Globalization is a reality, and ICT has become a fundamental

part of the process. A networked society is one in which the

entire planet is organized around telecommunicated networks
of computers. The effective use of networks has broken
boundaries and provided opportunities for inclusion and
collaboration. However, there will also be a struggle for those
who do not have access or those who are excluded,
marginalized, and powerless. Thus a need to establish
policies in the use of ICT is imperative.
EXCITE

New technologies have become central to the lives of every

individual on this planet. Whether you are talking on the
phone, sending an electronic mail, going to the bank, using
the library, watching the news on television, going to the
doctor, catching a flight, or seeing a movie, you are using
ICT. Almost everything that we do in the modern world is
influenced by new technologies.
 2. Should we leave our
lives to be controlled by
1.Would your life as a technology or should
teacher also be we control the
influenced by the utilization of technology
new technologies? in our lives? How?
 One way of enhancing and regulating the
use of ICT is to formulate and implement
policies to guide appropriate decisions.
 Definition of ICT Policy
The Oxford English Dictionary has defined
"policy" as a course of action adopted and
pursued by a government, party, ruler, or
statesman. It is any course of action adopted
as expedient or advantageous. Its operational
definition of policy is a plan of action to guide
decisions and achieve outcomes.
Thus, ICT Policies are needed to put a roadmap or course of
action to be pursued and adopted by various governments,
organizations, and entities involving ICT.
These include principles and guidelines for using ICT, which
cover three main areas: telecommunications (telephone),
broadcasting (radio and television), and the Internet.
 The New

Technologies
More recent technological innovations increased the reach
and speed of communications which can be grouped into
three categories: 

1. Information Technology - includes computers, which

have become indispensable in modern societies to process
data and save time and effort. What is needed will be
computer hardware and peripherals, software and for the
user, computer literacy.
 2. Telecommunication technologies include
telephones (with fax) and the broadcasting of radio
and television often through satellites. Telephone
systems, radio, and TV broadcasting are needed in
this category. 
3

The best-known networking technology is the Internet. Still,

it has extended to mobile phone technology, Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP) satellite communications, and other
forms of communications that are still in their infancy. In
addition to the Internet, this category also includes mobile
telephone, cable, DSL, satellite, and other broadband
connectivity.
The DICT Roadmap
In our country, the Department of Information and
Communication Technology (DICT) has formulated a
roadmap to guide all agencies in the utilization,
regulation, and enhancement of ICT. Each project
has corresponding policy statements and guidelines.
The ICT for Education (ICT4E) is a program under
the DICT that supports all the efforts of the education
sector in incorporating the use of ICT as well as in
determining and gaining access to the infrastructure
(hardware, software, telecommunications facilities
and others) which are necessary to use and deploy
learning technologies at all levels of education.
Among the policy recommended programs that have
applications to education teaching-learning are:
1. ICT in Education Masterplan for all levels, including a
National Roadmap for Faculty Development in ICT in
Education. A National Framework Plan for ICTs in Basic
Education was developed.

2. Content and application development through the

Open Content in Education Initiative (OCEI) which converts
DepEd materials into interactive multi-media content,
develops applications used in schools and conducts student
and teacher competitions to promote the development of
education-related web content. 
3. PheDNET is a "walled" garden that hosts
educational learning and teaching materials and
applications for use by Filipino students, parents, and
teachers. All public high schools will be part of this
network with only DepEd-approved multi-media
applications, materials, and mirrored internet sites
accessible from the school's PCs.
4. Established Community eLearning Centers called
eSkwela for out-of-school youth (OSY) providing them
with ICT-enhanced alternative education opportunities.

5. eQuality Program for tertiary education through

partnerships with state universities and colleges (SUCS) to
improve quality of IT education and the use of ICT in
education in the country, particularly outside of Metro
Manila.
6. Digital Media Arts Program builds digital media skills
for the government using Open Source technologies.
Particular beneficiary agencies include the Philippine
Information Agency and the other government media
organizations, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the
National Commission for Culture and Arts and other
government art agencies, State Universities and Colleges,
and local government units.
7. ICT skills strategic plan, which develops an
inter-agency approach to identifying strategic and
policy, and program recommendations to address
ICT skills and demands.

