general internet news - 13 October

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

The Internet: Still Wide Open and Competitive? by Eli Noam,
Professor of Finance and Economics, Director, Columbia
Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia Business School
1.The Question: For years now, the Internet seemed to be
open, free, and competitive. Entrepreneurialism was high,
financing easy, and entry barriers were low. But now, in
the wake of the Internet’s bursting bubble, the reality of
that competitiveness deserves a second look: is the
Internet still as open and competitive as it used to be, or
is it becoming concentrated and dominated by a few firms
with market power? And what are the implications of a
greater concentration of the Internet?

http://intel.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2003/200/noam_TPRC2003.pdf

.uk - Net safety hope for kids' phones
Children using mobile phones to access internet chatrooms
or download pornographic pictures will have their parents
alerted under new 'spy' technology introduced because of
safety fears about the worldwide web.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1061189,00.html

.cn - Net not to blame for tearaway kids
Kids in China are not turned into isolated, withdrawn
tearaways just because they use the Internet.
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32974.html

.uk - Industry attacks Tory plans for ISP chatroom
liability
The Internet industry has slammed Conservative Party calls
for tougher liability laws which would see ISPs and chat
providers legally responsible for paedophile activity
taking place on their networks.
 http://www.newmediazero.com/nma/story.asp?id=244443

.au - Parents keep closer eye on net use
AUSTRALIAN parents are spending more time policing their
children's use of the internet, a new study has found. The
proportion of parents involved in their children's internet
use has grown from 60 per cent two years ago to nearly 80
per cent, internet research firm RedSheriff reported. The
number of children requiring parent's permission showed a
much bigger jump over the same period, growing from around
2 per cent in 2001 to 20 per cent.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7517330%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Microsoft aids child pornography fight
A "really rotten day" at work in late January prompted a
just-about-had-it Toronto police officer to email a
spontaneous plea to the world's richest man for help
fighting child pornography.
 http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s965130.htm

.no - Crackdown on sex messages to kids
Norway's Consumer Ombudsman and the Market Council is
hunting down firms that use irresponsible and illegal
telephone marketing to promote sex services. A series of
complaints from parents that children as young as seven
years of age have received SMS messages pushing tele-sex
has prompted action.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=643601

.no - European watchdog approves Norwegian cable porn ban
The ESA (European Free Trade Agreement Surveillance
Authority) will not challenge Norway's ban on cable-TV
porn. ESA considered the situation after Norway's Mass
Media Authority warned tougher measures against ineffective
censorship of porn films broadcast on cable TV channels,
and accepts the MMA stance.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=642986

An exploration of predatory behaviour in cyberspace:
Towards a typology of cyberstalkers by Leroy McFarlane and
Paul Bocij
Abstract: Over the last few years governments, law
enforcement agencies, and the media have noted increases of
online harassment. Although there has been a great deal of
research into 'offline stalking', at this moment in time
there has been no formal research that attempts to classify
cyberstalkers. This study aimed to identify a
classification of cyberstalkers by interviewing victims.
Twenty-four participants were interviewed and their
responses logged on a 76-item Cyberstalking Incident
Checklist. A typology of cyberstalkers was developed.

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_9/mcfarlane/index.html

.uk - Internet 'groomer' jailed
The UK's most prolific paedophile "groomer" has been
sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to
the attempted abduction of a teenager.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3177010.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1059736,00.html
 http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;?storyID=3587614

Victims of cyberstalking: An exploratory study of
harassment perpetrated via the Internet by Paul Bocij
This paper describes the first study to focus exclusively
on the prevalence and impact of cyberstalking. A Web-based
questionnaire was used to collect data from a group of
respondents who were recruited by snowball sampling via
e-mail. A total of 169 respondents completed the
questionnaire. The results of the study found that
approximately a third of respondents might be considered
victims of cyberstalking. Furthermore, when asked to
indicate the level of distress felt as a result of their
experiences, almost a quarter of respondents chose a value
of ten on a ten-point scale. The study also suggests a
number of differences between cyberstalking and offline
stalking, for instance cyberstalking tends to take place
over a shorter period of time than offline stalking and
cyberstalking victims are less likely to know the identify
of their harassers. These differences add weight to the
argument that cyberstalking should be seen as a new form of
deviant behaviour that can be distinguished from offline
stalking. The work concludes by emphasising a need for
further research.
 http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_10/bocij/index.html

