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Have you ever heard someone proclaim that if you don't vote, then you shouldn't complain? Well, whether or not you vote, we have the perfect iPhone app to make your complaints heard by whatever government official, agency or otherwise - DIY Democracy. This handy little government 2.0 app will let you make that wheel squeak even louder, all while informing you of your rights. And for the true civic participant on the go, you can even petition to run for office without interrupting your day. Sponsor DIY Democracy is a location enabled app that, although currently only fully-functional for California residents, connects its users with all the various levels of government. The app is a project of the Prometheus Institute , a public policy non-profit organization. The app is divided into four primary categories: Rights & Laws, Representatives, Take Action and Public Forum. Each of the first three are separated into the various levels of government, whether local, state or federal. The "Rights & Laws" section is a pocket reference to laws concerning all sorts of handy things, like due process or search and seizure. The app not only quotes the law directly, but offers a layman's interpretation. Of course, this is accompanied by a standard caveat that the information is for education only, but they seem to do a decent job of explaining "how it's generally applied in real life." In many ways, it's like having a pocket constitution, but broken down for easy access. "Representatives" offers a full listing of government officials, from Barack Obama to your local alderman, and each with contact information such as phone number, email address and website. The "Public Forums" are just that and, while we imagine the types of people that use this app to be the vocal sorts, we're not so sure a message forum is quite tailored to the iPhone. That said, the forums are also available on the web , but we question their true utility in this instance. Moving on, the final section, "Take Action", is the one that really caught our attention. We reviewed an app yesterday called GoRequest , that offered similar capabilities, but this one seems to take it a step further. DIY Democracy brings the various levels and offices of government to you with pre-formatted, well-written letters for the on-the-go complaint. Whether you want to run for office, contest the validity of a law, or simply report a pothole or road hazard, DIY Democracy is set to connect you with the proper authorities. It does all of this, of course, with your exact location in mind, so when you report that pothole, or dangerously dangling tree limb, the local department of public works will get exact GPS coordinates in addition to whatever other description you offer. In addition to GPS coordinates and pre-formatted letter templates, you can of course directly attach both photos and video, making options like "Contact Mayor" seem a little less silly. If an issue is urgent enough, get the evidence and send it off to the officials. We can only hope to see this app come out for more locations than California. While it's nifty that it goes all the way to the top, we find that being able to directly interact with your local government and report issues as seen on the ground is probably the more likely use for this app. DIY Democracy is available for download in the App Store. Discuss
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DIY Democracy: Civic Participation for the iPhone
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In November, we told you about a move in the UK to monitor P2P sharing and permanently ban users who infringed on copyright from using the Internet. In our reporting on P2P issues , it's rare these days to get wind of some good news; today, we've learned that this plan to ban would not, in fact, apply to most file-sharing fiends. After one ISP stood up to the government's proposals by circulating a petition, the government responded favorably, saying , "We are not requiring ISPs to monitor for unlawful file-sharing. Nor are we proposing that ISPs look at what users download in order to combat piracy... We will not terminate the accounts of infringers." Sponsor The fear, uncertainty and doubt about the UK's policy on illegal file-sharing stems from the introduction of the Digital Economy Bill , published on November 20, 2009. The bill "sets out in detail our proposed legislation to tackle on-line copyright infringement, including unlawful peer to peer file-sharing," according to the government. However, UK ISP TalkTalk vigorously objected to some of the measures laid out in the bill and drafted and circulated an e-petition to abandon the idea that illegal P2P file-sharing should result in a permanent ban from the Internet for guilty users. "If citizens are innocent until proven guilty," the petition reads, "ISPs would be forced to monitor internet usage to ensure that no copyrighted material is being transferred. This flagrant disregard for privacy is comparable to forcing the Post Office to search through parcels for photocopied documents or mixtape cassettes. Such requirements would place enormous strain on ISPs whilst failing to prevent the distribution of copyrighted material... "Who is punished in the case of shared family connections? The increasing role of the Internet in access to society should not be underestimated. Cutting off households deprives families of education, government services and freedom of speech. We do not see this as a fitting punishment, nor do we believe the breaches in privacy involved to be justifiable under copyright law." The government's full response states that officials are working with rights holders and media companies to find a balanced and equitable solution to illegal file-sharing - one that includes attractive, legal options for end users to access content, as well. The Digital Economy Bill will require ISPs to notify users whose accounts had been flagged by a copyright holder as having been used for illegal file-sharing. "In the cases of the most serious infringers," reads the response, "if a rights holder obtains a court order, the ISP would have to provide information so that the rights holder can take targeted court action." As a last resort, the Bill provides for ISPs' taking technical measures to stop illegal downloading, ranging from bandwidth restriction, daily downloading limits and temporary Internet account suspension. All in all, the government hopes to see a 70 percent reduction in illegal P2P downloads. It'll be interesting to see how various national laws and regulations hold up if something like ACTA ends up being passed. In a nutshell, a U.S.-drafted chapter of this treaty on Internet use would require ISPs to police user-generated content, to cut off Internet access for copyright violators and to remove content that is accused of copyright violation without any proof of actual violation - a far cry from the more lenient proposals we're reading from the UK. Let us know what you think in the comments. Discuss
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UK Nixes Internet Ban for P2P Infringement
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