general internet news - 13 September

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

Don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.




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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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OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: New Zealand [244p]
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers〈=EN&st1=922007071p1
http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/browseit/9207071E.PDF [PDF download]

Call for bomb recipe search to be blocked in EU [Reuters]
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276676964.html

China's Eye on the Internet [news release]
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8321

Chinese web filtering 'erratic'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6990842.stm

For China's Censors, Electronic Offenders Are the New Frontier
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/09/AR2007090901979.html

An Opportunity for Wall St. in China’s Surveillance Boom
http://nytimes.com/2007/09/11/business/worldbusiness/11security.html

The internet can't be censored and it's wrong for governments to try
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/13/guardianweeklytechnologysection.comment

Interpol proposes regional response centers to fight growing cybercrime
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/12/1189276803190.html
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22411618-16123,00.html

Australian watchdog bitten in Google case
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22397413-2702,00.html

Google misleads on sponsored links, Australian court told
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/10/1189276634704.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6207024.html [Reuters]

au: Google's 'top spot for sale'
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22393393-2,00.html

Australian firm sues forum to silence critics
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/12/1189276778252.html
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/14417/53/

A whole new ball game - media rights, Rugby World Cup & battles over online coverage of major sports
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165604,00.html

Opinion: The IRB's stubborn stance did more harm than good
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165614,00.html

PM says foreign spies hacked into New Zealand government computers; no key data lost
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276677390.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4197227a28.html

China denies role in NZ cyber attack
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4198376a28.html

Blog: Is Beijing hacking into NZ's computers?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10462932

Australian privacy laws outdated in internet age: report
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/12/2030385.htm

ALRC proposes overhaul of Australia's 'complex and costly' privacy laws [news release]
http://alrc.gov.au/media/2007/mr1207_privacy.html

Google Street Pics May Violate Canadian Privacy Law
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/09/do-google-stree.html
http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/an_070911_e.asp

Wikipedia publishes 2 millionth article in English [Reuters]
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/13/2031668.htm
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318360/1345360

Firefox hits 400 million downloads
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39289183,00.htm

Warning: you can't make real friends online
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/11/facebook.myspace

Mobile phone studies find no short-term health problems
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2167606,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2442009.ece

Marketers over-reacting to new NZ spam law
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/92B7E01B8B5BF4C7CC25734F000DFEEC

Africa: Mobiles for the 'world's poorest'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6986804.stm

Nokia Confident of Growth in African Continent's Telephony
http://allafrica.com/stories/200709110299.html

Africa, ICT & electricity
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2636

Belgian ISP claims court ruling will force it into 'illegal' behaviour
http://out-law.com/page-8462

The real reason for Google's news-wire deal
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165618,00.html

Giant leap for the search unknown - how close are the world's web-trawlers are to a "Google-killer" breakthrough
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/10/1189276633425.html

British traditional media fights back in the battle to attract advertising
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2434529.ece

Pacific islands get digital boost with new links
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/30351797750D6086CC25734F000D9580

Aussie helps jail internet porn fiend
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22410528-38198,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,22410546-948,00.html
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/12/america/NA-GEN-US-Child-Pornography.php


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RESEARCH PAPERS
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OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy: New Zealand [244p]
This comprehensive assessment of the innovation system of New Zealand examines how innovation has affected economic performance in New Zealand. It looks at who the actors are and how they are related to each other. And it examines in detail the role of the government and the effectiveness of the system. Finally, it makes a series of recommendations.
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers〈=EN&st1=922007071p1
http://213.253.134.43/oecd/pdfs/browseit/9207071E.PDF [PDF download]

OECD Innovation Policy and Performance: A Cross-Country Comparison
This publication examines the relationship between innovation policy and economic performance in six OECD countries – Austria, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In-depth analyses highlight countries’ strengths and weaknesses in innovation, as well as the effectiveness of their innovation policies in driving economic performance. Taken together, the country studies constitute a rich evidence base which will be of considerable interest to innovation policy makers in all OECD countries. They indicate that countries share a need to adapt – or even profoundly change – their innovation policies in order to deal with opportunities and threats posed by new technological and economic developments.
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?CID=&LANG=EN&SF1=DI&ST1=5LMM73JGNHKJ

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CENSORSHIP
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Call for bomb recipe search to be blocked in EU [Reuters]
Internet searches for bomb-making instructions should be blocked across the European Union, the bloc's top security official said on Monday. ISPs should also prevent access to any site giving instructions on how to make a bomb, EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said in an interview.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276676964.html

