general internet news - 8 December

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

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Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
Internet in Asia blog:
http://internetinasia.typepad.com/
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YALE ISP CONFERENCE ON ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE
"The Yale Law School Information Society Project (ISP)
and the International Journal of Communications Law &
Policy (IJCLP) announce their third interdisciplinary
writing competition and a call for papers in
conjunction with the Access to Knowledge (A2K)
Conference taking place on April 21-23, 2006 at Yale
Law School. We invite students, scholars, policy
makers, activists and practitioners to submit papers
for the writing competition and/or for publication by
the IJCLP. Key issues to be considered include, among
others: the economics of A2K in a digital environment;
A2K indexes and measurement techniques; the
limitations to A2K; digital libraries and archives;
government investment in information production;
government procurement policies; open source software;
the WIPO Broadcast Treaty; access to education and
scientific knowledge; universal service in
telecommunications; the digital divide; digital rights
management; open access journals. Submissions for the
writing competition must be received by noon EST,
February 15th, 2006. For more information, see:
 http://www.ijclp.org

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Governing the Egalitarian Core of the Internet by
Christoph Engel
Abstract: Few would claim that regulators, or
academics working on regulatory policy, have neglected
the Internet. However, most of their work is attracted
by the global character of the Internet. Admittedly,
this is a serious challenge to regulation, but it is
not the only, and probably not even the most
disquieting one. In the regulatory discourse, short
shrift is given to the fact that the Internet
originated in the egalitarian culture of American
university computer labs. Its architecture was shaped
during that period. Up to the present day, many key
functions for Internet management are held by people
coming from that culture. This paper argues that the
egalitarian challenge to Internet governance has been
largely overlooked. The challenge is serious, but not
unmanageable. Nevertheless, regulators must use
appropriate concepts to understand the challenge. A
subfield of sociology, cultural theory, is
particularly instrumental for that purpose. In order
to address the challenge, regulators must use a set of
governance tools that deviates considerably from
standard regulatory responses.

http://www.ijclp.org/10_2005/ijclp_webdoc_06_10_2005.htm

Copyright vs. Free Expression: The Case of
Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing of Music in the United
Kingdom by Robert Danay
Abstract: This paper explores the extent to which the
peer-to-peer (p2p) file-sharing of music is a form of
communication protected from the restrictions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (U.K.) (CDPA)
by the guarantee of free expression enshrined in
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) and incorporated into domestic law through the
Human Rights Act 1998 (U.K.) (HRA). The paper first
examines the protection offered to freedom of
expression through the existing copyright scheme. It
is asserted that due to a lack of context-sensitivity,
mechanisms such as the idea-expression dichotomy must
not be relied upon to deny the existence of prima
facie breaches of Article 10(1) of the ECHR. Rather,
such breaches must be acknowledged and justified (if
possible) as being ?necessary in a democratic society?
under Article 10(2) of the ECHR. Next, the extent to
which p2p music file-sharing represents an
infringement under the terms of the CDPA (exclusive of
any effect of the ECHR) is examined. It is concluded
that such sharing does amount to an infringement under
the Act and is not subject to any of the enumerated
defences. The final part of the paper explores the
extent to which the statutory restriction on
file-sharing of music may be permitted under Article
10 of the ECHR. It is suggested that, for a number of
reasons, the CDPA?s restriction on free expression may
not be ?necessary in a democratic society? under
Article 10(2) of the ECHR. As a result, should this
statutory restriction be impugned in a U.K. courtroom
in the context of p2p music file-sharing, such a court
may be under an obligation to exculpate infringing
parties under the ?public interest? defence or to make
a declaration of incompatibility under the HRA.

