You see this man? He is going to jail. Why? We'll get there. There are some things I read on the internet, that as soon as I see them with my eyes, I know they are not true. For example, I recently saw a video explaining how Tom Cruise was at the scene of 9/11 helping fire fighters pull people out of the rubble...yeah I wasn't really buying that. Apparently he was helping them out somehow, but we all know 80's Tom Cruise > 90's and beyond Tom Cruise. And of course we have wonderful banners on websites claiming that if we hit five monkeys on the head with a click of the mouse we can win an a million dollars or something to that effect. But the next story I came across was so incredulous, I could not believe it. Yet, after much research and deliberation, I have come to the conclusion it is emphatically true. So believe it or not, here is something that really brings the concept of transparency to a whole new level:
"A Moroccan court sentenced a computer engineer to three years in prison late on Friday for setting up a Facebook account in the name of King Mohammed's brother."
That's right, a man is going to the BIG SLAMMER, for setting up a fake Facebook account. Imagine how awkward/horrifying that first day is going to be for him. If I were to transcribe how this encounter will go down, it would probably be like this:
Scary Inmate #1: "So what are you in here for" (flexes gigantic, tattoo covered biceps, while pointing to scars that are most assuredly from illegal activities).
Fake Facebook guy: "I pretended to be a prince on the internet" (quivers nervously and cries on the inside) "What are you in here for?"
Scary Inmate #1: "Murder"
(single tear rolls down Fake Facebook guy's cheek)
end scene.
We have learned in class that transparency is a key element in today's Web 2.0 world. You can't go about these social networks galavanting as a masked crusader ala Zorro or some Mexican Luchador. The key to the success and rise of Web 2.0 is that there is some sort of community that is formed for the interactivity amongst the users. The amount of transparency that exists or is required may be different for each site. For example we all know what happened when the CEO of Whole Foods decided to blog about things that shouldn't be stated, and did not reveal who he was. Bad idea, and he was reprimanded for it. Now, if there is a Myspace profile created for say...Homer Simpson, it is a safe bet that the person who actually logs on to that Myspace is not really Homer Simpson. But, we don't reprimand that person for creating it, because the community understands that transparency on Myspace is not as crystal clear as perhaps we would like it to be. Yet, Facebook is a whole different barrel of monkeys (second monkey reference, what is wrong with me?). We expect for the person who owns a Facebook account to actually be the person they are representing probably because the site is a network site that initially required you to have a university email, thus making it much harder for Internet predators to fake their way into the webs of college alums. This is not say it doesn't happen, but its a lot harder.
Now, in the case of this Moraccan engineer we have a deliberate disregard for transparency. Not only did he choose to lie about the person he was representing, but he choose to be someone I'm guessing is a pretty, popular well known person within Morocco. Fouad Mortada (the man about to serve hard time) claims that this was simply a joke, and he truly admires the Prince, and in no way meant to do anything wrong. Regardless though he was arrested on February 5, blindfolded and taken to an unknown building where he was beaten and insulted. On Friday he was found guilty of falsifying data and imitating the prince without his consent, sentenced him to three years and also fined him $1,300.
I think beyond the idea of transparency what we are seeing here is an interesting take on government net neutrality. Say what you will about America, but at least you can make a fake Pete Wentz profile without having to fear Homeland Security busting down the door and dragging you out into the dark of the night. But where do we draw the line? I did my own search on Myspace for fake George Bush profiles created by users. Oddly enough I fond over 290 fake profiles all offering a different profile take on our Commander in Chief. I'm assuming most of these people are safe and sound, sitting in their houses probably playing World of Warcraft. It seems it is up to the respective government to decide whether false information is a threat to their safety. And from this story it seems that the leaders of Morocco have little to no sense of humor, and have very little regard for web user independence. Regardless of whether or not Fouad Mortada violated the unwritten rule of Web 2.0 transparency, I just do not see the justice of sentencing of a man to three years of hard time in PRISON. As social networks, technology, the internet, and our lives become more and more increasingly integrated web neutrality is going to become more and more of an issue. We must make sure the line between neutrality and safety for everyone is preserved and not abused. Unfortunately for Fouad Mortada, it is a little too late to change his status, and far to late to adjust his news feed.
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