general internet news - 20 March

[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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Promoting Cybersecurity in Developing Countries

http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Promoting+Cybersecurity+In+Developing+Countries.aspx

CoE works on new instrument on children empowerment on
the net
 http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.5/coe

de: Is Freedom of the Press Dying Out in Germany?

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1935674,00.html

au: Cybercrime worse than physical crime for
Australian business
 http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/3602/53/

Child porn ring transmitted acts live on Web - U.S.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11547712

us: Google told to reveal Web sites

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VF4C3AEQPZ1I4CRBAE0CFEY?type=internetNews&storyID=11574785

us: Sites selling child porn targeted
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4812962.stm

The Future of Privacy by Bruce Schneier
 http://schneier.com/crypto-gram-0603.html#1

us: Website Files Court Complaint Against Google

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6249

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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OECD: The implications of WiMAX for competition and
regulation  	
WiMAX and other emerging wireless broadband
technologies could potentially expand connectivity in
remote areas and offer faster wireless Internet
connections in urban environments. This paper
addresses key competition and policy issues related to
the deployment of longer-range wireless networks
including spectrum allocation, competition and the
technology's role in next-generation networks. The
paper also provides information on regulatory
conditions and WiMAX developments in all 30 OECD
countries.
 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/7/36218739.pdf

Convergence? by Geoff Huston
If there is one word in the telecommunications that
has suffered from over-abuse for many years now, its
convergence. The term has been liberally applied to
each successive generation of communications
technology for their supposed ability to solve a
myriad of service delivery problems within a single
unifying converged carriage and service delivery
solution. Unfortunately, the underlying reality has
always been markedly different from these wondrous
promises, and we continue to see an industry that
deploys a plethora of service delivery platforms and
an equally diverse collection of associated switching
and service delivery technologies. One can't help but
wonder at the collective gullibility of an industry
that continues to herald the convergent attributes of
each new generation of communications technology,
while at the same time being forced to admit that
previous convergent promises have never been realized.
 http://ispcolumn.isoc.org/2006-02/converged.html

Challenges to Authority, Burdens of Legitimization:
The Printing Press and the Internet By Zach Kertcher
and 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
globalization, 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 globalization. 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
legitimization processes and transformations in
political authority that occur under globalization.

http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=38

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://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=37

Law as a Network Standard By Dan L. Burk
Abstract: The problem of global information flows via
computer networks raises issues of competition,
interoperability, and standard-setting parallel to
those in the analysis of technical standards. Uniform
standards, whether technical or legal, give rise to a
constellation of positive and negative network
effects. As a global network based upon the ?end to
end? principle of interoperability, the Internet
mediates between different, otherwise incompatible
computing platforms. To the extent that law and
technological ?code? may act as substitutes in shaping
human behavior, the Internet similarly mediates
between different, otherwise incompatible legal
platforms. Much of the legal and social controversy
surrounding the Internet stems from the
interconnection of such incompatible legal systems. As
with technical systems, problems of incompatibility
may be addressed by the adoption of uniform legal
standards. This, however, raises legal
standard-setting problems similar to those seen in
technical standard setting, where the standard may be
?tipped? in favor of dominant producers. In
particular, if law is considered a social product, the
benefits of interjurisdictional competition and
diversity may be lost as a single uniform legal
standard dominates the market for law.

