Revenge porn is posting nude or sexual based pictures of a person without that person’s knowledge or approval. Many people, including famous people, have been prosecuted for this. Now Google is combating this violation.
Google is expected to honor requests that remove revenge porn pictures from it’s search engine. They already do that to websites with sensitive information like bank account information. In the coming weeks, victims can fill out a online form requesting such photos be taken down. Many many people, including former victims, tech leaders, cyber crime fighters, law professors, anti-bullying activists, lawmakers, even celebrities praise this move. They know Google is the #1 search engine in the world and biggest corporation in the world. With that power comes major influence. Google Senior VP Amit Singhal said, “But revenge porn images are intensely personal and emotionally damaging, and serve only to degrade the victim ? predominantly women.” Congresswomen Jackie Speier (D-CA) is leading the push for legislation to ban revenge porn altogether. Comedian and talk show host John Oliver will expose this topic on his HBO hit show Last Week Tonight. A University of Maryland law professor named Danielle Citron points out how damaging revenge porn can be and can wreck nearly every aspect of the victim’s life.
Computer Geeks will join in praising this action. This sort of issue is hardly new. Remember what actress/r&b star Vanessa Williams had to endure during her Miss America reign back in 1984? Now, they use the Internet and social media to spew such venom. And it’s happening more often. In the 1980s, only a handful could see these unapproved photos in obscure magazines. Today, billions can see your nude photos all over the world. It can cost you your job, your marriage/long term relationship, your family, and in some cases, people have even been driven to suicide by online shaming. Some will defend the revenge porn suspect in the name of free speech. But with free speech comes responsibility. How can anyone call the savage act of revenge porn responsible?
You’ve been on the road all day. You have the craving for a certain food. It could be Italian, Mexican, Chinese or soul. You find the perfect place to grub. But you pull up and find the place either closed for the day or out of business altogether. Computer Geeks has found out that Google has a remedy for this.
Google Maps can now inform travelers if a certain destination will be open or closed by the time the traveler arrives. With this feature, you’ll get a notice if you’re navigation toward a place that’s closed. Not only that, you’ll be told if the place will be closed by your estimated time arrival. Remember that soul food restaurant that’s only 15 minutes away? If it closes in 10 minutes, Google Maps will tell you. It’ll save the traveler lots of frustration and embarrassment. The notice pops up in the middle of your smartphone screen. If you want to be big, bad, and race there before closing time, you can select Start Navigation. If you want to do the right thing and take heed, you can hit cancel. Other updates include bug fixes and rental car reservation updates from your Gmail. This new service of Google Maps should be available through Play Store. Note the key word: should.
Before I go somewhere, I always use Google Maps to look up restaurants, bars, hotels, coffee shops, movie theaters, etc. Not only do I use Google Maps to look for places, and the ratings, I look for opening and closings. What can I say? I don’t want to get embarrassed. But not everybody is a meticulous traveler like I am. So for the more spontaneous traveler, this is perfect. And if you’re on the road just looking for a place to do whatever, this is great. I highly recommend getting this new Google Map source. How will these new features benefit you?
It’s always been a dream of Mark Zuckerburg and other Internet leaders for every nation to have online access. One nation in the Far East makes that dream a reality.
That nation is Vietnam. Internet use, whether it be mobile or home driven, has more than tripled from where it was a decade ago. One and three Vietnamese own a smartphone. The e-commerce industry in Vietnam is expected to make $4 billion this year. In 2012, it was just $700 million. Thanks to websites like Lazada.com and Hotdeal.vn, you’ll see delivery men process these online orders all day every day. And thanks to Vietnamese telecommunication services, data prices are one of the lowest in the world, at only $3 a gigabyte. People on social media grew by 41% since January 2014. That’s more than in BRICS nations Brazil, China and India. For example, since 2012, the number of Vietnamese Facebook users went from 8 million to 30 million. These changes have cultural, social and economic ramifications. Their Yan.vn music entity has gotten so popular that got popular pop artist Demi Lovato to headline a concert in Ho Chi Min city. They’ve even launched a TV soap opera on You Tube. Even Vietnam’s state owned newspapers are coming up with more controversial and racier stories to complete for mouse clicks.
I don’t have the number of Vietnamese jobs this online boom is creating. But you know it’s a lot. We here at Computer Geeks don’t know how many people are being led out of poverty thanks to this online boom. But you know it’s many. I wonder how many people are just now getting in touch with the outside world thanks to this online revolution. And I’m sure American and other major international conglomerates are taking notice. It’s my only hope this rising nation can use their new Internet power for good, and not for crime, malice or abuse. What other nations are having online revolutions?
