Peek-A-Boo, Google sees you

Ah, Google Latitude. Such a wonderful application. Here’s a collage I’ve created on my Advanced Web Journalism module:

Online freedom under threat

Everyone thinks internets are the ultimate free media force, the chi and the yang, and as soon as those poor Chinese peasants will get their hands on it, the totalitarian regimes will fall like tilted domino pieces. So this is very worrying.

In short:

“A blogger who writes the Seismic Shock website has published articles critical of a Church of England Vicar, who has complained to the police over ‘harassment’ resulting in the blogger being paid a visit by the West Yorkshire constabulary, and his computer files at his University – who I believe is his emloyer – to be searched. The site linked above is the new one; the blogger deleted the old one “voluntarily” when the Constabulary had a “word”.

The Church of England Vicar is Rev Stephen Sizer, of the parish of Virginia Water. He is a known critic of the State of Israel, and of “Christian Zionism”, and a reasonably well-known controversialist on these questions.”

So what could be, and always was, dismissed as flaming, annoying but harmless internet abuse, is now classified as “harassment” and could earn you a visit from the police. Furthermore, your University, the place of knowledge, the sanctuary for the young, will provide your data in an instant.

This is the one to follow.