OLPC Used to Browse Porn

youthoftoday writes "The OLPC project to bring the internet to third world has worked well — too well, it seems. Yahoo reports that Nigerian Children are already using the OLPC to browse for porn." This is why as kids we couldn't look at National Geographic issues without being supervised. A rep from OLPC said, understandably, that the laptops would now be fitted with filters.

Comments

Then it is true

[Broken scope]

We have finally brought the joys of the internet to those less fortunate.

Re:Then it is true

[Tribbin]

Yes we HAD brought the joys of the internet to the less fortunate.
It's not fair.
These fortunate black males will now also see ads for penis enlargers. We will never be able to catch up with them... ever.

It's only fair...

[Anonymous Coward]

Americans looked at naked Africans as kids, so African kids should be able to look at naked Americans now.

In other news

[Deadplant]

It has been reported that the sun has risen in Nigeria today.
Analyst are in agreement that the sun will almost certainly rise again probably once each day for the next few weeks.

Also: filters? get a fucking clue.
How about instead we just use these internets to send the offending officials some biology texts so that can learn about human sexuality and stop trying to stifle it.

Porn is inevitable

[Shabbs]

No matter where you go on the 'net, chances are you're going to hit some kind of porn sooner or later whether you meant to or not. Since these were originally destined for children, I'm surprised they did NOT come equipped with filters from the start. A big oversight for sure.

OLPC Project: "Here children, I give you THE INTERNET... totally unfiltered. Enjoy."

[5 minutes later...]

Children: "What is Goatse?"

Sigh...

Get those filters on!

Re:Porn is inevitable

[Eudial]

Get those filters on!

If they truly only blocked porn, then maybe it would be a matter of discussion, but certain filters' habit of censoring all sorts of irrelevant contents, political and otherwise really makes porn the lesser of the two evils.

Re:Porn is inevitable

[Tuoqui]

As much as I hate to say it. You're right.

If you start blocking porn because of its content (porn) then the people who have the power will demand other things be blocked too which leads to the Great Firewall of China problem... Except this one would be in Nigeria.

The internet was supposed to free everyone and allow them to think for themselves. Naturally those in power decide to try and force it into a tool for control just like everything else from Income Taxes to Drivers Licenses.

Re:Porn is inevitable

[grcumb]

If you start blocking porn because of its content (porn) then the people who have the power will demand other things be blocked too which leads to the Great Firewall of China problem... Except this one would be in Nigeria.

I've been dealing with exactly this issue for the last 4 years. I work in the developing world, and one of the things I do is assist with the integration of computers into programmes of all kinds. I can tell you that one of the biggest fears (after malware) is the content that people will access.

This may strike some of you as bizarre or even disgusting, but in cultures where sexuality - and women too - have historically been repressed, it's not unusual for a man to sit in his office and wank[*], not stopping when other staff members pass the door. Men can sometimes be surprisingly aggressive about their desire for porn. I remember being told a story about IT staff opening pop ups on a miscreant's computer, saying "We can see what you're doing. Stop it!" He just kept right on going. I myself have sat in the next office to one especially persistent guy, blocking domains the moment he accessed them. In the end I had to use back-channels to get the situation addressed.

[*] Odds are really good that this is the only place he can access the Internet. There's no computer at home, and Internet cafés are too expensive. The compulsion simply becomes to strong to deny.

Everybody asks me to install filters, and I do it, because in this country, pornography is against the law. But I explain to every manager who will listen that the technical measures are simply CYA: They exist so that you can argue in a court of law that you took reasonable measures to curb illegal activity. Ultimately, controlling what staff and/or project stakeholders see on their computers is a basic management issue. If people are properly supervised, they will not stray far. If they do, they must be disciplined.

In short: There's no technical substitute for supervision.

The internet was supposed to free everyone and allow them to think for themselves. Naturally those in power decide to try and force it into a tool for control just like everything else from Income Taxes to Drivers Licenses.

I submit that this contention is just as flawed as the idea that a content filter is the right tool for the job. What you are describing is people allowing a political and social climate that permits this kind of behaviour. The challenge is not a technical one. The means already exist for a complete surveillance state, and we can't un-invent the tools. All we can do is ensure that they are used appropriately. And that problem doesn't have a technical solution. It comes down to human beings showing humanity to one another.

I'll refrain from commenting on any current socio-political trends that might serve as examples. I'm sure we can all find suitable cases in our own back yards.

No way!

[Viraptor]

Seriously... who would've thought... Why was it reported at all? Maybe another title would be better - "Shocking revelation: Nigerian boys also want to see sex". I'm not surprised - are you? I'd say that great majority of males on the intertubes browsed porn sites at least once - keyword statistics from search engines seem to agree.

in other news...