http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36

The World Trade Law of Internet Filtering by Tim Wu
Abstract: In its introduction to problems of trade in
internet-based services, this paper focuses on two
cases: one a country and one a product. The national
study is of China, among the world's more
comprehensive internet regulators. China makes for an
interesting case because as a condition to accession
to the WTO, it agreed to what has been called
?radical? reform of its service practices. Yet at the
same time China is among the world's more active
filterers of internet services. As we shall see, these
two positions are in tension, and while WTO law leaves
much room for exceptions, some of China's restrictions
may not be easily justifiable under the GATS. The
second study is of the company Skype, a provider of
voice over Internet services. Skype offers free voice
telephone services to anyone with an internet
connection. As a consequences, incumbent telephony
carriers, often state-owned, have a strong competitive
interest in preventing Skype from reaching their
customers. The instances of Skype blocking in several
countries raise interesting trade in services issues.
This paper is meant for two audiences. For those
within the world of trade law it clarifies how
internet services have leapt beyond what was
contemplated in GATS or subsequent telecommunications
agreements. The universalization of a network that is
a platform for any type of service requires new
thinking about how barriers may come about, and how
sectoral commitments are interpreted. For those within
the world of telecommunications or internet law, this
paper introduces the relevance of WTO law to national
regulation of internet services. One of the most
interesting consequences may be a tempering of what we
might call the ?Yahoo! Presumption?; that is, the
presumption that the burden lies with internet
companies to adapt to national legal systems. While
still generally true, the tendency in WTO
jurisprudence is to put the burden on national
governments to justify internet blocking.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=882459

Internet Adoption and Usage Patterns are Different:
Implications for the Digital Divide by AVI GOLDFARB
and JEFFREY PRINCE
Abstract: We show that Internet adoption and usage
patterns are different. Using a survey of 18,439
Americans we find that high income, educated people
are more likely to have adopted the Internet by
December 2001. However, of those who have adopted, low
income, less educated people spend more time online,
even controlling for leisure time and for selection
with a Heckman correction. Furthermore, these current
non-adopters will use the Internet for many of the
activities explicitly stated as goals of policy
initiatives: telemedicine, e-government, and online
communications. This result has important implications
for policies aimed at closing the Digital Divide.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=882828

Common Law Property Metaphors on the Internet: The
Real Problem with the Doctrine of Cybertrespass by
SHYAMKRISHNA BALGANESH
Abstract: The doctrine of cybertrespass represents one
of the most recent attempts by courts to apply
concepts and principles from the real world to the
virtual world of the Internet. A creation of state
common law, the doctrine essentially involved
extending the tort of trespass to chattels to the
electronic world. Consequently, unauthorized
electronic interferences are deemed trespassory
intrusions and rendered actionable. The present paper
aims to undertake a conceptual study of the evolution
of the doctrine, examining the doctrinal modifications
courts were required to make to mould the doctrine to
meet the specificities of cyberspace. It then uses
cybertrespass to examine the implications of
transposing property metaphors to the world of the
Internet, characterized by the absence of resource
rivalry and the reality of positive value enhancement
through increased usage (i.e., a network effect,
whereby participation in use by many is a condition
for value in use by any). It is argued that the
transposition of proprietary concepts to the Internet
is done for purely instrumental reasons - reasons that
derive neither from the nature of the resource nor its
usage. The paper then evaluates whether such an
instrumental use of proprietary concepts on the
Internet has any effect on the meaning ordinarily
attributed to the concept of property and the
identification of property as an independent
institution of moral significance. It concludes by
showing that the relative neglect that doctrines such
as cybertrespass have for identifying the boundaries
of the res over which the property right is to
operate, is capable of undermining the minimum core of
any understanding of property as an independent
institution.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=887660

Illegal Online Filesharing, Information Producers'
Strategies and Production by MICHAEL NWOGUGU
Abstract: In the US, Europe and Asia, illegal
downloading of content and music has resulted in
substantial losses in the entertainment and education
industries. The issue involves various policy,
technological and economics problems that have not yet
been resolved even as internet use continues to grow
substantially. The lack of an efficient method of
controlling downloads of content is compounded by the
fact that owners of content don't know how to price
such content; and that inefficient downloads results
in sub-optimal pricing of content. This paper
discusses some of the main problems that introduces
several methods/systems for efficiently controlling
downloads content.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=882133

