Osaka Prefecture to lift smartphone ban at schools | #AsiaNewsNetwork

according to The move would mark the first time a prefecture or government-designated major city has allowed students to carry a mobile device. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry bans in principle students from carrying such devices at schools. Each municipal school board will decide whether to allow possession of mobile devices and when to implement the new rules. Formal guidelines will be issued to the boards of education for Osaka city, Sakai and all other municipalities in the prefecture around late March. In justifying the rule change, the guidelines note that many elementary and junior high schools already allow students to carry mobile devices if requested by a parent or guardian.

Education ministry to review smartphone ban for elementary and junior high school students

The education ministry will consider reviewing a ban on elementary and junior high school students carrying smartphones and other mobile phones at school, education minister Masahiko Shibayama said Tuesday. In the January 2009 notice, the ministry said that mobile phones are not directly required for educational activities and so taking them to elementary and junior high schools should be prohibited in principle. For high schools, the notice said that the use of mobile phones should be limited while a ban on carrying them should be considered as an option. Regarding smartphone use at school, the education department of the Osaka Prefectural Government announced Monday its decision to allow elementary and junior high school students in the prefecture to bring smartphones to school. After the quake, the department received requests for students to be allowed to carry smartphones at school.

Russia moves to mask its soldiers' digital trail with smartphone ban

as mentioned in Investigative sites have used social media posts to confirm Russia involvement in conflictsRussia's parliament has voted to ban its soldiers from using smartphones and social networks after a series of open-source investigations revealed their secret participation in foreign conflicts. Russian officials said the ban was needed to protect secret military information from foreign intelligence services. But the data has also allowed open source investigators to follow the activities of Russian forces fighting secretly in Ukraine and in Syria, sometimes in real time. In particular, social media data has allowed journalists to track military units active in south-east Ukraine, where Russia said its forces were not present. Journalists have also used photographs from social media to confirm several reports of hazing among military conscripts.

collected by :John Smith