China has disrupted WhatsApp in a censorship drive ahead of the government’s Communist Party meeting next month. It has only been accessible through virtual private networks (VPNs) at times – but even some of them are being blocked. Other social media platforms, which people in the West use every day, are also banned in mainland China. Instead they’re replaced by… Read more »
Posts Categorized: ethics
Facebook made China censorship tool
Facebook worked on special software so it could potentially accommodate censorship demands in China. Since 2009, the only way to access Facebook in China has been via a virtual private network – software designed to “spoof” your real location and avoid local internet restrictions. Facebook, which has 1.8 billion active users, is aggressively looking to… Read more »
‘Invulnerability illusion’ leaves younger people exposed to web frauds
If you’re a younger person who thinks older people are more likely to get scammed online than you are, your dodgy prince awaits. A recent Better Business Bureau study found 69 per cent of online scam victims are under 45 — and millennials are more likely to get conned than baby boomers. “Despite the perception that… Read more »
Battlefield 1: Can a video game about WW I be both entertaining and a history lesson?
After about two minutes — if you survive that long — you run out of ammo, and find yourself outnumbered. When you’re inevitably gunned down, a short card with your soldier’s name and lifespan appears on the screen — for example, “Matthew Collings (1884-1918).” Then you’re placed in the role of another doomed recruit, in another part of… Read more »
Facebook’s Race-Targeted Ads Aren’t as Racist As You Think
IN LATE OCTOBER ProPublica released a scathing investigation showing how Facebook allows digital advertisers to narrow their target audience based on ethnic affinities like “African-American” or “Hispanic.” The report suggested that Facebook may be in violation of federal civil rights statutes and drew parallels to Jim Crow Era “whites only” housing ads. Source: Wired Magazine Date: November… Read more »
Canadian grandmother accused of pirating zombie game
Canadian grandmother Christine McMillan does not include killing zombies among her hobbies, neither does she play the games that would allow her to do so. So when she received a letter accusing her of illegally downloading first-person shooter Metro 2033, she was surprised. Source: BBC Technology News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37834766 Discussion 1) “It is now… Read more »
German Chancellor Merkel says Facebook, Google ‘distort perception,’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »
German Chancellor Merkel says Facebook, Google ‘distort perception,’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »
Big ambitions for Japanese ‘digital daughter’
Last year a new Japanese celebrity burst onto the scene. But “Saya” was a different kind of star, because she is the product of a Tokyo computer lab. And like all “parents”, her creators have big ambitions for her. Source: BBC Asia Date: October 25th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37548733 Discussion 1) Why is the development of completely a realistic… Read more »
FBI forcing Apple to weaken iOS security could endanger lives, warns UN
Description: The legal tussle between Apple and the FBI over a locked iPhone, and the security weakening measures the security services want the iOS maker to take to help it extract data on the device, has now attracted comment from the UN’s commissioner for human rights. Source: Tech Crunch Date: March 4, 2016 Representatives for both… Read more »
Leading Titles
Introduction to Information Systems, 3rd Canadian Binder Ready Version Update Edition
R. Kelly Rainer, Casey G. Cegielski, Ingrid Splettstoesser-Hogeterp, Cristobal Sanchez-Rodriguez
ISBN: 978-1-119-13385-8
August 2015, © 2016
CDN $98.95; CDN $114.95