Final Post

Society has a strange relationship with technology, some people feel that it does more harm than good, while others accept it as part of an ever evolving society. I think that there are good and bad aspects of technology being such an integral part of the world.

To start, I think that I should examine my relationship with technology. I personally am not a huge fan of social media, and do not go on Instagram or Facebook that often. I think that these outlets are great for people that want to share their experiences with the world, but at the same time, I am not concerned with whether or not people know what I’m doing. This isn’t to say that I am not addicted to my phone, though. I spend far too much time on messaging back and forth with my friends and playing mobile games. I think that at least for me, and most likely a lot of people, we could be more productive if we spent less time on our mobile devices.

On a broader scale, I think that government surveillance is one of the drawbacks of technology. I remember writing for a previous blog about how the government is able to use license plate readers to track the movements of anyone that drives, which is scary. Recently, a Chinese company called BigPixel took a satellite photo that was one billion pixels from a satellite. This is an amazing feat that we are able to take clear photos that show people’s faces all the way from space, but it also raises the question of how this technology will be used in the future. It is hard to imagine a future where governments are not using this type of technology to monitor people’s activities. I think that it creates a lack of privacy, and if this technology were used for something like Google Earth, I would not mind it as much. The problem is when governments want to invade our privacy for what they claim is a new way to keep us safe.

During this pandemic, we are spending much more time on the internet. I think that this may actually be a good thing. It provides people with an outlet for entertainment, when many places in public are closed. Technology has helped to keep us entertained for decades, but I believe that if this situation were to happen even twenty years ago, people would become more restless and be more opposed to the lockdown, as it would be harder to connect with friends and family, and all digital entertainment would come from what shows and movies you happened to have on VHS or DVD. Thanks to Netflix and YouTube providing a massive library of content, we have more options than ever to stay entertained. In addition to this, cell phones and computers have made connecting with loved ones easier than ever before. People are having virtual parties on Zoom, making phone calls, and are able to send texts or Snapchats whenever they want. In this regard, I do think that technology is more important than ever in these times, and while some aspects of our increasingly technological world are negative, I think that it is generally a good thing and we can look forward to many more advancements in this area.

Sources:

https://www.businessinsider.com/high-resolution-photo-lets-you-zoom-in-on-peoples-faces-2018-12

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/07/technology/coronavirus-internet-use.html

Trump's New Lawsuits Against the Media

Donald Trump has been outspoken about his distrust for the media since he began his first presidential campaign. Now, he has filed lawsuits against several media outlets for libel, claiming that their opinion pieces’ criticisms are baseless and libelous.

California lawyer Theodore J. Boutrous points out that these lawsuits are dangerous to first amendment rights stating that it “flies in the face of basic First Amendment doctrine”. He also points out that these opinion pieces are just that: opinions, meaning that whether someone’s opinion is 100 percent based in fact or not, they are still entitled to have that opinion. He adds that libel is only applicable if false statements are made deliberately with the intent of damaging a person’s reputation.

Trump’s newest lawsuit is against a local NBC affiliate in Wisconsin, which aired an ad that used a clip of his saying “this is a hoax” along with several clips of him discussing the Covid-19 pandemic. The video is actually from a press conference where Trump was discussing his impeachment trial.

Civil liberties lawyer, Ken White, says that "If this is the bar for what is a defamatory campaign ad then the vast majority of campaign ads are defamatory.” Most experts agree that this lawsuit is just a performance for Trump to try to make a point about how the media cannot be trusted. The problem with this is that it also seems like an attempt to financially drain smaller stations that he does not like.

Source:

.https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-frivolous-lawsuits-threats-first-amendment-2020-4

Week 15: EOTO 2- Propaganda

The dictionary defines propaganda as “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view”. Propaganda can be seen around the world today, and it can take many forms. It can be seen on a large scale in countries like North Korea where citizens are told how great their current situation is, and on a smaller scale, we can see it everyday on social media here in the U.S. where organizations will publish misleading articles for the purpose of spreading their agenda.

A recent example of propaganda is China, Russia, and Iran using the Covid-19 pandemic to spread anti-American messaging to its citizens. According to a new State Department report, the three governments along with their state-run media outlets have been perpetuating the idea that the Coronavirus is a bioweapon engineered by the United States, and that the U.S. armed forces are responsible for spreading the virus to their enemies. The narrative has been pushed by all three countries, while websites owned by Russia’s Defense Ministry even alluded to the fact that it wanted to investigate the claim that Bill Gates helped create the pandemic.

The messaging between the three governments has been increasingly converging, as these states continue to push the narrative that China is more concerned about fixing the pandemic situation, while the U.S. continues to do little to resolve it. Iran continues to deny any use of propaganda, and says that any Corona-related disinformation is done by the American government. China’s internet and media, which is notorious for being restricted by the government, has recently allowed anti-American propaganda to manifest on its social media sites, as it helps push the same narrative that they are expressing.

