Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news. And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Regulating the Root: The Role of ICANN as Regulator, and Accountability by Emily Alexandra Wilsdon http://ssrn.com/abstract=1632885 Accountability and Transparency Statement http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-01jul10-en.htm ICANN Launches Website for Cartagena Meeting http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/07/04/icann-launches-website-for-cartagena-meeting/ au: 2010 Names Policy Panel Call for Nominations http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-30062010/ auDA Panel releases draft recommendations on new 2LDs http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-29062010/ au: Linux.conf.au requests 2012 bid proposals http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/40175-linuxconfau-requests-2012-bid-proposals http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/tenders/40175-linuxconfau-requests-2012-bid-proposals http://www.zdnet.com.au/linux-conf-au-2012-host-cities-wanted-339304302.htm http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Linux-conf-au-2012-host-cities-wanted/0,339028227,339304302,00.htm Australian Domain Name Registration http://whatisthetrend.net/australian-domain-name-registration-20101942.html Cyrillic Domains Give Russian Internet Users Greater Confidence Online http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=11736 Tuvalu unhappy with internet domain name return http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=54541 The Man Who Would Be the Dot-XXX King: How ICM became the one place to buy dot-xxx Web addresses http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_28/b4186038373596.htm Cyberwar: War in the fifth domain - Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict? http://www.economist.com/node/16478792?story_id=16478792 Cyberwar: The threat from the internet - It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet http://www.economist.com/node/16481504 Aussie registrar trademarks ?Whois? http://domainincite.com/aussie-registrar-trademarks-whois/ Sex.com Back on the Block and Up for Grabs http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=11735 $200 million expected from .xxx domain name http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/03/BUFT1E8U2N.DTL ********************** REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Regulating the Root: The Role of ICANN as Regulator, and Accountability by Emily Alexandra Wilsdon Abstract: The Internet is emphatically not a government free zone. A central part is ICANN - the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - the institution which regulates the ?root? of the internet (the domain name system and internet protocol addresses). This a fundamental element of the architecture of the Internet. We would be, literally, lost without it. In a sense, the code of the Internet, its protocols and languages are regulation - they control how the system behaves. ICANN is the regulator who regulates that ?regulation.? Principles of global administrative law can, once suitably modified for the context, suggest the most effective reforms. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1632885 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Accountability and Transparency Statement ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom, ICANN senior staff and the Accountability and Transparency Review Team met in Brussels on Thursday, June 24, and agreed on the following: http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-01jul10-en.htm Public Comment: Proposed Bylaws Amendment in Furtherance of the Board Review Working Group Recommendation to Add One Voting Director from the At-Large Community to the ICANN Board of Directors On 27 August 2009, the Board approved in principle the recommendation of the Board review Working Group (BRWG) to add one voting director from the At-Large Community to the ICANN Board of Directors and removing the present At-Large Advisory Committee Liaison to the ICANN Board. The BRWG issued its final report [PDF, 116 KB] in February 2010, and noted the expectation that "the selection process will be designed, approved and implemented in time for the new Director to be seated at the 2010 Annual General Meeting." http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-01jul10-en.htm Public Comment: Proposed Changes to the ICANN Bylaws Article XI: Advisory Committees Relating to the Membership of the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) Pursuant to resolution 2010.06.25.04 passed by the ICANN Board at its meeting on 25 June 2010 the community is invited to provide comments on a proposed Bylaws amendments addressing the recommendations arising out of the SSAC review Working Group. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-02jul10-en.htm ICANN Launches Website for Cartagena Meeting ICANN has launched the website for its next meeting, the 39th of its thrice yearly meetings, to be held in the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias, or 'La Heroica', the Heroic City. Cartagena is located in a bay on the Caribbean Sea. http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/07/04/icann-launches-website-for-cartagena-meeting/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/icann-launches-cartagena-meeting-website.html ICANN week recap in video Last week, EURid hosted the 38th ICANN meeting in Brussels. If you were unable to join us, please watch our daily video reports produced at the conference. http://www.eurid.eu/en/content/icann-week-recap-video ICANN 38 International Meeting has approved requests for hieroglyph IDNs On 25 June, ICANN International Meeting held in Brussels announced delegation of several new IDNs. Today China (.?? ? Simplified Chinese, ?? ? conventional Chinese), Hong-Kong (.??) and Taiwan (.??) have been delegated hieroglyph top-level domains. http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=831 ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** au: 2010 Names Policy Panel Call for Nominations auDA invites people with an interest in Australian (.au) domain name policy to nominate for the 2010 Names Policy Panel. http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-30062010/ auDA Panel releases draft recommendations on new 2LDs auDA?s New 2LDs Advisory Panel has released its Draft Recommendations on: new 2LDs in general; and proposals for new 2LDs, conf.au and info.au. http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-29062010/ au: Linux.conf.au requests 2012 bid proposals ... The news comes as there is still ongoing debate about the unusual domain name which the conference takes its name from. The domain name Linux.conf.au does not currently