Free Speech Sometimes Trumps Copyright by Jennifer Granick
On my first day of my new position as civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt my previous employer, the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, a fantastic victory. The court's ruling in Golan v. Gonzales is also a triumph for the First Amendment and for the overwhelming majority of creators.
http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/commentary/circuitcourt/2007/09/circuitcourt_0911

China's Eye on the Internet [news release]
The "Great Firewall of China," used by the government of the People's Republic of China to block users from reaching content it finds objectionable, is actually a "panopticon" that encourages self-censorship through the perception that users are being watched, rather than a true firewall, according to researchers at UC Davis and the University of New Mexico.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8321

ACM's Computer and Communications Security Conference website
http://sigsac.org/ccs/CCS2007/

Chinese web filtering 'erratic'
China's firewall that tries to sanitise web browsing is much more porous than previously thought, says a study.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6990842.stm
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137143-c,internetnetworking/article.html
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9036118

For China's Censors, Electronic Offenders Are the New Frontier
... But party censors are now turning to China's booming Internet and cellphone networks with particular vigor. Given the easy access to technologies such as text messaging, censors have found it difficult to keep a grip on information. It hasn't been for lack of trying. The Public Security Ministry, which monitors the Internet under guidance from the Central Propaganda Department, has recruited an estimated 30,000 people to snoop on electronic communications. The ministry recently introduced two cartoon characters -- a male and female in police uniforms -- that it said would pop up on computer screens occasionally to remind people that their activity is being tracked.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/09/AR2007090901979.html

An Opportunity for Wall St. in China’s Surveillance Boom
The Chinese surveillance market is expected to grow to $43 billion by 2010. A camera watches over a Shenzhen street. ... Wall Street analysts now follow the growth of companies that install surveillance systems providing Chinese police stations with 24-hour video feeds from nearby Internet cafes. Hedge fund money from the United States has paid for the development of not just better video cameras, but face-recognition software and even newer behavior-recognition software designed to spot the beginnings of a street protest and notify police. Now, the ties between China’s surveillance sector and American capital markets are starting to draw Washington’s attention.
http://nytimes.com/2007/09/11/business/worldbusiness/11security.html

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Saferinternet.at and eBay launch online safety quiz
Safe online shopping requires basic knowledge on how to handle potential risks. This is especially true for the growing group of young consumers. Against this background the Austrian awareness node Saferinternet.at launched a safety quiz in conjunction with eBay.at.
http://www.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/news/articles/0707/at1.htm

Phone filter keeps parents in the loop
An Australian company is about to release what it says is a world-first software suite, enabling parents to completely control their children's mobile phone usage.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276690640.html

au: A$189m to protect kids on the net
A group of welfare and industry experts will examine ways to prevent stalkers preying on children through social networking sites like MySpace. Communications Minister Helen Coonan said the Consultative Working Group would be part of the government's $189 million NetAlert program.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22412177-5006301,00.html
http://worldnewsaustralia.com.au/region.php?id=139884&region=7
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/13/2032022.htm

au: Government bids to curb online abuse
Social network users could have their details cross-matched against a list of sex offenders and be charged for misrepresenting their age. The terms of reference for a committee on cyber pedophilia have been worded to explore greater scope for prosecution over online offences.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/13/1189276873798.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/13/1189276873798.html

The internet can't be censored and it's wrong for governments to try
The Australian government's National Filter Scheme, an A$84.8m (£34.4m) initiative promoting the use of censorware in that country, recently suffered a collision with reality when a teenager reportedly immediately cracked some offered PC software. Although some media reports made it sound as if the government itself had developed the censorware, those millions simply represented roughly a country-wide site licence for several commercial censorware products.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/13/guardianweeklytechnologysection.comment

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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Interpol proposes regional response centers to fight growing cybercrime
Interpol proposed on Wednesday the creation of global and regional anti-crime centers to fight criminal activity online and respond quickly to emergency cybercrime alerts. The Internet should not be allowed to become a no man's land where criminals have the upper hand and can escape punishment, Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble told an international cybercrimes conference in New Delhi.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/12/1189276803190.html
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22411618-16123,00.html

Australian watchdog bitten in Google case
The consumer watchdog suffered a blow in its mammoth court case against Google Inc, when a judge said yesterday its court documents were almost "incomprehensible", "opaque" and "somewhat repetitious". The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was ordered to write out summaries of its key allegations against various Google companies to clarify its case.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22397413-2702,00.html

