Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! Headlines from the February 27 edition of the news include: Registration Now Open for ICANN's 32nd International Public Meeting to be held in Paris, France | Network Solutions sued over domain name policy | The coming dot AU property boom | How Pakistan knocked YouTube offline (and how to make sure it never happens again) by Declan McCullagh | Cybersquatting and Abuse to Mainstream Consumer Brands Intensified in 2007, According to Year-Long Trend Report by MarkMonitor | E-scammers trashing reputations | CADNA Supports Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** What does the IDN wiki give us? by Tina Dam http://blog.icann.org/?p=278 .travel registry sold -- again http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001406.html au: Property business sunk after domain dispute http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Property-business-sunk-after-domain-dispute/0,130061791,339286181,00.htm Domain Pulse 2008: Internet Governance the Focus of Day One http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4044 Domain Pulse Day 2 Focuses on DNS Security http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4053 ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Domain Name Disputes Involving Trademarks in Australia by Mark R Bender [Monash Business Review] Abstract: The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the law in relation to domain name disputes involving trademarks that applies in Australia. Generally the focus of this paper will be confined to consideration of domain names ending with the .au suffix. An overview of the rights associated with domain names, registered business names and registered and unregistered trademarks is provided, as is an outline of the domain name dispute resolution processes and some some summary statistics and key cases in relation to domain name disputes. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1091066 domain names, trademarks, business registration, australia ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Setting the controls to Max What do the Max Gogarty story, the Wikileaks outrage, Lord Falconer's genuinely demented plan to retrospectively censor the entire internet, and the UK government's continued demands that ISPs disconnect and blacklist filesharers without legal process all have in common? The internet of course, but more. The demand that the internet be controlled. http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/frank_fisher/2008/02/setting_the_controls_to_max.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Prague aims for 2009 ICANN meeting The Czech capital of Prague is hoping to become the venue for the European round of the 2009 ICANN meeting programme. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/170/prague-aims-for-2009-icann-meeting.php JPRS Submitted Comments Responding to Notice of Inquiry by the U.S. Department of Commerce Regarding Joint Project Agreement [news release] On 15 February 2008, JPRS submitted its comments responding the notice of inquiry opened by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. http://jprs.co.jp/en/topics/080219.html What does the IDN wiki give us? by Tina Dam One topic that kept being misunderstood at the ICANN meeting in India was ?what is the purpose of the IDN wiki? ? the example.test site that are actual IDN TLDs in the root. I?ll try to explain what is going on with the wiki and what it can and cannot be used for. http://blog.icann.org/?p=278 ICANN Announces Regional Outreach Meeting 1-3 April 2008 in Dubai, UAE ICANN is holding the second of two regional outreach meetings planned for FY07-08. The first meeting of these meetings was held in Taipei 19-21 October 2007. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-21feb08.htm Briefing Note on the ICANN New Delhi Meeting ICANN staff has produced a briefing note on the New Delhi meeting of 10-15 February 2008. This meeting was ICANN?s 31st meeting and was hosted by ICANN and the Indian Government and officially opened by Shri Jainder Singh, Secretary, Department of Information Technology, the Government of India. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-22feb08.htm ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** .Asia Landrush opens with 300,000 Domain Applications DotAsia Organisation, the registry operator of the ?.Asia? Internet domain, is happy to announce the successful launch of its Landrush period. A total of 266,663 applications were received by the registry within the first 24 hours, demonstrating great interest from around the world to stake claims in the most prestigious cyber real estate in Asia. Including Pre-Sunrise, Sunrise, Pioneer programs and the first day of Landrush, the total number of domain applications to date is 298,861. http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-LRDay1-2008-02-21_EN.pdf http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4043 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/22/asia-landrush-opens-with-300000-domain-applications/ Domain name for Asia up for grabs DotAsia, the organisation overseeing the registration, is expecting huge demand for the first domain name extension for the Asia Pacific region. But some in the industry are concerned about the proliferation of domain name suffixes in recent years. While others think that the business of buying domain names has become more about protecting brands than promoting them. