general internet news - September 6

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

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*Nanyang Technological University, Singapore          
                                                      
    
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CENSORSHIP & CONTENT REGULATION
***********************
eu: Safer Internet? New call for proposals
The Commission has approved an updated Work Programme
for 2004 and has adopted a new call for proposals for
pilot projects in the field of self-regulation and has
re-opened the continuous submission scheme (hotlines
and awareness).

http://europa.eu.int/information_society/programmes/iap/index_en.htm

au: A typology of online child pornography offending
The Internet has increased the range, volume and
accessibility of sexually abusive imagery, including
child pornography. Child pornography depicts the
sexual or sexualised physical abuse of children under
16 years of age. Australia has joined many other
nations in an international effort to combat this
multi-faceted global menace that combines both heavily
networked and highly individualised criminal
behaviour. This paper examines the typology of online
child pornography offending, as well as law
enforcement responses to the problem. This work is a
result of a collaborative program between the
Australian Institute of Criminology and the Australian
High Tech Crime Centre.

http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi279t.html

au: $30m to fight child porn: Howard
PRIME Minister John Howard today announced the
Government would spend $30 million over five years to
tackle child pornography and abuse.

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10675980%255E26619,00.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200409/s1192516.htm

http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/05/1094322634053.html

au: Pornography is good for you, say Australian users
Pornography has few defenders among those not busy
making money out of it. Morals campaigners say it
corrupts the young; computer buffs complain it clogs
up the Internet. But researchers in Australia have put
a different view in a landmark government-funded
study.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/09/04/2003201566

Workers aroused by net porn at work: study (reg req'd)
More than half of workers say they become aroused at
seeing sexually explicit images on work computers, a
study of Australian, British and American staff shows.

http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/03/1093939113625.html

uk: Tragedy of the suicide-pact teenage girls who met
in internet chatroom
Police investigate overdose death of 13-year-old who
vanished last week as her friend recovers in hospital

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/story.jsp?story=558367
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3628506.stm

uk: Fraudulent web site closed down
The company behind a web site promoting a fraudulent
scheme known as a straight line matrix has been wound
up in the public interest following an investigation
by the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry.

http://out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=fraudulentwebsite1094220789

A porn trap to steer clear of
COMMENTARY -- Have you performed an exhaustive
sector-level check of every nook and cranny of your
hard drive recently? If not, you may want to. An ugly
trend in pornography is developing and no, it's not
the porn itself. It has to do with the disciplining,
firing, and in some cases even criminal prosecution of
employees on the grounds that they're downloading
pornography.
 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5344831.html

us: Internet safety for the wired generation - Advice
from FBI Cyber Expert Arnold Bell on Protecting Our
Children
Sobering Stats: Six out of 10 kids online have gotten
an e-mail or instant message from a perfect stranger
... and more than half have written back. One in 33
kids has been aggressively solicited to meet their
"cyber friend" in person. One in four kids, ages
10-17, has been exposed to unwanted sexual material
online.
 http://www.fbi.gov/page2/sept04/cac090104.htm

us: Defining real child porn the crux of trial
In Hollywood blockbusters, the distinction between
real and computer-generated images isn’t all that
important. It’s all entertainment. When it comes to
child pornography, however, the difference is crucial.
The real thing will get you years in prison, but
“virtual” child porn is legal, and constitutionally
protected, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

http://nsnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040903/NEWS01/209030347/-1/news

us: School Web Site Search Brings Up Porn
Bob Reed typed in "livoniapublicschools.com" to find
information on Livonia Franklin High School, the
school his son attends.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20040903/lo_wdiv/2357022

cn: Pornographic "Lianlian Nanfeng" Website Shuts Down
Henan's First Pornographic Website has been officially
closed by order of the Henan Tanghe People's Court.

http://chinatechnews.com/index.php?action=show&type=news&id=1731

cn: Google Search & Cache Filtering Behind China's
Great Firewall
The popular search engine Google was temporarily
blocked by the government of China in September 2002.
Chinese Internet users were unable to access the
search engine. In addition, requests for Google from
within China were redirected to Chinese search
engines. (1) At the time, Google issued a statement
indicating that they were working with the Chinese
authorities to restore access to Google. (2) (3) China
lifted the block on the Google search engine soon
thereafter.
 http://opennetinitiative.net/bulletins/006/

cn/jp: China shuts down anti-Japan website of
80,000-member group
Chinese officials shut down Monday night the website
of an 80,000-member activist organization that has
organized most of the anti-Japan demonstrations in
Beijing over the past year because of a recent
campaign regarding railway contracts in China, a
member of the group said Tuesday.

http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=310593

uk: Dereham firms help tackle computer crime
The business community in a Norfolk town is helping
police tackle computer crimes such as child
pornography and online fraud.

