Laura Chinchilla, Sex and the Internet
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla gave her first address via Internet this weekend on Youtube, and the switch from broadcast television to Internet social networking represents a change for how the government communicates with the people.
During the three minute speech she implies that problems were inherited from the last administration and also deals with the hot button issues of citizen security, the Taxi Conflict, funding in the state university system, and a recent high profile drug bust.
An Article in AM Costa Rica addressed many of these points, however omitted a high priority social program called, Red de Cuido. Essentially this is a publicly funded child care program for working mothers so that they can complete their education or seek employment. Chinchilla mentions in the video that she is working to get the necessary funding and calling on local and international experts.
Laura Chinchilla is no stranger to youtube.com as it figured rather prominently in the last presidential election. She made a video to Demand Respect and counter derogatory videos that Portrayed Her as a Puppet of the previous administration. The use of the video in an official capacity as President brings Internet social networking full circle into public life in Costa Rica. Another good comparison of this transition in social media can be seen between her Campaign Facebook Page and the Official Casa Presidential Facebook.
It’s also worth noting that AM Costa Rica has been talking a great deal lately on the subject of Internet Social Networking. Another recent article by Garland Baker brought to light how the Dark Side of Social Communication might have an impact on the problem of Sex Tourism Promotion in Costa Rica.
Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark
At first I was a bit skeptical on the issue until I did a little research on the central point, which is the lawsuit brought in federal court by a Illionios sheriff against craigslist.com.
Apparently legal actions against craigslist are likely to fail and the rather shocking reason, a federal law to protect children is outlined by a Washington D.C. Lawyer.
If it weren’t for this key federal immunity provision it’s likely that Craiglist founder, Craig Newman would be sitting in an Illinois jail, and the sheriff wouldn’t have resorted to politely filing a civil action in federal court for permission to take down the organization.
The obvious conclusion is that the president’s proposal to make Promotion of Sex Tourism Illegal is doomed to fail because of the reach and power of social networking worldwide. If the high profile Sheriff Tom Dart can’t bring down Craig Newmark, then it’s unlikely that Larua Chinchilla and the political will of four million Costa Rican citizens would succeed.
In fact the entire proposal is representative of the kind of regressive press laws of the early 20th century that still persist in Costa Rica to present day. Even the Costa Rican press is starting to pick up on this legal dichotomy that Costa Rican will certainly have to address in coming years.
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in a failing economy that depends mostly on tourism it would be political suicide to ban one form of tourism – sex tourism like it or not is the highest source of income for the country right now – putting thousands out of work and choking off millions of dollars from coming into your country would be a political nightmare – solve the real problems first.
I'd seriously challenge sex tourism as the leading source of income for Costa Rica. Maybe a great funding source for poor women and their families, ha, suppose you could think of it as a non-profit effort. Yes, maybe it's the CR non-profit with the biggest budget. Nice article!
Why on earth would one go after Craig Newmark for postings on craigslist about sex tourism, child exploitation, or anything else? Just because that’s the easy chokepoint for arrest or lawsuit doesn’t make it sensible. Is YouTube responsible for whatever anyone posts there? Are you responsible for whatever is said in the comments here?
Go after the people *posting* the illegal messages, not the place where they post them. Sheesh.
Jake, I agree with you, and still don't understand this approach by prosecutors. I guess it grown out of that American attitude that says that someone else is always responsible for our own bad behavior, or our own stupid mistakes (Litigious Americans). The owner/founder of Craig's List has always had a very clear disclaimer posted that says he is not responsible for content, and I – for one – believe that he makes reasonable efforts to police, but there is only so far he can go.
Or, maybe it's like the so-called "War On Drugs," instead of addressing the issue of the end-user, they go off in all directions, and nothing gets stopped, or even slowed down………
I agree with John. As long as demand is there, supply will find its way to meet the demand. Its pointless to blame craigslist. If they stop CL, there are a million other ways to post advertisements online. Or one way may be to block off the internet , close down the likes of Del Rey, post policemen around all massage parlors (anyway they are useless in curbing crime) and then let the working girls and their dependents starve to death….
Prosecutors chasing craigslist are just being lazy and unjust. Craigslist is simply a message board.