general internet news - 2 October

[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/

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us/eu: U.S. Joins Council of Europe Convention on Computer-Based Crime
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060929165524xlrennef8.465213e-02

nz: Botnets and fuzzers make NZ a prime target
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/1C6585C3FB1A0145CC2571F80017495A

us: U.S. Congress approves Internet gambling ban bill (Reuters)
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=13650385

nl: Internet Freedom Reigns in Amsterdam (Reuters)
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=13647511

nz: Academics to face off in debate
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3815134a28,00.html

nz: Serious flaws revealed in Bronwyn Howell submission to Select Committee (news release)
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2006-09-25-howell-critique

nz: Internet guru relishes NZ connections
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3815260a28,00.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10403888

Google's Growing Grasp
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1541268,00.html

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Costar v. Loopnet: Protection of the Internet at the Expense of Copyright Protection? by Wes Barger
Under the Copyright Act, any infringement of a copyright, either intentional or otherwise, makes one liable to the copyright holder. However, courts were split on how to deal with this issue in regards to ISPs. Some courts favored a strict liability approach while others leaned towards finding no liability for purely passive actions that led to infringement. To remedy this split, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, (“DMCA”) which provided a safe haven for ISPs under particular circumstances. While the split over the approaches to liability was resolved, the general question of whether liability existed was not, and new questions arose; such as were the traditional infringement defenses rendered useless with the passing of the DMCA and would active steps to prevent infringement actually increase an ISP’s exposure to copyright liability? This note discusses the Fourth Circuit’s answers to these questions, in CoStar Group, Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc., and
 forecasts how the CoStar decision will be applied to future decisions.
http://jip.kentlaw.edu/art/volume%206/6%20Chi-Kent%20J%20Intell%20Prop%201.doc

The Constitutionality of WIPO's Broadcasting Treaty: The Originality and Limited Times Requirements of the Copyright Clause
Because the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty extends perpetual copyright-like protections to unoriginal information, its implementation would violate at least two fundamental limitations on Congress's Copyright Clause power: the originality and “limited times” requirements. But Congress has a trump card—the Commerce Clause. This iBrief argues that to give proper effect to the limitations of the Copyright Clause, Congress should not be allowed to implement copyright-like legislation under the less restrictive Commerce Clause.
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2006dltr0016.html

Principles of Internet Privacy by FRED H. CATE (Indiana University School of Law/Connecticut Law Review)
This article identifies principles that should undergird the government's efforts to protect privacy and craft privacy norms, and then contrast the application of those principles in particular settings identified by Professor Paul Schwartz in his article Internet Privacy and the State.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=933087

The Changing Face of Privacy Protection in the European Union and the United States by FRED H. CATE (Indiana University School of Law/Indiana Law Review)
This Article examines the expanding conflict and emerging compromises between the European Union and the United States over data protection. After describing each of the legal regimes and the principles that undergird them, the article concludes by addressing the conflict between those principles, current political efforts to minimize that conflict, and the inadequacies of both systems in the context of the Internet.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=933090

Who supports Internet censorship? by Craig A. Depken, II
Abstract: Censorship is the moral or legislative process by which society “agrees” to limit what an individual can do, say, think, or see. Recent attempts to regulate, i.e., censor, what is viewed on the Internet have polarized the general population. Unfortunately, beyond the anecdotal, the characteristics of those who support Internet censorship are unknown. In this study, the support for Internet censorship is empirically analyzed using survey data. Notwithstanding the potential limitations of survey data, the results indicate the characteristics of those who tend to favor and disfavor Internet censorship. Specifically, concerns over pornography and concerns over government regulation on the Internet are the two most polarizing elements of the relative support for censorship, which suggests that the debate over this issue will not be easily resolved.
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/depken/index.html

Sexual and pornographic Web searching: Trends analysis by Amanda Spink, Helen Partridge, and Bernard J. Jansen
Abstract: The level of sexual or pornographic Web searching is a major subject of political debate, particularly in the United States. United States federal prosecutors recently, as of 2006, requested that the major Web search engines, Yahoo, American Online (AOL), MSN and Google provide a sampling of their search queries and indexes of Web sites, in order to allow the examination of various aspects of pornographic searching and retrieval. This paper examines studies that have analyzed Web search logs to determine the level of sexual or pornographic searches on publically available Web search engines from 1997 to 2005. Results show that sexual or pornographic queries have declined as a proportion of all Web queries since 1997 and currently represented less than four percent of Web queries. In conclusion, the paper provides perspectives on the results, including issues of self–regulated choice and human mating behavior.
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/spink/index.html

