general internet news - 12 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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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Chatroom linked to missing girl
THE distraught parents of a teenage girl missing for
three days believe she is with someone she met on an
internet chat site.

http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/12/07/1133829659783.html

au: Missing girl 'brainwashed' by net
The parents of a missing teenager believe she ran off
to be with someone she met on an internet chat site.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,17512372%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

http://smh.com.au/news/national/missing-girl-brainwashed-by-net/2005/12/09/1134086790649.html

au: Tasmania to censor public library net access
Tasmania will be the first state to censor Internet
access on public library computers.

http://www.optusnet.com.au/news/story/abc/20051211/08/tech/1528380.inp

nz: NZ's Hector takes on net nasties
A New Zealand-made cyber dolphin is set to take the
children's internet world by storm and keep them away
from the world the medium has to offer.
 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411419/637979

Looking Back -- the Internet and Eastern Europe
Yesterday members of the Berkman Center and the Oxford
Internet Institute met with some leading Internet
thinkers and practitioners from Eastern Europe to
discuss the role technology has played in their
political transformations.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=877

Italy's cybercafes go cold
Anti-terror law requiring ID for 'Net use is bad for
business.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2005-12-08-cybercafe-law_x.htm

vn: Weeks go by without news of Kiem Street chat room
users
Reporters Without Borders today asked the Vietnamese
authorities for information about three Internet users
who were arrested at their home on Nguyen Kiem Street
in Ho Chi Minh City on 19 October. Local sources say
they were detained for participating in a chat room on
the Pal Talk (paltalk.com) website.
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15869

us: BHS Aims to End Cyber Bullying
San Benito High School administrators say
technology-savvy school yard bullies are using the
Internet, text messages and e-mail to harass their
peers, and school officials are looking for ways to
crack down on the new form of cyber menacing.

http://www.freelancenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=174037

us: Curb the Cyberbully
Whether it's iPod cell phones or stem cell research,
advances in technology can provide wonderful
opportunities for society. But there can be a darker
side to instant electronic communication - and cyber
bullying is becoming a concern for administrators at
San Benito High School.

http://www.freelancenews.com/opinion/contentview.asp?c=174297

Seoul blocks U.S. video game stereotypes
While U.S. game designers see North Koreans as
diabolical enemies, South Korean game censors say they
see North Koreans as wayward cousins.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/08/business/video.php

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LEGAL AND SECURITY
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Canada gets new on-line watchdog
Online Rights Canada dedicated to protecting citizens
from invasions of privacy, excessive surveillance

http://globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051209.gtorcdec9/BNStory/Technology/

de: Court rules that Heise is immediately liable for
reader comments
The first-instance district court of Hamburg has had
issued a temporary restraining order preventing heise
online from publishing reader comments calling on
others to overload a company's server by massively
downloading a program. In practice, Heise
Zeitschriften Verlag will now have to review without
prior notice all comments and discussion forums to
make sure that this is not happening. The ruling
(reference number 324 O 721/05) could have severe
consequences for the operation of Web forums and
similar services.
 http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/67029

us: Fears over identity theft overblown: US study
A new study suggests consumers whose credit cards are
lost or stolen or whose personal information is
accidentally compromised face little risk of becoming
victims of identity theft.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=10520749

OECD: Scoping Study on the Measurement of Trust in the
Online Environment   	
Trust among the users of ICT networks is an increasing
priority for business, industry and governments. This
report reviews data available from official,
semi-official and private sources which can assist in
informing developments and progress in this area.
 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/26/15/35792806.pdf

us: FIGHTING CYBER CRIME: FBI Exec Tells All (Well,
Not Quite)
Lou ReigelLou Reigel, head of our Cyber Division, met
with the press Wednesday to brief them on our role in
investigating cyber crimes?one of our top priorities.
He talked about issues ranging from intellectual
property rights and cyber terrorism?to Internet
intrusions, Katrina scams, and the recent Sober worm
attack.

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec05/reigelbriefing120705.htm

Net attack unlikely, says FBI
TERRORIST groups lack the capability to launch a
damaging internet-based attack on the United States
but foreign governments are probably behind many
online spying attempts, FBI officials said.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,17500107%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=10518603

us: Study says 1 in 4 targets of e-mail phishing scams
Roughly one in four U.S. Internet users are targets of
phishing attacks -- phony e-mails seeking personal
financial data -- according to a study conducted by
Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit AOL and the National
Cyber Security Alliance.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?storyID=2005-12-07T224103Z_01_HAR780165_RTRUKOC_0_US-PHISHING.xml

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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au: Strong growth in broadband and mobile services in
2004-05, while fixed services decline (news release)
A large increase in broadband internet subscribers,
continuing strong growth in mobile services and a
small but significant decline in fixed services were
among the telecommunications industry highlights in
the last financial year, according to the Australian
Communications and Media Authority's
Telecommunications Performance Report 2004-05. This is
the first telecommunications performance report issued
by ACMA, continuing a series of annual reports
produced by its predecessor, the Australian
Communications Authority (ACA).

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.131258:STANDARD:541322379:pc=PC_100376

World's poorest don't want '$100 laptop': Intel
Potential computer users in the developing world will
not want a basic $100 hand-cranked laptop due to be
rolled out to millions, chip-maker Intel chairman
Craig Barrett said on Friday.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=10541518

Australians keen to buy online but slack on security
One in two Australians now regularly conducts
transactions online, but few bother with any security
measures despite expressing concerns over possible
breaches, a new survey has found.

http://zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/Australians_keen_to_buy_online_but_slack_on_security/0,2000061744,39226675,00.htm

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FILE SHARING
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Song sites face legal crackdown
The music industry is to extend its copyright war by
taking legal action against websites offering
unlicensed song scores and lyrics.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Wikipedia tightens online rules
Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has tightened its
submission rules following a complaint.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4502846.stm

IBM to join critics of Microsoft in EU case
IBM, Oracle and Nokia have sought court permission to
join the European Commission's antitrust case against
Microsoft.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/08/business/ttk.php

South Korea orders Microsoft to unbundle Windows
Guilty again: Microsoft has now been told to offer
versions of Windows in South Korea that are free from
Windows Media Player and its IM client
 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39240595,00.htm
 http://www.out-law.com/page-6429

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=10511680

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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au: Police drop child porn charge against Bathurst man
Police have withdrawn their case against a second
Bathurst district man charged in a nationwide
crackdown last year with possessing child pornography.
 http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1527320.htm

uk: Child porn raids net 40 arrests
More than 40 paedophile suspects have been arrested in
what Metropolitan Police are describing as its
"biggest ever operation" against abusers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4511862.stm

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(c) David Goldstein 2005


David Goldstein
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