Google misleads on sponsored links, Australian court told
Google was accused Monday of misleading web users and misidentifying sponsored links in a court case brought by Australia's consumer watchdog. In what it says is a world-first action, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleges Google failed to distinguish between paid advertisements and "organic" results generated by the search engine. ACCC barrister Christine Adamson told the Federal Court that Google was misleading people who thought the ranking of its search results was not influenced by payments from advertisers.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/10/1189276634704.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6207024.html [Reuters]

au: Google's 'top spot for sale'
Google has been selling off the top rankings on its search engine results to commercial partners, rather than sorting them by relevance as it claims to, a Sydney court has heard. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is taking world-first legal action in the Federal Court against Google Inc over allegedly deceptive conduct related to sponsored links on its websites. The ACCC has brought a two-pronged case against Trading Post and Google - including subsidiaries Google Australia and Google Ireland - for potentially misleading consumers.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22393393-2,00.html

Australian firm sues forum to silence critics
In a move that could set a nasty precedent for Australian website operators and their users, a software firm is suing a community website over comments published on its message board. The firm, 2Clix, is suing the owner of the popular broadband community site Whirlpool, Simon Wright, for "injurious falsehood", asking for A$150,000 in damages and an injunction requiring Whirlpool to remove forum threads highly critical of 2Clix's accounting software.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/12/1189276778252.html
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/14417/53/

A whole new ball game - media rights, Rugby World Cup & battles over online coverage of major sports
The world of rugby is no stranger to bone-crunching showdowns but as the sixth World Cup kicked off in Paris on Friday night, the action for the media industry was located off the pitch. Instead of the William Webb Ellis Cup being at stake, this fight between newspapers and news-wires on one side and the event's organisers - the International Rugby Board - on the other, centred on the future of reporting as news goes digital. And while the winners of the tournament will hold the title for the next four years, the outcome of this battle could have repercussions for years to come as newspapers grapple with the 24-hour online news agenda.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165604,00.html

Opinion: The IRB's stubborn stance did more harm than good
... What then, lay behind the International Rugby Board's (IRB) extraordinary dance with the international media ahead of the World Cup which England almost certainly won't retain, and none of the other home nations are likely to win? A heavy restriction on the number of images allowed to be filed per match or the time delay imposed on television footage from matches on non-match days seemed on the face of it absurd. The pressure point for the IRB seemed to be the fear that broadcasters who have paid for the rights, like ITV, are anxious that multimedia packages from other organisations could undermine their coverage of this event.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165614,00.html

EC funds counter-terrorism tech research
The European Commission is to plough €156m (£107m) of funding into research on counter-terrorism technologies. The funding was granted in response to a call from the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme, which seeks to develop technologies and knowledge to mitigate threats including terrorism, organised crime and natural disasters.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39289237,00.htm
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6207585.html

India Hosts World Cyber Crime Conference
India is hosting the 7th international conference on cyber crime hosted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at New Delhi from September 12 to 14.
http://www.tech2.com/india/news/general/india-hsts-wrld-cyber-crime-cnerence/15891/0

New Cyber Crime Definitions needed in India
Naavi.org has raised certain issues connected with the International Conference on Cyber Crimes organized by CBI in Delhi. While the conference is now in progress here are some thoughts on the issues raised earlier through our article of september 10th. A suggestion was also made on the need for setting up a Cyber Crime Help Desk at CBI. Here are some more suggestions on new Cyber Crime definitions required to be added to the statute. These have not been addressed even in the proposed amendments to ITA 2000 which are now under consideration.
http://bloggernews.net/110108

Website terms incorporated by 'continue' button, rules US court
A US Court of Appeal has said that a website can incorporate terms into a contract with a link above a 'continue' button that is part of a registration form. The approach is not recommended for sites in the UK, an e-commerce lawyer warned.
http://out-law.com/page-8465

us: Annual CSI Study: Cost of Cybercrime Is Skyrocketing
If your organization was hit hard in the wallet by cybercriminals in the past 12 months, you're not alone. According to the Computer Security Institute's annual Computer Crime and Security Survey, which is scheduled for release later this week, companies reported average annual losses of US$350,424 in the past year, up sharply from the $168,000 they reported the previous year.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=133658

Insider Threats Increase, But Damage Is Minimal
... The Computer Security Institute's annual Computer Crime and Security Survey, which is scheduled for release later this week, reports that insider attacks have now surpassed viruses as the most common cause of security incidents in the enterprise. Nearly 60 percent of respondents have experienced insider-related events in the past 12 months, while only 52 percent of companies reported a virus incident.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=133762

us: Feds: 'Iceman' Was Internet ID Thief
A man who used the Internet alias "Iceman" stole credit card and identity information from tens of thousands of people by hacking into the computers of financial institutions and credit card processing centers, federal authorities said Tuesday.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1660948,00.html