Here in the U.S., concerns have also been raised over propaganda being perpetuated by Donald Trump. Major concerns have always been present over his rhetoric telling people that the media is filled with liars and can’t be trusted due to their criticism of him. In a recent press release, he assured reporters that his administration was handling the virus better than anyone else could, and stating that there is no issue with the availability of ventilators and other medical materials. Later in his speech, he blamed governors for not stockpiling ventilators, to take pressure off himself for his previous comment. While this can be seen as the president’s lack of preparedness to deal with a critical press, it is concerning to many how Trump uses these opportunities to either spread misinformation or make himself look good (while blaming others) for the upcoming election.

Sources:

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-china-iran-propaganda-us-disinformation-narratives-echo-each-other-2020-4

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/13/trumps-propaganda-laden-off-the-rails-coronavirus-briefing/

Week 14: Privacy

I really enjoyed the Ted Talk about how your digital footprint is like a tattoo. I think that this is a great analogy, as tattoos are permanent just like and data that you share, or videos and photos that are taken of you. I think the most disturbing part about this speech was realizing that companies can implement facial recognition cameras that can find your social media and use your Facebook or Twitter account to find products that you like so it becomes easier to sell things to you.

The other speech that I found disturbing was the fact that thanks to your phone and GPS, they government has the ability to track where you go, how often, and even what route you take. The police also use license plate readers that are mounted on poles and police cars. This would be a good technology to use if it was only used to narrow down the whereabouts of people wanted by the law, but everybody’s plate is put into police databases. These camera also take photos of your car to see who you are with and, if enough of these photos are present, they can see where you go and what your daily routine looks like. This technology is also being abused, as the NYPD drives cars past mosques to keep track of who is attending and keep records of those people.

I think that all of this is unnerving, and mostly a bad thing. On one hand this type of technology can be used to track down criminals, but in the other hand, it should not come at the expense of everyone’s personal privacy.

week 13: My Online Presence

It seems that in today's times that everyone is on social media in some capacity, whether it be facebook, snapchat, or even just linkedin. While thinking about this topic I came to the conclusion that I do have an online presence, albeit smaller than most people my age. While I don't use instagram, I have a facebook which I don't update often, I just use it to see what friends and family are up to. In the past few years I have shared some videos on there regarding politics, which is one of the reasons I have my account on private mode, as I don't want employers with opposing views to be discouraged by that if they search my name.

I also have a twitter where I just retweet things that I find funny (I don't make any original posts). I have made sure to keep these accounts set on private so anyone looking up my name can't stalk my profile. I don't have anything on these accounts that I would consider unprofessional, it just makes me more comfortable knowing that strangers aren't looking at my profile. I have made sure to make my facebook profile picture professional enough

I try to share as little information as possible with these sites. Facebook has been under scrutiny in recent years for privacy concerns. They do have my email, as is required when creating your account, and I must admit that I find emails from them somewhat annoying.

Like everyone, I have a snapchat, but I use it sparingly, and I try to keep my friends list small and reserved for people that I talk to on a semi regular basis.

week 12: Activision Wins 1st Amendment Lawsuit

Activision, the company famous for making Call of Duty, one of the biggest video game franchises of all time has won a lawsuit that was filed against them for their use of Humvee's in their video games.

AM General, the manufacturer of the popular military vehicle sued Activision in 2017, on the ground that using Humvee's in their game was copyright infringement, and falsely adverting the use of their vehicles in the games.

AM's claim was dismissed by the district judge this week. "That decision hinged in part on a 1989 precedent that established that artistic works could make reference to outside trademarks as long as the usage was relevant to the work and did not "explicitly mislead as to the source of the content or work." (arstechnia.com).

Had the game's use of the vehicles been "explicitly misleading", then that would trump Activision's first amendment right, as it would have been false advertising. The judge even stated that if Activision's artistic goal is to portray realistic war in their video game, then the use of Humvee's is helping them creative their artistic attempt to portray realism.

Source:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/04/us-judge-first-amendment-protects-call-of-dutys-use-of-humvees/

8 Values Key Post

While reading about the eight values of free expression, I was most interested by the ‘protect dissent’ value. I think that this is extremely important, as it not only gives the people a voice, but it can also sway the actions that the U.S. government takes.

If it were not for this, I think that we would be living in a very different country. There is a lot of corruption from both parties at the state and federal levels, and it is important to hold the people that represent the ordinary citizens accountable for their actions, a good example of this would be people calling for Trump to release his tax returns. While he said that he will not do so, this has at least made it obvious that he is most likely not paying all of his taxes, and he can now be criticized for it. If voters want transparency, they have the right to call for it and criticize and likely not vote for politicians if they refuse.