How Did Location Affect Adoption of the Commercial
Internet? Global Village vs. Urban Leadership by CHRIS
FORMAN, AVI GOLDFARB and SHANE M. GREENSTEIN
Abstract: We provide a framework and evidence to
confront two contradictory yet common assertions: (1)
new technology such as the Internet favors businesses
in urban areas and (2) the Internet reduces the
importance of distance for economic activity.
Controlling for other factors, we show that
participation in the Internet is more likely in rural
areas than in urban areas. This is particularly true
for technologies that involve communication across
establishments. Nevertheless, talk of the dissolution
of cities is premature. Frontier Internet technologies
for communication within an establishment appear more
often at establishments in urban areas, even with
industry controls.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=882580

Digital divide or digital development? The Internet in
Mexico by James Curry and Martin Kenney
Abstract: This paper discusses the development of the
Internet in Mexico within the context of the digital
divide. There is skepticism about whether the digital
divide is something driven primarily by technology
rather than an epiphenomenon driven by socioeconomic
factors. The barriers to access are not technological
but rather economic and historical. Although Mexico
shows wide disparities in Internet access, it also
shows rapid development toward more access. The number
of regular Internet users in Mexico is small (about 14
million) but has shown consistent growth. Business and
non?governmental organization presence on the Web is
increasing, and the Mexican government is innovatively
using the Web to broaden contact with its citizens. In
the Mexican case, there is certainly evidence of a
digital divide. Nevertheless, there is also ample
evidence of digital development.

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_3/curry/index.html

Exploring factors influencing Internet users' adoption
of Internet television in Taiwan by Kenneth C.C. Yang
and Yowei Kang
Abstract: This study examined how demographics,
Internet use motivation, and beliefs about Internet
television influenced Internet users? intentions to
adopt Internet television in Taiwan. The belief
factors of users in programming quality, government
regulation, and media impact contributed significantly
to predicting an intention to adopt Internet
television. Results from hierarchical regression also
demonstrated that gender and Internet use motivations
were predictive as well.

http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_3/yang/index.html

Spatial Dispersion of Peering Clusters in the European
Internet by ALESSIO D'IGNAZIO and EMANUELE GIOVANNETTI
Abstract: We study the role played by geographical
distance in the peering decisions between Internet
Service Providers. Firstly, we assess whether or not
the Internet industry shows clustering in peering; we
then concentrate on the dynamics of the agglomeration
process by studying the effects of bilateral distance
in changing the morphology of existing peering
patterns. Our results show a dominance of random
spatial patterns in peering agreements. The sign of
the effect of distance on the peering decision,
driving the agglomeration/dispersion process, depends,
however, on the initial level of clustering. We show
that clustered patterns will disperse in the long run.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=885928

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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CoE works on new instrument on children empowerment on
the net
The Council of Europe Group of Specialists on Human
Rights in the Information Society (CoE MC-S-IS) held
its 4th meeting on 9-10 March in Strasbourg, with EDRI
participating in its capacity of non governmental
observer. Among the many issues on the agenda were: -
the analysis of answers to the questionnaire sent by
the group to CoE member States on their implementation
of the CoE Declaration of freedom of communication on
the Internet (only 7 out of 46 answers received so
far); -the review of the CoE Recommendation on media
coverage of election campaigns taking into account new
medias, the mapping of human rights issues and
guidelines with regards to roles and responsibilities
of different stakeholders; - the development of
strategies promoting digital inclusion and Internet
literacy; - the program of the next CoE Pan-European
Forum on Human Rights in the Information Society to be
held in Erevan in early October 2006.
 http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.5/coe

au: Child porn offenders escape jail sentences
ONLY 15 of more than 100 NSW men charged in
Australia's biggest child pornography crackdown are
behind bars, even though almost all of them have been
found guilty.

http://smh.com.au/news/national/child-porn-offenders-escape-jail-sentences/2006/03/18/1142582574157.html

au: Beware of internet stalking, students told
SOUTH Australian students have been warned by police
to be wary what they publish on internet "blogs", with
cases of internet stalking increasing.