The Internet Firewall: R.I.P.?
Is the Internet firewall headed for extinction? That was the intriguing subtext to a talk today by William Cheswick, a firewall pioneer. As a researcher at Bell Labs, he wrote an early technical paper on firewalls in 1990, “The Design of a Secure Internet Gateway,” and 1994 (with a second edition in 2003), he cowrote a classic text on the subject, “Firewalls and Internet Security.”
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/the-internet-firewall-rip/

PM says foreign spies hacked into New Zealand government computers; no key data lost
Foreign spies have hacked into New Zealand government computers in recent months but no classified information was stolen, Prime Minister Helen Clark said Tuesday. Clark's attempt to reassure followed revelations by the country's top spy, Security Intelligence Service head Warren Tucker, that foreign sources had hacked into government computer systems and stolen information.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276677390.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4197227a28.html

Blog: Is Beijing hacking into NZ's computers?
The Security Intelligence Service's claims that foreign governments are hacking its network aren't surprising given the stir created in the last couple of weeks at news that the Chinese People's Liberation Army allegedly hacked the Pentagon's network.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10462932

uk: Men more likely to be cyber-stalking victims
Around three per cent of UK men have been victims of online stalking compared to just one per cent of women, according to new research by online security company Garlik. The survey found that cyber-stalking victims suffer a barrage of abusive emails, character assassination on websites and message boards and, in extreme cases, online identity theft leading to harassment over the phone.
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2198455/uk-men-likely-victims-cyber-stalking
http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2198455/uk-men-likely-victims-cyber-stalking
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnunet/news/2198455/uk-men-likely-victims-cyber-stalking

L'Oreal challenges eBay over sale of fakes [Reuters]
L'Oreal launched legal action against eBay, alleging the online auctioneer does not do enough to combat the sale of counterfeits, the company said on Monday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1035035420070910
http://news.com.com/2110-1030_3-6207091.html
http://out-law.com/page-8463 [Out-Law]

Worm Winds Its Way Into Skype for Windows
In a high-profile reminder of the security pitfalls that still exist with PC-based communications, eBay's Skype is warning users of a fast-spreading worm affecting users of Skype for Windows. The worm spreads through the peer-to-peer phone service's instant chat application and is activated when a user clicks in a link in an instant message they receive, Skype said.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/rjFvgYLlyAYwdP/Worm-Winds-Its-Way-Into-Skype-for-Windows.xhtml
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/3D5D4B7CA7120278CC257352007220B1

iPhone unlock goes on sale
Several resellers started taking orders today for software that unlocks Apple Inc.'s iPhone. The one U.S. dealer handling iPhoneSIMFree's unlock -- which lets iPhone owners swap out SIM cards so that the device can make calls on cellular networks other than AT&T's -- listed the hack for $99. According to a sales representative who answered the phone at New York-based Wireless Imports, the reseller is waiting on iPhoneSIMFree to deliver the licenses. Preorders taken today are supposed be filled within 48 hours.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9035272

Intel charged in South Korea with violating antitrust laws [AP]
Intel has been charged with violating South Korean antitrust laws, the company and regulators said. ... The Korean Fair Trade Commission said it has completed a two-year probe into Intel's activities in the country, but officials declined to elaborate on the findings. The regulators are now deliberating about possible penalties against Intel, which commands more than three-quarters of the worldwide market for microprocessors, the electronic brains of computers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/11/AR2007091101750.html
http://iht.com/articles/2007/09/11/business/chip.php

PM says foreign spies hacked into New Zealand government computers; no key data lost
Foreign spies have hacked into New Zealand government computers in recent months but no classified information was stolen, Prime Minister Helen Clark said Tuesday. Clark's attempt to reassure followed revelations by the country's top spy, Security Intelligence Service head Warren Tucker, that foreign sources had hacked into government computer systems and stolen information.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/11/1189276677390.html
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4197227a28.html

China denies role in NZ cyber attack
The Chinese Government denies it is involved in attempts to hack into New Zealand Government computer systems - despite strong hints that its spies' activities had been detected.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4198376a28.html

China's cyber raid on NZ/Aust agencies
China has allegedly tried to hack into highly classified government computer networks in Australia and New Zealand as part of a broader international operation to glean military and commercial secrets from Western nations.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22404605-15306,00.html

Chinese Official Accuses Nations of Hacking
A senior Chinese official has accused foreign intelligence agencies of causing "massive and shocking" damage to China by hacking into computers to ferret out political, military and scientific secrets.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091200791.html

China: Net spy damage has been 'massive' [Reuters]
A senior Chinese official says his country has suffered "massive" losses of state secrets through the Internet.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6207467.html

