Bill penalizing video, photo voyeurs gets House OK

The House of Representatives, in plenary session, has approved a bill penalizing video and photo voyeurism.

Congressmen said the approval of the measure, to be known as the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009, was spurred by the proliferation on videos of individuals caught unaware in obscene acts, the most recent of which were the sex videos of Hayden Kho of the Belo Medical Group.

Under the bill, violators will be penalized by an imprisonment ranging from six months to six years and a fine of P100,000 to P500,000.

The bill provides that if a violator is a juridical person, it will result in the automatic revocation of its license or franchise, and its officers will be deemed liable, including the editor and reporter if it is in the print media; and the station manager, editor and broadcaster if it is in the broadcast media.

If the offender is a public official or employee or a professional, he or she will also be held administratively liable.

A foreigner guilty of the act will be subject of deportation proceedings after serving his sentence and payment of fines.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Monico Puentevella of Bacolod City, principal author of the bill, said many individuals have been victimized by photo and video voyeurs who post on the Internet and different media the photos and videos showing the victims’ private parts and intimate moments.

“This is a clear violation of the subject individual’s dignity and right to privacy,” Puentevella said.

He said the approval of the bill is a right step in specifically punishing such dastardly acts.

Lakas-Kampi-CMD Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila, another author of the bill, noted how the recent scandals have put the country and the people in a bad light before the whole world.

Abante said the passage of a law that is clear and stringent enough to deter the recurrence of such act is both relevant and timely.

Google to draw up new privacy policy for books

Google has agreed to draw up a separate privacy policy for its digital library in response to a request from the US government's Federal Trade Commission.

The concessions come amid a growing outcry among critics who believe a class-action settlement with US authors and publishers will give Google too much insight about the books that people are reading online.

In letters and statements released Thursday, the FTC emphasized it will closely monitor how Google protects the privacy of readers accessing its digital library.

The settlement giving Google the digital rights to millions of out-of-print books protected by copyright is the subject of intense debate. A court deadline to protest or support the agreement has been extended from Friday to next Tuesday.

Internet – Hazardous as a Pandemic?

(Net Precautions part 2)

We’re picking up where we left off last time. For our kids to better understand the Internet and make proper use of it, let’s define some terms associated with it…

Computer Terms. Understand both technical and slang computer terms when referencing downloading, files sharing and other computer uses. For example, “ripping” is slang commonly used to describe copying. “Warez” (pronounced “ware-z”) is used to describe software that has been illegally stripped of its copyright protection.

Appropriate and Legal. Know your bounds. Know what is legal usage of a computer software and what is not. For instance, personal, self-created works may be legally shared on P2P (peer-to-peer) networks, but sharing copyrighted works without permission from the creator is illegal and may be categorized as plagiarism.

Risks and Consequences. There are risks and consequences associated with file-sharing, downloading and copying software, music, movies and games illegally. Parents are also urged to talk to children about the economics behind piracy and illegal uploading and downloading. Demonstrate that there are real consequences, both for themselves and for the authors of the creative works. We have to let our kids know that there are repercussions.

Rules. Just like with my Keoni, I’ve established house ground rules that include computer usage. These rules are “golden” and I made it appoint that these rules reinforce what they are learning in school currently. Rules at school and rules at home should mirror one another.

Present Alternatives. We can avoid our kids immersion into piracy and illegal file sharing by offering incentives and legal alternatives to illegal file-sharing and downloading by giving them gift certificate to National Book Store or CDR-King as rewards for good behavior or we could set aside part of their allowance for purchasing music, software, games and other entertainment and educational products.

Communicate More. Let’s not be remiss in monitoring our kids’ computer habits and usage. Several conversations may be necessary as they develop an understanding of what is legal and safe and what is not.

To sum this all up, responsible parenting also should always include “knowing what your kids are into, and what they do “on the Net.” We should make an effort to take the extra precaution. There are sites such as www.b4usurf.org that could give you more helpful tips about cyber-ethics and cyber-safety.

The Business Software Alliance is the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA is the voice of the world’s commercial software industry and its hardware partners before governments and in the international marketplace.

Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Agilent Technologies, Altium, Apple, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CA, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Corel, CyberLink, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, Dell, Embarcadero, Frontline PCB Solutions - An Orbotech Valor Company, HP, IBM, Intel, Intuit, McAfee, Microsoft, Mindjet, Minitab, NedGraphics, PTC, Quark, Quest Software, Rosetta Stone, SAP, SAS Institute, Siemens, Sybase, Symantec, Synopsys, Tekla, The MathWorks and Trend Micro.

