general internet news - 13 October

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

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Porn filtering back on agenda
INTERNET content regulation has dropped off the radar
for the moment in a world now more concerned with
terrorist attacks than pop-up pornography.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,16876489%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

uk: Clampdown on chatrooms
Home Office urges action after two strangers forge
Britain's first internet death pact just days after
meeting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Technology/online/news/0,12597,1589332,00.html

uk: Users want ISPs to filter spyware
A majority of net users want their ISPs so block
spyware traffic. Half (51 per cent) of 1,000 consumers
quizzed by NOP said their service providers should
block spyware apps ? invasive programs that covertly
snoop on user's online activities.
 http://www.out-law.com/page-6216

us: Study Says Software Makers Supply Tools to Censor
Web (reg req'd; free for few days)
A new report raises questions about the use of
filtering technologies by autocratic governments bent
on controlling what their citizens see on the Web.

http://nytimes.com/2005/10/12/technology/12filter.html

http://opennetinitiative.net/burma/ONI_Burma_Country_Study.pdf
(for the report)

ua: Government rescinds decree requiring online
publications to register
Reporters Without Borders today welcomed the Ukrainian
transport and telecommunication ministry?s decision to
rescind a May 2005 decree requiring online
publications to register with the authorities. The
requirement was a threat to free expression and had
been criticised by many local news media and
organisations.
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=13916

Semel defends actions in Chinese journalist case
At the Web 2.0 conference, Yahoo's chief defended his
company's decision to cooperate with the Chinese
government in a trial against a local journalist.

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/UNID/EC8EA61E3D24164FCC25709700797C50

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LEGAL AND SECURITY
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kh/uk: Microsoft trains Cambodian authorities to fight
pedophiles who use the Internet
Microsoft and British intelligence specialists opened
a two-week seminar Monday to train Cambodians how to
fight against pedophiles who use the Internet to
exploit children in the poor Southeast Asian nation.

http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8D5DCMG3.html

http://theage.com.au/news/breaking/net-pedophiles-on-rise-in-cambodia/2005/10/11/1128796499901.html

http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3803

us: Porn and gore man arrested
The American man behind the website which offered free
porn in exchange for pictures of atrocities in Iraq
and Afghanistan has been arrested for obscenity.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/10/gi_jane_arrested/

Singapore jails bloggers for racist remarks
A Singapore court has sentenced two ethnic Chinese to
prison for posting racist remarks about ethnic Malays
on the internet, in what is considered a landmark case
underscoring the government's attempts to crack down
on racial intolerance and regulate online expression.

http://theage.com.au/news/breaking/singapore-jails-bloggers-for-racist-remarks/2005/10/07/1128563001603.html

us: Web site catering to gay men sues PayPal for
ending service
A New Orleans business has sued San Jose's PayPal
because the Internet financial giant won't allow the
company to use its service to collect donations for
Hurricane Katrina victims.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/12873829.htm

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POLICY
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US state tightens game censorship
CALIFORNIA Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ignored
strong lobbying from software makers and signing
legislation that bans the sale of violent video games
to children.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,16869147%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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SPAM
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uk: Man accused of £1.5m Web frauds
Peter Francis-Macrae, labelled Britain?s top spammer,
is facing charges of making death threats at
Peterborough Crown Court, where details of his alleged
Internet activities have emerged

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39228658,00.htm

nz: Spam 'error' costly for NZ website
Internet publisher Jenene Crossan's spam horror story
is different from the usual complaint of an inbox full
of Viagra offers. Crossan's expensive nightmare began
when subscribers to her long-running nzgirl.co.nz
website turned on her, clicking the "report as spam"
button on their web-based email accounts as nzgirl
newsletters arrived.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=239&objectid=10349568

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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uk: BBC seeks funding boost for new digital services
The BBC said on Tuesday it wants more than 1.6 billion
pounds in increased funding to pay for a slew of new
online services and the switchover to digital TV.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=9888172

au: E-mail and SMS eroding 'snail mail'
The traditional engine room of Australia Post -- its
letters division -- is on the decline as more people
turn to e-mail or SMS to keep in touch.

http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/E_mail_and_SMS_eroding_snail_mail_/0,2000061791,39216730,00.htm

China crackdown on 'dirty' mobile messages
China has ordered telecom operators to clean up the
content of spam short messages spread on their mobile
phone networks as part of an ongoing fight against
"unhealthy" influences.

http://theage.com.au/news/breaking/china-crackdown-on-dirty-mobile-messages/2005/10/10/1128796436071.html

uk: Online gaming growth prospects scrutinised
Growth prospects in online poker came under fresh
scrutiny on Monday as Empire Online said the market
was almost flat in the third quarter, pummelling its
shares and those of rivals Sportingbet and
PartyGaming.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=9875067

cn: Treating China's online addicts
The internet is taking China by storm, with millions
of people logging on in record numbers and web cafes
busier than ever.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4327258.stm

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FILE SHARING
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Japan Government Panel Mulling 'IPod Tax'
A Japanese government committee is mulling a copyright
law revision to charge royalties on digital music
players, but the opinion is so divided on the
so-called "iPod tax" that it isn't likely to be
imposed, officials said Wednesday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/12/AR2005101200258.html
 http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JAPAN_IPOD_TAX

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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us: Google Earmarks $265 Million for Charity and
Social Causes (reg req'd; free for few days)
Google gave the first details of how it would carry
out its commitment to devote a share of its lucrative
public stock offering to charity and social causes.

http://nytimes.com/2005/10/12/technology/12google.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101788.html

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-10-12-google-charity_x.htm

us: Microsoft and AOL back in merger talks
Time Warner and Microsoft have reportedly resumed
discussions about forming an alliance of their
internet operations.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-1815714,00.html

Instant messaging alliance may be close
Yahoo and Microsoft are reportedly working on a pact
to let their IM users swap messages

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,39020336,39228654,00.htm

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MICROSOFT_YAHOO

Microsoft to pay RealNetworks $761 mln
Microsoft Corp. agreed to pay RealNetworks Inc. $761
million to settle an antitrust suit accusing the
world's largest software maker of using its dominance
to promote its own media player, the companies said.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=9892455

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,16559,1590074,00.html

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(c) David Goldstein 2005

David Goldstein
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