France blames China for hack attacks
Three more western nations have blamed China for an upsurge in hacking attacks against government computers.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/12/french_cyberattacks/

Blog: Is Beijing hacking into NZ's computers?
The Security Intelligence Service's claims that foreign governments are hacking its network aren't surprising given the stir created in the last couple of weeks at news that the Chinese People's Liberation Army allegedly hacked the Pentagon's network.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10462932

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PRIVACY
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Australian privacy laws outdated in internet age: report
The Australian Law Reform Commission has released a blueprint for a sweeping overhaul of Australia's privacy laws. The Commission has drafted 301 proposals after staging the largest public consultation process in its history.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/12/2030385.htm

Privacy laws to be overhauled
THE Australian Law Reform Commission plans to redraw the federal Privacy Act to bring small businesses into the regime, but will salve the pain of compliance by untangling the present jurisdictional mess.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22405257-5013044,00.html
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Australia-must-overhaul-data-disclosure-mess-/0,130061733,339282008,00.htm

ALRC proposes overhaul of Australia's 'complex and costly' privacy laws [news release]
"The clearest message from the community is that we must streamline our unnecessarily complex system. The federal Privacy Act sets out different principles for private organisations and for government agencies. On top of that, each state and territory has its own privacy laws or guidelines and some also have separate laws on health privacy. The ALRC is proposing there be a single set of privacy principles for information-handling across all sectors, and all levels of government. This will make it easier and less expensive for organisations to comply, and much more simple for people to understand their rights."
http://alrc.gov.au/media/2007/mr1207_privacy.html

Google Street Pics May Violate Canadian Privacy Law
Canada's privacy commissioner has sent a letter to Google asking questions about its new Street View application, which captures street-level images -- including images of clearly identifiable privacy advocates.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/09/do-google-stree.html
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201806012
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/13/1189276858785.html

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Seeks Information about Street Level Photography Available Online [news release]
While satellite and aerial photo images have been available for many years, it is only recently that technology has allowed for this imagery to be shared freely over the internet. Today, these images are available from a number of government organizations and private corporations.
http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/an_070911_e.asp

Privacy Commissioner welcomes International Privacy Awareness Week [news release]
Privacy is Your Business is the theme of International Privacy Awareness Week, which runs from August 26 to September 1, 2007. A recent survey by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner revealed that a majority of Canadian businesses (55 per cent) believe their customers are more concerned about privacy related issues today than in the past. In fact, many businesses (86 per cent) recognize that taking privacy seriously is just good business.
http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/an_070828_e.asp

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Speech by Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Minister of Communications, South Africa at CRASA Workshop on the Impact of Convergence on ICT Policy and Regulation
This speech, by the South African Minister of Communications in June 2007 discusses an “African renaissance” through the use of ICT across the continent and that it “is an emerging reality; it is attainable and it is within reach.”
http://www.doc.gov.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=434

ke: Law Required to Curb Cyber Crime
The business community should have celebrated the withdrawal of the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2007. Information minister Mutahi Kagwe cited the need to introduce clauses to deal with cyber crime and protect the fibre optics cable as the reason for the withdrawal. Most businesses and financial institutions have now embraced Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and are highly dependent on computers for operations and accounting.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200709110684.html

uk: Ofcom begins public service television broadcasting review [news release]
Ofcom published the terms of reference for its second review of public service television broadcasting (PSB). The review will examine the extent to which the public purposes of PSB are being met and assess options for maintaining and strengthening the quality of PSB in future. It is expected to conclude in early 2009. Ofcom's first PSB Review concluded that there was continued demand for PSB but that the existing model of ensuring it is provided by commercially funded channels would not survive the transition to a wholly multichannel world unchanged. It stated that, as the value of analogue broadcasting licences declines, so the regulator's capacity to require commercial public service broadcasters to deliver certain types or quantities of programmes diminishes.
http://ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2007/09/nr_20070911

Malaysian government unveils IT initiatives
The Malaysian government has announced its budget for next year, pledging to provide a conducive environment to enhance the nation's competitiveness, boost human capital and grow broadband adoption.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39289211,00.htm

Philippine ISPs undergo makeover
The country's Internet access industry is undergoing major changes with traditional Internet service provides (ISPs) now making way for multi-service, multi-focus companies offering services that go beyond basic Internet access.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62032115,00.htm

uk: Religious hatred: a crime from October, but exemptions are wide
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act comes into force in October, carrying a threat of prison terms for a person who tries to stir up religious hatred. However, its free speech exemptions are so wide that convictions could be difficult, a lawyer said.
http://out-law.com/page-8464