Unpacking “I don’t want it” — Why novices and non–users don’t use the Internet by R. Michelle Green
Abstract: The simple statement “I don’t want the Internet” hides misperceptions and personal beliefs that many novices and non–users hold about technology. Most non–users have limited opportunity to interact with those embracing technology. Inclusion in (and exclusion from) a technologically rich lifestyle creates feedback loops that inhibit technology learning in non–users, while facilitating it in experienced users. Such factors compound, leaving non–users unaware of and uninterested in technology’s benefit.
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/green/index.html

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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au: Schools advised to target blogging bullies
LEGAL advice about cyber bullying has been sent to all NSW schools in response to threats against teachers and students on internet blog sites.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/10/01/1159641213175.html

EU Kids Online
European Research on Cultural, Contextual and Risk Issues in Children's Safe Use of the Internet and New Media. EU Kids Online is a project funded by the EC Safer Internet plus Programme (see What is Safer Internet?) The EU Kids Online project (2006-2009) will examine research carried out in 18 member states into how children and young people use the internet and new media.
http://eukidsonline.net/

cn: Chinese miffed by lewd Japanese computer game (Reuters)
A Japanese-developed adult-themed computer game has incensed some of China's Internet surfers who deem it a bawdy slur on the classic novel, "Dream of the Red Chamber".
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-09-28T083738Z_01_PEK222021_RTRUKOC_0_US-CHINA-JAPAN-GAME.xml

za: Big Brother's watching in porn crackdown
Illicit South African purveyors of Internet and cellphone smut, beware - the censors are watching. The Film and Publications Board recently announced a crackdown that aims to halt the distribution of unclassified sexually explicit material circulating on the Internet, cellphones and mail-order.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20060930141451701C877557

us: Hard-Learned Lesson: Don't Censor a Blogger
Head of Milestone Capital Management LLC runs afoul for attempt to censor a Web article about a 1992 incident in which he manipulated an election at Harvard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/01/AR2006100100710.html

Parents more willing to let children upload pictures on the Internet.
New survey about parents’ attitudes to children and the Internet: Parents more willing to let children upload pictures on the Internet.
http://www.saftonline.org/latestnews/2808/

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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us/eu: U.S. Joins Council of Europe Convention on Computer-Based Crime
The United States is now a party to the Council of Europe (COE) Convention on Cybercrime, the only multilateral treaty that specifically addresses the problem of computer-related crime and electronic evidence gathering, the White House announced September 29.
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=September&x=20060929165524xlrennef8.465213e-02

de: German neo-Nazis to launch their own video news channel
"The media of the system refuses to recognise us as a democratic party, so we have to find our own way to reach our supporters," said Klaus Beier, an NPD spokesman. "Soon, we will be broadcasting a regular online weekly news programme from our party headquarters." Internet users were given a taste of Germany's first far-right propaganda broadcast since the Second World War this week, when the NPD launched pilot video newscasts on YouTube online, already a favourite neo-Nazi website.
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1772323.ece

cn: Yahoo could be sued over jailed emailer
Lawyers are preparing to sue the internet giant Yahoo over the imprisonment in China of Shi Tao, a journalist convicted of 'illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities' after he sent an email to a pro-democracy website.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1884980,00.html

br: Google Appeals Brazilian Order on Orkut (AP)
Google Inc. appealed on Thursday a federal judge's order to turn over information on users of the company's Orkut social-networking service.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801333.html

br: Google to miss Brazil judge's deadline to turn over info
Google Inc. will not meet a Brazilian judges' deadline to turn over information on users of the company's social networking service Orkut, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15625450.htm

us: Homeland Security Tries To Get Its Cybersecurity House In Order
Washington has so far fallen short of its goals for safeguarding the Internet, and if it's going to succeed, it will need more cooperation from private industry.
http://informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193100332