Web gossipmonger warned over rape allegations
Office workers across the country will be nervously
deleting their emails this morning after lawyers for a top
Premiership footballer accused of rape took the
unprecedented action of starting proceedings against an
individual spreading rumours by email.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/medialaw/story/0,11614,1053369,00.html

.ir - Censorship bites deeper
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) has
called for an end to the advance censorship imposed on the
press by the national security council and condemned
continuing arrests and questioning of journalists.
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8193
La censura en marcha
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8195
La censure à l'œuvre
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8199

Detenida una persona en Cádiz por descargar y almacenar
material pedófilo desde un cibercafé
Una persona ha sido detenida por agentes de la Policía
Nacional como presunto autor de un delito contra la
libertad sexual en la ciudad de Cádiz, según ha informado
la agencia de noticia Europa Press.

http://delitosinformaticos.com/noticias/106569957924929.shtml

Shift-Key Case Rouses DMCA Foes
A student finds he can disable copy protection on CDs by
pressing the Shift key. The company that makes the software
threatens to sue for revealing the fact. Critics say this
is exactly why the Digital Millennium Copyright Act should
be rewritten.
 http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,60780,00.html

http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=shiftkeydefeatscd1065786686

New spyware products: crossing line on privacy
TrueActive removed a new spying feature from a computer
program because it was an invitation to install unethical
and even illegal wiretaps.
 http://www.iht.com/articles/113315.html

Piracy is rampant globally
The music industry's biggest hurdle may be cultural, with
swapping files viewed as routine - not illegal.
 http://www.iht.com/articles/111629.html

Europe's legal music alternative
When it comes to legally downloading music in Europe,
there's one name that's both way out in front and hidden in
the background: OD2.
 http://www.iht.com/articles/111633.html

Web-based music pirate gets jail time
A New York man was sentenced to six months in jail after
being convicted of using the Internet to sell hundreds of
CDs that were loaded with unauthorized copies of songs.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5089218.html

Caube rebuts EFA on Aussie spam bill
A scrap has broken out between two Australian online
watchdogs over the country's proposed anti-spam
legislation. Caube.au, Australia’s Coalition Against
Unsolicited Bulk Email, has hit back at criticism of the
federal anti-spam bill by Electronic Frontiers Australia.
 http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=1834987032

Giving e-mail back to the users: Using digital signatures
to solve the spam problem
Abstract: This paper argues that current legislative and
private attempts to stop spam are either ineffective, or
involve unacceptable tradeoffs. The key to solving the spam
problem is recognizing the importance of e-mail
authentication and the granting of permissions. Properly
used, digital signatures can easily authenticate e-mail for
effective spam control. The ability to manage public keys
for verifying digital signatures provides each e-mail user
the individual power to control who communicates with her
and can therefore completely eliminate the practice of
spamming. Finally, we recommend that software developers
build the requisite capabilities for managing public keys
into their e-mail programs. We argue for a technological
solution as opposed to government legislation.
 http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_9/tompkins/index.html

.uk -  Hospital unveils international website for children
A health website specifically aimed at young people is
being officially launched today. Run by Great Ormond Street
hospital for children (GOSH), Childrenfirst.nhs.uk is an
international resource for three to 18-year-olds, which
draws on contributions from users and experts.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1058479,00.html

Web Sites Listed as 'Terror' Groups
The United States has added Web sites to its list of
"foreign terrorist organizations" for the first time, under
the category of aliases for conventional groups, a State
Department official said on Friday.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=3594588
 http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-5089879.html

Organized Crime Spreading, Using Modern Technology, UN
Panel Told
The head of the United Nations drug and crime office has
reported that sub-Saharan Africa is the region most
impacted by organized crime, and that outlaws were
increasingly turning to high technology.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200310100949.html