[teknikl]

latex balloon sales to Nigeria skyrocket overnight!

Understandably?

[Anonymous Coward]

A rep from OLPC said, understandably, that the laptops would now be fitted with filters.

No, sorry, I do not understand. There's nothing evil about porn and those filter won't work anyway.

Re:understandably?

[smallfries]

Well done you. You've described why your own view of reality is an objective fact that everyone could base their own morality on. You're in popular company there, with many dictatorships, religions and cults. But most people are capable of seeing that their own subjective view of objective reality differs from other peoples. Hence, morality being relative to the observer. Sure, for most of the big life and death questions most people's view of morality overlaps, but that doesn't make it an absolute.

How is that autism working out for ya?

PS The idea that morality is timeless and external to the human race pretty much died out with Kant.

Time to end the OLPC project then

[maynard]

I mean - think of the children!!!

understandably?

[nurb432]

So its understandable that we will start enforcing our concept of morality on others right off the bat?

Remember, morality is relative.

huh

[nomadic]

I don't know why the OLPC project is giving internet access anyway. If I were them I'd create a closed network with educational sites alone. They don't need access to the internet universe.

Censorship in this case is wrong.

[3seas]

There is an AIDs issue to deal with here!

A question to ask: Does porn help promote AIDS with viewers or help to demote it?

Perhaps there is an age of threshold but that is something that should be determined by the current living environment.

So what is an indicator of that threshold? What gave the kids the idea of looking for porn on the internet in the first place? Seems to me the threshold was already passed before they looked for it on the internet.

I'm almost 50 years old and my email is filtered, not by my choice, such that I still get the porn promotion emails but the urls are changed to be random character strings. Whether or not I would access such sites is not the issue.

The issue is of censorship of what is in fact a part of human nature.

If you make something as natural as sex bad then you'll guarantee the typical rebellious teen age person will find a way. And maybe that way is such an act as to spread disease and unwanted pregnancies.

What can porn teach? proper safe sex? It can perhaps remove some level of curiosity ...

But porn or not, there is the natural human sex drive. Deny it and you'll have problems develop from ignorance and un-natural guilt. Such acts as rape included.

And how about the history of porn? What can it teach? The dangers of AIDs and other STDs?

If kids already know to look for porn on the internet, maybe its time the subject matter be properly addressed instead of being swept under the rug filter.

The biggest problem, the biggest contributing factor with the spread of AIDs in Africa, is ignorance.

Wait a minute, I live in Atlanta, I'm white...

Forget everything I said above.....

Actually, I don't understand

[Tim C]

Could someone explain to me, preferably without recourse to religious argument, what is wrong with these kids viewing porn? I mean, they're actively seeking it out, and so must already be interested, so you can't argue that the laptops are somehow corrupting them - they're already corrupt (by that definition)...

Re:They are not allowed to.

[arthurpaliden]

A few years back I was watching a documentary on TV dealing with stone age peoples somewhere in the world. At one point it showed all the the women (white scientists and black natives) and their children in the river bathing. Breasts of all shapes and sizes were visible as they all frolicked in the water. That is, on the black women, on the white women their brests were digitally obscured.

Re:They are not allowed to.

[gEvil (beta)]

That is, on the black women, on the white women their brests were digitally obscured.

So whose fingers were being used to cover the breasts?

It's a good thing...

[Original Replica]

Yeah, let those kids learn about unprotected ass-to-mouth sex. That'll keep the HIV rates down!

Let them learn about every kind of sex, stop treating sex and masturbation like freakish taboo abnoramalities and let them have open honest dialogue about sex. That will bring HIV rates down. Alot of guys in porns wear condoms. Nobody every got AIDS from masturbating. If (while they actually stay monogamous) they can close their eyes and fantasize about some porn starlet and that fulfills their natural male desire for a variety of partners, then that too will help control the spread of STDs. Maybe some men there will learn to appreciate women who have orgasims, and the practice of female circumcision will stop. All in all this will probably be a good thing.

Inaccurate

[crossmr]

This wasn't done on OLPC laptops. Not only did digg have the story before you, it was correct.
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/booby-trap/kids-use-us+ donated-laptops-to-surf-the-porn-of-course-280715. php

The OLPC manufacturers were just asked about what they'd do. That was there only relation to the story.

Porn is not a substitute for sex ed

[Foerstner]

Let them learn about every kind of sex, stop treating sex and masturbation like freakish taboo abnoramalities and let them have open honest dialogue about sex.

I don't have a problem with porn, and I don't have a problem with children learning about sex, but I don't think porn is a healthy way for children to learn about sex. There's all sorts of porn out there, and a good deal of it presents unrealistic scenarios out of context. Particularly those that deal with how women should be treated.

  Porn should come after proper sex education, not in its stead.