Compartilhar via

Does censorship work as expected?

  • Artigo

Tihs g0t m3 th1nklng…

Ars Technica, which reported on the patent both when Microsoft applied for it in 2004 as well as now that it has been granted, notes that the technology could be used for more than just censoring profanity, suggesting that perhaps China or another government would want it employed for other phrases, such as Tibet or free speech. Microsoft gets bleeping patent (news.cnet.com)

W3 konw taht t#e hmuan barin is a gaert ptteran mtachnig mchaine, rgiht?

We all know know what the *bleep* stands for because of the context it’s used in. Profanyms are just polite self-bleeps that we insert instead of using Full Strength® profanity… Bleeping out Tibet in news reporting (or Palin, for another timely US-oriented example) won’t change what the news consumers understand. Listeners will still get the full message, plus the added meaning of naughtiness, unless it’s so badly redacted that it carries no meaning whatsoever.

Rather than worry about censors using technology, I think we should be worrying about making sure that those who “might” be subject to censorship still have the technology to communicate!

Comments

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2008
    PingBack from http://blog.a-foton.ru/index.php/2008/10/22/does-censorship-work-as-expected/

  • Anonymous
    October 22, 2008
    I'm really disapointed MS is supporting censorship technology. IMHO it is a very BIG mistake for the whole company image and this will cause big dammages. Everyone will speak again and again about "M$" "Big brother" and so on. We DONT need this kind of ad, we all who are investing heavily in new MS technologies such as Silverlight (and many others) that must rhyme with Liberty not police, censorship, dictatorship, hegemony or any word of this (bad) kind. There are so much good things in MS Labs these times.. Why promoting a technology just good for all the oppressors in the world ? What a sad mistake.. (i said it, i'll say it again...). Just because in US you're still living under a middle-age puritanisme and some words are "shocking" ? USA made big progresses (Obama for president is a very good sign of such changes). Why returning to your old demons ? MS must promote a dynamic world, must unchain the communication with new technologies, it is a real big mistake (again) becoming the company who create censoship tools for totalitarians !