Justice Department Clarifies FISA Warrants Required for Spying in U.S.
A top Justice Department official clarified Monday that the new national security electronic eavesdropping rules under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act demand warrants when the "target" of spying is inside the United States.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/09/justice-departm.html

Government Promises to Self-Audit Spying to Make Powers Permanent
congress The government wants to keep the wide spying powers Congress gave it in rush legislation this summer, and to get Congress to make the powers permanent after the six month expiration period, the spies will audit themselves and give information to select groups of Congressman, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein told a national security conference on Monday.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/09/government-prom.html

us: Bill would ban teens from using gadgets while driving
... California and at least 11 other states are considering bills banning teens from using electronic equipment while driving, according to the American Automobile Assn. At least 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed bans.
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-cartalk10sep10,1,6765235.story

Harnessing the Internet to Reinvent Democracy [Reuters]
No one could accuse management guru Don Tapscott of being unambitious. The co-author of the bestseller Wikinomics wants to teach governments to harness the power of the Internet to reinvent democracy. Tapscott is an evangelist for Web 2.0, the second-generation Internet based on participation through social communities such as Facebook and MySpace, participatory sites like free encyclopedia Wikipedia, and blogs.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6207366.html
http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,2181786,00.asp
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKGOR15628620070911

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INTERNET USE
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Internet use in the Middle East sees huge boom
Internet users in the Middle East increased by 479.3 per cent over the past six years, and, by the end of 2006 there were 19 million internet users representing 1.8 per cent of the one billion users worldwide, according to a report titled Internet World Statistics.
http://gulfnews.com/business/Internet/10153321.html

Ghana’s internet growth slowed by high cost
Most Ghanaians do not have access to the internet, in spite of the proliferation of ICT in the country, due to cost. Many more Ghanaians have access to mobile telephony than they have access to the internet. A cursory glance at Ghana’s ICT policy document shows an optimistic and encouraging picture of the future of the industry, but cost still remains a hindering factor. While the government of Ghana through this document has factored ICT into national development and is doing what it can to accelerate growth in that sector, not many Ghanaians have access to ICT, particularly the internet.
http://myjoyonline.com/features/200709/8441.asp

Kenyan Online Newspaper Editions Increase Sales
Kenyan newspapers have embraced the internet and increased their sales with innovations such as sending headlines by SMS to readers. Nairobi has also become the hub of an ambitious project to digitise all sub-Saharan newspapers.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200709100350.html

Malaysia lowers broadband targets
The slow uptake of broadband services has led the Malaysian government to revise its earlier optimistic penetration targets, prompting industry observers to call for market reform.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,62032069,00.htm

Wikipedia publishes 2 millionth article in English [Reuters]
Wikipedia published its 2 millionth article in the English language version of the anyone-can-edit encyclopedia, a symbolic milestone for the world's largest user-generated internet publishing site. Wikipedia, the sixth most visited network of internet sites worldwide behind commercial operators Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Time Warner and eBay, is available in 250 languages. Combined, Wikipedia has published more than eight million articles. On September 10, an article on "El Hormiguero," a popular Spanish TV show, was created by Wikipedia contributor Zzxc to become the 2 millionth article in the English Wikipedia.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/13/2031668.htm
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1318360/1345360
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN1234286820070912

Firefox hits 400 million downloads
Firefox hit another milestone last week when it passed the 400 million download mark.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39289183,00.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/12/firefox_milestone/

The Graying of the Web
Older people are sticky. That is the latest view from Silicon Valley. Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users. The sites have names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, Maya’s Mom, Boomj, and Boomertown. They look like Facebook — with wrinkles.
http://nytimes.com/2007/09/12/technology/12social.html

Whiting Out the Ads, but at What Cost?
... The larger importance of Adblock is its potential for extreme menace to the online-advertising business model. After an installation that takes but a minute or two, Adblock usually makes all commercial communication disappear. No flashing whack-a-mole banners. No Google ads based on the search terms you have entered.
http://nytimes.com/2007/09/03/technology/03link.html

Firefox-Google marriage on shaky ground?
... Last week, The New York York Times questioned whether the growing popularity of a Firefox extension called AdBlock Plus poses a threat to the ad-driven business models of entertainment, media, and search sites across the web. If enough people install the extension and other ad-killing browser gizmos, The Times asked, could they chip away at the bottom line of companies like CNN, Microsoft, and Google?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/12/firefox_google_marriage_threatened_by_adblock_plus/