us: FTC Warns Advertisers and Media That Ads May Be Deceptive (news release)
The Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to 166 advertisers and 77 media outlets warning them that their advertisements targeting Hispanics are potentially deceptive. The ads were spotted during a one-day surf of Spanish-language newspaper, magazine, Internet, radio, and television advertisements by 60 partners around the United States and Latin America, coordinated by the FTC.
http://ftc.gov/opa/2006/09/hispanicsurf.htm

nz: Botnets and fuzzers make NZ a prime target
New Zealand is as susceptible to all kinds of cyber attacks as the rest of the world, says Rogan Mallon, principal systems engineer at Symantec New Zealand. This is despite our remote location and low population and is because of our increasing use of broadband.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/1C6585C3FB1A0145CC2571F80017495A

us: U.S. Congress approves Internet gambling ban bill (Reuters)
Most forms of Internet gambling would be banned under a bill that received final U.S. congressional approval early Saturday
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=13650385

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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us: Lawmaker Quits Over Messages Sent to Teenage Pages
On Friday, Mr. Foley resigned abruptly after being confronted with a series of sexually explicit Internet messages he is reported to have sent to under-age Congressional pages. He stands accused of being the very kind of predator he had denounced.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/us/30foley.html

us: Washington sex e-mail row deepens
Senior US politicians have called for a full inquiry into the conduct of former Congressman Mark Foley, who is accused of improper contact with House staff. When confronted last week with sexually suggestive messages he had sent to boys, the Florida Republican resigned.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5397846.stm

nl: Internet Freedom Reigns in Amsterdam (Reuters)
Amsterdam has the world's busiest Internet exchange, thanks to nuclear physicists and mathematicians who in the 1980s connected their network needs with the academic belief that knowledge needs to be free.
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=13647511
http://eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2022842,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-09-29-amsterdam-free_x.htm

in: State to soon get cyber crime cell
WITH the number crimes increasing day by day and the state topping the list of computer related crimes, Gujarat Government has decided to set up a cyber crime cell soon.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=203207

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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uk: Tories unveil 'webcameron'
David Cameron plans to harness the internet by reaching out to the disaffected blogging generation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Politics/conservatives/story/0,,1884396,00.html

uk: Internet's new wave threatens to wash the high street away
The fresh boom in online shopping and media has left traditional retailers in a quandary about how to sell - or where to advertise.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1884727,00.html

Still Independent after all these years
This week the paper that galvanised Fleet Street, The Independent, turns 20. What a lot has changed since 1986 - The article looks at the changes to newspapers in the UK, focussing on the 20th birthday of the Independent, and includes how the internet is changing newspapers.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1884739,00.html

Flirting with danger
Elissa, 43, is married with two school-age children, and loves the internet. She catches up on surplus office work via the home computer, regularly emails relatives interstate and, just to relieve the suburban boredom, shuffl es time spent on eBay with about an hour every few weeks having cybersex in adult chat rooms.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/10/01/1159641215224.html

Rise of the web's social network
BBC Click examines how sites are allowing like-minded users to find and interact with one another.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/5391258.stm

Active Home Web Use by Country, August 2006
There was an overall increase in active Web users in August, with incremental growth in all 10 countries tracked by Nielsen//NetRatings except for the U.K.
http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3623541

Getting the internet on track
Internet access on aircraft has been slow to take off, but it could be coming soon to a railway carriage near you
http://economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7904184

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Splitting the digital difference
A variety of novel approaches aim to bridge the gap between mobile phones and PCs in the developing world
http://economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7904089

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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The Internet May Go Interplanetary and Undersea
While some of us may still be struggling with those high tech toys’ functions, scientists have long been studying ways to apply the internet technology to what they call “disconnected environments.” The Manager of Data-Standards Programs at NASA, scientist Adrian Hooke, informed earlier this year that he and networking expert, Vint Cerf, together with other scientists have been working to develop a standard for out-space and undersea internet communications for the past six years. Their goal is to apply internet concepts to environments where uninterrupted communications are impossible, like out space and undersea environments. This program is called “delay-tolerant networking.”
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1583

New technology could end DVD format war (Reuters)
The breakthrough, which allows for the production of cheap multiple-layer discs, could nip the format war in the bud.
The format war around next-generation DVDs may be over before it has begun, thanks to a breakthrough from a British media technology company.
http://news.com.com/2100-1026_3-6119788.html

