Facebook and MySpace Troubles
The MVP Sports Media Training developed the program, YouDiligence, which was intended for the athletic departments of colleges who are alarmed with the possibility that their student-athletes may be involved with activities that happen online. YouDiligence is described by the promotional materials of MVP as the pioneering product created to assist the athletic department of various colleges in scrutinizing the Web for negative and damaging postings done by their respective student athletes.
The article in Chronicle Today explained that the custom made software design operates through the carrying out of student searches in pages of popular sites such as Facebook and MySpace. What is being looked for are reprehensible words or phrases that illustrates vulgarity, anything that is considered as profanity, and slang language used pertaining to prohibited drugs. Students who are discovered to contain the above mentioned objectionable criteria, an automated report is generated and sent outright to the e-mail addresses of college administrators concerned. The information would then serve as a proof for deliberation.
However, legal questions are being raised regarding the use of this latest software design that is custom made to be used as a monitoring device to keep track of students’ activities on well known socializing networks in the web such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com.
The problem that emerges is regarding the program’s operating system and the constitutionality of such online proactive monitor banking only on the student’s speech that possibly breaches the privacy of the individual.
Students enrolled in public schools benefit from the protection of the First Amendment thus, punishment given based on the person’s speech is a distinctively unconstitutional. Despite of that there is still the dilemma on the complexity of the contract signed by student athletes especially those who are under a scholarship program. It is expected that athletes agree with the college’s policy hold back from unbecoming behaviors.
In connection to that, Facebook is being the avenue and inevitably creators’ names will be dragged. The Facebook developed by J.Michael Arrington’s team is considered to be a “Walled Garden”. It has even received allegations for being somewhat selfish with its design that limits other budding or professional programmers’ creativity. However, the garden is discovered to welcome such exploitative measures.
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