The Mobile Minute: Better Photos from Android, Mobile Web Concerns, Sierra Leone Cracks Down on SIM Cards

Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Sep 15, 2010

The Mobile Minute is here to bring you coverage on Sierra Leone's crackdown on unregistered SIM cards, Wall Street firms' move away from BlackBerry, Tim Berners-Lee's concerns about the mobile web's privacy, accountability, neutrality of networks, and accessibility, and a how-to guide for taking the best photos with your Android phone.

  • In Sierra Leone, the government is cracking down on people who sell unregistered SIM cards. AudienceScapes explains the government supposed rationale for a trend we are seeing in many more countries: "The rampant practice of selling unregistered SIM cards in the streets of Freetown and other parts of the country poses potentially serious security risks. Owners of unregistered SIM cards could use them for a range of abusive or illegal activities, including sending threatening messages to peaceful citizens, promoting acts of terrorism, stealing handsets, extorting money from citizens and kidnapping citizens. Registering SIM cards makes it possible for law enforcement officials to trace criminals involved in such acts."
  1. Privacy - Mobile location sharing allows people to share data easily; how can mobile users control who sees their information?
  2. Accountability - How can companies responsibly use our data? 
  3. Neutrality - In order to maintain an egalitarian web experience, networks must not prioritize certain companies' content over others'
  4. Accessibility - The mobile web is still not available or affordable in many parts of the world, reducing its ability to connect people

[Mobile Minute Disclaimer: The Mobile Minute is a quick round-up of interesting stories that have come across our RSS and Twitter feeds to keep you informed of the rapid pace of innovation. Read them and enjoy them, but know that we have not deeply investigated these news items. For more in-depth information about the ever-growing field of mobile tech for social change, check out our blog posts, white papers and research, how-tos, and case studies.]

Image courtesy Flickr user QiFei

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