A new California bill could give school officials the power to punish students who cyberbully off-campus. Would this violate online free speech? Then, a woman is suing Best Buy's Geek Squad for posting her private nude photographs online. What can be done to protect your data when your computer is being fixed? Next, will you be watching Al Jazeera America, and should the Coastal Commission be able to impose fines? Then, a recent study that shows most people don't have a diverse set of friends. Lastly, Yahoo! removed a suicide blog, but should it stay up?
New cyberbullying bill would give schools power to punish kids for outside activities
A new California bill would allow school administrators to punish students who bully online. School officials would have the power to expel students even if the cyber bullying took place off school grounds. Authored by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, the bill comes after recent suicides from victims of bullying. In Saratoga, two young girls were sexually assaulted, then teased repeatedly online before committing suicide. School officials could not stop the cyber attacks because it was outside school property.
Under the current law, superintendents can only punish students who cyber bully at school or during school activities. According to the Associated Press, the ACLU has criticized the bill as restricting online speech for students.
Do you think school officials should be able to punish cyber bullying no matter where it happens? How will the school investigate claims of cyber bullying? Does this law limit free online speech for students? What can schools do to stop cyber bullying? Is suspension a strong enough punishment?
Guests:
Jeff Freitas, Secretary-Treasurer, California Federation of Teachers
Susan Porter, Ph.D, author of “Bully Nation: Why America’s Approach to Childhood Aggression is Bad for Everyone” (Paragon House); Dean of Students at The Branson School in Ross, California; she has worked in schools for 25 years.
Woman sues Best Buy Geek Squad for posting her nude photos online
A student at the University of Alabama is suing Best Buy, claiming that revealing photos on her laptop were unjustifiably removed and put on the Internet after she left her laptop with Best Buy’s Geek Squad technical support team for repairs.
The lawsuit, filed at the U.S. District Court in Alabama, claims an invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and negligent supervision, training and entrustment. March found about two years after she’d taken the computer in for repairs that that naked photos of her, which identified her by name, were being shared on peer-to-peer networks like The Pirate Bay.
The woman then notified the manager at the Best Buy in Tuscaloosa, and though an agent with Geek Squad claimed to have tracked down the culprit and deleted the files, the agent also allegedly asked her to do him the “favor of not asking who the culprit was”. So instead she filed a police report.
We all know that our computers are subject to be tampered with when we give them to IT experts, so we hide the private photos, the password lists and the bank statements, right? Or do we? And can’t a savvy IT worker find stuff anyways?
How often does this kind of stuff happen, and what gets stolen or misused? How can consumers protect themselves? How are IT training and certification boards ensuring that this kind of stuff doesn’t happen? Or are too many IT personnel operating without much supervision? And what are the legal implications of tampering? If you give up your computer under a contract that says the service can wipe your hard disk clean, how can you stop them from stealing stuff before they purge it all?
Guests:
Ben Popken, Senior Staff Writer and Editor at NBCNews.com, formerly at Consumerist.com, where he lead an investigation into Geek Squad that found techs were uploading frivolous pictures from customers’ computers.
Pam Dixon, Executive Director of the World Privacy Forum; she says repair tech tampering is a widespread problem, and she’ll also be able to talk about the specific lawsuit in Alabama and its legal ramifications.
Cable news newcomer Al Jazeera America debuts tomorrow
The first new news network to hit US airwaves in decades is making its debut on Tuesday. Al Jazeera America will have its first chance to rival CNN, MSNBC and Fox News on its own turf. The network has opened 12 bureaus around the country and is hiring more than 1,000 journalists. Its plan is to cover serious national news while also bringing an international perspective.
Opinions seem to be divided over the news agency's parent company Al Jazeera. There is still bitterness toward Al Jazeera for providing an outlet for Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 4attacks, a move which led some to derisively label the network "Jihad TV." Last month, 22 crew members of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr in Egypt resigned over what they said was biased coverage.
But as many Americans grow frustrated with the current network news options, is now the time for a newcomer? Does the US news media need a fresh voice like this to shake things up? Will you be watching Al Jazeera America? Do the controversies bother you?
Guest:
Philip Seib, Director of USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy and author of the book “The Al Jazeera Effect” (2008)
Should the Coastal Commission be given the power to impose fines?
That's the question the state legislature will wrestle with this week. The bill, sponsored by San Diego democrat Toni Atkins, would allow the Commission to impose and collect fines without court approval, which is currently required. The Commission argues that the added step hamstrings the agency's efforts to protect the state's coastlines. According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 20 state agencies have the power to levy fines.
Businesses that oppose the bill feel that the Commission already has enough regulatory power as is, and doing away with court oversight would leave coastal property owners and businesses faced with hefty penalties with little legal recourse.
Guests:
Sara Wan, Former Commissioner of the California Coastal Commission
Margo Parks, director of government relations for the California Cattlemen’s Association and she represents a coalition of businesses that opposes the bill
Is your circle of friends a colorful kaleidoscope or monochrome?
A recent poll conducted by Reuters found that many Americans do not have friends of another race. The poll found that nearly 40 percent of white Americans and 25 percent of non-whites are surrounded by friends of their own race. In certain regions however, where there is more diversity there is a greater chance for people to develop friendships outside their own race. California is the most diverse with both friendships and love, but areas of the south has the lowest percentage of people with diverse acquaintances.
Do you have friends of a different race? What role do you think location plays in this? Is it important to have a diverse set of friends?
Guests:
Mo Tammin, polling editor at Reuters
Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, director of the Greater Good Science Center at University of California, Berkeley. He also writes a blog about the science of prejudice, stigma, and intergroup relations.
Should a suicide blog on Yahoo be given new life?
Last Thursday Kansas City sports reporter Martin Manley took his own life. That same day, he published a blog that detailed what led to his decision. Manley's sister told Slate that Manley pre-paid Yahoo to host the site for five years. However, Yahoo took down the site on Friday night citing a violation of its terms of service. Manley's sister, Barbie Flick, is trying to get Yahoo to republish the blog; but meanwhile, many other sites have republished Manley's final words.
Should Yahoo have taken down Manley's blog? Is the blog's existence honoring Manley's last wishes or should his last words be less public?
Didi Hirsch's 24-hour toll free suicide prevention crisis line: 877 727 4747
Guests:
Stephen Wu, a partner in the law firm Cooke, Kobrick and Wu; he served as the 2010-2011 Chair of the American Bar Association’s section of science and technology law.
Sandri Kramer, crisis line director of the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center