Facebook Photos Reach China

Finally, Facebook photos have made their way to China... for now. A site called familyleaf has made it possible for families in China to see Facebook photos of their loved ones in America.

According to the Mashable article, the familyleaf co-founder, Wesley Zhao, believes the Chinese government has let these photos slip through on purpose. "The Facebook photos content delivery network is still available because the government is concerned about people organizing protests. Photos are not going to rile up protests," Zhao said.

However, I have my own opinion. If Facebook photos start slipping through to China, then what's next? There's always the possibility of something else making its way around. After all, who says a powerful photograph can't start protests?

I see this site being blocked just like the ones before it. Familyleaf allows people to "add family members" to their accounts by simply plugging in their email... much like "adding a friend" on Facebook. On Familyleaf, people can also "write on your board"... Facebook allows people to "write on your wall." I'm no expert but if Familyleaf continues to have features similar to Facebook, China will block it as quickly as it blocked every other social networking site.

Busted by... Cellphone?

How long will it be before our new media can be accessed by anyone for anything?

In a recent Indiana drug bust, police used cellphones in order to gain the owners' phone numbers according to Mashable. Having access to cellphone carrier's numbers allowed police to gain access to the call history. According to Reuters, the call logs led police to the illegal drug operation.

Now, why should police be allowed access to a cellphone without a warrant, but not a computer? Today, many phones could be compared to a computer you can carry in your pocket. Well, the judge of the trial linking to the drug bust decided that the cellphone is more like an address book or diary. In his opinion, police can look at cellphones at scenes only to get the carrier's number, but they cannot look through texts or anything else on the phone.

Personally, I believe this is just another gateway to limiting the people of our "Free Nation" to having privacy. Yet, I am conflicted because if there were a drug bust near my home and they found cellphones I'd say, "Get the criminals and go through their phones to find the others!" Obviously, there's a double standard in my mind that I can't get past.

So, what do you think? Should police be allowed to grab your number if you were busted?