News

You need to read stories about the App Store from Apple. This one details that Apple is not allowing a certain comic book from appearing in the store. The comic book is violent and such, but so is all the R rated movies on iTunes and the like. Apple needs to step back and let people use their device the way they want and stop this crazy APPLE MUST APPROVE EVERYTHING stint it is on.

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Apple recently took an axe to Murderdrome, an electronic comic book in its App Store that the company deemed too violent. Murderdrome, created by the United Kingdom-based Infuriouscomics, had been created especially for the iPhone. Apple turned down Infuriouscomics' application to put the comic in the App Store.

Welcome to America, land where the big corporation control what you see. That is the gist of what is happening now that a load of major ISPs have signed a Message of Understanding with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (a private company). The MOU gives NCMEC the supreme authority to judge whatever website it wants to be taken down AND have the person's name and address forwarded to them for prosecution. We live in very troubling times when this sort of thing happens.

And don't bring the argument that we need to "think of the children." When a private corporation can censor what a country sees, what's to stop them for censoring a political party or other things that many people want to see (porn)?

This kind of corporate behavior is completely un-American and the NCMEC and the ISPs that signed this 'agreement' should be charged with sedition. Ohh, did you know that the NCMEC doesn't want their name to be included when a site is taken down?

Did you also know that there is no oversight. If the NCMEC says to take down a site, that's it.

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"Building on our strong commitment to online safety, the cable industry wants to help combat child pornography and exploitation," said Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO, NCTA. “By signing the NCMEC MOU, cable Internet service providers are reaffirming their strong commitment to online safety and Internet literacy for all American families." "We are deeply grateful for this industry-wide attack on child pornography," said Ernie Allen, President & CEO, NCMEC. "It is not possible to arrest and prosecute every offender. We must be creative and build new public-private partnerships to address this insidious problem more effectively. Today's announcement represents a bold step forward."

This is a bold step forward for the corporate control of America. It started in 1919 with the Tax act. How long can we as Americans allow this trampling of our rights to continue?

Apparently even mentally healthy adults over the age of 18 have to be protected from this game. I always thought the Wii version would be highly controversial, what with you acting out the actions, but I notice (and am somewhat surprised) the PS2 version didn't make it either.

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The highly anticipated upcoming title, which casts gamers in the role of doctor Daniel Lam--who offers himself as a guinea pig for a neurological weapons project--was due to go on sale in the country on the Wii, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2 on July 13. However, both the PS2 and Wii versions have been refused a rating by the British Board of Film Classification, meaning they cannot be legally sold in the UK.

Wow. Ripped right out of the headlines. We are turning into China! Masked in the guise of blocking child porn, ISPs will start blocking content that they deem unfit.

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Representatives will begin meeting next month to evaluate their technologies, determining, for instance, whether cropping an image would change its signature and hinder comparisons. Also to be discussed are ways to ensure that customers' privacy is protected. Authorities still would need subpoenas to get identifying information on violators. The companies involved said they are talking with other service providers about joining. But companies that do not participate still are required by law to report any suspected child-porn images, and many already have their own techniques for monitoring and identifying them.

Censorship is wrong. Especially in communist countries.

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Google co-founder Sergey Brin acknowledged Tuesday the dominant Internet company has compromised its principles by accommodating Chinese censorship demands. He said Google is wrestling to make the deal work before deciding whether to reverse course.