Google’s ‘Policy Violation Checker’

OMG, I picked this article up on Janet Steinman’s feed in LinkedIn. So what Google are doing is patenting a technology that basically detects written policy violations, e.g. in email messages, even before it is completed. I am wondering it it could be likened to the Autocomplete function.

The article is stating that it will be like having a ‘big brother’ peeking over your shoulder when you write. But I am thinking that if it is similar to the ‘autocomplete’ or ‘spellcheck’ function, maybe it is just another useful function and maybe this article is making more of this than it really is?

However if an organisation was to implement this, and they controlled the ‘policy violation checker’ from a central place, would this mean they could see if a policy had been violated, could they control what employees write in the workplace context. Is this a bad thing? I’m still scratching my head over this one….

Digital recorder stolen by Portuguese MP

A Portuguese MP suddenly interrupted an interview and took the digital recorder from the journalists. He is now being charged with robbery and affront to free speech and free press.

The recorder can contain protected information and a privacy violation will probably be discussed in court.

You can see a short video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CylnffuTA

Google opens up search in China

Well, sort of.

Their Chinese search site, google.cn now redirects to google.com.hk in Hong Kong. Google states that this is a direct response to the hacking attack reported on in January. They also state that that was the final straw that led them to the decision to stop censoring their search services in China.

By redirecting searches to their Hong Kong site, they hope to bypass Chinese legal requirements of self censorship. It will be interesting to see how the Chinese government responds to this. Google has set up a status page which reports on the availability on their services for users in China. You can find it here.

Google refuses to censor content in China

Suddenly, Google has decided to stop censoring search results in China. Apparently Google’s patience ran at an all time low following allegations that Chinese hackers spied on human rights avocates over Google’s network. Read more at ars technica.

So how will this effect China’s search capabilities? Well not much was claimed on the Swedish radio today. There are other search engines used in China, although I didn’t catch the name of the most popular. So for China it is probably no big thing on a technical level, however it does send a very strong message on the political landscape.

Cybersitter is suing the Chinese government

In addition to the vulnerabilities discovered in Green Dam, the filtering software now installed on every PC sold in China since July 2009… the American company that created this program is has filed a $2.2bn (£1.4bn) lawsuit in the US accusing Beijing of stealing lines of code.

The software was created to stop people looking at “offensive” content such as pornographic or violent websites, however it seems that it also inadvertently blocks sites dealing with sexual health issues. Read more at BBC News.

Thai webmasters responsible for their content?

There is more going on in Thailand. It seems that a Chiranuch Premchaiporn who runs Prachatai.com a news website has been charged in April this year because she neglected to remove a comment that was again against the royal crown ‘lese majeste’. She insists that she deleted the post when requested by the MICT but they have stated that she should have noticed the post herself. She risks a prison sentence for upto 50 years.