount you want to deposit or pay or whatever. Then the terminal will print your queue number on a small strip of paper. The queue board will then tell you which teller you’re supposed to go to.

My immediate concern was this system might make for longer lines because not all are computer literate, even if the terminals are touch screen and the interface was pretty straightforward. Quite the opposite, said the teller when I raised my concern. She said that the line goes faster because the tellers don’t have to type the information anymore. All they have to do is confirm what’s reflected on the screen. “Yes, that’s right” and print. Voila, my transaction is finished.

It would sure be nice if transactions at NSO, SSS, and all the other government pila-agencies would be as smooth as my most enjoyable banking experience at BPI. This would make for cleaner, greener and more efficient agencies. Imagine the reams of paper, and ultimately, trees, that would be saved. Imagine also all the time and energy that the thousands of people who visit these agencies everyday could put to better use --- like, I don’t know… work --- which translates to time and energy that could be used to better the business, the industry, and the country.


Christopher John P. Lao
Entry # 11