Tom Burtless Class time:11 – 11:50
KEEP THIS TO 1-3 – PAGES LONG (excluding reference page)
Author: Sara Baase
Date of Publication: 2008
Book: A Gift of Fire
Sections read: 3.4 – 3.6
1. (Knowledge)Tell three interesting elements of this chapter:
a. The McCain-Feingold Act actually detoured ordinary people from publicly expressing their views about politics.
b. Companies use lawsuits, based off what users say about them in varieties of forums and chat rooms, in order to identify these people and intimidate them.
c. AT&T agreed to follow net neutrality principles in 2007 for 2 years.
2. (Comprehension) Summarize what is being discussed within this chapter?
Within 3.4, Political Campaigning is being covered. Baase goes into details of how laws about political campaigns and contributions have had to be re-examined with the addition of such things to the internet. The FEC had been assigned to define what was deemed financially viable and beneficial to a political campaign. In 3.5, the author discusses anonymity. Baase talks about the benefits and disadvantages to allowing people to be anonymous in the internet. While it can help in situations such as hiding identity on an alcoholics anonymous forum, anonymity can be harmful if used on another message board to host and display child pornography. Section 3.6 discusses net neutrality and the deregulation of the internet. Net neutrality is the promotion that telecommunication companies must treat all information the same no matter who's connection it goes through. It promotes the idea that anyone should be allowed to access any piece of information on the internet.
3. (Application)Name a specific example or NEW solution for this type of problem/similar situation in society or that you have experienced – be specific and explain?
In the case of anonymity, consider an action figure forum. While action figures may be seen as something strictly for children, there are adults and older men who collect them as well. If a forum exists where there are both older adults and young children how is this forum to be moderated/watched? Should the older adults be allowed to contact the younger children? What blocks should be put in place so that young children cannot view potentially offensive material on said forum? What if an older adult tried to contact the child about potentially trading action figures? What would the implications of this be? There a lot of little niche communities that exist on the internet that make it harder and harder to make direct legislation about what information and how information should be kept anonymous.
4. (Analysis)Address ANY that apply. How can you compare one of the situations in this chapter to something that does not relate to computers, technology, or the Internet? Be sure to reference the chapter and your solution. What ideas NEW can you add to the issue that is being presented within the reading? Try to connect what you have by reading this article and how it applies to the stages in Bloom's taxonomy in 2 full sentences.
The situation of remaining anonymous when giving up personal information is something that not only exists on the internet, but in real life. The idea behind Alcoholics Anonymous reflect a similar situation as to what the author portrays in the book. Baase discusses how people who go on forums to talk about gambling problems or substance abuse use fake aliases so their personal information is not leaked out (p.180, Baase 2008). People in A.A. only use first names (or potentially fake names) so they protect their identities. The implications of this information leaking out could be disastrous for the person in question.
5. (Synthesis) Address all that apply. Do you agree with what is being said within the article (Why/Why not? Back up with FACTS)? What new conclusions can you draw about this (or other topics) after reading this material?
The topics portrayed are a little to too widespread to give an overall agreement or disagreement. The viewpoints portrayed in political campaigning and anonymity are ones I do agree with. Based off what Baase says at the end section 3.4, even the Supreme Court deemed that rules about political campaigning as defined in the McCain-Feingold Act were unconstitutional (p. 179, Baase 2008). The fact that this act prohibited a movie critical about president Bush during his time in office, and wouldn't allow Amazon or eBay to display ads for new books by candidates shows that it need to be adjusted (though it was thrown out all together) (p.177, Baase 2008). Anonymity on the internet I agree with, but within certain confines. Users who are on forums discussing personal matters, as the way described at the end of section 3.5.3, should be able to disclose information without having their real names put on the internet (p. 185, Baase 2008). However, people who post child pornography should have their real names exposed for engaging in illegal activity as described in section 3.5.1 (p.181, Baase 2008).
On the topic of net neutrality, I disagree with Baase. An article from ARS Technica discusses how Comcast is unveiling an on demand service exclusive to the X-box 360 (Lee). This exclusive service does not count towards the 250 gigabyte monthly cap already set in place by Comcast for when users stream on demand content on their laptops or other devices (Lee). This service has net neutrality supporters up in arms, saying that "raises questions not only of the justification for the caps but, more importantly, of the survival of an Open Internet (Lee)." While I do agree with the fundamental idea that all content on the internet should travel equally through all broadband lines, I differ on this opposition made by net neutrality supporters. In order to get this service from Comcast on the X-Box 360, you need not only Comcast on demand service but an X-Box Live gold membership (which costs $59.99 a year). Is it unfair for people who pay so much for these services to be denied something exclusive? I do not believe so.
6. (Evaluation) Address all that apply. Judge whether or not this topic is relevant in today’s society? Evaluate why you are viewing the topic in this manner based on your experiences. What ethical evaluations (see Chap1-1.4 for exp of Ethics) or decisions were made/can be assumed from this chapter? What new ideas will you make after reading this chapter?
This topic is only relevant in today's society. The internet is always growing, and doesn't seem to be stopping. The legislation put onto the internet is something of dramatic concern. The internet is massive landscape with a wide variety of information, so its hard to make laws that cover every single aspect. There are many ethical issues involved with these sections. Is it right for companies to give out user name's real names on forums or messaging programs (p.184, Baase 2008)? Should internet service providers have to create a level playing field for the services they put out versus other companies? Should internet service providers treat specific content differently than other content? These are questions that are hard to answer, which have many sides to them. New ideas I had after reading this chapter were thoughts that different internet service providers could provide different content (or treat content differently). It never even crossed my mind that different providers may block or favor certain things on the internet over others.
References
Lee, Timothy B. "Law & Disorder." Ars Technica. 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/03/net-neutrality-concerns-raised-about-comcasts-xbox-on-demand-service.ars?clicked=related_right>.
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