http://www.ijclp.org/10_2005/ijclp_webdoc_02_10_2005.htm

Challenges to Authority, Burden of Legitimisation: The
Printing Press and the Internet by Zack Kertcher &
Ainat N. Margalit
Abstract: The Internet is often regarded as a
challenge to the nation-state?s ability to regulate
flows of finance, information, and symbols. Rather
than examining whether it is possible to enforce
regulation on such a media, this paper addresses two
additional fundamental questions: (1) what do
regulatory discourses and attempts to regulate reveal
about the nation-state?s political authority under
globalisation, and (2) how does this authority vary
across social, political, and cultural contexts? In
order to address these challenging queries we follow a
unique path, both empirically and theoretically.
Theoretically, we argue that political authority is a
pivotal common denominator that undergirds diverse
understandings of globalisation. We then critically
examine different conceptions of political authority
and construct a typology that orients our study.
Empirically, we follow our typology by comparing two
historical phenomena: attempts by the Catholic Church
to regulate the printing press during the 15th and
16th centuries, and attempts by China, Malaysia and
the United States to regulate the Internet. Despite
certain important commonalities, we posit that each of
these cases illustrates a different model of the
legitimisation processes and transformations in
political authority that occur under globalisation.

http://www.ijclp.org/10_2005/ijclp_webdoc_03_10_2005.htm

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Primary school internet safety programme a success
An internet safety education program named CyberQuoll,
which was developed by NetAlert and distributed to all
schools in Australia with primary school aged
children, is proving to be extremely successful.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/au.htm

Free speech under Net attack, study says
Web site owners and remix artists alike are finding
free-expression rights squelched because of
ambiguities in copyright law, a recent study says.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-5983072.html
 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-5983072.html

http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/WillFairUseSurvive.pdf
(report)

uk: Games website to educate parents
A new website has been launched designed to help
parents decide which games are suitable for children.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4503618.stm

ca: Child protection group calls for internet
filtering
An anti-child pornography group is slamming internet
service providers in Canada for not doing more to stop
the sexual exploitation of children online.

http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/story/mb_online-filtering-20051206.html

us: Learn dangers of Internet use
Parents and guardians of area children are reminded to
attend tonight?s hands-on training session that will
provide valuable information about Internet safety.

http://eprisenow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ENT/MGArticle/ENT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128768543915

cn: Jailed Yahoo! dissident in high-security prison
A Chinese dissident, jailed for "illegally divulging
state secrets abroad" on evidence provided by Yahoo!
is doing forced labour alongside hardened criminals in
a high-security jail.

http://smh.com.au/news/breaking/jailed-yahoo-dissident-in-highsecurity-prison/2005/12/07/1133829644603.html

Swedish parents concerned about gaming
One of the more popular pastimes for young people in
Sweden today is playing computer games. In a study
recently published by the Swedish Media Council, 56 %
of boys and 25 % of girls played computer games every
day or 3 to 4 times a week.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/se1.htm

Swedish node launches new awareness campaign
The 1 November was the starting point for the Swedish
national awareness campaign. ?The young internet? will
run through the rest of 2005 and the whole of 2006. It
consists of approximately a dozen regional training
seminars aimed at educators, child professionals and
parents.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/se1.htm

New awareness tools from the Swedish node
Sweden has launched two brand new tools, a short
introductory story about internet safety aimed at
younger children and material about misuse of the
internet aimed at children from 13 to 16.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/se3.htm

Innovative game highlights safety issues for young
bloggers
SPOTMYBLOG is a simulation game aimed at children aged
9 to 12. The players create a fictitious blog, and
make choices that have consequences later in the game.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/be1.htm

Czech teenagers boss mobile games market
Three years ago a group of 15-year-old boys set up
RedBoss, a successful company which develops mobile
entertainment products and services. Their success
comes against a backdrop of rapid take-up of internet
and mobile telephony in the Czech Republic over the
last five years.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/cz.htm

A life of MMORP and MUDs: gaming in Denmark
Computer games are an integrated element of Danish
children and young people?s everyday life. At a
conference in November, the Danish Media Council for
Children and Young People outlined children and young
people?s gaming habits.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/dk.htm

Young people and MMORPG: socialisation and shared
moderation
Arguably, a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMORPG)
cannot be considered just another videogame. The
MMORPG genre involves a unique interplay of core
elements that ought to be explored as a distinct
category of online activity.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/uk.htm

92% of Greek children play video games
Sales of video games rise as Christmas approaches.
E.KAT.O research shows that playing games isn?t just a
seasonal or minority pastime for young Greeks. But
what, if any, are the risks associated with the rise
of the video game?

