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UN
Will Not Control The Internet
The new head of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU),
Hamadoun Toure has no new plans to change the oversight of the Internet. He currently
supports the two major agencies ICANN
and the ITU that that govern the Internet. He says his focus will be on...
E-Government
Sites Stagnant
Satisfaction with federal government Web sites rose slightly in the fourth quarter
of 2006. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index or ACSI out of
87 federal Web sites measured the total increase in satisfaction was .3 percent
for a score of 73.9...
Debunking
Matt Cutts
The Google Toolbar doesn't fuel Google's index, nor is Google working hand in
hand with the Central Intelligence Agency, even if Google did buy Keyhole, once
backed by In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture capital arm. You can't speed up the indexing
of pages by visiting them with the...
Austin Paper Offers Blogs To Local Politicos
The Austin American-Statesman has an open offer to host blogs for candidates for office from the area. Candidates range in aspiration from county clerk offices to that of Governor or the US House of Representatives. A baker's dozen of 13 hopefuls have established blogs at...
FTC
Busts Online Realtors On Antitrust Case
The Austin Board of Realtors found itself on the receiving end of the Federal
Trade Commission's ire due to the FTC's contention the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS) used by the Board blocked the marketing of certain listings from the service.
As these listings were for "exclusive...
CALEA
Argument Scoffed At By Judge
A lawyer for the FCC found a Washington DC appellate panel skeptical of requests
from the Bush Administration for easier wiretapping of online telephone calls.
Pity Jacob Lewis, attorney for the Federal Communications Commission. A trio of
federal Circuit judges proved...
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01.30.07
Can't Fix Stupid, But Congress Will Try
 By Jason Lee Miller
First let's echo Ron White when he says, "you can't fix stupid." Now that we agree on that, let's also doubt that imposing stiffer penalties on those stupid enough to post video evidence on YouTube of themselves committing a crime won't really act as a deterrent. Because, again, you can't fix stupid.
But don't tell that to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). This week, Diaz-Balart introduced the Web Video Violence Act, a bill that "encourages" states to impose stiffer sentences against people who post videos of violent acts online. I use the word "encourages" because states would have a choice, if they don't mind giving up some crime-fighting federal funding.
The bill comes in response to concern about young people, especially teenagers, attacking victims and then posting videos of the attack on MySpace and YouTube - and therefore encouraging others to do the same. The goal is understandable, and honorable, but it seems a little like spitting in the wind. TechDirt points out that by them posting the videos, they're actually aiding law enforcement.
"In today's technologically savvy world, we need to look at way
s to curb the promotion of violence among students," Diaz-Balart said.
"The recent trend of posting videotaped attacks onto websites like MySpace is especially disturbing since these videos are clearly intended to further humiliate the victims as well as spread fear and intimidation..."
"These attacks are bad enough. We don't need to promote them throughout cyberspace."
Here are excerpts from the actual language of the bill:
. . .when a criminal defendant is being sentenced, a graduated sanction (in the case of a juvenile defendant) or an increased penalty (in the case of an adult defendant) is applied -
(A) if the defendant is convicted of a violent crime against the person of another; and
(B) if the defendant is found to have placed, or directed another to have placed, a video or image of the commission of such crime on the Internet...
If a State opts not to certify that it has increased penalties for certain violent criminals as specified under section 502(6), the Attorney General shall reduce the total amount of funding that would otherwise be allocated to that State-
(A) by 10% in the first fiscal year in which the certification is lacking; and
(B) by an additional 5% for each subsequent fiscal year in which the certification is lacking.
About the Author:
Jason L. Miller is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.
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