http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18505045%255E2682,00.html

au: Adultshop heads for mobiles
IN the great tradition of build it and they will come,
porn purveyors are moving to cash in on the growth of
mobile data services, with Perth-based Adultshop
buying Loop Wireless in a scrip and cash deal worth
about $6.5 million.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,18495920%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

au: Townsville schools to play Cybersmart Detectives
Over two hundred Townsville schoolchildren will
participate tomorrow in the Australian Communications
and Media Authority?s online safety activity
Cybersmart Detectives. This will be the second
activity to be held in Queensland, and the first to
exclusively involve Townsville schools.

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65640:STANDARD:1830369829:pc=PC_100473

nz: Schools put on text bully watch
Schools have been put on notice to ensure they are
doing all they can to wipe out text bullying.
 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/683031

nl: 60pc of children victim of cyber bullying
Concerning research has indicated that the problem of
cyber bullying is growing out of control in Flanders.
The Antwerp University research has revealed that 62
percent of youths in the Dutch-speaking region of
Belgium have been bullied via email or mobile text
messaging.

http://expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=24&story_id=28491

de: Is Freedom of the Press Dying Out in Germany?
The case of the two journalists charged for exposing
state secrets has raised questions about press
freedom. DW-WORLD.DE spoke with Hendrik Zörner of the
German Journalists' Association about the issue. »Mehr
zu: title"

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1935674,00.html

Internet Freedom of Speech Must Be Preserved, Says
U.S. Scholar - Cato Institute's Jim Harper
It is critically important that governments and
citizens remain committed to the free flow of
information on the Internet even if the ideas
presented are unpopular or controversial, said Jim
Harper of the Cato Institute in Washington during a
webchat January 24.
 http://iwar.org.uk/news-archive/2006/01-24.htm

us: TV channels fined in drive to purge swearing and
sex
US BROADCASTERS have been hit by record-breaking fines
of almost $4 million (£2.5 million) by a federal TV
standards watchdog which decrees that even casual use
of the "s-word" or pixelated shots of a woman's
breasts "disturb the peace and quiet of the home".

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2090442,00.html

us: Proposed New Jersey Laws Would Chill Free Speech
A diverse coalition of companies, public interest
organizations, and legal scholars, including the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), craigslist,
Public Citizen, the US Internet Industry Association
(USIIA), the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT)
and Professors Lyrissa C. Barnett Lidsky and Jennifer
M. Urban, sent an open letter today to three New
Jersey assemblymen, urging them to withdraw their
support from two bills designed to eliminate anonymous
online speech.
 http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2006_03.php#004478

China sentences Internet writer to 10 years in prison
A Chinese court jailed a teacher for 10 years on
Friday for publishing anti-government views on the
Internet, continuing an official crackdown on
Web-based dissidents.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11568843

Childnet Attracts New Funding Partners (news release)
Childnet International announced today that it has
been able to attract the necessary funding partners to
be able to continue its important work from 1st April
onwards.
 http://www.childnet-int.org/news/articles/150306.html

sa: Letter to King Abdullah about his government?s
Internet policies
Reporters Without Borders and the Arabic Network for
Human Rights Information wrote to King Abdullah bin
Abdul Aziz today asking him to intervene on behalf of
Mohsen al-Awajy, who was arrested on 10 March for
criticising the Saudi authorities, especially labour
minister Ghazi Algosaibi, on the Wasatyah.com website.
The letter also urged him to lift the filtering of the
news websites Alwifaq.net and Elaph.com.
 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16773

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11556501

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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au: Cybercrime worse than physical crime for
Australian business
Australian CIOs believe more strongly than their
global peers that employees now pose a threat to
corporate security, according to a new IBM research
report.  Seventy five percent of local CIOs who spoke
to IBM perceive that threats originate internally
compared to a global benchmark, based on a total of 17
countries, of 66%.
 http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/3602/53/

au: Internet ads lure women for phoney TV auditions
POLICE have warned young people to beware of a scam in
which they are lured to a bogus reality TV program.
They say young people answering internet job
advertisements could be putting themselves into the
clutches of sexual predators.

