general internet news - 10 July

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

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au: Porn sites shut
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19692105%5E15342%5E%5Enbv%5E15306-15319,00.html

au: Big Brother crackdown fall-out
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/07/06/1152157687792.html
http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Big_Brother_live_streaming_incident_fuels_legal_change/0,2000061791,39262267,00.htm

uk: International efforts are failing to stop child
sex abuse images on the internet
http://www.nch.org.uk/information/index.php?i=382

nz: Girls put at risk on net
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3725740a11275,00.html

uk: Crime agency asks kids to explain social
networking
http://www.out-law.com/page-7067

us: FBI plans new Net-tapping push
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6091942.html

eu: Microsoft could be fined $5.5m a day
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/129e8a6e-0ddf-11db-a385-0000779e2340.html
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2259684,00.html

German experts think search engines should be
monitored
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.13/searchengines

Spam careens out of control in June
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4902/53/

us: Could the flow of Internet traffic be restricted?
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=36811

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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uk: International efforts are failing to stop child
sex abuse images on the internet
Child sex abuse images on the internet are increasing
in number and international efforts to bring the
situation under control are failing, according to a
new report launched today (July 5) by leading
children?s charity NCH. The charity is calling for a
new global body to tackle the problem head on.
http://www.nch.org.uk/information/index.php?i=382

uk: IWF welcomes NCH report out today
John Carr, report author, NCH New Technology Adviser
and former IWF Board Member, said: ?Evidence suggests
there are more child sex abuse images circulating
online than ever before. And while some individual
countries are making notable headway in the fight
against this crime, overall our collective efforts are
failing to turn the tide.
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/6618
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.169.htm

au: Porn sites shut
AUSTRALIA'S media watchdog has sought the removal of
almost 250 pornographic web pages and other internet
postings over the first four months of this year.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19692105%5E15342%5E%5Enbv%5E15306-15319,00.html

au: Big Brother crackdown fall-out
Australian internet companies could be forced offshore
if the Federal Government introduces tough new rules
for live broadcasts over the web, industry and user
groups warned.
http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2006/07/06/1152157687792.html
http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Big_Brother_live_streaming_incident_fuels_legal_change/0,2000061791,39262267,00.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/06/big_brother_law_change/

au: Internet censorship
Communications Minister Helen Coonan has made
international headlines by announcing she'll consider
regulating the internet in response to the furore over
the web streaming of late night sexual activities on
TV Show Big Brother.
http://nowwearetalking.com.au/Home/Page.aspx?mid=215

au: Young crime fighters log on
SCHOOL students are thinking up ingenious ways to
fight cyber crime, for the Crime Stoppers Youth
Challenge. More than 1700 students and 130 classes or
groups have already registered for the challenge,
which awards cash prizes.
http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19687029%255E3462,00.html

nz: Girls put at risk on net
A Press investigation has revealed teenage schoolgirls
are posing in cyberspace using log-on names such as
dirtykitty and candyeyes in forums that can be
accessed by anyone with an internet connection.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3725740a11275,00.html

uk: Crime agency asks kids to explain social
networking
A government crime agency will investigate the effects
of social networking sites on children in an attempt
to better understand the new phenomenon.
http://www.out-law.com/page-7067

uk: Information Commissioner issues first website
enforcement order
The operator of a website designed to allow searches
for people's contact details has been issued with an
enforcement order by the Information Commissioner's
Office (ICO). It is the first time that the ICO has
issued an order over a website.
http://www.out-law.com/default.aspx?page=7070

Singapore gags blogger critic
A SINGAPOREAN newspaper has suspended a blogger's
column after the government criticised his latest
satirical piece about high living costs.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19712899%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Burma bans Google and gmail
Burmese authorities have blocked the well-known Google
search engine and its mail service gmail, according to
internet users in Rangoon.
http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2006/June/26-June-2006-36.html

us: Let global online freedom ring?
At this time of year in the United States, we
celebrate freedom and independence with parades and
fireworks. The Internet is not bounded by national
borders, but there certainly are differing levels of
online freedom for Netizens around the world.
http://news.com.com/Let+global+online+freedom+ring/2010-1028_3-6090725.html

cn: Internet controls tightened further
Supervision of internet blogs will be tightened, the
State Council has announced, while one of the
mainland's most popular liberal chat-room forums has
been told to tone down comments on sensitive topics in
further signs of increased control of the internet.
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=48648