All seven programs were guided by the roadmap that

embeds policy statements that relate to education,
specifically in the enhancement of human development
for teaching and learning.
https://tinyurl.com/435th4s9
GLOBAL ISSUES
Access and Civil Liberties are two sets of
issues in ICT Policy that are crucial to modern
society. The other concern is civil liberties
which refer to human rights and freedom.
These include freedom of expression, the
right to privacy, the right to
communicate, and intellectual property
rights.
Access to the Use of Internet and ICT. Access
means the possibility for everyone to use the
internet and other media. In richer countries,
basic access to internet is almost available to
all with faster broadband connections. There
are still countries where access to internet is
still a challenge.
Infringement to Civil Liberties or
Human Rights. What are specific
internet issues on internet policy that
have relationship to civil liberties or
human rights?

Let's study the examples that follow.

Issue No. 1:

Under international human rights conventions, all people

are guaranteed the right to free expression. However, with
the shift from communicating through letters, newspapers,
and public meetings to electronic communications and online
networking, a need to look into how these new means modify
the understanding of freedom of expression and censorship.
 The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
provides that everyone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, likewise the right
to freedom of opinion and expression. However
there are practices that violate these provisions in
the use of internet.
Example
1. Individual rights are given up to have access to electronic
networks. Microsoft Network's (MSN's contracts protect individuals
by "upload, or otherwise make available files that contain images,
photographs or other materials protected by intellectual property
laws, including but not limiting to copyright or trademark laws,
unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all
necessary consents to do the same." However, Microsoft reserves
the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate access to any or all MSN
sites or services.
2. Censorship restricts the transmission of information
by blocking it or filtering the information. Blocking
prevents access to whole areas of the internet based
upon the "blacklist" of a specific Internet address,
location, or email address, while filtering is sifting the
packets of data or messages as they move across
computer networks and eliminating those considered
"undesirable" materials. The selection of sites that are
blocked or filtered has been considered an issue.
 Warning!!!!

"When surfing the web, you may think you are anonymous,
but there are various ways that information about you or
your activities can be collected without your consent."
3. Defamation actions may be used to
silence critics. This action deters the freedom
of expression.
Issue No. 2: Privacy and Security

Privacy policies are an issue. Most commercial

sites have a privacy policy. When someone uses a
site and clicks "I agree" button, it is as if you have
turned over private information to any authority
that may access it
 There are several types of privacy
1. For most, privacy means "personal privacy," the
right of individuals not to have their home, private
life or personal life interfered with
2. Privacy of communication refers to the protection
from interference with communication over the phone or
the internet. Respect for the privacy of communications is
an essential prerequisite for maintaining human
relationships via technological communications media.
3. Information privacy is related to the use of
computers and communications system which are
able to hold and process information about large
numbers of people at a high speed. It is important to
ensure that information will only be used for
purposes for which it was gathered and will not be
disclosed to others without consent of the individuals.
Issue No. 3:

The use of electronic communications has enhanced the

development of indirect surveillance. In indirect surveillance,
there is no direct contact between the agent and the subject
of surveillance but evidence of activities can be traced. The
new and powerful form of indirect surveillance is
dataveillance. Dataveillance is the use of personal
information to monitor a person's activities while data
retention is the storage and use of information from
communication systems.
There is very little that can be done to prevent
surveillance. What can be done is to change
the working methods to make surveillance
difficult. This is called “counter-surveillance" or
"information security" if it refers to computers
and electronic communication.
 Issue No. 4:
E-pollutants from E-waste
A large amount of e-waste is generated by ICT.
These are, in particular, terminal equipment used
for computing (PCs, laptops), broadcasting
(television and radio sets), telephony (fixed and
mobile phones), and peripherals (fax machines,
printers, and scanners). 
The accumulated e-waste is due to rapid turnover of
equipment due to rapid improvement of software. While
material waste can be destroyed by crushing, toxic material
brought about by the different equipment requires utmost
management. The quantities of e-waste are increasing in
both developed and developing countries. A very dismal
state is that there is a significant amount of electronic waste
that has been shipped from industrial countries to
developing countries, using less environmentally responsible
procedure.
Remedies include standardization and regulatory
measures to increase the life cycle of equipment
before they become obsolete. Efficient extraction of
toxic components and recycling by consumers and
equipment vendors are selling must be required.

 If not controlled then, e-waste will tremendously

affect climate change, damage human lives, and
overload the capacity of the earth in carrying solid
waste.
ROSMAR B. PINAGA, LPT, MAED
Subject Instructor/Lecturer