http://smh.com.au/news/national/internet-ads-lure-women-for-phoney-tv-auditions/2006/03/18/1142582575535.html

us: 27 Charged in International Online Child
Pornography Ring (reg req'd; free for a few days)
Federal and international authorities have charged 27
people in nine states and three other countries in
connection with an Internet child pornography ring
that federal authorities say is one of the worst they
have discovered.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/16/national/16porn.html
 http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/15/childporn.arrests/

us: Feds: Chat site showed live molestation
Children, including a baby, were sexually molested
while others in a private Internet chat room watched,
U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officers said
Wednesday in announcing the bust of an international
child pornography ring.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-15-child-ring_x.htm

Child porn ring transmitted acts live on Web - U.S.
U.S. and Canadian authorities said on Wednesday they
had cracked an international child pornography network
that in some cases transmitted molestations live over
the Internet.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11547712

au: AFP expect further arrests in child pornography
case
Australian Federal Police say they expect that there
will be more arrests made by the international team
working to break what's been described as one of the
world's biggest and most disturbing child pornography
rings.

http://abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1593272.htm

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,18486355%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

http://smh.com.au/news/national/child-porn-ring-called-the-worst-imaginable/2006/03/16/1142098602835.html

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18485254-5001022,00.html

au: Child porn ring called the worst imaginable
FOUR Australian men are among 29 people arrested for
alleged involvement in what the US Attorney-General,
Alberto Gonzales, called "the worst imaginable forms
of child pornography".

http://smh.com.au/articles/2006/03/16/1142098602835.html

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18492289%255E421,00.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1592790.htm

http://theage.com.au/news/world/australians-charged-in-global-child-porn-bust/2006/03/16/1142098560787.html

http://www.ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,18492289%255E421,00.html

http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,18492289%255E421,00.html

us: Google told to reveal Web sites
A federal judge denied a U.S. government request that
Google Inc. be ordered to hand over a sample of
keywords customers use to search the Internet, but
required on Friday that the company produce some Web
addresses indexed in its system.

http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VF4C3AEQPZ1I4CRBAE0CFEY?type=internetNews&storyID=11574785

us: Boost for Google in internet privacy case
Privacy campaigners in the US hailed a victory of
sorts for internet search engine Google yesterday
after a court case focusing on demands from the Bush
administration for access to its data appeared to
swing in Google's favour.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/search/story/0,,1731942,00.html

us: Google Ordered to Submit Data for Child
Pornography Study (reg req'd; free for a few days)
A federal judge ruled that Google must turn over some
search data, including 50,000 Web addresses to the
government for a study of child pornography online.

http://nytimes.com/2006/03/18/technology/18google.html

us: Google Avoids Surrendering Search Requests
A federal judge on Friday ordered Google Inc. to give
the Bush administration a peek inside its search
engine, but rebuffed the government's demand for a
list of people's search requests - potentially
sensitive information that the company had fought to
protect.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOOGLE_JUSTICE_DEPARTMENT

us: Google wins Usenet copyright case
Google has won a legal action brought over a Usenet
posting that the search giant archived and partially
displayed in search results. Writer Gordon Roy Parker
had claimed that this breached his copyright in the
posting, a chapter of an e-book.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/17/google_wins_usenet_copyright_case/

us: Sites selling child porn targeted
Net and finance firms are joining up to stamp out
commercial child pornography. The newly formed
Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography brings
together 18 organisations including Bank of America,
American Express, Mastercard, AOL, Yahoo and
Microsoft.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4812962.stm

http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2152065/credit-card-providers-team

http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2152065/credit-card-providers-team
 http://worldmagblog.com/blog/archives/023281.html

us: A siege on the child-porn market
Titans of finance are joining forces to try to thwart
online trafficking in illicit images.
 http://csmonitor.com/2006/0316/p01s03-ussc.html

us: Standard Chartered Joins Fight Against Child
Pornography On Internet
Standard Chartered Bank Friday announced that it will
be joining the global fight against child pornography
on the Internet, which has become a multi-billion
dollar commercial enterprise and is among the fastest
growing businesses online.