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7255320.stm Huge Demand for Asian Domain Huge demand is expected for the first Internet domain name extension dedicated to the Asia-Pacific region. DotAsia is the organization administering the new domain name suffix ?.asia?. http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1264239/huge_demand_for_asian_domain/ Land rush begins on .asia domains The DotAsia Organisation has announced that .asia domain names are now open to all-comers having been restricted to applications from governments and organisations for several months. http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2210046/asia-domain-opens-public Mad rush for .Asia domain name begins amid concerns The opening of .Asia domain for the general public, on 20th February, has started the process for registering domain names ending with the suffix; months after being restricted to applications from governments and organizations only. http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=425836&sid=ENV auDRP fee increase to take effect on 1 March 2008 [news release] auDA conducted a five year review of the .au Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP) in 2007. auDA agreed with submissions that, after 5 years of operation, a reasonable fee increase is justified to more accurately reflect the amount of work involved for both auDRP providers and panelists. http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-22022008/ Norbert Grey, DotMobi, interview Dublin-based DotMobi has sold over 800,000 mobile domains to brands that include Rolls Royce and Hilton Hotels. Norbert Grey, is vice-president of finance. http://blog.siliconrepublic.com/2008/norbert-grey-dotmobi/ se: Women Register 3 Times More Domains than Men for Blogs The Swedish registry, .SE, has released research that shows women register three times as many domain names for blogs compared to men. The news release is in Swedish and an English translation is not yet available, if it ever will be, but for those who can read Swedish, click here. http://iis.se/about/press?id=134 .travel registry sold -- again The owners of the registry for Internet domain names ending in ".travel" have announced plans for another sale of the .travel registry business, raising renewed questions about Tralliance's compliance with its contractual commitments to ICANN as well as about the lack of transparency of ICANN's decision making and ICANN's compliance with its own bylaws. http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001406.html A .TRAVEL Business Case Study by Bret Fausett The more I think about .TRAVEL, the more I think it would make a very interesting business case study...probably for what not to do at launch. This is a domain that really could have benefited by the domainer community. Had they allowed entrepreneurial registrants to come in and build aggregation/portal businesses on various .travel names, they could have built out the TLD quickly. http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/22/3539865.html Take .TRAVEL....Please by Bret Fausett From the ever vigilant Edward Hasbrouck comes news that Tralliance parent company TheGlobe.com is planning to sell Tralliance and its .TRAVEL top-level domain registry. I don't think this poses any overarching ICANN policy issues -- you can sell a company and keep its current bundle of contractual relationships intact -- but I do wonder about the business decision. http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/22/3539526.html Theglobe.com To Sell .Travel Domain Name Registry Theglobe.com has signed a letter of intent to sell its Tralliance subsidiary. Tralliance is the registry for .travel domain names. Sounds simple enough, but this incestuous deal is complicated enough to make your head spin. http://domainnamewire.com/2008/02/22/theglobecom-to-sell-travel-domain-name-registry/ ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** UK banks hit by phishing assault UK banks were the second-most targeted in the world last month, following the emergence of phishing attacks via the Storm botnet, according to a new report from RSA. http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=11457 The Wild World of Domain Names The nomenclature of domain name law is just plain fun. Concepts such as phishing, typosquatting, tasting and kiting all have legal relevance to domain names and, more importantly, how our clients encounter domain names in their businesses. Most of the attention to date has been focused on phishing and typosquatting, but tasting and kiting can have an impact that is not as apparent but no less real. Both tasting and kiting have been heavily criticized, and both are under attack by ICANN, with some help on kiting from Google. http://www.law.com/jsp/legaltechnology/pubArticleLT.jsp?id=1203677137795 E-mail typosquatting poses leakage threat Companies and political organizations should put more effort into registering mis-typed versions of their primary domain, not only to protect visitors to their Web sites but also to prevent e-mails from accidentally leaking out, a security researcher said on Wednesday. http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/685 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** au: Property business sunk after domain dispute A Sydney Web-based business has been stripped of its registered domain name with only 24 hours notice by an administrative body, after it was found to have "wrongly lapsed" from its original owner early last year. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Property-business-sunk-after-domain-dispute/0,130061791,339286181,00.htm uk: Net fraudster must pay back ?562,000 A twisted tycoon who made more than ?1 million from internet fraud scoffed at police efforts to track down his money with a sarcastic letter left for them in a hidey-hole, along with ?10 for their "trouble". Peter Francis-Macrae (26) squirrelled away ?425,000 in a secret stash which officers have been unable to locate, Peterborough Crown Court heard. ... He had masterminded an internet swindle by selling customers website domain names before they were released for registration, using the money to buy helicopter lessons and flashy clothes. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Net-fraudster-must-pay-back.3809192.jp "MAESTRO" Loses Domain Name Appeal [reg req'd] Most of us in the United Kingdom are extremely familiar with the "MAESTRO" trade mark. It is the leading debit-card brand in the UK, and is more than likely emblazoned on a card tucked away in many of our wallets. It may therefore come as a surprise that the owner of this trade mark, Maestro International Inc (a subsidiary of Mastercard), has been unsuccessful in its attempts to secure a transfer of the domain name "maestro.co.uk". A recent decision by a Nominet appeal panel denied this transfer, affirming the Nominet expert's first instance decision. http://mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=57484 The Economist magazine loses bizarre domain-name case Here's a quirky story: The Economist sued Jason Rose, who owns the domain name theeconomist.com, for infringing on its trade name (the magazine is housed at economist.com). http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/8236 The soft underbelly of domain ownership Indigo Networks, a Nassau, Bahamas-based telecommunications company found itself hit with a complaint last November, alleging that it had no legitimate interests or rights to the Onephone.com domain name it owned. http://www.techworld.com/security/features/index.cfm?featureID=3995&pagtype=all Bodog.com Dispute Case Turns into War of Words Gambling911.com is reporting escalated tension between Bodog and 1st Technology in regards to a lawsuit over a coveted domain name, Bodog.com. http://www.domainnamenews.com/legal-issues/bodog-dispute-case-turns-into-war-of-words/1447 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Domain Pulse 2008: Internet Governance the Focus of Day One Around 350 attendees came from Russia in the east to Ireland in the west, as well as a few people from elsewhere around the globe, to attend Domain Pulse 2008 in Vienna on February 21 and 22. Day one's focus was internet governance. The future of the DNS was one of the key issues addressed by Michael Nelson of Georgetown University in Washington DC, with domain names becoming less important, but their numbers still increasing, as online access by a myriad of devices skyrockets connect -- everything from the television, refrigerator, washing machine, pets, sprinkler systems and cars. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4044 http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2008022587/domain-pulse-2008-internet-governance-the-focus-of-day-one/ http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/22/domain-pulse-2008-internet-governance-is-the-focus-of-day-one/ http://www.circleid.com/posts/822210_domain_pulse_2008_day_one/ Domain Pulse Day 2 Focuses on DNS Security Day two of Domain Pulse 2008 last Friday focused on online security issues giving the techies amongst us details of security issues, and the more policy-orientated amongst us something to chew on in a few other presentations. Kieren McCarthy, these days of ICANN, also gave some insights into the drawn out sex.com drama with more twists and turns than the average soap opera has in a year! And Randy Bush outlined the problems with IPv6. Among other presentations. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4053 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/24/domain-pulse-day-2-focuses-on-dns-security/ http://www.domainnews.com/general/2008022594/domain-pulse-day-2-focuses-on-dns-security/ ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** How to Write a Killer RFP (Request for Proposal) For Hiring An SEO Firm A Column From Search Engine Land Over the years I've seen quite a few Requests for Proposal from companies seeking to buy SEO services. If your RFP is not written well, it hinders the SEO firm's ability to understand and define your needs and to scope and price your project. This in turn leads to a disconnect in expectations for both parties. A lousy RFP can discourage a busy SEO firm from even responding?a very unfortunate outcome, since it takes the best firms out of the running. http://searchengineland.com/080221-080408.php What Happens in Vegas .. Happens Everywhere ... Again for impact, more than 20 million dollars of cash-money was bid in about a day (8 hours over two days) by a handful of people who wanted to own just a smattering of domain names. Some of these names were good, many were just average, few would have blown the average man-on-the-strip?s hair back. The would-be suitors were there with cash in hand, and many (like yours truly) went home empty handed.. or nearly empty handed. All this happened during a week in which markets corrected, new credit/banking problems came to light, mortgage rates inched higher, inflation made headlines and other generally bad stuff happened or was foreshadowed to happen in the broader economy. It happened with less than 600 would be bidders worldwide in attendance! How can that be?!? Several reasons. http://www.sevenmile.com/2008-02/what-happens-in-vegas-happens-everywhere/ ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Investors poised to cash in on Cuba domain names The day has finally come for PostCastroCuba.com. Miami criminal defense attorney Oscar Estevez thought it was a catchy phrase when he bought the name three years ago, and he wanted to develop it into a site for discussions on Cuban business and politics when the regime changed. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/427940.html TRAFFIC Las Vegas - $4.3 Million Live Auction Results The T.R.A.F.F.I.C. live auction results are in from Las Vegas! The Traffic Live Auction produced an astounding $4,247,950 total domain sales. Many premium domain names were sold and many more unfortunately did not meet their reserves. http://www.dotsauce.com/2008/02/21/traffic-live-auction-results/ ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): A Focus On Information Security And Privacy The deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in a large number of application areas is promising. This paper introduces the main characteristics of RFID technologies and focuses on the information security and privacy aspects of RFID in the short term. It will be complemented by an overview of RFID applications and an analysis of economic aspects of RFID carried out by the OECD Working Party on the Information Economy (WPIE). Later on, and based on both sets of work, a common set of policy principles related to RFID will be developed. This report represents the first step of OECD work related to sensor-based environments. Follow-up work will address security and privacy issues raised by a number of possible longer-term trends such as the generalisation of object tagging (pervasive RFID), of open loop RFID and of other sensors and sensor networks that can monitor the environment. http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2007doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT00005A7A/$FILE/JT03238682.PDF Anonymous Blogging and Defamation: Balancing Interests of the Internet by Betsy Malloy [University of Cincinnati Public Law Research Paper] Abstract: As more and more people create personal websites and blogs, courts are more frequently asked to rule on questions related to the Internet boom. Specifically, an issue has arisen concerning what standard to apply in defamation suits brought against anonymous bloggers. Courts have wrestled with producing an appropriate standard for revealing the identity of an anonymous blogger who posts allegedly defamatory material on a message board or website. Recently, in Doe v. Cahill, the Delaware Supreme Court created a strict standard that makes it extremely difficult for defamation victims to bring suit against anonymous bloggers. The standard created is far too sympathetic to anonymous bloggers and fails to address important issues facing victims of defamation. It is important not to silence communication on the Internet, but it is just as important not to silence victims of defamation. Therefore, this comment argues for the protection of libel plaintiffs facing defamatory comments from anonymous bloggers. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1093525 The Future of International Law: Cybercrime by Henrik Stakeman Spang-Hanssen [Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law] Abstract: This Article first deals with the question of to what extent the Convention on CyberCrime have unreasonable implications for the individual Cybernauts, specially the convention's basic principle of aut dedere aut judicare - the duty of each party to extradite or to prosecute. Next, it deals with the problem that the convention pursuant to article 22(4) does not exclude any criminal jurisdiction exercised by a Party in accordance with its domestic law. It then describe when a state under public international law has jurisdiction over public international computer networks (the Internet), including the problem of where the offence is committed and who is the offender. In addition it deals with the problem of a minor being the offender and mention some Internet related cases involving juveniles. Finally, it deals with what public international law should embrace in relation to public international computer networks. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1090876 Regulating Cyberbullies Through Notice-Based Liability by Bradley Allan Areheart [Yale Law Journal] Abstract: With the growth of the Internet's uses and abuses, Internet harassment is making headlines. Given its immediacy, anonymity, and accessibility, the Internet offers an unprecedented forum for defamation and harassment. The salient problem with such cyberbullying is that victims are typically left without adequate recourse. The government should provide recourse by curtailing the near absolute immunity Internet Service Providers (ISPs) currently enjoy under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and implementing a notice and take-down scheme similar to that for copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for certain torts. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1081634 Congress, Content Regulation, and Child Protection: The Expanding Legislative Agenda by Adam Thierer [Progress & Freedom Foundation Progress Snapshot Paper] Abstract: Though not yet complete, the 110th session of Congress has already witnessed an explosion of legislative proposals dealing with online child safety, or which seek to regulate media content or Internet communications in some fashion. More than 30 of these legislative proposals are cataloged in a new joint legislative index that was released today by the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Progress & Freedom Foundation, compiled to help keep track of the growing volume of legislative activity on these fronts. Many of the measures highlighted in the index raise serious free speech concerns. The proposals can be grouped into Analog Era (pre-Internet) versus Digital Era (post-Net) platforms or forms of content that they would affect. Meanwhile for bills introducing education initiatives, while it would probably be more sensible for the Department of Education or the FTC to be awarding appropriate grants, the focus on education and empowerment is commendable. Finally, a significant number of the measures introduced this session call for stepped up enforcement efforts aimed at combating online child predation or child pornography, for which the provisions are relatively uncontroversial, but can run into dangerous territory when they call for sweeping data collection mandates on Internet Service Providers. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1092163 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Facebook sees first dip in UK users Facebook has suffered its first fall in UK users, with a 5% drop between December and January, according to new figures. However, Facebook still had 8.5 million unique users in January and remains the most popular social networking website in the UK, according to Nielsen Online, the internet research company behind the results. And Facebook's nearest rival, MySpace, also saw a 5% drop in UK traffic between December and January, according to Nielsen Online. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/21/facebook.digitalmedia Facebook 'sees decline in users' Social networking site Facebook has seen its first drop in UK users in January, new industry data indicates. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7257073.stm Is Facebook finally losing its glow? Facebook, the UK's most popular social networking site, has suffered its first monthly drop in visitor numbers, according to figures published today. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3410287.ece Record traffic for UK news websites The US presidential elections and a bumper celebrity news month, with the death of Heath Ledger and Britney Spears' ongoing problems, produced record traffic for the UK's newspaper websites during January. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/21/abcs.digitalmedia ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Facebook bows to protest and allows account deletion Social networking website Facebook claims to have fixed the privacy problems that have dogged it in recent weeks. http://out-law.com/page-8882 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Japan blasts satellite into space Japan's space agency has launched an experimental communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission in remote areas. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7260673.stm Japan launches experimental Internet satellite [Reuters] Japan has launched an experimental communications satellite as part of an ambitious space program that could help ensure super high-speed internet access in remote parts of Japan and elsewhere in Asia. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/23/2170807.htm http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKT507120080223 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T5071.htm ********************** SPAM ********************** Money for spam It began with the promise of enhanced sexual performance and, ergo, a rosy future. Such is the world of pharmaceutical spam. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10493997 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** au: Police unveil $1 million internet scam Police have uncovered a $1 million internet scam with links to Nigeria during a raid at a home in Perth's southern suburbs. Western Australia Police Computer Crime Squad detectives arrested a Nigerian citizen after raiding the house in Treasure Road, Queens Park about 7pm (WDT) yesterday. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/23/1203467446367.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Australian judge on privacy: Computer code trumps the law Technology has outpaced legal system's ability to regulate its use in issues of privacy and fair use rights, says Australian High Court judge. Australian High Court Judge Justice Kirby says computer code is more potent than the law--and that legislators are powerless to do anything about it. http://www.news.com/2100-1029_3-6231713.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6231713.html NZ privacy review finds technology outpacing the law Our world is very different from that of 1993, when the Privacy Act first came into force, says the Law Commission in a lengthy report that forms the first stage of a ?Review of the Law of Privacy?. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/0C3F5A9FC7C20905CC2573F000176D31 ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Hollywood and the internet: There will be blood - Hollywood is doing its best to ignore the internet. That is a big mistake In 1948, when only one in ten Americans had seen a TV, Time magazine sized up the new medium. Its quiz shows, cooking lessons and vaudeville were perfectly watchable, it said, but the films were awful. ?The ancient cabbages that are rolled across the telescreen every night are Hollywood's curse on the upstart industry,? it wrote. ?Televiewers, sick of hoary Hoot Gibson oaters and antique spook comedies, wonder when, if ever, they will see fresh, first-class Hollywood films.? http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10723360 Hollywood and the internet: Coming soon - The internet could be a boon for Hollywood?but only if it can conquer its fears To see what the future of film distribution might look like, go to a website called ZML.com. It offers 1,700 films for download to personal computers, iPods or other hand-held devices, or to burn to DVD. It is inviting and easy to use, with detailed descriptions of each movie, editors' picks, customer reviews and screen stills. And the prices are reasonable: ?Atonement?, for instance, costs $2.99. http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10723360 UK government targets illegal downloading The UK government is to consult on legislation to punish internet service providers if they fail to take action against the illegal downloading of music, films and TV programmes. The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, made the proposal to crack down on illegal downloading today as part of a wide-ranging strategy paper designed to support the UK's creative industries http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/22/digitalmedia UK filesharing law 'unworkable' Any move by the government to introduce legislation that forces the UK's broadband providers to police the internet by clamping down on illegal sharing of copyrighted music and movies would be technologically unworkable and create a legal minefield, experts have warned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/22/filesharing ISPs given deadline for file-sharing crackdown Whitehall has told ISPs they have until April next year to crack down on file-sharing of copyrighted material. The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) said on Friday that while the emphasis was on ISPs and industry working together voluntarily, the deadline would apply if that failed to happen. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39336514,00.htm UK ISPs must not be turned into police For the average teenager, about the only thing worse than losing a supply of free, pirated music from the internet would be losing access to the internet altogether. That may happen under plans in France, and now in the UK, to make internet service providers responsible for stopping users who illegally download copyright material. But sanctions against users should only be allowed after legal due process. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/69302c5a-e17a-11dc-a302-0000779fd2ac.html Euro MPs want criminal penalties for downloaders The European Parliament has asked EU member states to press ahead with a plan to criminalise copyright infringement. The Parliament wants a proposal it agreed last year to be approved by ministers from each member state. The proposed EU directive would create new rules on copyright protection, and would require each EU country to pass laws criminalising intellectual property infringement. It must be approved by the Council of Ministers before it takes effect. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/22/eu_wants_ip_action/ MySpace seeks joint ventures for iTunes rival MySpace, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, is trying to tie up deals with a number of record labels to produce its own digital music service to compete with Apple's iTunes. Tentatively dubbed MySpace Music, the service would let users of the MySpace site play music on their computers while logged onto the site. They would also be able to buy and download tracks free of copyright protection. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/21/myspace.apple uk: ISPs could face piracy sanctions ISPs must take concrete steps to curb illegal downloads or face legal sanctions, the government has said. The proposal is aimed at tackling the estimated 6m UK broadband users who download files illegally every year. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7258437.stm ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Close of Wikileaks website raises free speech concerns Internet activists this week gave a Swiss bank and a San Francisco judge a powerful demonstration of the "Streisand Effect." That's Internet jargon for any effort to suppress online information that backfires by drawing much wider publicity. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0222/p02s02-usgn.html Stifling Online Speech [New York Times editorial] Wikileaks claims to have posted more than a million corporate and government documents that, it says, expose wrongdoing. It has posted, among other things, a 2003 operations manual from the Guant?namo Bay, Cuba, military prison. Julius Baer Bank and Trust, a Cayman Islands branch of a Swiss bank, sued Wikileaks charging that it had illegally posted documents stolen by a former employee. The site said the documents ?allegedly reveal secret Julius Baer trust structures? for money laundering, tax evasion and other misdeeds. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/opinion/21thu3.html Pakistan blocks YouTube website Pakistan has blocked access to the popular YouTube website because of content deemed offensive to Islam. Its telecommunications authority ordered internet service providers to block the site until further notice. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7261727.stm China asks Web sites to eradicate porn and violence [Reuters] China has called on domestic Web sites to sign a voluntary pact governing online video and audio content, saying they should exercise self-censorship to ensure a "healthy and orderly" cyberspace. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9064059 http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKPEK2316520080222 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6231699.html Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan A Moroccan computer engineer has been sentenced to three years in jail for setting up a Facebook profile in the name of a member of the royal family. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7258950.stm Malaysian bloggers warned being monitored: report [AFP] A Malaysian government minister has accused bloggers, who have been writing avidly on upcoming elections, of being cowards and warned they are being monitored, a report said Friday. http://news.smh.com.au/malaysian-bloggers-warned-being-monitored-report/20080223-1u3c.html http://news.theage.com.au/malaysian-bloggers-warned-being-monitored-report/20080223-1u3c.html http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080222/ttc-malaysia-vote-internet-0de2eff_1.html Europe makes moves toward Internet censorship Privacy advocates worry that filtering Internet sites related to piracy, terrorism, and child pornography will have serious effects on the freedom to communicate http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/22/Europe-makes-moves-towards-Internet-censorship_1.html Japan's pornography laws - Fleshing it out Penises protruding from leather stirrups. Testicles tied up in twine. Sometimes violent, sometimes serene, the homosexual erotic photography of Robert Mapplethorpe is anything but easy. But is it obscenity or art? On February 19th Japan's Supreme Court ruled that it is the latter, and that Takashi Asai of Uplink, the publisher, could legally sell a book of the artist's black-and-white portraits?mostly of flowers and stars, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger showing off in his swimming trunks in 1976. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10727970 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: 'Happy slapping' teenager convicted Police warned yesterday that those who take part in the trend of filming violent attacks on their mobile phones will not escape the law, after the first conviction was secured against a teenager who recorded a so-called "happy slapping" incident. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/happy-slapping-teenager-convicted-782558.html Crack down on cyberbullies - MP Social networking websites are being used by "cyberbullies" and do not remove offensive material fast enough, an MP has claimed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7255897.stm au: Conroy's filtering can't fix Web 2.0 demons Web 2.0 services pose the biggest risk to Australian kids -- and current filtering technologies aren't up to the job of protecting them, according to a report released yesterday. "Risks to Australian youth are primarily the risks that are associated with Web 2.0 services -- potential contact by sexual predators, cyber-bullying by peers and misuse of personal information," the Australian Communications and Media Authority's (ACMA) report said. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Conroy-s-filtering-can-t-fix-Web-2-0-demons/0,130061791,339286225,00.htm Conroy: Internet has parents out of their depth Parents expect the government and the tech industry to give them a hand in protecting their children from inappropriate content, according to Federal Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Conroy-Internet-has-parents-out-of-their-depth/0,130061791,339286211,00.htm au: Police warn parents about networking site dangers Queensland police are urging parents to ensure children are more security conscious when using online social networking sites. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/22/2169895.htm au: Netalert a ?Failure? The Howard government?s Netalert software filtration scheme is on the chopping block, with the Rudd government declaring the $84 million initiative a failure. http://www.idm.net.au/story.asp?id=9338 Conroy green-lights ISP filter and $4.7B broadband plan at first industry address Senator Stephen Conroy gave his first major address to the IT industry as the new Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy at a gala dinner event Thursday night where he outlined the Government?s future ICT goals including its fibre-based broadband plans, digital education reform and ISP-level filtering. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/70633,conroy-greenlights-isp-filter-and-47b-broadband-plan-at-first-industry-address.aspx ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** "Intellectual property" is a silly euphemism "Intellectual property" is one of those ideologically loaded terms that can cause an argument just by being uttered. The term wasn't in widespread use until the 1960s, when it was adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a trade body that later attained exalted status as a UN agency. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/21/intellectual.property European privacy advocates to issue report in April [Bloomberg] Search engine powers like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft will have to wait until April to find out what changes they must make to comply with European Union privacy laws. Data protection officials from 30 European countries ended a two-day meeting Wednesday and agreed that search engines needed to make changes, but would not release a final report until April, said Hans Tischler, a member of the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party. http://iht.com/articles/2008/02/20/business/google.php EU data privacy regulators say Internet search engines must follow EU rules [AP] European data privacy regulators said Thursday that Internet search engines based outside Europe must also comply with EU rules on how a person's Internet address or search history is stored. http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_8325933 http://news.smh.com.au/eu-data-privacy-regulators-say-internet-search-engines-must-follow-eu-rules/20080222-1tt6.html http://news.theage.com.au/eu-data-privacy-regulators-say-internet-search-engines-must-follow-eu-rules/20080222-1tt6.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/02/21/financial/f115423S36.DTL UK orders broadband future review The government has said it will review the future of broadband internet in the UK amid calls that it should help firms pay for installing new infrastructure. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7258934.stm ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Microsoft Speaks Out on Yahoo Jerry Yang, Chief Executive of Yahoo!, has made good use of e-mail and video to give his colleagues pep talks about why he isn't ready to team up with Microsoft. Now it seems Microsoft executives are taking a cue and doing the same. Friday afternoon, Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services division--the group that would be most intimately affected by the proposed merger--sent this note to Microsoft employees. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/02/22/microsoft-yahoo-google-tech-ebiz-cx_ec_0222msft.html Rivals flag up market share to fight Microsoft-Yahoo! merger A successful Microsoft bid for Yahoo! would create an internet company with a three-quarters share in web mail and instant messaging ? figures that rivals are expected to use in an attempt to derail any merger between the two companies. Microsoft and Yahoo! have roughly equal shares of the webmail market, with each attracting about 260 million visitors worldwide in January, according to data supplied by Comscore. Yahoo! Mail is the market leader, with Microsoft?s Windows Live Hotmail close behind. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3419923.ece Microsoft to Share More Technical Secrets Seeking to satisfy European antitrust officials, Microsoft said Thursday that it would open up and share many more of its technical secrets with the rest of the software industry and competitors. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/technology/21cnd-soft.html Microsoft set to open up software Microsoft has announced that it will open up the technology of some of its leading software to make it easier to operate with rivals' products. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7257411.stm Microsoft commits to sharing with open source, rivals Microsoft Corp. today made public more than 30,000 pages of documentation for Windows protocols and APIs -- information previously available only under special licenses -- one of several changes in how it deals with open-source developers and software rivals. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9063838 ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Femtocells or Wi-Fi? That is the Question Femtocell frenzy is how one paper described the Mobile World Congress Show in Barcelona last week, but at the Portable Computer and Communications Association meeting held Tuesday and Wednesday in Plano, Texas, the solution to the fixed part of fixed-to-mobile convergence seemed to be Wi-Fi. http://gigaom.com/2008/02/21/femtocells-or-wi-fi-that-is-the-question/ ********************** VoIP ********************** T-Mobile Gets Scrappy With Cheap VoIP Service T-Mobile confirmed Thursday it is testing an Internet-based calling plan meant to replace traditional land lines, a move that came just a day after it joined key rivals in announcing a flat-rate mobile plan that could help change the economics of the wireless industry. The new VoIP service, Talk Forever, lets mobile customers pay an additional $10 per month for unlimited at-home calling. It would require the users to purchase a router from T-Mobile, but the low price point could prove appealing. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/T-Mobile-Gets-Scrappy-With-Cheap-VoIP-Service-61783.html ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** Sydney man arrested after FBI tip off A Sydney man has become the second person to be charged with child pornography offences after a tip-off from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). http://news.theage.com.au/sydney-man-arrested-after-fbi-tip-off/20080221-1ton.html nz: Ex-MP candidate to face child porn trial Strict bail conditions have been imposed on a former parliamentary hopeful sent for trial today on child pornography charges. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4410280a10.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- 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 Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. www.yahoo7.com.au/y7mailReceived on Tue Feb 26 2008 - 22:57:06 UTC
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