The rapid advance in Internet and cellphone technology coupled with its deep market penetration has given wings to the cliché, we live in interesting times. The technology exposes a cellphone user’s position within feet relative to the nearest cell tower. Does the average citizen understand that by acquiring the cellphone there is a quid pro quo to be considered? John Citizen enjoys the convenience of being connected but a blip appears on Big Brother’s radar.
Recently in the United Kingdom, the largest search engine Google is alleged to have been caught with its hand in the cookie jar. In a widely reported story in the Mail Online…the search engine giant mapped every wireless internet connection in the country and now uses the data to make money. Google staff in specially adapted cars collected the signals from inside residents’ homes as they toured the country for the company’s Street View project. They were able to record the location of every router and wireless network without telling anyone because wi-fi signals spill out from inside homes on to the street.
The implication for John Citizen is explained…if someone is walking down the street carrying a mobile phone, software inside the phone can pinpoint the user’s location by detecting nearby wi-fi networks and triangulating the position using Google’s records. The alleged mapping of routers and wireless networks owned by private citizens by Google means the blip on Big Brother’s radar can become even more accurate in locating John Citizen when operating a mobile handset. It seems John Citizen is prepared to trade privacy to own the ubiquitous cellphone.
To further emphasize the pace at which the world is moving UK lawmakers announced last week that new libel laws should hit the books by next year. Justice Minister Lord McNally came during a Lords debate on a Private Member’s Bill. He said: ‘We need investigative journalism and scientific research to be able to flourish without fear of unfounded, lengthy and costly defamation and libel cases. We want to focus on ensuring a right and a fair balance is struck between freedom of expression and the protection of reputation.’ The lobby to introduce the cutting edge legislation is a response to the… rising concern among scientists, academics and publishers at restrictive decisions of British libel judges. In one recent case, a science writer found himself held to have libelled chiropractors after he wrote about ‘bogus treatments’ in a newspaper article.
It is interesting to note the decision by UK lawmakers who have been driven to recognize that freedom of impression must be safeguarded. Freedom of expression is a fundamental of a working democracy, our lawmakers who have been entrusted with the permissions to promulgate relevant laws must not lose sight of the task.
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