An Italian court has convicted three current and former Google executives of privacy violations stemming from a 2006 incident involving students at an Italian high school who uploaded a video of they made while bullying a schoolmate with Down syndrome. You can read more on that story on NPR or at the New York Times.
In essence, the charge alleges privacy violations by Google in connection with the posting of the video. Google says it took down the video within two hours of being notified by police and that it cannot be held responsible to monitor all uploaded content by users given that approximately 20 hours of video alone are uploaded worldwide every minute. The Italian court argued that while the video topped the “most entertaining videos” category with 5,500 hits and 800 user comments, Google should have noticed the video sooner. Google further argued no one would file charges against the mail carrier for the content of letters delivered or against a telephone operator for what’s said during a telephone call.
Read this first to get caught up on the latest news, then come back here.
With regards to the Google Book Settlement what concerns me about any future negotiation which still allows for an “opt-out” clause is the precedent this will set for future uses of copyrighted material by entities other than Google. This would put the burden on the copyright holder to monitor the world stage for any and all possible declarations of intent to use their protected material in order for the copyright holder to ensure they have opted-out. . . . Continue Reading
Some days this is more true than others. On my good days that inner voice, the one that tells me I need to stay grounded in reality and not let myself get too far ahead of what I can “see”, is just a quiet whisper on the breeze. On my bad days that voice is like thunder. And on those in-between days, which can seem as infrequent as leap year or a blue moon, the coast is clear without a cloud in the sky and I can see all the way out to the edge of the horizon (and perhaps a bit beyond it).
Our dreams touch on our innermost, secret selves. It takes courage to . . . Continue Reading
I don’t pretend to know very much about squirrels.
I don’t know how they remember where they bury their nuts, I don’t know how they socialize, and I don’t know how they stay warm and dry every winter in the large leaf nests they build in the upper branches of our trees, so I didn’t really know what to think about the recent small gathering of squirrels in our back yard. . . . Continue Reading
As the calendar year draws to a close it’s a time many reminisce about the past year and years past. I’ve found myself doing the same. In fact I seem lately to be spending more and more time thinking about the way things are, how they got that way and how things might have been different under different circumstances. . . . Continue Reading
Deanne Bray is a successful television actress who also happens to live with severe hearing loss. Here she is featured in the November/December issue of Hearing Loss Magazine.
Living with a spouse and son who are hearing impaired it’s always encouraging to see others like them portrayed in a positive light!
Click HERE to read the article to learn more about Deanne’s career, her experiences living with hearing loss, and a bit about her current role as Emma Coolidge on NBC’s Heroes.
Let’s consider for a moment that going to the movies is like going on a trip, which in many ways it exactly what it is.
So, you’re planning to take this trip and it’s one you’ve really been wanting to take. You’ve read or heard a little about it from others who have already been there to whet your appetite. Maybe some of your friends have even gone recently and told you what a great time they had. Okay, so now you’re really excited! . . . Continue Reading
I recently discovered something very surprising (perhaps even a little disturbing) while reading an article on Mashable about Twitter. What I found, however, had nothing to do with Twitter or anything to do with the article itself. What concerned me was what I saw in one of the advertisements.
I admit, as a Firefox user, one of my favorite Add-ons is one that suppresses advertisements so I never even see them rendered on the page. This, however, was *technically* not an advertisement, so it showed up. But before you assume this is another raving blog post about the scourge of intrusive on-line advertising, hogging bandwidth and cluttering up the Internet with stuff most people read around or closed as soon as they find and click on the ‘X’, let me assure you, this is not one of those. . . . Continue Reading
Any missing Van Gogh lurking in there? RT @scalzi: Additionally uncovered: Some original comic art from Ivan Brunetti, from his Schizo days.06:55:26 PM March 09, 2010from Echofon
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