image courtesy of TNT
If you weren’t planning on watching Raising the Bar tonight, I’d highly recommend it. Not only are we finally seeing Nick Balco finally in court, in the ruthless flesh.
And ruthless really is the right word. This is a man who only gets what he wants and doesn’t budge in negotiation.
So why is this episode so controversial? Well, you tell me. If someone posts a picture on their website and someone else uses it for illegal purposes, who’s to blame?
The defendant in this case is being brought up on child porn charges. He posted a picture of his son in the bath on his personal web page for friends and family (it was not determined whether this was a blog or a Facebook-like page in the episode). A third party then took the picture and posted it on their own site as child pornography, offering a $14.99 price to see the child’s nakedness.
So who’s to blame? Did the father do anything wrong? He was doing it innocently, but it was used incorrectly. At the same time, where is the line? Should a picture like that appear on a website in any case? Usually, a photographer is blamed in pornography cases, but if he didn’t mean any harm…
Honestly, both sides make a very compelling case, and it’s a little difficult to figure out who really was in the wrong. Should the father be held accountable–should he have realized the danger of what he was doing?
It’s something that we all deal with, now that we’re all in this technological age. All of our photos are digital and easily shared through Facebook, Flickr, blogs, Twitpic, etc. But it makes them more public than we may think, so should our actions have consequences? Well, I don’t know.
But I think this show makes a good attempt at opening your eyes to the dangers beyond the advantages of the new world of social media. And you know, the results of the case may just surprise you.
Update…the prosecutor just stated in the trial that it was on a social networking site…
I noticed that too (on a second watching). He must’ve posted it on a blog, then, the way that they consider it “his own personal website for friends and family.” I think blogs count as social networking. If it were Facebook, I feel like they wouldn’t call it his personal web page.
Unless he felt that he had all of his privacy settings appropriately configured so that only his friends and family could see the page. Who knows, though…it does raise an interesting point, however. Mom and I are totally pulling for the dad…
Yeah. I hate that they’re vague, but I guess they have to be. I guess you could consider his site to be Facebook, but I feel like they would have said “photo sharing” or something like that. Something more complex. I was desperately trying to look around Balco’s shoulder to see the kind of webpage it was (even as a prop). I’m such a nerd! But you know, some people just put things on blogs, assuming no one comes across them unless they tell people about them–privacy settings be damned.
I’m rooting for him too, but it does surprise me that there are some good points made by the opposition. Hmmm. Must think more. Then officially review tomorrow! (By the way, glad you’re watching. I know few people who do that I can chat about it with!)
I’ll be honest…this was my first episode. I tried watching the series premier, but I couldn’t handle Mark-Paul Gosselaar with long hair. I know, I’m petty about what makes me not watch stuff!
I’ll have to catch more eps, because that one was pretty good! My mom was hilarious. At the end, when Kellerman was offered the plea bargain again, mom kept yelling at the TV, “No, Zack!! No! Don’t drink!!”
I’ve heard a few people say they couldn’t get into last season. I certainly could, but here’s a neat link that is all about how the show fixed itself into something fantastic.