UK minister pledges policing for Second Life
Will the cops be imaginary too?
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A UK government minister made a virtual pledge to police virtual worlds this week, as the problems of the real world are increasingly reflected in the likes of Second Life.
Lord Triesman, talking at the Virtual Worlds Forum in London, flagged up a number of "causes for concern" that would need government input to control. The list was a familiar one, featuring child pornography, ID fraud, money laundering, and copyright infringement.
Triesman, who looks after intellectual property at the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills, also mentioned that New Labour bugbear, anti-social behaviour, surely a sign that the virtual ASBO is on its way to disperse rowdy avatars planning to picket UK.gov's virtual embassy in Second Life, for example.
The good lord was apparently rather short on detail of any planned legislation, but also said he hoped the operators of virtual worlds themselves would initially take the lead with self-regulation. We all know how good industry is at policing itself, of course.
Triesman's approach might not go down quite so well with film bigwig Lord David Puttnam, who warned the conference about the dangers of too much commercialisation of virtual worlds aimed at children.
Puttnam, the man who pulled Chariots of Fire on to our screens all those years ago, raised concerns that virtual worlds from the likes of toymakers are largely about teaching children to be good consumers, rather than instilling any broader set of values. Puttnam also said that operators needed to take the idea of virtual world addiction more seriously, and echoed Triesman in flagging up the problems of virtual crime.
It wasn't all bad from Puttnam's point of view, though. He said broadcasters needed to engage more with virtual worlds, pointing out how they were a more active medium than TV or radio. To date, TV's efforts to introduce interactivity had "crashed and burned" he said. ®
COMMENTS
@Brown's latest attempt at thinking?
Matt,
It might not have more than a little to do with alien communications which Imprudently the Cyber Kindergarteners in the Cabinet Office and Westminster have been studiously avoiding, to the virtual point of serious organised criminality. Now, of course, too little too late, they are just as empty vessels to deliver Servicing Cargo carried on the Stormy Swells, Mighty Blighty Crests and Troughs of AI Space Virtualised for Reality 2 and raising Assured Interest for Guaranteed Stability of ITs SurReal Environment. "In for a Penny, in for a Pound..." .maybe here? ...... http://comments.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/26/sprint_trumpets_xohm_at_ctia/
Not Fit for Official Virtual Purpose is their Fate which is a lot kinder than saying that they are just not SMART enough to have their every move noted down and shared.....and the truth and its plain speaking so badly and sadly eludes them. The die is cast and they have chosen their roles and are ill prepared and/or doggedly disinclined to premiere as anything else. Moribund describes such souls to a Mrs T. Blots on the landscape does the same for others.
And as for a Blog, what Beta Log than to Register IT here. There's some real SMART dudes who can suffer all manner of fools and are wise enough to be entertained but not fooled by them.
A Sort of Therapy which money cannot buy but which Business will surely tell you, will sells.:-) ....... thus to Deny.
@real crime
If they implant electrodes, why would they bother waiting for the crime to be committed? Caught in the planning surely? for that matter why show up? 50 Kv applied directly to brain ought to do the trick!
It's not just law.uk and law.usa that is going down the drain, law.au is pretty bad too! We should all move to International Waters.
real crime
Great so you Brits will now have less resources dedicated to catching real criminals. Well with all the CCTV cams i guess you have to gives those cops some real work to do.
Whats going on with your legal system??
Its nice to know that Americas legal system aint the only one going down the drain.
I'm waiting for they day that they implant chips in our heads; and the moment we do some thing wrong cops show up.
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