Facebook's new Poke App

Facebook have developed a new app called Poke which allows users to send a short Facebook private message to another user, including a photo or a short video, that users can set to delete immediately after it has been viewed.  So for example, you could send a photo or message to someone else, and withint 10 seconds of that person reading it, the message would "self destruct" leaving no evidence of that conversation on the phone or on that person's facebook account..  Some people are complaining that it could do the following things:
* Encourage cyber-bullying with users able to send threatening messages to others with no evidence kept
* Encourage cheating as people could message each other without their other halves ever finding out
* Encourage sexting among children and teens who will no longer worry that their dodgy photos and videos could be saved / kept by the other person
* Encourage the sharing of child pornography with no evidence left behind

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2012/dec/27/facebook-poke-snapchat-app-thumbs-down

Can we and should we regulate and censor the internet?

A range of debates this week about whether organisations CAN or SHOULD regulate what we can access on the internet.

First of all Google set up a new filter that supposedly made it harder for people ti find pornographic images in the US.  But people have said it still isn't good enough.  And lots of people have complained!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247730/Google-failing-stop-easy-access-porn-despite-tweaking-search-results-US-hide-indecent-images.html 


There is an interesting article here about what some countries do already to block or regulate the internet.  They had a bit meeting this week where lots of countries discussed whether the internet should be controlled or not, and if so, who should do it.  But out of the 80 odd countries there, 55 voted against it.  Why do you think they might have done that?  It might be useful for you to make a two lists.  One of examples of why the internet SHOULD be regulated (eg people can slander / libel other people on it etc and give an example) and one of why the internet should NOT be regulated (eg people have used the internet to break important political stories that might not otherwise have been heard - give examples)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2248217/U-S-UK-refuse-sign-treaty-lead-greater-government-control-cyberspace.html


Another interesting article here about how many young people are accessing pornography on their phones etc.  Do you think it damaged young people's perceptions of relationships, and gender?  Should the access to pornography be controlled and if so, how?  There are some ideas on this article.  Originally the government said they WOULD NOT automatically block pornography....
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2248839/As-David-Cameron-rejects-automatic-blocks-online-porn-Deputy-Labour-Leader-Harriet-Harman-bitterly-attacks-latest-broken-promise.html

....But now they have been talking some more about it and said they WILL block it!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2250809/Victory-Mail-Children-WILL-protected-online-porn-Cameron-orders-sites-blocked-automatically.html