It is very interesting to see how the issue on the sex videos of Hayden Kho and his concubines has sparked heated arguments in various sectors of our society reaching up to the level of the Philippine Senate.  In a recent radio interview overy DYRD-AM Inyong Alagad program, Auza.Net technology consultant Jerome Auza was asked if a senate bill banning sex videos will be effective in preventing the spread of inappropriate content via the Internet and other means using electronic gadgets like cellphones and other mobile devices.  Mr. Auza said that it is not going to stop the spread of such content because it is very easy to upload videos and other media files on the Internet and even if the Philippine government succeeds in preventing such materials to be published on the Internet because of the senate bill, the person wanting to publish those only has to find a way to upload the content on the web using channels in other countries.  However, it is not easy to prevent a person from sharing inappropriate content using his mobile device to another mobile device of a friend.  In the end, it is still up to the person if he will proliferate inappropriate content or not.

Is technology to blame for the proliferation of inappropriate content over the web?

We probably should not blame technology because technology is just a tool and it is us the users who decide how we use the tool.  Technology, which we can represent by a video camera, will not create sex videos by itself and then send them to people.  A person will always be behind such inapproprate acts.

Can technology be used to prevent access to inappropriate materials?  To a certain extent, yes.  For example, it is possible to block inappropriate websites from being displayed on a computer using content filtering software.  It is also possible that an Internet Service Provider can block such websites from being displayed.  Aside from being inappropriate, content like porn videos can be imbedded with programs that contain computer viruses and other malware and this should raise the importance of blocking such content from being viewed.

In institutions like schools and offices, Internet access should be controlled such that authorized users only can access the Internet and then all users must not be able to access known inappropriate websites.  It is the responsibility of the head of a school or office to ensure that the Internet access service is used as intended and that users, specially students, should not be exposed to inappropriate content within their institution.  Although 100% prevention is nearly impossible, by minimizing occurences, the institution is helping itself and its users to use the Internet for other useful purposes.

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Auza.Net is committed to help institutions enforce proper use of the Internet and would be willing to discuss its service offerings.  Interested parties may call Mr. Jerome Auza of Auza.Net at 5017931 or email at jerome.auza@auza.net for inquiries.