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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au: Optus porn payout slashed
OPTUS has had a damages payout reduced on appeal in a
case which exposed its role as a key player in the
global internet pornography trade.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19697106%5e15306%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

us: FBI plans new Net-tapping push
The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would
require Internet service providers to create
wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force
makers of networking gear to build in backdoors for
eavesdropping.
http://news.com.com/FBI+plans+new+Net-tapping+push/2100-1028_3-6091942.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6091942.html

us: Internet Providers Gain Varied Support to Fight
Child Porn
It is against the law and it is just wrong. Such was
the general opinion expressed last week among those
questioned about the sexual exploitation of children.
At the same time, praise was offered for a group of
major Internet service providers that announced plans
to, by the end of this year, establish a database
specifically designed to combat child pornography.
http://redorbit.com/news/technology/564233/internet_providers_gain_varied_support_to_fight_child_porn/

Yahoo! China unaware of lawsuit
Yahoo! China has not been formally told that it will
be sued by the international recording industry. The
company told OUT-LAW that it only learned of the case
through the press.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/06/yahoo_china_unaware_of_lawsuit/

uk: APACS welcomes plans to crackdown on online
paedophiles (news release)
New secondary legislation proposed by the Government
will allow credit and debit card issuers to withdraw
cards from online paedophiles
http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.170.htm

eu: Microsoft could be fined $5.5m a day
Microsoft could in future face daily fines of up to
$5.5m as the European Commission further tightens the
screw on the US software group in the long-running
antitrust battle between the two.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/129e8a6e-0ddf-11db-a385-0000779e2340.html
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2259684,00.html

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Dutch parliament opposes criminalization of violations
of intellectual property across the EU
The Dutch parliament does not want the EU commission
to make violations of intellectual property a crime in
a directive. Last Friday, both chambers of the Dutch
parliament agreed that the European Community has not
"had any mandate bestowed upon it with which to attain
the goals of the planned legislative action."
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/74989%3E

us: Why Senator Stevens is Right on Net Neutrality By
Gadi Evron
Several people emailed me about the actual things the
senator said and why he is off-base. I decided to
listen to his speech again, and write down the points
I believe are critical. Senator Stevens who everyone
is dissing on for his speech on Net Neutrality in my
book spoke nothing less than brilliant. I will also
tell you, in my opinion, exactly why... He nailed down
the subject into the point that matters: Business.
It's about profit.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/senator_stevens_on_net_neutrality/

Net Neutrality Is As Silly As So-Called Internet
Governance By Gadi Evron
>From the perspective of Internet security operations,
here is what Net Neutrality means to me. I am not
saying these issues aren't important, I am saying they
are basically arguing over the colour of bits and
self-marginalizing themselves. For a while now I tried
not to comment on the Net Neutrality non-issue, much
like I didn't comment much on the whole "owning the
Internet by owning the Domain Name System" thingie.
Here it goes anyway. Two years ago I strongly
advocated that consumer ISP's should block some ports,
either as incident response measures or as permanent
security measures.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/net_neutrality_silly_as_internet_governance/

German experts think search engines should be
monitored
During the workshop "The Rising Power of
Search-Engines on the Internet: Impacts on Users,
Media Policy, and Media Business" that took place in
Berlin on 26-27 June 2006, the experts expressed the
opinion that the search engines should be more
regulated.
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.13/searchengines

European Parliament condemns ethical breaches by
Internet sector companies
Reporters Without Borders hailed a resolution on
online free expression that was passed today by the
European Parliament and said it hoped the European
Commission and EU member states would heed its
recommendations.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18223

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SPAM
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us: Seems Somebody Is Clicking on That Spam
Spam messages promoting pornography are 280 times as
effective in getting recipients to click on them as
messages advertising pharmacy drugs, which are the
next most effective type of spam.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/technology/03drill.html

Spam careens out of control in June
According to a newly released report, the incidence of
spam mail has once again careened out of control,
jumping 6.9% in June to a massive 64.8% of all emails
sent in June.
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/4902/53/

