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The beginning of the debates saw the proposing team outlining the importance of IT in relation to human choice and freedom. Using Napster as an example, users of IT may now choose to purchase the 1 song of their preference unlike browsing and selection methods of the past where consumers would have to buy a whole CD just to enjoy the listening pleasures of that 1 song. The team went on to propose that IT provides a means whereby its user may enjoy the freedom to receive. This is exemplified in the receipt of news from all over the world, where in some countries, perhaps in the present and the past, were subjected to restrictions in terms of press freedom. Not only has IT allowed the user to receive this, but also to receive news or mediums of communication in a faster and more efficient way. Electronic mail has come forth to steal the limelight from its predecessor, the snail mail, and perhaps someday replace it altogether. Within the efficient communicating and freedom of choice and receipt, on the other side of the coin lies the freedom to broadcast i.e. the freedom of speech in cyberspace. With IT, old boundaries are breached and we can now do things which we couldn¡¯t before. In performing tasks such as research, IT provides a global network that reduces research time and increases productivity. In the end, I gather that perhaps the message the proposing team was trying to send across was that IT simply improves the quality of life. The opposing team began with a rebuttal of the proposition¡¯s argument that IT simply gives more freedom to man, by stating the fact that in some parts of the world this is not the case. In China, for example, restricted Internet is not an uncommon practice. I tend to agree with this because at a more fundamental level, this is exemplified in the war on Iraq by the United States of America. In the era of Saddam Hussein¡¯s rule over Iraq, its citizens were denied their right to enjoy broadcasts from all over the world. Instead, its citizens were only allowed to tune in to broadcasting mediums of the regime¡¯s choice. In any case where IT does facilitate smooth and efficient communications, the opposing team highlighted that this facility is also available to the wrong hands, so to speak. We hear of members of terrorist movements communicating via IT-facilitated means, handling of financial assets by underground activists for illegal purposes and etc. Perhaps one of the most crucial drawbacks put forth by the opposing team is the issue of security on the Internet. E-commerce is often associated with business transactions online. These transactions require exchanges of personal details of a person, details which may lead a person to be spammed with advertisements of other promotional sales activities as a result of unscrupulous database administrators selling customer data to other organizations.
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