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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uk: Facebook 'costs businesses dear'
Workers who spend time on sites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day, a study has calculated. According to employment law firm Peninsula, 233 million hours are lost every month as a result of employees "wasting time" on social networking. The study - based on a survey of 3,500 UK companies - concluded that businesses need to take firm action on the use of social networks at work. Some firms have already banned employees from accessing Facebook.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6989100.stm

Facebook shrugs off privacy fears with plan for targeted advertising
Facebook plans to escalate its use of personal data to target advertisements to individual users, despite mounting privacy concerns surrounding social networking sites.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2426470.ece

Warning: you can't make real friends online
Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace do not help you make more genuine close friends, according to a survey by researchers who studied how the websites are changing the nature of friendship networks. Although social networking on the internet helps people to collect hundreds or even thousands of acquaintances, the researchers believe that face to face contact is nearly always necessary to form truly close friendships.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/11/facebook.myspace
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/11/2029341.htm
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1064365820070910

Online networkers who click with 1,000 ‘friends’
MySpace and Facebook sites have created a fashion for collecting friends instead of stamps or coins, the conference was told. Users compete with one another to rack up more online friends than anyone else, listing them in the same way that they might show off a new car or the latest gadget.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2426229.ece

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
**********************
Wi-fi a hacker's playground: experts
Computer security experts warn the growing popularity of wi-fi Internet connections is providing more opportunities for hackers.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/12/2030396.htm

Mobile system promises free calls
A new way of making calls directly between phones, for free, is being trialled by a Swedish company. It is hoping to dramatically improve communications in the developing world. Swedish company TerraNet has developed the idea using peer-to-peer technology that enables users to speak on its handsets without the need for a mobile phone base station.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6987784.stm

Mobile phone studies find no short-term health problems
Mobile phones do not pose health problems to adults in the short term, according to the results of a major six-year research programme published today. However the research also points to a "slight hint" of a cancer risk for long-term users. Experts warned they were unable, at this stage, to rule out the risks of brain or ear cancers for people who have used mobiles for more than 10 years. They said that further investigation of this result would be a priority for the next phase of their work, which would also study the effects of mobile phones on children's health.
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2167606,00.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2442009.ece
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22410583-15306,00.html

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SPAM
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us: Defendants Convicted in 1st Criminal CAN-SPAM Trial by Venkat Balasubramani
In what seems to be the 1st criminal trial under CAN-SPAM, the defendants were convicted in June on a variety of counts. The court rejected defendants’ motion for acquittal or new trial. (US v. Kilbride, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 63172 (Aug. 24, 2007), access a pdf version of the order here.) They defendants unsuccessfully challenged the conviction in the trial court (where proceedings are ongoing) and just lost that challenge.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/791017_first_criminal_can_spam_act_trial/

Marketers over-reacting to new NZ spam law
Lawyers and other legal advisers are causing needless concern among marketers that they could be prosecuted if they fail to get explicit consent for promotional email, says Keith Norris, head of the New Zealand Marketing Association.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/92B7E01B8B5BF4C7CC25734F000DFEEC

us: Anti-Spam Law Challenged [AP]
Virginia's law banning the massive distribution of junk e-mail is an unconstitutional barrier to free speech, a lawyer for a former spammer told the state's highest court Wednesday.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/13/1189276843030.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/09/13/1189276843030.html

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Africa: Mobiles for the 'world's poorest'
Nearly half a million people, described by the UN as "the poorest of the poor", will soon be able to make mobile calls. As part of a UN programme to tackle poverty in rural Africa, 79 villages across 10 African countries will be hooked up to cellular networks. It is hoped that the connections will help improve healthcare and education, as well as boosting the local economy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6986804.stm

Nokia Confident of Growth in African Continent's Telephony
Sale of mobile phones in Africa and Middle East is set to more than double in the next three years, a handsets maker has said. The rise is expected to be bolstered by expansion of local and regional economies and more service providers rolling out networks across the region.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200709110299.html

Africa, ICT & electricity
TechNewsReview has just finished reading an article in The Economist - Electricity in Africa: The dark continent. The article notes "Africa accounts for over a sixth of the world's population, but generates only 4% of global electricity. Three-quarters of that is used by South Africa, Egypt and the other countries along the north African littoral." ... There are obviously huge issues in just providing power to much of Africa before the vast majority of the population can even be connected to the internet. And then with a global shortfall of power, where does that leave the ongoing development of ICT?
http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2636

