Ban for Google in Czech

PRAGUE: Authorities in the Czech Republic have banned Google Inc from continuing in its mapping feature

"Street View" in the eastern European country.

The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection says Google has not been granted a necessary registration for the activity. Spokeswoman Hana Stepankova declined to give details. The office plans to speak about the case next week.

The office has been investigating Google for failing to meet necessary requirements needed to collect data used for "Street View" since April.

The US Internet giant has come under fire from authorities across Europe, including Germany, over concerns that it violated people's privacy while taking shots of city streets.

Google acknowledged the privacy breach in an apology in the spring.

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Harrisburg University Bans Social Media For A Week.

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology banned social media for a week for all students. The students are strictly avoided using Twitter, Facebook, instant messaging and any other online communication except e-mail.

NPR reports that university Provost Eric Darr chose to enact the temporary ban because he wants students to think about how much they’re using technology in their daily lives and what kind of impact it has. From NPR’s interview it doesn’t seem that he’s anti-technology or anti-social media per se; he just believes today’s college students take its role in their lives for granted.

“Often, there are behaviors or habits, ways that we use technology that we may ourselves not even be able to articulate because we’re not aware of them,” Darr says. Students will write reflective essays about their experiences after the blackout has ended.

Not all students will be part of this academic exercise. The blackout will simply be enforced by blocking social sites and networks on the campus network, so students living off-campus will be unaffected, and students with smartphones won’t have any trouble staying connected either.

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