I had the pleasure of having a chat to Radio Australia's Ryan Egan for the 20th episode of the Tech Stream podcast. We spoke in some detail about the Chinese Government's ban on using virtual currencies to purchase real world goods, as well as the recent flare-up in concerns around the impact of the Federal Government's internet filtering legislation on virtual worlds. You can … [Read more...] about China’s virtual currency regulation and Conroy’s filter
censorship
Net filtering and virtual worlds: reactions
After last night's story on the Australian Government's internet content filtering legislation and its potential impact on virtual worlds, the response has been astounding. Today has seen the largest ever traffic on The Metaverse Journal. Like any issue, there are a few camps of thought: 1. Those who have significant concerns that environments like Second Life will end up … [Read more...] about Net filtering and virtual worlds: reactions
An open letter on virtual worlds for Senator Conroy
Today's coverage by Asher Moses in Fairfax newspapers on the latest saga with content filtering in Australia, alludes to virtual environments such as Second Life being added to the list of content not suitable for viewing in Australia. Essentially, the issue is that online 'games' like World of Warcraft and Second Life have not received an Classification rating and therefore … [Read more...] about An open letter on virtual worlds for Senator Conroy
Will Internet censorship soon include Virtual World censorship?
Contrary to popular belief, there is no direct relationship between Australian and American laws. Australians are not afforded all the protections that the American people have access to by law, although in some circumstances Australian society works as though those protections existed. Americans are protected from governmental censorship by the First Amendment to their … [Read more...] about Will Internet censorship soon include Virtual World censorship?
Who’s your Daddy?
US Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) would like to be your parent. At least, he would like to act as though he was your parent. Starting back in May 2008, Kirk has been singling out Second Life for special attention: he would like legislation to be introduced that prevents children from accessing Second Life- both the Teen Grid and the Main Grid (he makes no distinction), … [Read more...] about Who’s your Daddy?