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=186225

us: Financial and internet industries to combat
internet child pornography (news release)
Eighteen of the world?s most prominent financial
institutions and Internet industry leaders have joined
with the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children (NCMEC), and its sister organization, the
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
(ICMEC) in the fight against Internet child
pornography. The goal is to eradicate commercial child
pornography by 2008.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2314

ca: Police ID suspects in software-aided child porn
probe  	  	
Toronto authorities move ahead with an investigation
that used Microsoft technology to connect disturbing
images with dubious chat rooms.

http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=38743

us: FBI focuses on child porn cases
Child pornography cases are growing, according to the
FBI. In the past 10 years, investigations have
increased by more than 2,000 percent.

http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/anson/?ArID=115513&SecID=4

Wage war on child porn
Sales of child pornography rake in $20 billion to $30
billion a year, according to the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. Hundreds of thousands
of Web sites sell these images, some of them
transmitted live over the Internet.

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635192558,00.html

The Future of Privacy by Bruce Schneier
Over the past 20 years, there's been a sea change in
the battle for personal privacy. The pervasiveness of
computers has resulted in the almost constant
surveillance of everyone, with profound implications
for our society and our freedoms. Corporations and the
police are both using this new trove of surveillance
data. We as a society need to understand the
technological trends and discuss their implications.
If we ignore the problem and leave it to the "market,"
we'll all find that we have almost no privacy left.
 http://schneier.com/crypto-gram-0603.html#1
 http://www.startribune.com/562/story/284023.html

us: Website Files Court Complaint Against Google
Google's mysterious methods for ranking Web sites came
under attack Friday in a lawsuit accusing the online
search engine leader of ruining scores of Internet
businesses that have been wrongfully banished from its
index.

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6249
 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1739170
 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11883353/

us: Federal Court Bars Promotion of Internet Tax-Fraud
Scheme (06-149)
The Justice Department announced today that a federal
court in Cincinnati has issued a preliminary
injunction barring Batavia, Ohio resident Richard
Standring, and his business, VIP Sales, from
marketing, selling, or promoting an IRS document
?decoding? tax scheme.

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/March/06_tax_149.html


**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
**************************
au: Princes of print poised to bed queens of screen
New technology has not answered the problem of media
concentration, writes Matthew Ricketson. IF YOU were
offered a wonderful new technology that would give
people unimagined freedom and transform the economy
but would cost up to 1000 lives a year in this country
alone, would you take it?

http://theage.com.au/news/opinion/print-screen-marriages/2006/03/15/1142098528100.html

au: The signal is clear: do not adjust your sets
The Federal Government's media policy fails to unlock
TV's full potential, writes Jock Given. IF YOU thought
governments took too much notice of Kerry Packer when
he was alive, you should take a look at what they want
to do for him now that he's dead.

http://smh.com.au/news/opinion/the-signal-is-clear-do-not-adjust-your-sets/2006/03/15/1142098523906.html

au: A bonanza for the barons
The Government's plans to scrap cross-ownership rules
will simply make the big players in the Australian
media even bigger, writes Kenneth Davidson. WHY isn't
it possible for politicians responsible for
broadcasting policy to start from the public interest
and work back to an industry structure that serves
that purpose?

http://theage.com.au/news/kenneth-davidson/a-bonanza-for-the-barons/2006/03/15/1142098528094.html

us: 888 brushes off US legal concerns
Online gaming firm 888 has said it is confident US
politicians will ultimately reject a bill that
proposes a tough clampdown on the sector.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4812664.stm

