Digital Rabbis To Keep You Chaste
A few weeks ago, the govrment of Israel has passed a
law requiering all ISP's to filter content that might
be inappropriate for children or considered
'abomination'.
the law stipulates that a subscriber that wishes to have accsess to 'abominations' (AKA unfiltered content), must register with the ISP with explicit consent for this. all subscribers that did not register with the ISP will recive filtered content, or will be cut off from the service.
Many people think this is a blessing, in a 'think of the children' sort of way.
Amnon Cohen. he thinks
its cool. do you?
Others, I included, think this is an abomination (pun intended).
The reasons are simple and obvious.
1. 'abomination' (my translation of the word 'ToEva', as it appears in the new law) is a very vague definition, and leaves much for interpretation.
2. interpretation of the word is given to the Minister of Communication. at the moment, MK Amnon Cohen from the ultra orthodox party Shass (which would be filtered under the new law, as its name contains a.s.s).
3. the government will have a list of 'perverts' who wish to access 'abominations', as defined by the Minister.
4. content is not filtered due to illegality of the content (i.e Pedophile, other criminal activities), but using a subjective morals, banning very legitimate 'abominations' (such as online lingerie stores).
if you still fail to see the danger, here is a scenario;
The Minister decides that content X doesnt fit with his ideals. under the new law, he can ban access to X (X being anything, from anti-abortions, christian mission, evolution....), and have a list of all the 'perverts' who wish to gain access to it. under the new wiretapping act, the police can tap those on the list without court orders and without anyone knowing this takes place. under the new undisclosed seizures act, the police can take or make copies of the people's data (in simple words, break into your home when you are away, and copy your Hard Drives, without you ever knowing).
Honestly, dont you find it terribly disturbing that the government will keep lists of people that want to have unfiltered (i call it 'uncensored') information?
AKA A Government Blacklist (of people who wants free information).
had i asked you twenty years ago what government is discussed, 9 out of 10 would say the soviets, the tenth person being a KGB spy.
this is without discussing the hopelessness of the whole concept of filtering (i admit, it does work in china and some other places, but it is not fair to compare), as this draconian law will force most people to get blacklisted.
Ynet article
Online Law article discussing Bill 892
update:
I was talking to a pinup artist friend of mine (Tali "my content is "abomination" and
I rely on it for my sole income" Shapiro) about a comment in mixx to this post.
the comment makes a point that if voting up content like this encourages politicians
(and puppy killers) to act on their heinous whims, to gain publicity.
IMHO, it is the heinous act that is getting the spotlight, not the perpetrators. Freedom
of information is under attack from so many directions, and every light counts.
Here is the conversation with Tali:
nshex1:
i guess you are right, as voting=mixxing.
point is, life happens outside of mixx,
Tali Shapiro:
it happens to me too, you read something you want to crack some heads over, so you reach for the (thumbs down) and suddenly remember that would have the wrong effect
nshex1:
you dont have to bring it inside, but it keeps on happenning anyway. try mixxing when it's censored.
Tali Shapiro:
I didn't have to, but it's the kind of content I mixx anyway
what's censored?
nshex1:
1 an official who examines material that is about to be released, such as books, movies, news, and art, and suppresses any parts that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
USAGE Both censor and censure are both verbs and nouns, but censor means ' scrutinize, revise, or cut unacceptable parts (from a book, movie, etc.)' or 'a person who does this,' while censure means 'criticize harshly' or 'harsh criticism:': the inmates received their mail only after prison officials had censored all the contents; | some senators considered a resolution of censure to express strong disapproval of the president’s behavior.
Tali Shapiro:
silly, I didn't understand your sentence! What is getting censored?
nshex1:
mixx
"try mixxing when it's censored."
Tali Shapiro:
you mean when it's blocked by the new law?
nshex1:
an evolution of it in 5 years. you know how commties work
Tali Shapiro:
I'm hoping not to live here and not give a shit
nshex1:
it is not something you can run away from. like gangrene, it spreads, one ban leads to another, as the notion of "can censor" has been established.