function, and Australia?s domain name regulator, .au Domain Administration, has recommended the .conf.au domain continue to lie dormant, despite ongoing interest from the Linux communty in reactivating the name. http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/40175-linuxconfau-requests-2012-bid-proposals http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/tenders/40175-linuxconfau-requests-2012-bid-proposals http://www.zdnet.com.au/linux-conf-au-2012-host-cities-wanted-339304302.htm http://www.builderau.com.au/news/soa/Linux-conf-au-2012-host-cities-wanted/0,339028227,339304302,00.htm Australian Domain Name Registration The idea of registering for an Australian domain name is typically comparable as anywhere else. There are particular things that must be remembered. http://whatisthetrend.net/australian-domain-name-registration-20101942.html NIC Chile lowers fees for .CL NIC Chile announces that, starting at 0 hours (CLT) of July 1,2010, fees for registration, transfer and renewal of domain names under .CL will decrease both in Chilean pesos (CLP) and in US Dollars (USD). http://nic.cl/anuncios/2010-07-01-eng.html dk: New General conditions as of July 1 2010 http://www.dk-hostmaster.dk/fileadmin/filer/pdf/generelle_vilkaar/Generelle_vilkaar_vers._05-ENG.pdf .EU registry asks: Who owns the Internet? by Brenden Kuerbis http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/6/29/4565886.html EURid launches .eu Insights Two new studies, that take a look at particular aspects of the domain-name environment, are now available. The reports, produced by EURid as the first in a series named .eu Insights, examine: http://www.eurid.eu/en/content/eurid-launches-eu-insights HKIRC receives approval for ?.??? domain from ICANN Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Ltd (HKIRC) today announced that it has received ICANN?s approval to delegate the Chinese equivalent of the ?.hk? Top Level Domain, the ?.??? Internationalized Domain Name Country Code Top Level Domains (IDN ccTLDs), at the ICANN board meeting in Brussels. https://www2.hkirc.hk/company_info/pressrelease.jsp?item=199 NASK offer for ISP companies NASK has come up with a special offer involving services for the ISP sector companies. The services are offered in competitively priced packages and allow ISP businesses to meet regulatory requirements, as well as ensure the security of solutions offered to end-users. http://www.nask.pl/newsID/id/659 Cyrillic Domains Give Russian Internet Users Greater Confidence Online Internationalised Domain Names that enable internet users whose language is a non-Latin-based script, which in effect are all non-English languages, are becoming more common. ICANN, who has been gradually approving more IDNs through ICANN?s IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process has now approved IDNs in Arabic, Cyrillic and Chinese. http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=11736 http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/07/02/cyrillic-domains-gives-russian-internet-users-greater-confidence-online/ http://www.domainnews.com/en/cyrillic-domains-to-give-russian-internet-users-greater-confidence-online.html Third Registration Stage in .?? TLD: Acceptance of Pre-orders from Specific Categories of Users On July 15 2010 RU-CENTER launches the third Sunrise registration stage in ?? TLD. http://www.nic.ru/news/en/2010/third.html CCTLD .RU meeting has passed a critical decision regarding the landrush registration period in ccTLD .?? On 16 June 2010 the ccTLD .RU Board held its regular meeting at which a decision has been passed regarding the landrush period of domain names registration in ccTLD .prior to the open registration period for all applicants. The CC Board has commissioned the CC?s director, Andrey Kolesnikov, to ensure devising all necessary documents which regulate the said landrush registration procedure until 1 August 2010. http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=835 The CC to join APTLD ? Asia-Pacific Association of top-level domains On its meeting on 16 June 2010, the ccTLD .RU Board ruled to have ccTLD .RU apply for membership with the Asia-Pacific Association of Top-Level Domains (APTLD). http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=836 GS1 Sweden and .SE advances the Internet of Things Together, GS1 Sweden and .SE takes an important step in the development of the Internet of Things. Jointly, they will develop an Object Naming Service (ONS), which opens up to the possibilities of connecting products to the net, and eventually get all physical objects online ? an Internet of Things. http://www.iis.se/en/pressmeddelanden/gs1-sweden-och-se-utvecklar-sakernas-internet Tuvalu unhappy with internet domain name return Tuvalu?s Finance Minister says the country isn?t getting enough money from the US company which bought the dot-tv internet domain off it. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=54541 The Man Who Would Be the Dot-XXX King: How ICM became the one place to buy dot-xxx Web addresses The Internet has made Stuart Lawley a wealthy man. In 1999 he got rich by taking a British Internet service provider public. The London Sunday Times has named him one of the 1,000 richest people in Britain. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_28/b4186038373596.htm Hustler, Paris Hilton Sex Sites See .xxx Domain Creating Web Porn Ghetto Stuart Lawley has Hustler magazine and the distributor of Paris Hilton?s sex tape up in arms. The 47-year-old British Internet entrepreneur?s ICM Registry is roiling the $13 billion pornography industry after last week winning a preliminary nod for the .xxx domain from ICANN which approves Web addresses. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-01/hustler-paris-hilton-sex-sites-see-xxx-domain-creating-web-porn-ghetto.html ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Cyberwar: War in the fifth domain - Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict? At the height of the cold war, in June 1982, an American early-warning satellite detected a large blast in Siberia. A missile being fired? A nuclear test? It was, it seems, an explosion on a Soviet gas pipeline. The cause was a malfunction in the computer-control system that Soviet spies had stolen from a firm in Canada. They did not know that the CIA had tampered with the software so that it would ?go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds,? according to the memoirs of Thomas Reed, a former air force secretary. The result, he said, ?was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space.? http://www.economist.com/node/16478792?story_id=16478792 Cyberwar: The threat from the internet - It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet Throughout history new technologies