It is also important to criticize the actions of the government as a whole. The Vietnam War was one of the worst decisions that the government made in the 20th Century, and had there been no pressure from the public to pull out, the government might have decided to stay engaged for longer, which would have resulted in the deaths of even more U.S. soldiers.

More recently, the U.S. has been inching closer to legalizing marijuana on a federal level, and many states have already legalized it. This is due to public criticism that people should not be punished for using a relatively harmless substance. If it were not for people criticizing the outlaw and harsh policies that come with it, we may have never seen it legalized in a single state.

Other countries such as China do not have the ability to criticize their government without fear of being punished, which, in turn gives the government even more power to do what they want without any fear of retaliation from the public. This is a large reason that Hong Kong does not want to be incorporated into mainland China, for fear of losing rights like this.



I think that overall, this is an extremely important right to have, and can actually be beneficial to the government as well as the people, as dissent may cause the government to be more transparent and take more ethical routes of action, therefore building a better relationship with its citizens.

Week 7

While watching the group presentations, I was particularly fascinated by the history of the carrier pigeon. I decided to do some research of my own to learn more about the topic. 

I was most fascinated by their heavy use in World War One, as over 100,000 pigeons were used by both sides. They are an often overlooked part of the war but they played an instrumental role, sending messages from the front lines and have over a ninety-five percent success rate of arriving at their desired destination. 

The main reason for their popularity was that while telecommunications were preferred for their efficiency, sometimes troops moved past the point where lines were laid. Also, difficult terrain made it impossible to lay said line in some situations.

A notable carrier pigeon was named Cher Ami. In total, he flew telve missions, but the most important came when Major Charles Whittlesey found him and himself surrounded by encroaching German troops. Thinking that all was lost, he sent his only pigeon to ask for backup. Eventually the US troops began supporting him and his men with artillery fire, but it was incorrectly targeted on Whittlesey’s position. He sent Cher Ami back to his commander, but watched his pigeon get shot down. Miraculously, the bird got back up and completed his mission saving over 200 soldiers from certain death. 

I think that this is such an interesting part about the first world war, and I think that this should be taught in schools more. Pigeons aren’t necessarily known for their intelligence but this highlights the fact that they are much more intelligent than we give them credit for. Sources: http://www.armedforcesmuseum.com/carrier-pigeons-used-during-world-war-i/

Week 6: Invention of the VCR

The VCR was once a staple in American homes, but thanks to the leaps that have been made in technology in the past few years, the VCR has become nearly obsolete. The VCR has a long history from its conception to its demise, and the beginning of this technology dates farther back than one may think. 

The birth of the technology that allowed for the conception of this device dates all the way back to Denmark in 1898. According to a book titled Social and Cultural Aspects of VCR Use, a physicist by the name of Valdemer Poulsen. He proposed the idea that by using magnetic recording, sound could be captured on wire. This idea then inspired Boris Rtcheouloff in 1927 to suggest that magnetized strips could record tv signals. He patented this idea, though never was able to produce such technology. I.G. Farben, a german company was the first to be able to put this theory to practice in 1931. These magnetic recording devices had the benefit of being able to record audio with much clearer sound, and the technology was used by the Germans in WWII. After the war was over, John T. Mullins, an Army technician brought units of the device back to the United States. Mullin was later invited by singer Bing Crosby to tape his show with the device so it could be played again on radio at a later time. This is especially significant, as it was the first time that magnetic tape had been used in the United States to play a program at a later time. The Ampex Electric Corporation capitalized on this success and began the production of better magnetic tape recorders. Ampex spent several years using what they had learned through producing tape recorders and was able to unveil the first ever video tape recorder in 1951. 

With the birth of the video tape recorder, other companies wanted in on the action as this was an emerging market. RCA also produced an industrial tape recorder, but thanks to Ampex, it was not seen as practical as what Ampex had produced. Ampex became the staple company for manufacturing Tape recorders for the television industry. 

This did not mean that Ampex had the market cornered, though. The SONY company in Japan realized that Ampex was making the equipment for professionals, but not capitalizing on the potential the technology had for use in people’s homes. SONY didn’t use the two inch wide magnetic tape that Ampex used, and instead opted for tape that could store more information. These VCRs hit the American market in the 1960’s. With SONY’s initial success, other European and Japanese companies began producing and selling home video recorder, and Ampex was left behind in this market, as they tried to compete but other companies had more affordable and superior products for the home. SONY released one of the most well-known VCRs in the 1970’s: the Betamax. It capitalized on the fact that it could not only be used to play tapes but record television shows. This feature was included in previous VCRs, but nonetheless this selling point caused the Betamax to be a massive success. Sources: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kK934crW140C&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=hK3TVfSZKx&sig=C4nCybFKmQbi1reMtOwk165JXQQ#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=17SRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA91&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=1EzcBGnAKO&sig=9HA5Lrt6dc8ss2VHCR7CSGiuUaU#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=17SRAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA91&dq=history+of+the+vcr&ots=1EzcBGnAKO&sig=9HA5Lrt6dc8ss2VHCR7CSGiuUaU#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20the%20vcr&f=false