Tali Shapiro:
That's why it's so important to keep social sights alive, it's the fastest way to move information
the law stipulates that a subscriber that wishes to have accsess to 'abominations' (AKA unfiltered content), must register with the ISP with explicit consent for this. all subscribers that did not register with the ISP will recive filtered content, or will be cut off from the service.
Many people think this is a blessing, in a 'think of the children' sort of way.
Amnon Cohen. he thinks
its cool. do you?
Others, I included, think this is an abomination (pun intended).
The reasons are simple and obvious.
1. 'abomination' (my translation of the word 'ToEva', as it appears in the new law) is a very vague definition, and leaves much for interpretation.
2. interpretation of the word is given to the Minister of Communication. at the moment, MK Amnon Cohen from the ultra orthodox party Shass (which would be filtered under the new law, as its name contains a.s.s).
3. the government will have a list of 'perverts' who wish to access 'abominations', as defined by the Minister.
4. content is not filtered due to illegality of the content (i.e Pedophile, other criminal activities), but using a subjective morals, banning very legitimate 'abominations' (such as online lingerie stores).
if you still fail to see the danger, here is a scenario;
The Minister decides that content X doesnt fit with his ideals. under the new law, he can ban access to X (X being anything, from anti-abortions, christian mission, evolution....), and have a list of all the 'perverts' who wish to gain access to it. under the new wiretapping act, the police can tap those on the list without court orders and without anyone knowing this takes place. under the new undisclosed seizures act, the police can take or make copies of the people's data (in simple words, break into your home when you are away, and copy your Hard Drives, without you ever knowing).
Honestly, dont you find it terribly disturbing that the government will keep lists of people that want to have unfiltered (i call it 'uncensored') information?
AKA A Government Blacklist (of people who wants free information).
had i asked you twenty years ago what government is discussed, 9 out of 10 would say the soviets, the tenth person being a KGB spy.
this is without discussing the hopelessness of the whole concept of filtering (i admit, it does work in china and some other places, but it is not fair to compare), as this draconian law will force most people to get blacklisted.
Ynet article
Online Law article discussing Bill 892
update:
I was talking to a pinup artist friend of mine (Tali "my content is "abomination" and
I rely on it for my sole income" Shapiro) about a comment in mixx to this post.
the comment makes a point that if voting up content like this encourages politicians
(and puppy killers) to act on their heinous whims, to gain publicity.
IMHO, it is the heinous act that is getting the spotlight, not the perpetrators. Freedom
of information is under attack from so many directions, and every light counts.
Here is the conversation with Tali:
nshex1:
i guess you are right, as voting=mixxing.
point is, life happens outside of mixx,
Tali Shapiro:
it happens to me too, you read something you want to crack some heads over, so you reach for the (thumbs down) and suddenly remember that would have the wrong effect
nshex1:
you dont have to bring it inside, but it keeps on happenning anyway. try mixxing when it's censored.
Tali Shapiro:
I didn't have to, but it's the kind of content I mixx anyway
what's censored?
nshex1:
1 an official who examines material that is about to be released, such as books, movies, news, and art, and suppresses any parts that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.
USAGE Both censor and censure are both verbs and nouns, but censor means ' scrutinize, revise, or cut unacceptable parts (from a book, movie, etc.)' or 'a person who does this,' while censure means 'criticize harshly' or 'harsh criticism:': the inmates received their mail only after prison officials had censored all the contents; | some senators considered a resolution of censure to express strong disapproval of the president’s behavior.
Tali Shapiro:
silly, I didn't understand your sentence! What is getting censored?
nshex1:
mixx
"try mixxing when it's censored."
Tali Shapiro:
you mean when it's blocked by the new law?
nshex1:
an evolution of it in 5 years. you know how commties work
Tali Shapiro:
I'm hoping not to live here and not give a shit
nshex1:
it is not something you can run away from. like gangrene, it spreads, one ban leads to another, as the notion of "can censor" has been established.
Tali Shapiro:
That's why it's so important to keep social sights alive, it's the fastest way to move information