have revolutionised warfare, sometimes abruptly, sometimes only gradually: think of the chariot, gunpowder, aircraft, radar and nuclear fission. So it has been with information technology. Computers and the internet have transformed economies and given Western armies great advantages, such as the ability to send remotely piloted aircraft across the world to gather intelligence and attack targets. But the spread of digital technology comes at a cost: it exposes armies and societies to digital attack. http://www.economist.com/node/16481504 ?Kill Switch? Bill: Ramifications for the DNS root zone? by Brenden Kuerbis S.3480, The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, introduced by Sens Lieberman, Collins and Carper quietly passed committee last week on a voice vote and is now scheduled for debate on the US Senate floor. The controversial, nearly 200-page bill which amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 has been criticized by civil liberties and industry groups alike, who say it grants the President the ability to order operators of ?covered critical infrastructure? to disconnect parts of the Internet. Our reading of the bill agrees with these general criticisms. We are also concerned with specific effects on the Internet?s DNS and possible extraterritorial effects of the legislation. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/7/1/4567014.html NTIA's NOI on signing the root goes mostly unnoticed by Brenden Kuerbis Perhaps it's summertime blues, DNSSEC-fatigue, or simply recognition of fait accompli, but the comment period for NTIA's notice of intent to proceed with the final stages of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) implementation in the authoritative root zone has passed with only a handful of comments submitted. (although there seems to be some fishing going on for support) Root server operator Autonomica, registry operators Nominet and Neustar, AT&T, as well as Paypal and Connotech were generally supportive of the action and congratulatory toward NTIA, VeriSign and ICANN. However, one commenter criticized that the "US government crypto culture tainted the detailed arrangements." Paypal offered its support, but with a caveat. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/6/30/4567108.html us: Senators Urge Obama to Back Planned Cybersecurity Legislation Seven Senate leaders late Thursday urged President Obama to support planned legislation designed to protect critical information technology systems from attacks. In a letter to Obama, the senators said they plan to produce a comprehensive cybersecurity bill, although they did not specify a timeframe. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/07/senators-urge-obama-to-back-pl.php ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** RBS wins totally bogus UDRP complaint The Royal Bank of Scotland has been handled control of the domain rbscout.com in a UDRP decision I have no trouble at all describing as utterly bogus. http://domainincite.com/rbs-wins-totally-bogus-udrp-complaint/ Why I typosquatted and why it should be legal Alf Temme, founder of the California exercise-machine company Romfab, is the defendant in a recent Microsoft trademark-infringement lawsuit. Microsoft sued him and his company over his registration of Web addresses that were one or two keystrokes away from "hotmail.com." That practice has become known as typosquatting. This guest column is a reappropriation of a piece originally published at AboutTyposquatting.com. http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/archives/212541.asp ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Aussie registrar trademarks ?Whois? An Australian domain name registrar has secured a trademark on the word ?Whois?. http://domainincite.com/aussie-registrar-trademarks-whois/ Fixing WHOIS (and Some Other Stuff Too) by Phillip Hallam-Baker ICANN is the only institution with responsibility for the functioning of DNS. And so it is natural that when there is a DNS problem for people to expect ICANN to come up with the solution. But having the responsibility to act is not the same as having the ability. Like the IETF, ICANN appears to have been designed with the objective of achieving institutional paralysis. And this is not surprising since the first law of the Internet is 'You are so not in charge (for all values of you). http://www.circleid.com/posts/20100701_fixing_whois_and_some_other_stuff_too/ New ARIN Online Features Released 26 June 2010 ARIN is pleased to announce that ARIN Online users can now create API Keys when logged in to their account. https://www.arin.net/announcements/2010/20100629.html Fixing WHOIS (and Some Other Stuff Too) by Phillip Hallam-Baker ICANN is the only institution with responsibility for the functioning of DNS. And so it is natural that when there is a DNS problem for people to expect ICANN to come up with the solution. But having the responsibility to act is not the same as having the ability. Like the IETF, ICANN appears to have been designed with the objective of achieving institutional paralysis. And this is not surprising since the first law of the Internet is 'You are so not in charge (for all values of you). http://www.circleid.com/posts/20100701_fixing_whois_and_some_other_stuff_too/ How to Fix WHOIS - Part 2 by Phillip Hallam-Baker The key to fixing any part of the Internet infrastructure is to understand the business cases for the parties whose behavior you want to influence and design the technology accordingly. People who follow this approach (Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web) have a chance of succeeding. People who ignore it (DNSSEC, IPv6) will fail. The root problem here is that the ICANN DNS does not differentiate between the parts of the Internet that are accountable and those that are not. http://www.circleid.com/posts/20100702_how_to_fix_whois_part_2/ ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Sex.com Back on the Block and Up for Grabs Sedo has announced the domain name SEX.COM is back on the block following its agreement with Escom to privately broker the sale. The sale could easily break the record for the most valuable domain name. http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/07/02/sexcom-back-on-the-block-and-up-for-grabs/ http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=11735 Sex.com domain name on sale [AFP] The world's "most valuable" Internet domain name, sex.com, went up for grabs on Thursday having fetched 12 million dollars in 2006, a German firm handling the sale said Thursday. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/sexcom-domain-name-on-sale-2016568.html http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/multimillion-dollar-sexcom-up-for-grabs-20100702-zrk4.html http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-technology/sexcom-domain-name-on-sale-20100702-zqxy.html $200 million expected from .xxx domain name Number of the day: $200 million. That's how much money a British entrepreneur expects to make annually from selling the new .xxx Internet domain name to porn sites. Stuart Lawley plans to offer rights to the addresses for $60 each through a company called ICM Registry. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/03/BUFT1E8U2N.DTL Sex.com seeking a new hookup Anyone interested in Sex.com will find an eager seller for the right price. The domain name, considered to be the Internet's most valuable, is now on the market, domain broker Sedo announced Thursday. Sedo is peddling the hot domain name on behalf of its client and current owner, Escom, which scooped it up in 2006 for an estimated $14 million. Along with the domain name, two related trademark registrations are also included. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-20009413-2.html Sex.com for Sale [news release] Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and broker of super premium domain names, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Escom, LLC to privately broker the sale of Sex.com, widely considered to be the world?s most valuable domain name, as well as two related trademark registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. http://sedo.com/presse/presse.php?tracked=&partnerid=&language=us&id=328 Moniker/SnapNames Celebrates America's Birthday with .US Domain Auction To celebrate America?s birthday on 4 July, there is a Moniker/SnapNames auction that started on 1 July and runs through 8 July featuring only 86 .US domain names, according to the news release below. http://www.domainnews.com/en/moniker/snapnames-celebrates-america-s-birthday-with-.us-domain-auction.html http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/07/05/monikersnapnames-celebrates-americas-birthday-with-us-domain-auction/ us: A Domainer Friendly Congressional Bill One day, domainers will wield enough power to lobby Congress and play a key part in drafting a bill to regulate and foster the domain industry. On July 4th it is particularly appropriate to fast forward to that time, hopefully in the near future, and here are a few cornerstones I would love to see in such a bill: http://idnblog.com/2010/07/05/domainer-friendly-congressional/ ********************** REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Building Broadband Strategies and Policies for Development Executive summary: A growing number of countries are seeking to spur broadband development. This report offers policymakers and regulators an analysis of approaches that leading countries have taken in expanding their broadband markets, with a focus on the Republic of Korea. In addition, case studies cover Finland, France, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The analysis suggests policies and regulations that developing countries could consider to support the growth of broadband. http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.756.html Pornography in Cyberspace: An Analysis of Legal and Technological Challenges by Farooq A. Mir & M. Tariq Banday [33rd All India Criminology Conference Organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Kashmir in collaboration with Indian Society of Criminology from October 22-24th, 2009] Abstract: Cyberspace facilitates dissemination of Pornographic material of various forms that include text, drawings, cartoons, sculptures, paintings, photographs, films, videos, animations and computer generated images. This pornographic material often contains malware and other related security threats that can infect the system and thus make it vulnerable to attacks. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1633690 OECD: The ICT Sector in India: Performance, Growth and Key Challenges Rapid growth in globally competitive Indian information technology services has helped to transform the Indian economy. A large skill pool, adequate telecommunication networks, and an improving policy and regulatory environment have enabled domestic and foreign firms to expand very rapidly. In contrast, the IT hardware segment has lagged, focuses very largely on the domestic market, and remains heavily dependent on imports of components and finished IT goods. This new report analyses recent growth of the ICT sector in India, and suggests policies to underpin further growth http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/55/56/45576760.pdf ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Clay Shirky: 'Paywall will underperform ? the numbers don't add up' The internet guru on the death of newspapers, why paywall will fail and how the internet has brought out our creativity ? and generosity http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/05/clay-shirky-internet-television-newspapers Eric Schmidt talks about threats to Google, paywalls and the future Google chief executive Eric Schmidt says that the experience of reading news will move to digital devices quite rapidly ? and that it will involve personalised and local news which will be alert to your interests and existing knowledge. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/02/activate-eric-schmidt-google Aussies take to the web for TV, movies Up to 20 per cent of Australians have watched a full-length television program over the Internet, and one in eight have seen a full movie online, according to a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/351909/aussies_take_web_tv_movies/ New IP content services taking off in Australia [news release] A new report released today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority confirms that Australians are increasingly able to view video content on their own terms, including when, where and how they want it. The report is part of the ACMA?s ongoing research program into the application of emerging technologies. It provides taxonomy of the new delivery models and discusses the changes to the commercial environment. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_312196 Charging for content: Some media outfits chase scale, while others pursue premium pricing Is it better to take a little money from a lot of people, or a lot of money from a few? In Britain the Times and the Sunday Times newspapers are about to take the latter course by asking people to pay for news online. It is a bold move: the Times, which is owned by News Corporation, is a mainstream paper in a fiercely competitive national market. And the paywall it is building is a mighty one that is impervious even to Google?s web crawlers. http://www.economist.com/node/16486717?story_id=16486717 The end of the free Internet? Asking online users to pay for content hasn't worked so far, but iPads and smart phones may change their minds about the free Internet "Information wants to be free" has long been the mantra of the Internet. Once a video, a song, or a news story is on the Web, it's harder to rein in than a roomful of curious cats. http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech/2010/0705/The-end-of-the-free-Internet Comment: Will the paywall work? Thanks to Murdoch, we'll soon find out The Times and the Sunday Times websites can now only be accessed for a fee. The rest of the newspaper industry is watching with interest to see how readers react http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/04/rupert-murdoch-paywall-times Newspapers lag behind in the internet news league There's naught to comfort newspapers on the vital website front these days. When YouGov in Britain looked at the five most popular news sites it found the BBC (34%), Google (17%), Sky (6%), Yahoo (5%) and MSN (5%) on top. Not a newspaper site in sight. And when AdAge in the United States looked at digital advertising trends, it found online ads going up ? by 2014, they are expected to be 56% ahead of pre-crunch 2007 ? but newspaper site ads going down, so that by 2014 they are expected to still be 16.3% below 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/04/newspaper-websites-lagging-badly-peter-preston Broadband penetration pushes growth Several leading Consultancy firms have produced studies that show a clear connection between the broadband dissemination and growth in GDP. http://www.broadband-europe.eu/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemID=727 Online giant Amazon enters the grocery business in Germany Amazon has begun selling food, including fresh products, to consumers in Germany. The US company hopes to succeed in a market where numerous German food retailers and Internet startups so far have struggled -- or failed. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5754955,00.html Microsoft Internet Explorer use grows IE increased usage from 59.8 per cent to 60.3 per cent, according to new statistics from Net Applications, an analytics company that monitors browser usage across a large network of websites. It was buoyed by increasing usage of IE8 that offset the decline in IE7 ? and by what web developers no doubt hope will be only a temporary pause in the decline of the despised IE6. http://www.cnet.com.au/microsoft-internet-explorer-use-grows-339304236.htm http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/desktop-apps/2010/07/02/internet-explorer-regains-position-in-browser-wars-40089412/ Microsoft IE gains browser market share (this is not a typo) Internet Explorer has been in a freefall compared to its hotter rivals Firefox and Google's Chrome lately, but Microsoft's browser has finally reversed a small portion of its worldwide market share losses. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/351854/microsoft_ie_gains_browser_market_share_typo_/ Internet Users Age 6-14 in Brazil Spend 60 Percent of their Online Time on Entertainment and Communication Sites [news release] comScore ... released a study of online behavior among 6-14 year-old consumers in Brazil, a recent addition to comScore?s demographic segmentation capabilities in the market. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/6/comScore_Expands_Capabilities_in_Brazil ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Gaga beating Obama in race to 10 million Facebook friends [AFP] Facebook users are gaga over Lady Gaga, with the pop star surging past US president Barack Obama in the race to become the first person with 10 million fans on the social network. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/02/2942977.htm http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10655967 http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3879241/Lady-Gaga-nearing-10-million-Facebook-friends Massive rise in Asia Pacific social media posts [AAP] If you think big brother is watching your every move, he probably is, according to a leading online researcher, with Australia leading the world in social media engagement. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/351897/massive_rise_asia_pacific_social_media_posts/ Now Facebook bans doll nipples Facebook's prude police are out in force yet again, this time threatening action against a Sydney jeweller for posting pictures of an exquisite nude porcelain doll posing with her works. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/now-facebook-bans-doll-nipples-20100705-zwnr.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3886391/Facebook-bans-doll-nipples http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/now-facebook-bans-doll-nipples-20100705-zwnr.html Social gaming the 'next big thing' in advertising The rise of social gaming emerged as a significant theme in advertising at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/social-gaming-the-next-big-thing-in-advertising/story-e6frgakx-1225887738108 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: 624 Children safeguarded from abuse in four years and 278 in the last year alone The number of children safeguarded from abuse through the work of the UK?s centre for protecting children has doubled in the past year bringing the total number since the organisation was launched in 2006 to 624, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre announced today. http://www.ceop.police.uk/mediacentre/pressreleases/2010/ceop_01062010.asp Don't Turn COPPA Into Age-Verification Mandate This week EFF joined the Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology in comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), urging the FTC not to turn the law into an age-verification mandate for the Internet. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/07/dont-turn-coppa-age-verification-mandate FTC Extends Public Comment Period for COPPA Rule Review until July 12, 2010 The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it is extending the deadline for public comments relating to its review of the Children?s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule until July 12. On March 24, the Commission announced that it was seeking comment on the costs and benefits of the FTC?s COPPA Rule, which requires that website operators notify parents and obtain their consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. At the time, the Commission announced a 90-day comment period that would end on June 30, 2010. http://ftc.gov/opa/2010/07/coppa.shtm us: Groups Call For Changes To COPPA Rule A coalition of child advocates and health, consumer and privacy groups urged the FTC Thursday to update a 1998 law aimed at protecting children's privacy online to include the use of new devices such as mobile phones and gaming devices to get on the Internet. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/07/groups-call-for-changes-to-cop.php Monitoring Teenage Phones and Facebook Last week readers submitted numerous questions about cyberbullying to our expert, Elizabeth K. Englander, a professor of psychology and the founder and director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State College, which provides anti-bullying and anti-violence training programs and resources to schools and families. In the coming week, we?ll offer more answers to selected question about bullyings. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/monitoring-teenage-phones-and-facebook/ us: Now Parents Can Hire a Hall Monitor for the Web FEAR can be good for business. Just ask the multibillion-dollar insurance industry, for example. Or companies like LifeLock and TrustedID, which monitor people?s credit reports for fraudulent transactions to protect against identity theft. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/04/technology/04ping.html Letters: Should Schools Police Cyberbullying? To the Editor: As a public school teacher and parent of a 13-year-old boy, I had two visceral reactions to your June 28 front-page article ?Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray.? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/opinion/l05bully.html au: Clubs 'groom' children with arcade games ARCADE games that have gambling features and offer real prizes should be reclassified as gaming machines under the law and should not be used by children near pokies venues, independent senator Nick Xenophon said. http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/games/clubs-groom-children-with-arcade-games-20100703-zuzq.html http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/clubs-groom-children-with-arcade-games-20100703-zuzq.html ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** Apple Hopes to Re-enter the Living Room Knock, Knock. Who?s there? Apple TV? Apple TV who? In September 2006, Steven P. Jobs, Apple?s chief executive, announced news of the company?s latest offering: the Apple TV. Mr. Jobs had high hopes for his latest creation, so high that he told his audience that he hoped the Apple TV would be a fourth leg to the Apple business among PCs and iPods and iPhones. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/apple-hopes-to-re-enter-the-living-room/ ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Community research into attitudes towards use of mobile payment in Australia [news release] Methods of paying for goods and services via a mobile phone already exist, notably when it comes to premium SMS services which are often, but not exclusively, used for purchase of digital content. More advanced forms of mobile payment are now emerging. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_312194 Mobile usage reaches 5bn milestone The five-billionth mobile phone will be connected this weekend, analysts predict ? a milestone achieved through rapid economic development in China and India and the proliferation of people owning second devices in North America and western Europe. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9567b8ca-8609-11df-bc22-00144feabdc0.html Google Looks to Emerging Markets for Android's Growth [Bloomberg] Google plans to push its Android mobile software in India and China and is exploring ways for developers to make more money from applications, stepping up competition with Apple and Nokia. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/technology/companies/05iht-android05.html iPhone 4 signal fault leaves Apple 'stunned' Apple says a fault on its new iPhone 4 is causing it to incorrectly display the phone's signal. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10490572.stm Apple Acknowledges Flaw in iPhone Signal Meter Apple customers love to complain about the reception on their iPhones. And the problem may be worse than it looks. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/technology/03apple.html Turning the iPhone Glitch into Gold When complaints surfaced that the antenna wasn't working properly on the iPhone 4, Apple (AAPL) told users to hold the device differently or put it in a protective case. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2010/tc20100630_314087.htm Apple's Fix for iPhone Woes: Poor Reception Will Be Displayed Accurately Eight days after CEO Steve Jobs told a customer that it was a ?nonissue,? Apple Inc. published a letter to iPhone 4 owners on its Web site acknowledging that holding the phone in a certain way can eliminate its data signal. http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonic-shifts/2010/07/02/apple-admits-iphone-4-flaw-but-software-fix-won-t-improve-reception.html Poking holes in Apple's iPhone 4 antenna explanation Apple now blames reception issues that many new iPhone 4 customers are experiencing on a software miscalculation rather than on hardware design. But will a software update really fix the problems that many customers are reporting? I'm not sure I am buying Apple's explanation. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20009564-266.html In-Flight Wireless Revenue Set to Surge, Report Says As airlines rapidly expand Wi-Fi service, keeping passengers connected on airplanes could turn into a near $100 million business this year http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2010/tc20100630_485326.htm Gartner Says Worldwide Wireless E-Mail Users to Reach 1 Billion by Year-End 2014 [news release] Standardization, interoperability and growing competition from e-mail servers and services are accelerating the commoditization of wireless e-mail, according to Gartner Inc. Vendors are responding by pursuing differentiation in the areas of collaboration, applications and the cloud. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1392716 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Cyberwar: The threat from the internet - It is time for countries to start talking about arms control on the internet Throughout history new technologies have revolutionised warfare, sometimes abruptly, sometimes only gradually: think of the chariot, gunpowder, aircraft, radar and nuclear fission. So it has been with information technology. Computers and the internet have transformed economies and given Western armies great advantages, such as the ability to send remotely piloted aircraft across the world to gather intelligence and attack targets. But the spread of digital technology comes at a cost: it exposes armies and societies to digital attack. http://www.economist.com/node/16481504 Cyberwar: War in the fifth domain - Are the mouse and keyboard the new weapons of conflict? At the height of the cold war, in June 1982, an American early-warning satellite detected a large blast in Siberia. A missile being fired? A nuclear test? It was, it seems, an explosion on a Soviet gas pipeline. The cause was a malfunction in the computer-control system that Soviet spies had stolen from a firm in Canada. They did not know that the CIA had tampered with the software so that it would ?go haywire, after a decent interval, to reset pump speeds and valve settings to produce pressures far beyond those acceptable to pipeline joints and welds,? according to the memoirs of Thomas Reed, a former air force secretary. The result, he said, ?was the most monumental non-nuclear explosion and fire ever seen from space.? http://www.economist.com/node/16478792?story_id=16478792 Internet Crime: Vuvuzela Meets Viagra "FIFA World Cup Scandal News." Headlines like that are red meat for rabid soccer fans. But click on the e-mail message it heralds and you might land on a "Canadian Pharmacy" web page, not the scintillating dispatch from South Africa you were expecting. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2010/tc2010072_326186.htm EFF Argues Against Mass Copyright Infringement Lawsuits in Wednesday Hearing On Wednesday, June 30, at 2:15 p.m., a federal court in Washington, D.C., will hear oral argument from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) about dividing up the mass copyright infringement lawsuits that improperly and unfairly target thousands of BitTorrent users. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/06/28 us: Senators Urge Obama to Back Planned Cybersecurity Legislation Seven Senate leaders late Thursday urged President Obama to support planned legislation designed to protect critical information technology systems from attacks. In a letter to Obama, the senators said they plan to produce a comprehensive cybersecurity bill, although they did not specify a timeframe. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/07/senators-urge-obama-to-back-pl.php aeCERT Organizes Awareness Campaign in Cooperation with Dubai Courts The UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT), one of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) initiatives, launched a national campaign to raise security awareness for judges in cooperation with Dubai Courts. First of its kind http://tra.gov.ae/news_aeCERT_Organizes_Awareness_Campaign_in_Cooperation_with_Dubai_Courts-174-1.php uk: Beware of cold call scammers pushing rogue antivirus Malware-pushing scammers appear to be stepping up their use of telephone-based pitches, resulting in an increase in reports from the UK of high-pressure cold calls designed to trick people into installing rogue antivirus products and other nasties. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/07/05/malware_cold_calling/ ************************** PRIVACY ************************** The Front Line Is Online: Freedom should trump privacy It?s been a year since Neda Agha Soltan died. Since her dark eyes blazed into the camera of an on-looker while she lay on the ground, muttering, ?I?m burning, I?m burning.? The powerful, gruesome video of the young musician, taken after she was shot during the Iranian election protests on June 20 last year, was touted as the most widely watched death in history. It?s a grim honor, yet this footage?along with many others of the protests, shot by shaking hands and blurred by chaos, running feet, and shouting voices?marked the moment citizen journalism truly entered the mainstream. http://www.newswek.org/2010/06/05/the-front-line-is-online.html More Privacy Changes For Facebook Facebook Wednesday rolled out more of its promised changes to its privacy policies and controls, announcing that it will now require third party Web sites and applications to obtain user permission before accessing private data they post to the social networking site. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/06/more-privacy-changes-for-faceb.php ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Turkey faces legal challenge over YouTube ban An internet rights group has launched a legal challenge in Turkey over a ban on access to a host of Google-owned sites. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/04/turkey-youtube-google-internet-rights Turkey goes into battle with Google Last month Turks found they could not access many Google services. YouTube is already banned. The BBC's Jonathan Head looks at this brewing battle between Turkey and one of the giants of the internet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/10480877.stm Editorial: Google vs. China, the Sequel As the Chinese Communist Party sees it, its very hold on power depends on tightly controlling the access of ordinary Chinese to information about their country, their rulers and the world at large. When Google decided in March to stop self-censoring search results in China by automatically redirecting queries to its uncensored service in Hong Kong, no one should have been surprised if Beijing rejected the scheme. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/opinion/02fri3.html Google Softens on China's Censorship Three months ago, Google defiantly announced it would no longer censor search results for users in mainland China. Now, with the Chinese government threatening to not renew the site?s operating license, the search giant is softening that stance. http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonic-shifts/2010/06/30/google-awaits-china-s-approval0.html Reporters Without Borders unveils first-ever "Anti-Censorship Shelter" [Reporters sans fronti?res news release] Reporters Without Borders today launched the world?s first ?Anti-Censorship Shelter? in Paris for use by foreign journalists, bloggers and dissidents who are refugees or just passing through as a place where they can learn how to circumvent Internet censorship, protect their electronic communications and maintain their anonymity online. http://en.rsf.org/reporters-without-borders-unveils-25-06-2010,37809.html us: Bill: China Net censorship could start trade war Half a year ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lauded Internet freedom and criticized China in a high-profile speech in Washington, D.C. A few weeks later, a Global Internet Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill was formed. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20009588-38.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqu? they made promises that ?ACTA will not interfere with a signatory?s ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,? it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly ?not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.? http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/07/02/acta-negotiators-vow-to-mesh-with-national-level-rights-withhold-new-text/ ACTA Risks Long-Term Damage To Democratic Public Policymaking, NGOs Say An international agreement on intellectual property rights enforcement now under negotiation in Lucerne, Switzerland runs the risk of ushering in a new and undemocratic precedent for international policymaking that could have long-term damaging effects on critical public policy issues, non-negotiating government representatives and civil society advocates said this week. http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/06/30/acta-risks-long-term-damage-to-democratic-public-policymaking-ngos-say/ ACTA A Sign Of Weakness In Multilateral System, WIPO Head Says The plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and other such regional negotiations are a ?bad development? for multilateral agencies, the World Intellectual Property Organization director general has told Intellectual Property Watch. http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/06/30/acta-a-sign-of-weakness-in-multilateral-system-wipo-head-says/ ACTA Workshop: China, Pakistan, Brazil Express Significant Concerns I attended a workshop on ACTA in Geneva yesterday that included government attendees from China, India, Pakistan, and other leading developing countries. Some key takeaways: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5154/125/ ACTA: The State of Play Negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement resume today in Lucerne, Switzerland with the ninth round of talks. I'll have several ACTA posts this week, but start with a talk I gave earlier this month at a conference on ACTA at the American University, Washington College of Law. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5150/125/ ********************************* MISCELLANEOUS ********************************* Revealed: What Apple really thinks about its customers Its products are launched with more hype than a new Madonna album and generate small armies of fanboys queuing around the block. As far as they are concerned, Apple can do no wrong. Until now. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/revealed-what-apple-really-thinks-about-its-customers-2017937.html Microsoft Calling. Anyone There? Microsoft?s engineers and executives spent two years creating a new line of smartphones with playful names that sounded like creatures straight out of ?The Cat in the Hat? ? Kin One and Kin Two. Stylish designs, an emphasis on flashy social-networking features and an all-out marketing blitz were meant to prove that Microsoft could build the right product at the right time for the finickiest customers ? gossiping youngsters with gadget skills. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/technology/05soft.html Apple losing out in China, Lenovo says Apple is missing a huge opportunity in the Chinese market, according to Liu Chuanzhi, the head of Lenovo, the country?s leading PC maker http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/604d1d54-87b9-11df-9f37-00144feabdc0.html Lenovo says Apple losing out in China - report Apple is missing out on an opportunity to further expand in China, the Financial Times reported late on Sunday, citing Lenovo's Chairman Liu Chuanzhi. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE66403N20100705 http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-49879620100705 Lenovo says Apple missing huge opportunities in China [AFP] The founder of Chinese IT giant Lenovo said in an interview published Monday that Apple is missing huge opportunities in the world's most populous nation because it does not understand mainland consumers. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/lenovo-says-apple-missing-huge-opportunities-in-china-20100705-zwvd.html http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/lenovo-says-apple-missing-huge-opportunities-in-china-20100705-zwvd.html Google buys air fare data firm Google last night splashed out $700m (?460m) on a specialist aggregator of airline flight information, ITA Software, in a venture into travel data that is likely to set off competitive alarm bells among many online booking agencies such as Expedia, Orbitz and eBookers. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/02/google-flights-search-ita Giant Step Into Travel for Google New Google tools to help people search easily for flights are now on the runway. It will be up to antitrust regulators to decide whether they can take off. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/technology/02google.html Regulators bound to stack up over Google-ITA When will the U.S. government eventually decide to confront Google? http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20009502-265.html Google pays gay US workers extra Google has begun paying extra to its gay employees in the US to compensate them for additional taxes on their benefits. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7867337/Google-pays-gay-workers-extra.html TiVo opens movie download service to all TiVo has opened its Caspa service, which offers pay movies and TV series for download via a broadband connection, to all-comers. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/tivo-opens-movie-download-service-all-125507 ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Telecom NZ starts groundwork for separation Telecom has launched a charm offensive as it seeks to garner investor support for a proposal to carve out of its profitable network business and tap the government's $1.35 billion fund to roll-out high-speed internet. http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/business/3870366/Telecom-starts-groundwork-for-separation ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION ********************************** au: Policeman Geoffrey Gordon Porch denies child porn charges [AAP] A SOUTH Australian policeman has denied child porn charges. http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/policeman-geoffrey-gordon-porch-denies-child-porn-charges/story-e6frg12u-1225888133344 us: 4 men sentenced in online child porn ring A federal judge sentenced four men Friday for their roles in an online international child pornography ring that prosecutors say had more than 1,000 members trading millions of sexually explicit images. http://www.indystar.com/article/20100703/LOCAL/7030336/4-men-sentenced-in-online-child-porn-ring +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2010 --------- David Goldstein email: goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au web: http://davidgoldstein.tel/ http://goldsteinreport.com/ phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/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 FlanneryReceived on Mon Jul 05 2010 - 02:03:31 UTC
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