Remember the story of the Russian police officers who went on YouTube and recorded videos condemning rampant corruption throughout the police force? The most prominent among them, Maj. Alexey Dymovsky, has not only been fired from his job - this morning he had fraud charges filed against him for allegedly embezzling $800 while working as a narcotics officer. Dymovsky's public cry for help has been viewed almost 1 million times on YouTube . Mark this down as an example of YouTube proving an effective way for whistle-blowers around the world to get the word out but not necessarily to stay safe in doing so. It's long been hoped that easy online publishing would enable more people to challenge authoritarian governments - but it's not clear yet whether those governments care. Sponsor Of course it's possible that Mr. Dymovsky really did embezzle $800 during his time as a cop and perhaps he should be thankful just for being alive so far after challenging corrupt police. None the less, it's hard not to suspect that these charges were filed as more retribution for the YouTube videos. Being sent to prison after being so visibly critical of Russian police is presumably not something that would be good for Mr. Dymovsky. Two years ago Egyptian police watch-dog blogger Wael Abbas had his videos pulled from YouTube because the company said they violated Terms of Service against showing violence on the site, though they were reposted after international criticism. Will the Russian police officer Mr. Dymovsky receive the same type of international support now that he faces charges, perhaps effectively for speaking to the world? These early cases will likely help determine how useful these new, democratizing social media technologies really are in improving everyday peoples' circumstances around the world. If people in trouble can use social media to speak to the world at large, but the world doesn't care, then perhaps we'll all have to stick to playing Farmville instead of using this Internet thing for more important matters. Discuss

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YouTube Popularity Doesn't Protect Russian Cop Whistle-Blower

The U.S. Supreme Court is planning to hear a case that will determine if an employer may view those text messages you post from your mobile. The ruling could have huge implications for workers and the use of applications in the enterprise. Sponsor The case stems from a decision from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that ruled the city of Ontario, California did not have the right to view text messages between city police officers. Privacy in the workplace is always a touchy subject. In this case, Judge Kim Wardlaw said the police officers have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Corporations pretty much have access to your email. Companies argue that liability falls on its shoulders when it comes to employee communications. It is the business that is required to archive emails and fall in line with regulatory requirements. But employees don't want to feel like they are working in some kind of corporate police state. What are the implications of a Supreme Court ruling such as this? We are seeing a rush of enterprise applications that will fuel communications in the enterprise to a fiery roar. Application that use real-time streams may actually help matters as the dialogue is pretty much transparent. But when it comes to hosted applications, the issues are at best murky, and at worst a minefield of problems. According to news reports a decision is expected by next June. Discuss

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Texting at Work? Supreme Court to Decide About Your Privacy