Tags: | tech news | yahoo | privacy | wireless | chicago |

2007-08-29 13:38

Wednesday Tech News Roundup #2

Yahoo: Torture Case Has No Place in American Courts

This article discusses a legal issue concerning Yahoo's Chinese branch giving the Chinese government information on one of their users that eventually led to his arrest, torture, and imprisonment. Yahoo says that any U.S. laws being cited by human rights workers do not apply to this case, as this is a Chinese legal matter only. While more in the range of legal news rather than tech news, I found this article fascinating for many reasons. One, I am once again reminded of the incredibly oppressive nature of the Chinese government, even when it comes to using the Internet, which is something I take for granted every day of my life. I cannot imagine a life where my government could swoop down at any second and throw me in prison for voicing my opinions, or even just information about an event, on the Internet. I feel great compassion and admiration for the people of China who, despite their government's policies, stand up and write what they want, and use the Internet how it is intended to be used. I also am fascinated at Yahoo's actions, and their swift decision to hand over any information that the Chinese government wants. I know that I do not know all of the aspects in this case, but it seems to me that Yahoo, hiding behind Chinese law, is compromising the privacy of it's users unnecessarily and all too willingly, just to gain the favor of the Chinese government. I could be way off base, but I guess I would hope that a modern technological company would value the privacy of it's users more, no matter which country they live in or what draconian laws operate over their non-digital lives. Lastly, I am probably overly fascinated with laws that govern the Internet and the digital age, because I have grown up in and lived in an era where the Internet was still like the wild west, without many laws, and without many law makers caring enough to worry about it. As it is now, this entire mindset is in flux, and it is interesting to see how rules, regulations, and laws develop on this worldwide platform of information and commerce. If you read this article, I would love to hear what you think about these issues.

Chicago scraps city Wi-Fi plan

Chicago is shelving their plans to offer city-wide wireless Internet, citing costs and a lack of demand. This article shows that sometimes technology takes a step backwards instead of always moving forward, especially when large amounts of money are involved. It seems that despite the benefits of city-wide Internet for Chicago, they haven't figured out a fiscally reasonable way to implement the project. I am disappointed to hear about this, especially since I so recently posted about my city starting their own wifi-blanketing plan. While I am sure the problems encountered in Chicago won't necessarily be repeated across the country, this could exemplify a problem with wifi project in general, and it may not be the last we hear about major cities backing out of plans to implement overall wireless Internet. Part of the reason my city was able to easily start their project is, a local ISP volunteered to take on the project, and they are now the ones benefiting financially from the move, as they charge for access. I will have to keep my eyes open for more news about wireless initiatives, especially since companies like Google have announced plans for major city wifi - we'll see how it turns out in the next couple of years; we may end up having to wait quite a while before this type of thing gets out of planning and into actual implementation.

- Kevin
Kevin (at) Upcsite (dot) Net

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