Week 5: Antiwar Voices

While reading these antiwar sites, I was impressed with the number of people who are antiwar, but also willing to criticize not only  America’s government, but also many other governments  so harshly. I think that this is a good thing, though. A country should be held accountable for engaging in pointless or unnecessary conflicts. There were so many articles on Antiwar.com that I did not get through all of them, but I kept being reminded of the Sedition Act of 1918, had this site existed back then, it would have been illegal. This act was an extension of the Espionage Act, which made it illegal to criticize the government or cause others to view America in a negative light. This was during World War I, so it was a wartime law that the U.S. tried to justify at the time. While the act is no longer in place, it does seem that mainstream media does not want to take a completely antiwar perspective, as many viewers of mainstream news channels sometimes equate being antiwar as being anti-America. 

I believe that sites like this are important, as the public should be informed of both sides of armed conflicts in the world, in order to form their own opinions. Every country that is in a conflict is going to be told by their government that it is justified, and sites like this are a good foil to that perspective. 

Sources: https://www.antiwar.com/

Week 4: Facebook Has Issues Fighting Fake News

Facebook, the tech giant and magnet for controversy, has recently been outspoken about its efforts to combat fake news. After complaints that it was not doing enough, Facebook has implemented new policies that appear to be working. But one previous feature seems to have a glaring loophole. Nearly two years ago Facebook removed the ability of its users to edit the previews to links that they shared. This essentially means that when someone shared a link, they were able to edit the title and image, which could promote false information, if a user saw it on their timeline and didn’t actually click the url to the real article. It now appears that if a link is shared from another Facebook page, then it can still be edited. 

This appears to be a strange loophole that Facebook did not foresee, but will most likely fix this in the near future. Facebook has had several scandals involving fake news over the past few years, but has been taking more action as of late. For example, the site recently shut down several Iran-based accounts that were attempting to create foreign interference; posting in groups, sharing propaganda, and persuade potential voters. 

This problem is nothing new though, the site is constantly purging accounts created by Iranians or Russians spreading fake news. This can be tough to control, as anybody can create an account and share whatever they like, so it would appear that Facebook may continue having trouble with these accounts in the future. 

Sources:

https://mashable.com/article/facebook-loophole-fake-news-link-preview/
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-shuts-down-iran-based-misinformation-campaign-targeting-us/

Week 3: The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is one of the three branches of the U.S. government, the others being the legislative and executive. Nine justices sit on the court and hear cases that have made it up to their level. The court reserves the right to decide whether or not to hear a case.

The Supreme Court also decides if actions taken by the federal and state governments are constitutional or not. The court seemed to lose some authority after the Dredd Scott decision. The ruling was that it was not in the powers of the Supreme Court to outlaw slavery. After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was added to the constitution, to give everyone equal protection under the law including former slaves.

The Supreme Court gets about 7000 requests per year, but they only hear about one hundred. Many of the cases the court hears are from those that want their case heard after they felt that the ruling of a lesser court was incorrect.

What I believe is most interesting about the Supreme Court is how the video mentioned that the justices do not go into work trying to push an agenda like congress, but they wait for a case to come to their door and must preside over the evidence and make a decision. This does not mean that the justices are unbiased, though. Everybody has their personal views whether it be liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between. I believe that perhaps adding more justices to the court could potentially allow for a broader spectrum of insights and opinions to the cases that are brought to them.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca8qSuWxcG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWRoXYRsaeo&feature=youtu.be

Week 2: Do Companies Have a Right to Your Photos?

It is interesting to think that we live in a world where technology that has the ability to recognize your face exists, and what is perhaps even stranger is the fact that your face can now be used for the profit of corporations.

Clearview AI, a facial recognition company has been in a heated battle with Twitter over its right to mine and use photos that are posted to the social media platform. Twitter along with Google, have filed cease and desist orders against the company to stop mining user's data.

A cease and desist order is essentially a legal document that can be filed to tell a person or company to stop engaging in a specific act.

Clearview AI intends to fight this, as they say that they are protected by the first amendment and will continue to mine this data. They claim that the users publicly posted these images, and now it has the right to collect them. This also brings up the concern that some social media users post photos privately, make their entire account private, or set their accounts to only show photos to friends and family. These users are still most likely not safe from companies like this.

Clearview has collected three billion photos and, more concerningly, licensed them to law enforcement agencies, which can use them to track suspected criminals.

Source:

 https://mashable.com/article/clearview-ai-ceo-first-amendment-right-facial-recognition-data-scraping/