Russia : New bill equates popular bloggers to mass media

Published time: February 19, 2014 09:05

 

AFP Photo / David Gannon

 

Russian lawmakers suggest that internet authors whose works attract 10,000 or more visitors a day should be accredited as journalists, receiving all rights and responsibilities commensurate with this status.
The changes in state attitude to the blogosphere are the main part of the fresh package of amendments to the Law on Mass Media, Izvestia daily reported on Wednesday quoting an unnamed parliamentary source. According to the source, the figure of 10,000 daily visitors is already fixed in the draft papers, but did not specify if this was a single-time threshold or a mean index.
When a blogger signs for mass media accreditation he or she will automatically have an obligation to observe all legal norms applied to registered news outlets - the obligation to verify information before distributing it and responsibility for the consequences caused by the publications.
Izvestia’s source noted that the new amendment was modeled on a scheme already in use in Israel.
The news was confirmed by Vadim Dengin, first deputy head of the Duma Committee for Information Technology.
“Every blogger whose blog gets past a certain popularity threshold can be equated to mass media. Other people can share opinions expressed in blogs and expressing information with personal evaluations makes bloggers personalities of a national scale. It is natural that they are made equal with the mass media. They must share responsibility for their words and work within legal parameters,” the MP said.
Popular Russian bloggers are skeptical about the initiative. Stanislav Apetyan, who writes under nickname Politrash on the Livejournal platform, noted that a blogger can be brought to responsibility for slander like any other person, and the law on mass media is not necessary for this procedure. Another blogger, Edward Chesnokov, pointed out that the internet is extremely decentralized and the authorities do not have real power over services that are legally and technically located in other countries.

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Blackberry Cuts 4,500 Jobs while Intel Cuts 700

Business

Blackberry to cut 4,500 jobs amid earnings plunge

The BBC's Michelle Fleury says Blackberry "was once a pioneer" in the smart phone field

Blackberry has announced it is planning to cut 4,500 jobs, or 40% of its worldwide workforce, in an attempt to staunch huge losses.

The smartphone maker said it anticipated a loss of as much as $995m (£621m) when it reports its second-quarter earnings next week.
Shares in the firm closed down 17% after briefly being halted following the announcement.
In August, the Canadian company said it was evaluating a possible sale.
In a statement on Friday, Blackberry's chief executive Thorsten Heins said: "We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability."
"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user."
'Off a cliff'
The company said the losses were primarily attributable to disappointing sales of its new Z10 model smartphone.
Released in January to much fanfare after many delays, the phone has failed to enthuse consumers.


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 Intellihub.com

One can hear the average Joe who voted for Obama say, “I Voted for Change, but not this Bullshit!”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. President Barack Obama answers questions during a press conference in the East Room of the White House August 9, 2013 in Washington, DC. Obama answered questions on national security issues and related matters during the press conferece. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Opinion

By Avalon
Intellihub.com
September 00, 2013

The economic outlook keeps degenerating with Blackberry cutting 4,500 jobs, and with Intel closing a manufacturing plant in Hudson, Massachusetts, resulting in 700 jobs lost._[1][2]
Although the Information Technology sector of the global economy has been doing well overall, restructuring and new technologies have effected some business models more than others. The IT Security and Storage sectors are poised for tremendous growth.
In the case of Blackberry, the technology has been under immense scrutiny for its not keeping up with the vast majority of what people want in their communication devices. Even though the U.S. government has only certified Blackberry for government use, this did not avert the job cuts._[3][4]
Soon afterward, in the article ‘U.S. and U.K. spies crack BlackBerry BES Encryption, report says’ by computerworld.com, Blackberry BES Encryption was compromised. Once again, the NSA is a global threat to privacy and corporate security._[5]


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