Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The domain name news is supported by auDA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Discussion during IGF against Internet content control http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.21/igf The Information Society and the Nature of Digital Divide, by Elisa Burchett http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=2802&blz=1 nz: Second consultation on RMC Policy Review http://dnc.org.nz/story/30265-29-1.html Aussie web guru raises hackles of US Idol-makers http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,10166,20754529-462,00.html ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** Discussion during IGF against Internet content control The IGF has shown a strong and large opposition to Internet blocking and filtering, putting under pressure repressive governments such as China. The three sessions devoted to content regulation and control have been dominated by the advocates of anti-censorship and access to knowledge that have criticized the state control of Internet content. http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.21/igf The Information Society and the Nature of Digital Divide, by Elisa Burchett Click here - http://www.yourlanguage.yourlocale ? Are you connected? As rudimentary as this example is, it?s a very complicated business. The inaugural meeting of the IGF or Internet Governance Forum held in Athens, Greece has come to an end and the abundance of information made available at the IGF website is proof of just how complex and increasingly expansive the future of the internet could be. Fittingly the IGF held a 4 day interactive discussion on various themes including openness, diversity, access and multilingualism, highlighting concerns for minority and indigenous rights. http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=2802&blz=1 Internet stakeholders ? it?s good to talk The other week I drank deeply from the fountain of web news as the IGF kicked off in Athens. Sadly, IT Week?s travel budget would only have got me as far as Gatwick Airport, so I covered the event from the office. Launched at the most recent UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society last year, the IGF is a ?forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue?, or a talking shop if you want to be slightly cynical, which, as a journalist, is my wont. http://www.whatpc.co.uk/itweek/comment/2168635/internet-stakeholders-talk The ITU and ICANN: an Internet Game of Cat and Mouse Andy Updegrove writes "Once upon a time, there was something new called "the Internet," and it was an unknown quantity. While some guessed what it could become, most did not. Famously, Mark Andreessen - of Mosaic, and later Netscape fame - and Tim Berners-Lee did, while Bill Gates did not. Less publicly, those that helped to create something that came to be called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - or ICANN - did, and the standards analogue of Bill Gates - the International Telecommunications Union - or ITU - did not. As a result, ICANN got the root directories to the Internet - and the ITU did not. They've never forgotten - and they want them." http://business.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/11/13/1955225 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** nz: Second consultation on RMC Policy Review As a result of some of the comments received in the first round of the Registering, Managing and Cancelling Domain Names policy review consultation, a further call for comments is being made, with a particular focus on obtaining people's views on whether there should be any change to the current registration requirements. http://dnc.org.nz/story/30265-29-1.html Aussie web guru raises hackles of US Idol-makers Brisbane man Ben Petro is embroiled in a David and Goliath style legal battle with the creators of the Idol television franchise that includes a dispute over the domain name googleidol.com. http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,10166,20754529-462,00.html AUDA launches podcasts for internet users AUDA has launched a series of free podcasts that Australians can download or stream to improve their internet knowledge. http://www.digitalmediaasia.com/default.asp?ArticleID=19705 ICANN Posts Draft Version of the 2007-2010 Strategic Plan for Comment (news release) Based on community consultations and comments to the Issues Paper published in September, ICANN releases its next draft Strategic Plan. Consultations held through the time of the ICANN meeting in S?o Paulo will inform revisions to this plan. In this release, ICANN thanks the community for the participation and contribution to date and encourages comments concerning this draft. Comment forum will be set up shortly. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-12nov06.htm Isle of Man cracks down on spammers The Isle of Man has stepped up its fight against spammers exploiting its .im country code top-level domain name. http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2168580/isle-man-cracks-spammers DNForum cracks down on trademarked domains DNForum, the largest online forum for domain name owners, is cracking down on trademark-infringing domains sold on its site. http://domainnamewire.com/2006/11/14/dnforum-cracks-down-on-trademarked-domains/ jp: More than 500K ?xxx.JP? domain registered ?.jp? domain debuted in February 2001. With more than 500,000 domain registered, now there are more ?xxx.jp? registered than other form of JP domains such as ?xxx.co.jp? and ?xxx.ne.jp?. http://www.multilingual-search.com/more-than-500k-xxxjp-domain-registered/15/11/2006/en/ Afternic Decides To Remove Adult & Gambling Domains From Web Site After extensive consideration, we have decided to no longer accept domain names that promote hate, sex, obscenity or self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse, violence and gambling. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=18147 http://www.computing.co.uk/vnunet/news/2168580/isle-man-cracks-spammers WWF fails to wrestle domain name from holder The World Wildlife Fund has failed in its attempt to gain control of the domain name WWF.com. The name was used until recently as a web forum concerned with professional wrestling. http://out-law.com/page-7470 Something's phishy about these domain names What's in a [domain] name? Probably a few million dollars if you've bothered to register a highly bankable one. For instance, Diamonds.com fetched a cool $8.5 million this year. However, selling high value monikers is not the only way big bucks are being made in the domain name industry. http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=idgml-f023096f-47a9-4313-9579-0c84a9706091 Exceptional Domain Names for Uranium Companies (news release) Uranium companies around the world are being invited to bid on seven domains with names that go with the industry. They include UraniumOre.com and ThinkUranium.com. According to Howard Arzt of SupremeURLs.com, the new domain names have been acquired because of their capacity, among other things, to secure high search engine rankings. http://www.domaininformer.com/news/press/061115SupremeURLscom.html ******************* OTHER INTERNET NEWS ******************* Britain kills EU attempt to regulate net video clips The British government is set to fight off proposed European rules that would make it responsible for overseeing taste and decency in video clips on sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Under a clause in the European media regulation directive TV Without Frontiers, national governments would be responsible for regulating the internet for the first time. Britain's media watchdog, Ofcom, backed by the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, argued that the plan was unworkable and would stifle creativity and investment in new media across Europe. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1947176,00.html EU news release http://www.eu2006.fi/news_and_documents/conclusions/vko46/en_GB/1163448016726/_files/76247735264216097/default/91666.pdf uk: Press freedom being eaten away, says watchdog chief Sir Christopher Meyer, the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission who sparked a political furore by lifting the lid on his time as ambassador to Washington, warned last night that freedom of the press was being gradually chipped away by the government. He said the breakdown in communication between the government and newspapers was unhealthy for democracy. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foi/story/0,,1947309,00.html us: Feds' Expert: 1 Percent of Web Is Porn About 1 percent of websites indexed by Google and Microsoft are sexually explicit, according to a U.S. government-commissioned study. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/15/1163266595601.html http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/11/14/financial/f153823S53.DTL A Sneak Peek at a Fractured Web Internet censorship is spreading and becoming more sophisticated across the planet, even as users develop savvier ways around it, according to early results in the first-ever comprehensive global survey of internet censorship. http://wired.com/news/technology/0,72104-0.html New Clicks in the Arab World: Bloggers Challenge Longtime Cultural, Political Restrictions When he was a college student in Washington state, Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, donned a T-shirt emblazoned with "Animal Rights Equals Human Rights" and slept on the campus lawn during a hunger strike protesting the slaughter of foxes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/11/AR2006111100886.html au: NetAlert?s ?Netty?s World? recognised for award by media peers (news release) NetAlert is delighted to announce that its pre-school educational program, Netty?s World, has been nominated as one of Australia?s best educational websites at the 24th Annual ATOM Awards. NetAlert is proud to be recognised for its work on Internet safety. http://netalert.net.au/03723-NetAlert%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9CNetty%E2%80%99s-World%E2%80%9D-recognised-for-award-by-media-peers.asp au: CSIRO wins WLAN Court Case in US (news release) CSIRO has had an important win in a court case in the US in its battle to be paid royalties for its Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology. CSIRO was granted a US patent for this technology in 1996. http://www.csiro.au/csiro/content/standard/ps2gw,,.html uk: Crackdown on data theft Tough measures planned for firms that steal and sell personal details after prosecution exposes growing trade. http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1948016,00.html us: Could Online Poker Law Raise The Stakes on Free Linking? The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act rocked the online casino industry mere days after its passage this month, and, with the president expected to sign the bill on Friday, most commentary has focused on how it will impact the millions of Americans who enjoy playing poker and placing bets online. As in many other instances, this attempt to stamp out an online activity could also impact anyone who wants to link to or help you access sites online. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/cmusings/2006/10/12/could-online-poker-law-raise-the-stakes-on-free-linking/ us: Google downplays video lawsuit Google downplayed a lawsuit against its video service, two days after the search giant revealed the legal action. "This is a small lawsuit over a single video that appeared briefly," a Google spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement. http://infoworld.com/article/06/11/10/HNgooglevideolawsuit_1.html us: Satanic Barney on Web tests copyright laws Barney the purple dinorsaur's owner, Lyons Partnership, is in a legal squabble with a Web site creator who posted unflattering images of the children's character. The dispute is testing the boundaries of copyright law and free expression on the Internet. http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2006/11/10/1110bizbarney.html us: Catching Up With Cybercriminals Last year for the first time, proceeds from cybercrime were greater than proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs, according to recent comments by Valerie McNiven, an adviser to the U.S. Treasury Dept. "Cybercrime is moving at such a high speed that law enforcement cannot catch up with it," she says. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/54200.html au: Victoria the first to cast e-vote in a state election Electronic votes are set to be cast in the state of Victoria today, marking a first for Australia in any state election. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1353237299;fp;16;fpid;1 EU reportedly threatening new Microsoft fines (Reuters) Microsoft has until Thanksgiving Day to provide rival firms with outstanding details of its software systems or face fresh fines, the EU's antitrust chief said, according to the Guardian newspaper. http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-6135710.html Surfing to Excess: How Much Is Too Much? More Internet users say their time online is interfering with their lives; medical communities are taking their complaints seriously. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001571.html Educational toys? Just give toddlers your old phone Parents spending hundreds of pounds on high-tech educational toys for toddlers would be better off giving them an old mobile phone to play with, according to an education expert. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2452542,00.html Websites face four-second cut-off Shoppers are likely to abandon a website if it takes longer than four seconds to load, a survey suggests. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6131668.stm Google CEO sees free cell phones, funded by ads (Reuters) Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt sees a future where mobile phones are free to consumers who accept watching targeted forms of advertising. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6135191.html http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-6135191.html Traffic to online gambling sites drops in wake of new U.S. law (AP) Internet gambling sites saw a drop in traffic last month as President Bush signed a measure aimed at banning most online wagering in the U.S. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/16011350.htm Internet ad potential underestimated - Yahoo chief (Reuters) The growth potential of Internet advertising has been underestimated because the predictions did not include advertising on video, social media or mobiles, Terry Semel, CEO of Yahoo Inc, said on Tuesday. http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=14008418 au: Soon recordings will be a crime Hundreds of U2 fans used their mobile phones to record Bono belting out their favourite songs at Sydney's Telstra Stadium over three concerts ending last night. Little did they know that under planned changes to copyright laws, they would be committing a criminal offence, attracting a maximum fine of A$6600. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/13/1163266483975.html Google saves $200m for YouTube legal issues Google indicated it was setting aside more than $200m to deal with possible lawsuits and copyright settlements over the next 12 months arising from its $1.65bn acquisition of the video-sharing site YouTube. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3df876be-7434-11db-8dd7-0000779e2340.html Can't we all share in the search bounty? Should we be paid for using search engines? For most people that is a silly question. Of course not, they would say. If anything, we should be paying them. The use of search engines has transformed our lives by bringing knowledge on any subject to our computer screens in a fraction of a second - and all for nothing. The more relevant question is: how much would you pay to have a search engine if it were suddenly whisked away from you? The answer is: a lot of money. http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1942272,00.html How to Make Your Web Site Sing for You Your Web site is like a digital business card, designers say, the first online look at your company that a customer gets. With luck, it will not be the last. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/business/smallbusiness/15web.html au: Man gets probation for keeping child porn A 33-year-old Brisbane man who was caught with 1,000 child pornography images on his computer has been sentenced to two years' probation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200611/s1787503.htm au: CBO for `soft' child porn A WARRNAMBOOL man caught up in an international FBI pornography investigation yesterday received a community-based order. http://the.standard.net.au/articles/2006/11/14/1163266519325.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2006 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "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 Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.comReceived on Sun Nov 19 2006 - 05:36:33 UTC
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