Level 3 Communications is a multinational telecommunications company and ISP. This company is taking a unique approach of fighting the war against cyber crime.
The charge is led by Brett Wentworth, Level 3’s security director. Instead of reacting to a hack attack, he’s preventing one. He cut off data from reaching a group of Chinese servers. It’s believed these servers were involved in an active hacking. This decision wasn’t Wentworth’s alone. It was made after a decision making meeting. Many say this is a risky approach because hackers often attack legitimate machines, raising the risk of damage by turning away a business using the same servers. But in the last several years, the attacks have increased all over the cyber world with frequency and intensity. The people at Level 3 believe it’s worth the risk. And this incident hasn’t been the only one. In fact, every three weeks or so, Level 3 shuts down questionable traffic that doesn’t involve customers. If the source of this traffic is hard to discover, it intercepts traffic from large blocks of Internet addresses. One time, that meant stopping a large bunch of traffic from Hong Kong that was dubbed ‘junk’. Wentworth and other Level 3 security leaders remain unapologetic. Brett Wentworth himself said in a statement, “Sometimes you have to cut off the finger to save the body.”
If this came out five years ago, I would consider the Level 3 approach extreme. But in 2015, my question is, why aren’t more communication/Internet companies following suit? In the past year alone, billions of dollars have been lost and many lives have been destroyed due to cyber crime. All it takes is one threat and one hacker to ruin it all. I applaud Level 3 in their actions and we all need to protect ourselves from the fastest growing threat to our society today. What will it take to wake Internet companies up to this?
For many years, Re/code has been an online leader in alternative tech based news. Their leaders include seasoned journalists Walt Mossburg and Kara Swisher. Now they’re just the latest tech entity to be acquired.
Vox Media acquires Re/code under undisclosed financial terms. All we know is that this merger will be dealt in stocks. This deal is expected to give Re/code a better audience. Their audience has dwindled since ties were broken with the Wall Street Journal. This has been happening a lot lately. Digital media has been struggling. Tech conglomerates are searching for digital media outlets to booster their name and profits. In March 2015, Gigacom was forced to shut down, that is, until it was acquired by a new company called Knowingly Corp. Circa is peddling itself to larger social media sites like Twitter. But let’s get back to this Re/code situation. Since the late 2000s, Re/Code has built a popular and respected following among techies high up the ladder, even hosting conferences for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg and the late Apple founder Steve Jobs. But recently, they’ve lost their Silicon Valley competitive edge. This is where Vox comes in, though Vox didn’t talk about staff changes. Vox Media had 53.2 million new visitors in the US in April alone, and that’s not including regulars. I can see why those numbers attract Mossburg and Swisher.
No doubt about it, this merge will make Re/code a financial winner. But I’m more worried about the employment of Re/code writers. There are no changes that we know of, and I hope it stays that way. We don’t need job casualties because of this. But what about journalistic integrity? I want to believe Re/code will keep reporting their own stories their way. I hope Mossburg and Swisher will insists on this. But with past corporate buyouts, I’ve seen news media abandon their way from original reporting to the reporting the conglomerate wants. Will that happen to Re/code?
Memorial Day Weekend is a chance for us to reflect on how free we Americans are, and those who sacrificed their lives so we can be free. Some nations don’t have that. In Saudi Arabia, Christianity is illegal. In Saudi Arabia, women are forbidden to drive cars. In Saudi Arabia, political parties and unions are banned. But Saudi social media becomes a beacon of light.
Debates are happening, though they are on Twitter. Men and women are dating, though their relationships are confined to WhatsApp and Snapchat. Women are being discriminated in the workplace. But that doesn’t stop them from selling jewelry and food through Instagram. Since they’re legally banned from driving, they’re using Uber. In Saudi Arabia, businesses close five times a day for prayer. Do you need to make that coffee, fast food, or grocery run? Check your smartphone device to see which store is nearest and what the hours are. Unlike some Middle Eastern nations, Saudi Arabian cities aren’t destroyed by war. Their economy is fairly stable, so many can afford computer and smartphone devices. They have a big youthful population; the interest is there. They have access to speedy Internet connections. And the Saudi government doesn’t block social media sites. Basically, the combination of online freedom, a good economy, and strict social restrictions is a breeding ground for social media explosion.
And this should tell the authorities there people are going to do what they have to in the name of freedom. So men and women can’t court at a restaurant or mall? They can online. Two parties can’t debate the issues on Saudi TV? Political opportunity will be found online. Do you think this opportunity will eventually trickle down to the physical world?
We at Computer Geeks would like to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day. We remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and democracy. We realize freedom is never free.