In the Philippines, the BSA maintains a Memorandum of Understanding with the Philippine Software Industry Association, Philippine Internet Services Organization, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Association of Government Internal Auditors, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team and the Intellectual Property Coalition.

I think it’s important to be abreast with the situation in the Internet and know that it is wise to leave the lines of communication with our kids open. Updating internet users is the only way to ensure that the children today are 100% protected from all forms of cyber threats.“

Internet – Hazardous as a Pandemic?

(Net Precautions part 1)

So much has been said about the Internet and the wealth of information it gives us. In the same token as we’ve written several times on the dangers and ill affects it may have on our kids as well. I can’t stress it enough, I guess, basing it on my own experiences with my Keoni. So, parents, once again, please beware –the Internet can be dangerous to your child’s moral health.

With the advent of the H1NI pandemic in the country, parents were naturally worried about their children catching the dreaded flu as they finally went back to school after an extended summer vacation due to the class suspension.

But aside from this danger in the real world, there is another danger in the virtual world of the Internet that parents should be concerned about – the possibility of their kids being exposed to, and becoming victims of, spam mail, offensive websites, photographs and sexual videos that have been circulating in the Internet such as the controversial ones that have been in the headlines lately.

It seems like more and more kids nowadays are starting to use computers at a younger age than their parents or even their older siblings. They spend much of their time either browsing the Internet, playing online games or updating their profile in social networking sites. Why, my 7-year old Keoni has two email accounts, one in Yahoo and one Gmail, a Friendster, Facebook and ToonTown Account! Thank God I monitor the kinds of social sites he could belong to much less check on the sites he goes to.

Aside from offensive materials, computers can also suffer from other web surfing hazards such as the infection of Trojans and computer viruses. Additionally, the children may be downloading files and programs, unaware that doing so may be a crime against the Intellectual Property (IP) Code of the Philippines, which prohibits any form of copying of copyrighted material without permission from the owner.

“The number of Internet users is growing exponentially every year and the Internet is fast-becoming a staple educational resource. With this boom in technology, Filipino Internet users should be given enough information that will not only allow them to derive full benefit from use of the Internet, but also protect them from the apparent risks present in the cyber world,” said Dr. William Torres, President, Philippine Internet Services Organization (PISO).

Recognizing the enormous influence of the Internet and the need for information on safe Internet usage, the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the foremost organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world, has been maintaining B4USurf (www.b4usurf.org) an online resource website that teaches cyber-ethics and cyber safety to teachers, parents and children.

If not properly guided, what looks like an innocent playground can turn into a danger zone for our kids. The net is also populated with online hazards and threats. We encourage parents to learn the ways and means of cyber-ethics and cyber-safety with their children by referencing the resources available on the B4USurf website.

Looks like the future generation will continue to be immersed in the digital age which gives us, parents, all the more reasons to be wary. Due to the outpour of requests from parent email senders, one again here is a guide for children in the promotion of safer Internet us. (To be continued)

Facebook is allowing advertisers to use your info

This might have been long happening, but I recently received word that Facebook has been allowing third-party advertisers to use your photos, personal feeds and event notifications so that they can advertise their ware to your network or friends.

So many have been asking the same question for quite some time now. How is Facebook going to make money? People say that there's no good way to really monetize the social networking site. Others say that it's in advertising. Well, as far as I can see they are trying.

The question whether to whom uploaded information (like photos, notes, articles, feeds, etc.) belongs to is a debate better discussed elsewhere. However, I doubt that anyone would like the idea of their own data being used by third parties, advertisers for that matter, to further their own gains - seemingly without express permission to boot.

Sure, this might have been in the original terms of usage agreement. But hey, everyone (I mean everyone including Facebook) knows that no one ever reads those long winded legalese novellas. You either check the I Agree box, or you don't sign up at all. So, with this in mind, express permission should have been sought before this is allowed.

Fortunately, there's is a way to turn it off. It's buried beneath a few settings pages, but it's there.

What Facebook should have done is to have this off by default, instead of on. They could have asked later on whether users want their stuff used or not. I'm sure there would have been people who won't mind. After all, there's a whole cadre of guys and gals on the site who are just looking for exposure.

So here's how to turn it off. First, go to your Account Settings page (it's found in the dropdown options from the Settings button, near the top of any Facebook page, beside the Logout button).

When you're in Account Settings, scroll down and look for "Privacy" in the Settings tab then click Manage. This brings you to the Privacy settings page.

Select News Feeds and Wall, then click on the Facebook Ads tab. There, choose "No one" in the Appearance in Facebook Ads dropdown.

Cheers!