ITU Hosts Virtual Conference on the Impact of New
Technologies on Telecom/ICT Regulation
As part of its work on preparing an ICT Regulatory
Toolkit, the Regulatory Reform Unit of ITU hosted, on
15 March 2006, a virtual conference on the impact of
new technologies on TELECOM/ICT Regulation.

http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/ITU+Hosts+Virtual+Conference+On+The+Impact+Of+New+Technologies+On+TelecomICT+Regulation.aspx

The Future of the Internet
The OECD hosted a workshop entitled The Future of the
Internet in Paris on 8 March 2006. Presentations given
at the event will serve at "food for thought" for
future OECD work.

http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/The+Future+Of+The+Internet.aspx

*****
SPAM
*****
Chronic spammer in NZ
One of America's most notorious computer spam artists
has turned up in New Zealand.
 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/683434

*****************************
INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
*****************************
Demographics of Internet users in Thailand
The results of the survey conducted by  the Thai
National Electronics and Computer Technology Center
(Nectec)  between September to November last year  of
Thai Internet users show that 54.4% of Thai net users
are female. The majority of net users were between 20
and 30 years old. 66% of Internet users  access the
Internet from home, while 40 % use the Net in the
workplace, 29 % at an educational facility and 25 % at
an Internet cafe. It is the first time in the survey's
seven-year history that home Internet use has
dominated.

http://internetinasia.typepad.com/blog/2006/03/demographics_of.html

Europe #1 in Per Capita Cell Phone Usage - USA Leads
in PC and Internet Per Capita Use (news release)
USA has traditionally been the leader when new
high-tech products and services are introduced. The
table below shows the per capita usage trends from
1990 with projections for 2010 for three technologies:
cell phone usage, Internet users and PCs in-use. The
table shows that the USA was initially the leader in
all three technologies, but was surpassed by W. Europe
in cellular subscribers per capita by 2000.
 http://c-i-a.com/pr0206.htm

***************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
***************
Promoting Cybersecurity in Developing Countries
"The case for promoting a global culture for
cybersecurity was strongly emphasized at the World
Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) during
an information session for participants conducted by
ITU on Friday.

http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Promoting+Cybersecurity+In+Developing+Countries.aspx

************
FILE SHARING
************
ca: CRIA's Own Study Counters P2P Claims by Michael
Geist
While CRIA regularly trumpets commissioned studies as
evidence for the problems posed by P2P, this week it
released a major study without any fanfare whatsoever.
 Conducted by Pollara last month, the study serves as
part of CRIA's submission to the CRTC's Commercial
Radio Review.  What makes this particular study
interesting (aside from the fact that it finally
includes full details on responses and the actual
questions posed), is that much of the data challenges
many familiar CRIA claims.

http://michaelgeist.ca/component/option,com_content/task,view/id,1168/Itemid,85/nsub,/

France Weighs Forcing iPods to Play Other Than iTunes
A bill under debate in the French Parliament may
require iPods to be able to play music purchased from
competing Internet services, not just Apple Computer's
own iTunes Music Store.
 http://iht.com/articles/2006/03/17/business/ipod.php

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/17/technology/17ipod.html

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=115&art_id=qw1142620201546B216

kr: Asian police target movie downloaders
South Korean police have begun to target people who
download content from P2P networks not only those who
make such material available. According to local
reports, Seoul Jongo law enforcement officers have
questioned 57 people after monitoring download
activity on at least one P2P service earlier this
month.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/17/korea_police_question_downloaders/

************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
************************
Tolls may slow Web traffic
The possibility of a two-tiered Internet threatens
today's notion of free travel on the information
superhighway.
 http://csmonitor.com/2006/0315/p14s01-stct.html

Microsoft's PC for big pockets
An ultra-mobile PC at an affordable price may sound
like a mass-market winner. Microsoft is banking on it.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1731396,00.html

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(c) David Goldstein 2006

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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