general internet news - 13 July

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

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eu: Microsoft hit with 280m euro fine
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5171126.stm

Aussie antispam law working, says govt agency; NZ law
to follow suit, Cunliffe says
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/UNID/0D2B721DBD18D8C1CC2571A400158654

uk: ISP refuses to hand over names
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19764504%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Online and on alert
Social networking websites tailored for young users
can be pedophile magnets, but what is the real risk to
our children? NETWORKING websites that have attracted
millions of young users are to come under scrutiny
from anti-pedophile investigators amid growing
concerns that children are unwittingly providing
material for potential abusers.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/10/1152383651264.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/07/10/1152383651264.html

us: Who's your child talking to on the Internet?
Your children have found a new playground and for the
most part it's unsupervised, but the kids, well,
they're not alone. That playground is the Internet and
child predators are using the Internet and stalking
children; and some children are falling prey to
techniques designed to lure them away from the safety
of mom and dad.
http://www.dailyadvance.com/featr/content/features/stories/2006/07/09/20060709edainternet.html

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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eu: Microsoft hit with 280m euro fine
Microsoft is fined 280m euros by the European
Commission for failing to comply with an
anti-competition ruling.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5171126.stm
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39278580,00.htm
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2266623,00.html

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 Disrupts Alleged NYC Plot
Authorities have disrupted planning by foreign
terrorists for an attack on New York City tunnels, two
law enforcement officials said Friday. FBI agents
monitoring internet chat rooms used by extremists
learned in recent months of the plot to strike a blow
at the city's economy by destroying vital
transportation networks, one official said.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireservice/0,71340-0.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/2100-1028_3-6091942.html

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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eu: Attack on move to regulate podcasts
LORD CURRIE, the chairman of Ofcom, hit out yesterday
at European Commission proposals that could lead to
regulation of podcasting, saying that the market was
too diverse for tighter controls.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2258390,00.html

us: Measure to Curb Web Gambling Approved
House passes bill to restrict online poker, sports
betting and other Internet-based wagering that gained
infamy as focus of lobbying scandal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100084.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/12/house_bans_gambling/

us: Who will pay for the Internet superhighway?
In the media and the halls of Congress, the Internet,
phone and cable TV industries are raising a ruckus
over "net neutrality." What's the squabble about?
Here's a look at both sides.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2006-07-11-net-neutrality_x.htm

us: MySpace may face legislative crackdown
Politicians on Tuesday accused MySpace.com and other
social-networking sites of failing to protect minors
from sexual predators and other malign influences and
said a legislative crackdown may be necessary.
http://news.com.com/MySpace+may+face+legislative+crackdown/2100-1028_3-6092989.html

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SPAM
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uk: Guidelines to enable UK spam data sharing
A new set of guidelines may pave the way for dozens of
U.K. ISPs (Internet service providers) to participate
in a University of Cambridge research project into the
problem of spam, estimated to comprise 60 percent or
more of the world's e-mail traffic.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/07/10/HNspamguidelines_1.html

Aussie antispam law working, says govt agency; NZ law
to follow suit, Cunliffe says
Spam volumes in Australia continue to be high, but the
proportion of worldwide spam coming from Australia has
dropped since the passing of the Spam Act in 2003,
says the Australian Federal government?s Department of
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
(DCITA).
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/UNID/0D2B721DBD18D8C1CC2571A400158654

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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us: MySpace overtakes Yahoo
The MySpace website deemed a virtual clubhouse where
teenagers bare details of their lives has eclipsed
internet oldster Yahoo as the most popular US website.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/12/1152637712583.html
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=12812341

ca: Employers spying on Canadian workers, study
suggests
Canadian employers in a wide range of industries
conduct surveillance of employees at work, suggests a
report to be released on Monday.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/10/privacy-workplace.html

One in six uses Firefox
Firefox has gained global market share since May,
while Microsoft's IE has dropped under the 80 percent
mark in the US a Dutch web analytics firm said Monday.
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=34764

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Africa: The Digital Divide is a Divide Between the
Digital Haves And Have Nots
The problem of the digital divide is not technological
and not merely an issue of a divide between
technological haves and the technological have nots.
The digital divide and its implications has more to do
with the inability of a number of countries including
those in Africa to deploy, harness and exploit the
developmental opportunities of the emerging digital
information and technological
http://allafrica.com/stories/200607101137.html

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FILE SHARING
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uk: ISP refuses to hand over names
ITALIAN internet service provider Tiscali has rebuked
demands by British music companies to reveal the names
of some of its customers who allegedly used the
network to share songs illegally.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19764504%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6092034.html
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=12808315

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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us: Wired News snapped up
Condé Nast, which bought Wired magazine eight years
ago, is paying $25m to acquire troubled online site
Wired News from Lycos, the companies said late on
Tuesday.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6093028.html

uk: TV standby buttons will be outlawed (an
environmental issue)
The Government is to outlaw standby switches on
televisions and video and DVD players to slash the
amount of electricity wasted in the home
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19509-2266159,00.html

Paperclip blog blags prairie pad
A resourceful blogger's quest to trade up on one red
paperclip until his bartering produced a house has
paid off.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1817704,00.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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au: Rival telcos to go it alone
A local telecom consortium announces plans to go ahead
with a high-speed broadband network with or without
Telstra.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/07/11/1152383713955.html


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(c) David Goldstein 2006

David Goldstein
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