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/el.htm

Iceland launches computer game campaign
A survey on children´s computer game use, a new
brochure for parents on games and ratings and a media
campaign highlighting the PEGI rating system were
launched by SAFT, the Icelandic awareness project on
24 November 2005.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/is.htm

New generation Xbox comes with parental control
features
The new Xbox 360 games console launched in Europe on 2
December 2005. While young gamers are getting to grips
with new games and features, their parents and
caregivers may be taking more interest in the new
family settings available to them.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/msn.htm

Commission complements PEGI classification in Portugal
In Portugal, the Comissão de Classificação dos
Espectáculos (CCE), a commission under the auspices of
the Ministry of Culture, is responsible for protecting
minors by classifying films, theatre productions and
video games.

http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/1205/pt.htm

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LEGAL AND SECURITY
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us: Cracking down on child porn
Peter Kirchhof seemed like a young man building a
bright future -- earning A's in college, recently
marrying his high school sweetheart and working at a
bank to help pay the rent on their apartment.

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/NEWS01/512050361

us: Child porn a growing problem online, federal
officials say
Peter Kirchof didn't understand what the big deal was.
Kirchof, 22, told U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II
that he couldn't remember when he first viewed child
pornography online, but that someone sent him the
images online.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/state/13330284.htm

us: Sex cases involving children growing
After FBI agents arrested pedophile, rapist and child
pornographer James Perry at his Stoughton home in
early 2004, it took two long hours to persuade a
scared 8-year-old victim that she could reveal the
secret she had kept for more than three years.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=63886&ntpid=2

S. Korea slaps Microsoft
Regulators levy a $32M fine for abuse of market
dominance.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-12-06-south-korea-microsoft_x.htm

New internet scams on the rise: report
In the same year that bots, trojans, pharming and
phishing all became commonplace in the vocabulary of
computer users, the number of new security threats
rocketed by 48 per cent, anti-virus company Sophos
says.

http://smh.com.au/news/breaking/new-internet-scams-on-the-rise-report/2005/12/07/1133829636701.html

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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au: The wonder of childhood gets lost in cyberspace
Computer games and the internet are killing the joys
of a gentler era of childhood.

http://theage.com.au/news/opinion/the-wonder-of-childhood-gets-lost-in-cyberspace/2005/12/04/1133631141431.html

au: Popularity of Aust mobile, broadband surges
Growth in Australian mobile and Internet connections
soared last financial year as the fixed-line home
phone continued to head the way of the sabre-toothed
tiger.

http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Popularity_of_Aust_mobile_broadband_surges/0,2000061791,39226453,00.htm

Wordsmiths hail podcast success
The term 'podcast' has been declared as Word of the
Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4504256.stm

?Teens more tech savy than ever before?
Teenagers are using more technology at a younger age
to connect with more people than ever before,
according to a study of young consumers prepared by
Forrester Research, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based
market research company.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/628ff726-669e-11da-884a-0000779e2340.html

Doctors warning on iPod finger
It could be time to discard the adage that an apple a
day keeps the doctor away, say physicians.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,16559,1659035,00.html

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FILE SHARING
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au: Kazaa blocks, warns Aussie users
Sharman Networks has closed down new Australian users?
access to the Web site from which the Kazaa Media
Desktop (KMD) can be downloaded.

http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Kazaa_blocks_warns_Aussie_users/0,2000061791,39226190,00.htm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/06/kazaa_pulls_p2p_code/

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(c) David Goldstein 2005

David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - home


		
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