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FILE SHARING
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Belgian ISP claims court ruling will force it into 'illegal' behaviour
A Belgian court ruling would force internet service providers into conducting "invisible and illegal" checks on internet users' actions, according to the managing director of Belgian ISP Scarlet. Scarlet was recently ordered by a Belgian court to block its users from engaging in illegal file-sharing. It has now lodged an appeal against that ruling.
http://out-law.com/page-8462

au: Death by digital for CD single
The increasingly ubiquitous MP3 digital music player is driving the compact disc single towards extinction. New figures reveal sales of CD singles almost halved to 1.3 million in the six months to June 30 as more Australians chose to get their music directly from the internet.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22397414-5013404,00.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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The real reason for Google's news-wire deal
Publishers: Be careful what you wish for. Journalistic organisations and news agencies have complained that Google has benefited from their headlines (while I argue it is they who have benefited from Google's links). So the Press Association, the Associated Press, Canadian Press, and Agence France-Presse just forced the search engine to license their content. Now, rather than linking to the wire services' clients for their articles, Google News is displaying the agency reports in full on its site.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,2165618,00.html

Giant leap for the search unknown - how close are the world's web-trawlers are to a "Google-killer" breakthrough
You fancy Thai - but aren't in your neighbourhood. So you get out your mobile and speak your request into the always-on search engine, which responds with the name of a restaurant your friends raved about last week, displays directions and a review, and also confirms that your preferred vegetarian options are available.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/10/1189276633425.html

British traditional media fights back in the battle to attract advertising
ZenithOptimedia, the media buying agency owned by Publicis, has upgraded its British advertising spend forecasts for 2007 and 2008 as traditional media show signs of recovery and the internet continues to boom. ... The agency sees growth of 22.6 per cent in internet advertising, showing that the medium is still steaming ahead. There are, however, signs of a slowdown, with Zenith’s 2007 internet growth figure at 26.8 per cent, down from 47.5 per cent in 2006.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2434529.ece

Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates
Microsoft Windows' infamous "blue screen of death" has become synonymous with an operating system crash or freeze, but that's nothing compared with what users of pirated copies of Vista worldwide can expect from now -- a black screen of darkness. In an e-mail to a large Windows Vista distributor titled "Pirated Vista -- A darkness descends!" -- a local Microsoft representative made it quite clear what Vista pirates can expect to happen to their unlicensed installations.
http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1029262671;fp;2;fpid;1
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9035478

At Home, Cheaper Alternatives to Office
In the workplace, Microsoft Office is as inevitable as drawn-out meetings, but the combination of Word, Excel and PowerPoint is not the best system for home users anymore.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202268.html

For Google’s Founders, a Coveted Landing Strip
In the annals of perks enjoyed by America’s corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an uncrowded, federally managed runway for their private jet that is only a few minutes’ drive from their offices.
http://nytimes.com/2007/09/13/technology/13google.html

**********************
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
**********************
Pacific islands get digital boost with new links
Two parallel initiatives are set to improve digital connectivity between the Pacific Islands before the end of next year. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) have secured funding for a pan-Pacific, satellite-based Rural Internet Connectivity System (RICS). Jimmie Rogers, the director general of the SPC, announced the new initiative at last month’s PacINET 2007 conference, held in Honiara.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/30351797750D6086CC25734F000D9580

Fun, sun and a $3,000 bill for hardly using an iPhone
When Neil Dingman recently went on a European vacation, he took his iPhone with him with no intention of using it much. In fact, for the 14 days he was there, he used it only a handful of times and had expected to see just a small increase in his next bill for roaming charges. Instead, he was charged $852.31.
http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-6207033.html

au: AU$1bn WiMax deal 'will see Australians left behind' [AAP]
A federal broadband deal for regional Australia will be a lasting disadvantage for Australians outside major cities, NSW Rural Affairs Minister Tony Kelly says.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/AU-1bn-WiMax-deal-will-see-Australians-left-behind-/0,130061791,339281939,00.htm

au: Labor's $2bn fibre fund blocked by Howard govt
The Coalition has thrown a major spanner in the works of Labor's broadband strategy by locking down the AU$2 billion fund that Labour was going to use to finance its fibre-to-the-node network.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Labor-s-2bn-fibre-fund-blocked-by-Howard-govt-/0,130061791,339282020,00.htm
http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1193613160;fp;2;fpid;1

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Be aware of wireless data security
Droning on about the importance of data security may seem dull, but businesses that don't address the risks posed by wireless technologies and devices will find things soon get exciting. It only takes one lost or stolen device, one intercepted business conversation, or one major network failure to kick-start a drama.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10462984

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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Aussie helps jail internet porn fiend
AN American man whose online images of him sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy were reported to police by an internet user in Australia has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22410528-38198,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,22410546-948,00.html
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/12/america/NA-GEN-US-Child-Pornography.php

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(c) David Goldstein 2007
 
--------- 
David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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           AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
 
"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





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