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With SOPA, your blog or family videos could be blocked.
Censorship in America? It’s possible, with the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Soon you may need to be very careful about what you post to your blogs or Facebook, because it might mean fines and jail time.
Today, massive internet companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter are going head to head on Capitol Hill with the likes of the Motion Picture Association of America and the recording industry over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Proponents say the bill would protect intellectual property against misuse and counterfeiting, like music and movie piracy. A US News opinion piece explains, “… [the] legislation would extend the authority of officials to require Internet providers and search engines to essentially erase websites suspected of copyright infringement from the World Wide Web.”
Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" is one of the most commonly challenged books.
This week, the American Library Association is celebrating Banned Books Week to promote the importance of the First Amendment and the problems of censorship by spotlighting books that have been challenged or banned. As part of Banned Books Week, hundreds of libraries and bookstores across the country will create displays of challenged books.
According to the ALA, books are challenged when someone attempts ”… to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” If a challenge is successful and the materials are removed from school curricula or libraries, they are considered banned.
Did you know that The Hunger Games and Twilight were two of the top ten most challenged books last year? And one of the most frequently challenged authors in 2010 was Judy Blume? Books in the beloved Harry Potter series have landed on the list as well.
It seems like there would never be a time when censorship is OK, but what about when someone is making rude and unproductive remarks about a school official?
I can’t live without my computer or BlackBerry, and if and when one or both ceases to work, I am necessarily paralyzed. However, it’s beyond a relief to me that neither existed when I was a kid (of course the Internet was around then, but only for Al Gore), as I have no doubt being online would have meant more trouble for me than I was always already in.
I kind of feel for the girl in Connecticut who called her school administrators “douchebags” on her blog and then got in trouble as a result, particularly since her punishment was just upheld by an appeals court. But on the other hand, it was a stupid thing to do and I think her generation should be learning faster than they are about what is and what is not appropriate online — no matter if it’s a posting on a personal blog or an email from a school account.
Avery Doninger, 20, sued her principal and school superintendent after they barred her from running for secretary of her senior high school class at Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlinton, Conn., after she posted the insult online.
Watch out for books about families, what it's like to be young, and honesty.
The American Library Associated has released its annual list of the 10 most challenged library books of the previous year. More than half on the list are books intended for either young or young adult readers.
The book at last year’s top is one that has made the Most-Challenged list since it was published in 2005, often in the No. 1 position. It’s a sweet kids book about a New York City family of three who are just a little bit different. Just a little.
That difference, unfortunately, is seen as unsuitable for 4 to 8 year olds and also of questionable religious viewpoints (though interesting, there isn’t any religion in the book at all. Just snuggles.)
It’s also based on a true story. Continue reading »
The ACLU is trying to recruit high school-age kids to report their school if access to pro-gay websites is denied
The American Civil Liberties Union wants to recruit your high school-age kids.
A new project called Don’t Filter Me was launched by the ACLU’s LGBT Project in conjunction with the Yale Law School LGBT Litigation Clinic, and the goal is to reach out to kids in public school in an effort to “combat illegal censorship of pro-LGBT [lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender] information on public school computer systems.” When public high schools block pro-gay websites, the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act are being violated.
I’m all for pro-gay websites and I’m definitely anti-censorship, but I don’t think I’m all for my kid acting as an agent for the ACLU.
The author of a how-to guide on pedophilia was sentenced to probation
The author of a despicable “how-to” guide on pedophilia pleaded no contest this week to distributing obscene material depicting minors engaged in harmful conduct. However, his punishment is nothing more than two years probation, and he will not have to register as a sex offender.
Phillip R. Greaves II, 48, the author of The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure, cut the plea deal with prosecutors in Polk County, Fla., which is where he was extradited from his home in Pueblo, Colo. a few months ago. He was arrested for obscenity after authorities ordered a copy of his self-published book and he mailed it to a Florida address.
The cover of Phillip Greaves' controversial book.
Remember Phillip Greaves? He’s the one who virtually single-handedly set the internet afire in the beginning of November when the world caught wind of his ire-inducing manual: The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct. “Virtually single-handedly” because he wasn’t alone. Amazon played a big role, too. Without them, Greaves wouldn’t have ever had a platform for his controversial work.
Turns out he’s in the news again. Only this time, it’s for getting arrested, and his book played a key part.
Surely you haven’t forgotten about him, even if Amazon is still trying their best to do just that. After all, they suffered a PR nightmare thanks to their insistence on carrying the title. Sierra first wrote about Phillip Greaves‘ book in November. In her post, she cut and paste some verbiage from Amazon’s site that Greaves used to describe his work: Continue reading »
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