Week 5 topic 2

I think the actions by Julian Assange are good. Julian Assange emblems the modern definition of online activism, through the brave activities by WikiLeaks, the public can understand relevant information that they should be aware. More so, the actions of WikiLeaks assist in fighting graft by exposing some of the corrupt deeds committed by leaders in the position of power. Furthermore, some of the organization spends a lot of money in concealing information that would be critical to the public.

Following the ousting of the Kenyan dictator, Daniel Arap Moi, the government created a commission with the aim of cleaning out corruption perpetuated by the previous regime. However, after the findings of the report, the government failed to act as per its recommendation and instead used the information as leverage of the former country’s president. The public of the country had been unaware of the corrupt actions of the government. However, WikiLeaks helped in uncovering the story which the Kenyan public would not have been able to access.

I am satisfied with the steps that are being taken on the protection of copyrights. With the introduction of mobile applications such as tidal, Spotify, apple music, the artist can get the best out of their musical material. The move has helped in removing the exploitive middlemen in copyright industries and record labels. More the current technology has contributed immensely in contributing to freedom of speech. The current technology gives the artist the ability to air their projects without the interruptions by music labels.

YouTube is an excellent example of how the current technology has helped in relaxing exploitive copyright laws.  For instance, any talented musician has the freedom to redo and air a song by another artist. The mechanism is known as cover music, and with the exposure, it has been possible to scout talent that had been previously suppressed.