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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Digital Opportunity Increases Worldwide
Fixed and mobile Internet connections continue to
increase worldwide, while security concerns linger.
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/geographics/article.php/3618336

uk: BBC TV audience falls as online usage grows
The BBC's share of the national television audience
slipped last year with teenagers switching off in
"disproportionately large numbers", the corporation
said in its annual report for 2005/2006 on Friday.
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=12775376

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FILE SHARING
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France Offers Apple a Loophole
The French government's passage of a controversial law
last week could force Apple Computer Inc. to loosen
ties between the iPod and music purchased on iTunes, a
move that has left analysts wondering whether the
company will comply or close its business in France.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070301101.html

us: Illegal file sharing showing no letup
A year after the Supreme Court's landmark Grokster
decision ? which set out to curb online theft of music
and movies ? illegal file sharing is as popular as
ever even as Silicon Valley technologists and
Hollywood moguls continue their awkward embrace.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003101281_btfilesharing03.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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us: Could the flow of Internet traffic be restricted?
One of the most unique aspects of the Internet is its
ability to provide the public with anything ? homemade
YouTube videos, snarky bloggers or even porn ? and
that could be in danger of changing because of
telecommunication companies.
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=36811

Yahoo's China Challenge
The music industry accuses the company of serving up
illegal files on the mainland. Doing business in China
just gets trickier
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2006/tc20060705_033758.htm

Google must temper its power or law makers will
Back in March, Colin Dowse wrote to Ask Jack in some
alarm about his financial prospects. Why? Google had
removed his UK site from its indexes.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1813112,00.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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sg: New Ten-year Infocomm Masterplan
On 20 June 2006 Singapore launched a new ten-year
infocomm masterplan that will propel the nation into
2015 and beyond, with a line-up of activities and
goals that spell benefits for the people, businesses
and the global community. The vision is to turn the
country into an Intelligent Nation and Global City,
Powered by infocomm. The masterplan recommends the way
forward for Singapore, into a future where infocomm
will bring a sea change and become intrinsic in the
way people live, learn, work and play.
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Singapore+New+Tenyear+Infocomm+Masterplan.aspx

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VoIP
*****
kr/us: South Korea to block VoIP to U.S. military
bases - report
A spat between American VoIP companies and the South
Korean government has threatened to shut down a
communications channel between U.S. soldiers and their
families.
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/07/07/southkorea_blocksvoip_usbases/

Internet telephony and VoIP: What's the difference?
If you want to dive into the world of Internet
telephony but prefer to use your existing phone?not
VoIP software on your Mac?as your primary calling
device, you might consider subscribing to an Internet
telephony service provider (ITSP). An ITSP uses your
broadband Internet connection to deliver telephone
service to your home or office, usually at a steeply
discounted rate. Unlike desktop VoIP tools, ITSPs
don?t require that you use your computer to place and
receive calls. 
http://www.macworld.com/2006/07/reviews/voipside2/index.php

us: Committee Tackles Internet Phone Rules
The Senate Commerce Committee began voting on
comprehensive telecommunications legislation on June
22 by adopting an amendment to pre-empt state laws
that economically regulate Internet telephone
companies. After approving the amendment offered by
Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., on a 14-8 vote, the
committee recessed until the following Tuesday, when
it resumed work on the bill proposed by Senate
Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. For later
action on the Commerce Committee markup of telecom
bill, see the three stories immediately above this
one.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-IOCE1151058862878.html

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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au: Crown prosecutor charged over child porn
A senior prosecutor who heads the NSW government's
Youth Justice Advisory Committee has stood down after
being charged with possessing child pornography.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Crown-prosecutor-charged-over-child-porn/2006/07/07/1152240468677.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/07/1152235094190.html
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,19716813-5001021,00.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1681708.htm
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19713687%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

us: Child porn on iPod nets 40-year sentence
A San Marcos man who admitted he stored sexually
explicit images and videos of children on his iPod
digital music player has been sentenced to 40 years in
prison on that charge and several others, Attorney
General Greg Abbott announced today.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4031213.html

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(c) David Goldstein 2006

David Goldstein
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