Open source ardour cools at WSIS
A push at a series of international "information society"
conferences to adopt open source software as an aspect of
electronic “common land” has assumed a lower profile with
the apparent entry of lobbying from proprietary business
interests.

http://computerworld.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/822CED7CC30E2626CC256DB90012C21A

Metodos de espionaje en la Red
La respuesta se antoja compleja, ya que están apareciendo
en el mercado programas de vigilancia de lo que uno hace a
través de Internet.

http://delitosinformaticos.com/noticias/106576950450739.shtml

Rich nations in broadband boom: Japan, Korea lead
Broadband technology offering fast and cheap access to the
Internet is booming but slow to spread in the developing
world, according to a United Nations report.

http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,221592-1-454,00.html

Maximising Broadband to Boost Economic and Social
Development
The OECD has released its policy response to the challenge
of maximising the benefits of broadband Internet services
for economic and social development.

http://www.oecd.org/document/26/0,2340,en_2649_37409_16220890_1_1_1_37409,00.html

FCC RELEASES STAFF REPORT ON BROADBAND INTERNET ACCESS IN
OECD COUNTRIES (news release)
The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Strategic
Planning and Policy Analysis (OSP) and International Bureau
(IB) today released a joint OSP/IB staff report entitled
“Broadband Internet Access in OECD Countries: A Comparative
Analysis.”

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-239660A1.pdf

.au - Email a National Archives time bomb
MOST government agencies fall short on key accountability
requirements and risk a legal backlash due to inadequate
storage of email communications, a key record-keeping
adviser has warned.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,7480896%5E15319%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

.au - Caube rebuts EFA on Aussie spam bill
A scrap has broken out between two Australian online
watchdogs over that country's proposed anti-spam
legislation.

http://computerworld.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNID/6D73D7E8E5182812CC256DBA000FCE4A

.eu - Workshop on Unsolicited Commercial Communications or
Spam
A one day workshop on unsolicited commercial communications
or spam will take place in Brussels on 16 October 2003.

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/topics/ecomm/highlights/current_spotlights/spam/index_en.htm
 	
In-flight e-mail - Goodbye peace
Now there is no escape from the office: broadband at 35,000
feet is coming.

http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2131429

File-Sharing Services Have Plan to Pay
A group representing the Internet's most popular free
music-sharing service has come up with a business plan that
it says would stop piracy by allowing consumers to legally
buy copyright-protected music, though the music industry
remains skeptical.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A301-2003Oct8.html

Online Educa Berlin 2003
The world's largest international e-learning conference and
Europe's leading annual gathering of distance education
professionals, with 1127 participants from 64 countries
world-wide in 2002. Join us on December 3th for this year’s
9th consecutive yearly event and meet the experts in the
vanguard of technology-supported learning from around the
world!
 http://www.online-educa.com/en (English)
 http://www.online-educa.com/es (Espanol)
 http://www.online-educa.com/fr (Francais)
 http://www.online-educa.com/de (Deutsch) 

.us - Parents Sue School Over Wi-Fi
Worried that the wireless network could adversely affect
growing children's health, a group of parents launches a
lawsuit against a Chicago-area institution. The school says
the technology is safe.
 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,60769,00.html
 http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5089202.html

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=3587983
 http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/33294.html

Wireless Internet connectivity for developing nations
I recently had the privilege of attending a one-day
conference/workshop on the wireless Internet opportunity
for developing nations [1]. The conference was co-sponsored
by the UN Information and Communication Technologies Task
Force [2] and organized by the Wireless Internet Institute
[3], a Boston "Think Tank."
 http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_9/press/index.html

Internet media forum opens in Beijing
The 2003 China Internet Media Forum opened in Beijing
Friday, calling for local Internet media to take more
responsibility in dealing with online ethical issues.

http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-10/10/content_270930.htm


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=====
David Goldstein
 address: 2/4 Dundas Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 0015 - home

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