Google's Growing Grasp
To fend off Microsoft and other foes, the search giant is bulking up on partnerships: What does Google search for? Over the past few months, the Web titan has been looking for new partners. It has teamed with Intuit to enable small-business owners to manage Google ad campaigns, partnered with eBay to offer "click-to-call" ads that connect online shoppers to sellers, joined with MySpace to supply the social network's search and advertising, and helped MTV distribute video clips with ads tacked on.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1541268,00.html

uk: Tesco moves into software market
Tesco is to sell own-brand PC software, pitching the supermarket giant against the likes of Microsoft.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5396488.stm

7TH AOIR CONFERENCE - INTERNET CONVERGENCES
The International Journal of Communications Law and Policy (IJCLP) and the Association of Internet Researchers is pleased to announce a call for further papers for a special issue on Internet regulation linked to the IRv7 Conference ('Internet Convergences'). The selection committee - composed of the editorial boards of the IJCLP and Matthew Allen (Curtin University of Technology), Fay Sudweeks (Murdoch University) and Axel Bruns (Queensland University of Technology) - will review and consider all submissions for publication. We have already solicited several papers from the conference which are in the process of being reviewed and would now encourage experts from all disciplines and nationalities to submit further papers for publication by 1st December 2006. Acceptance will be notified by the end of the year for publication in 2007 following strict double-blind peer review.
http://www.digital-law.net/IJCLP/index.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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nz: Academics to face off in debate
Bronwyn Howell, the Victoria University academic attacked for her criticism of the Government's telecommunications reforms, has issued an invite to Covec economist John Small to a public debate to discuss the merits of unbundling.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3815134a28,00.html

nz: Serious flaws revealed in Bronwyn Howell submission to Select Committee (news release)
InternetNZ and TUANZ have today released two papers critiquing the submission of Bronwyn Howell, a Victoria University academic, to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on the Telecommunications Amendment Bill.
http://www.internetnz.net.nz/media/2006-09-25-howell-critique

nz: Internet guru relishes NZ connections
Catherine Harris talks to a low-key internet guru about his intriguing career and his links to New Zealand. Internet architect Roy Fielding gets back to New Zealand less often than he would like, but his Kiwi connection lives on in his latest project.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3815260a28,00.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10403888

Convergence, or just a tangled mess of ideas?
Mobile Workshop The word "convergence" is responsible for a lot of confusion in the industry. In some circles it means the coming together of all voice, video and data on an IP network with delivery based on the circumstances or "presence" of the user. In others, it's about getting mobile and fixed line communications working together more sweetly, often backed up by the delivery of TV and broadband as a triple or quad play, all on one bill.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/27/convergence_or_confusion/

The Mobile Telecommunications Market is Expected to Show Steady Growth Between 2006/2007 (news release)
This Market Report covers the UK market for mobile telecommunications services. Cellular or mobile services make up one sector of the wider telecommunications market, which also covers fixed-line and other end-user services. Cellular telephony covers the provision of voice and data transmissions whereby services are not delivered via a fixed line or link. In a cellular service, handsets originate and receive voice and data transmissions, from which revenues are generated.
http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=69992

it: Telecom Italia Convergence Is Derailed (AP)
Telecom Italia took a detour from the road to convergence that most mobile and fixed-line operators have been treading, and wandered into a controversy that has spread from the market to the parliament.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/ITALY_TELECOM_TIGHTROPE

OECD Foresight Forum on Next Generation Networks on 03-Oct-2006
The OECD's Information, Computer and Communications Policy Committee (ICCP) is currently planning a one-day international Forum on "Next Generation Networks: Evolution and Policy Considerations", which will be held on Tuesday, 3 October 2006 in Budapest, Hungary.
http://www.oecd.org/document/12/0,2340,en_2649_37441_37392780_1_1_1_37441,00.html

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VoIP
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uk: T-Mobile dumps VoIP restrictions
T-Mobile will allow VoIP calls over its Web 'n' Walk-branded 3G network for the first time when it launches a set of new data tariffs next week. Until now, customers who used the operator's data services to make VoIP calls were ordered to stop breaching their customer agreements. VoIP and instant messaging services were prohibited in a bid to protect voice revenues.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/29/tmobile_voip_tariff/

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(c) David Goldstein 2006
 
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David Goldstein
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"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery