Shock! Horror! Now we know what it's like to lose Face...

19 Jun 2013

NEWSWATCH: Facebook went down briefly yesterday in some parts of the world - so now we know what life would be like without the social networking giant, reports Financial Review. Meanwhile, for those authorities that like checking everyone out, Mail & Guardian has a guide on 'how to spy on your citizens', but BlackBerry SA has assured SA users that 'you're safe with us', reports Times Live.

For more:

Financial Review: Facebook back online after global outage... There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth - and the odd expletive or two - Down Under yesterday when Facebook went down for a bit. The company is reported to have sent out messages to the effect of, "Sorry, something went wrong" - but its users
already knew that, and they were... well, read the report.
Mail & Guardian: A guide to spying on your citizens... I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have some government official or other checking out what I am doing - not that I am doing anything wrong anyway. To me, being spied on is rather like me checking out my neighbour while she sunbathes topless in the privacy of her own garden; she's not doing anything wrong, but I am. (Not that I would, anyway - I mean, have you seen my neighbour?)
Naturally, politicians here, there and everywhere will say you have nothing to worry about - as long as you don't do anything wrong.
The problem however, is that my "right" and your "right" might be what your local cloak-and-dagger minion reckons is very "wrong". In some countries, for example, suggesting that the president is a decrepit old cretin and long past his sell-by date will very likely see you having a quiet chat to "your Worship". In any normal society, however, saying such a thing might not be something the said president would like to hear, but you probably won't end up in the dock - or in a soundproof cell.
Most importantly, as Anton Harber points out, a law that can be abused, very likely will be abused - and that includes here in SA... Now, can you think of a law, or upcoming law, that might conceivably be open to abuse?
Times Live: No 'back door pipeline' for monitoring: BlackBerry SA... Well that's reassuring for BlackBerry users, certainly, and one takes it as a given that the
company is on its toes and keeping up with any potential threats to its security.
It issued the assurance yesterday "following reports that the United Kingdom government had been monitoring e-mails and phone calls," says the Times Live report.
According to Times Live, BlackBerry SA issued a statement to the effect that, "Our public statements and principles have long underscored that there is no 'back door' pipeline to that platform. Our customers can rest assured that BlackBerry mobile security remains the best available solution to protect their mobile communications."
That's nice - now just to keep an eye on those side entrances and, God forbid... the front door.

Rod Baker

About Rod Baker

Rod Baker is Content Director at Bizcommunity.com. A journalist since before computers, he worked on a wide range of magazines and, in his youth, rose through the ranks from being a lowly and abused sub-editor, to a high and still abused editor and publisher. He has been editor and publisher of a number of magazines, as well as a newspaper. He has edited many books, and written a number too. Email him at moc.ytinummoczib@dor.