Social Media allows for people to interact in nearly anyway they want. The possibilities of social media are endless. Social media tools, such as Web 2.0 tools, allow for people to connect and collaborate in a countless number of ways. Where there is a danger of security and safety with these tools, endless amounts of positive interaction can occur. Through using these and collaborating in an online manner, ideas can become more refined due to the amount of people collaborating and the amount of information being shared. However, as Geis (2009) points out, much of this information is unstructured, coming from various sources and in various forms, leaving the user to wade through and sort the information. Where Geis says this is not necessarily a bad thing, users are forced to work harder to reduce the uncertainty of information. However, help is on the way, says Geis. Researchers are improving and expanding on the algorithms that current search engines are operating under. They are developing algorithms called meaning-based computing, where the algorithm tries to figure out what the information actually means instead of searching for tags and keywords (Geis). Once this technology is refined, social media tools will be much more usable because the knowledge will be more easily managed.
Web 2.0 tools allow for sharing information and collaboration on a global scale. However, how is this global communication governed? Should this communication be governed? Who should govern this communication? Is a global institution needed? Is a global government needed?
In researching these questions, confusion, doubt, mistrust, and debate arise. The issue of Internet governance is an on-going debate and every-evolving issue. As of now, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S. controlled organization, controls IP addresses and domain names (Blackenhorn, 2005). Therefore, ICANN has the power to have servers shut down anywhere in the world (Blackenhorn). However, this power residing with a mainly U.S. supported corporation is not welcomed by of other nations. Therefore, some of these countries are looking into ways of equalizing Internet control (Blackenhorn).
However, each country’s government has the ability to censor the content of the Internet in their country. The Chinese government is most known for censoring the Internet in their country, but other countries, including Malaysia and Singapore, also police Internet content for things such as pornography and other types of content (Ho, 2009). However, these content filters can be by-passed using special networks or proxy servers that can circumvent governmental controls (Zeller, 2006).
It will be interesting to watch what happens with the issues of Internet governance. Some schools of thought say that the each government should be able to control the Internet, others say that the Internet should be free from control and censorship, while others say that an independent global institution would best be suited for governing the Internet. However, some control is needed for the safety of citizens and each government should have some say over the control of the Internet. Governments should be allowed to control content to fit the moral character of the nation, but should not be able to influence other countries’ Internet access. Therefore, due to the global nature of the Internet and since it is easy for citizens to by-pass singular governmental controls, the only solution would be for a global institution, which represents all nations, to govern the Internet.
References
Blackenhorn, D. (2005, June 7). Should the Internet be governed?. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from http://mooreslore.corante.com/archives/2005/06/07/should_the_internet_be_governed.php
Geis, G. S. (2009, June 14). Automating contract law: How advances in knowledge-management technology can help transform the empirical study of contract law. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from http://legalworkshop.org/2009/06/14/automating-contract-law-how-advances-in-knowledge-management-technology-can-help-transform-the-empirical-study-of-contract-law
Ho, V. (2009, August 10, 2009). Malaysia to censor some Internet content. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2009/gb20090810_795144.htm?campaign_id=rss_topStories
Zeller, T. (2006, January 29). How to outwit the world’s Internet censors. Retrieved August 19, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/weekinreview/29basic.html
I understand the control part and the way to go around the filters and safety measures to protect the educational environment because I was working in a private school and 1 or 2 students altered the system to gain access to non-curricular material. I can only imagine if a "Global Police" enforcing or just trying to enforce Internet control and determining who will be entrusted to do the job, could be composed of service providers or more selective. Let's hope that society continue to develop more civilized ways to manage the Internet and its contents.
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