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/story.aspx?brand=EDPOnline&category=News&tBrand=edponline&tCategory=news&itemid=NOED01%20Sep%202004%2019%3A15%3A37%3A857

The Myths Of Growing Up Online (reg req'd)
Alarmist and polarized rhetoric is distorting
important new findings about the risks and benefits of
children's use of the Internet.

http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/04/09/wo_jenkins090304.asp

Wireless: Dial-up pornography spurs search for filters
Now that cellphones are offering Web access on a par
with services offered via personal computers, the
mobile phone sector is grappling with the same thorny
question faced by Internet providers in the mid-1990s:
how to safeguard children while protecting civil
liberties.
 http://iht.com/articles/535223.htm

*******************
LEGAL AND SECURITY
*******************
au: Bookies hit by net extortion
A RUSSIAN mafia gang used a sophisticated internet
attack to cripple one of Australia's online sports
betting agencies forcing the owner, legendary
bookmaker Terry Lillis, to pay tens of thousands of
dollars in ransom money.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,10651299%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

us: OPERATION "WEB SNARE" - Tightening the Net on
Cyber Criminals (news release)
A boutique law firm? No. Rather just a few of many
cyber-crime schemes perpetrated over the Internet
against people and companies worldwide. These crimes
cost our country billions of dollars each year -- and
they are increasingly used by terrorist groups to
finance their activities.
 http://www.fbi.gov/page2/aug04/websnare082704.htm

eu: Porn dialler fraudsters find lucrative loophole
German site Dialerschutz (Dialler Protection) is
warning internet users about a new scam from Spain
that is likely to spread to other European countries.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/09/03/spain_rogue_diallers/

us: Geico gets green light to sue Google, Overture
Insurance giant Geico can sue Google and Overture
Services for allegedly selling advertisements linked
to its trademarks, a federal judge has ruled, CNET
News.com has learned.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-5345484.html

us: Pfizer Sues Internet Sites Selling Lipitor
Pfizer said on Thursday it filed lawsuits against 18
Web sites, charging them with selling illegal versions
of its best selling cholesterol medicine Lipitor.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;?storyID=6139244

us: FDA nabs Internet drug traffickers   
The Food and Drug Administration Thursday two people
pleaded guilty to distributing drugs via the Internet
without requiring a prescription.
 http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=9191613d46736f9d

us: Crime unit helps parents battle Internet predators
This article reminds me of a quote by Jimmy Doyle,
“The Internet is just like the real world. There are
bad neighborhoods and good neighborhoods. Parents need
to know what can happen and that bad people are coming
into their homes.”
 http://crime-research.org/news/02.09.2004/606/

us: Lawmakers to vote on spyware, piracy bills
A House of Representatives committee said on Friday
that it has scheduled a vote on bills related to
spyware and piracy next week. The Judiciary committee
plans to meet Wednesday to consider the Internet
Spyware Prevention Act (ISPA) and the Piracy
Deterrence and Education Act (PDEA).

http://news.com.com/Lawmakers+to+vote+on+spyware%2C+piracy+bills/2110-1032_3-5347508.html

us: Ninth Circuit Affirms That Peer-To-Peer Software
Providers Are Not Secondarily Liable For Illegal File
Sharing Of Copyrighted Material Over The Internet (reg
req'd)
In a unanimous three-judge panel decision, the United
States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed
a federal district court ruling in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Studios v. Grokster, Ltd., 259 F. Supp. 2d 1029 (C.D.
Calif. 2003) ("Grokster I"), aff’d, CV-01-08541-SVW,
slip op. (9th Cir. Apr. 19, 2004) ("Grokster II"),
holding that peer-to-peer ("P2P") software providers
Grokster and StreamCast (provider of Morpheus P2P
software) were not secondarily liable for copyright
infringement when an individual directly infringes
copyright by using defendants’ P2P software to
improperly share or download copyrighted material,
such as MP3 music files, over the Internet.

http://www.mondaq.com/article_preview.asp?a=27999&e=on

us: EFF Files Brief in Email Privacy Case
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today
submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in a case that
will have a profound effect on the privacy of Internet
communications. The brief argues that US v.
Councilman, previously decided by a panel of First
Circuit judges, should be reheard by the entire First
Circuit Court of Appeals. In the earlier panel
decision, the court ruled that it does not violate
criminal wiretap laws when an email service provider
monitors the content of users' incoming messages
without their consent.
 http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_09.php#001878

us: FTC Alert on InternetALERT
You can't lose two pounds a week without dieting or
turn a bald head hairy -- and it's not so easy to
significantly reduce the risk of Internet attacks. The
Federal Trade Commission said it agreed to settle
false advertising charges with Bonzi Software, a
company that makes anti-phishing and virus protection
software. The company, which also operates an
affiliate marketing portal, has agreed to tone down
its claims and offer existing customers a partial
refund.
 http://internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3403961

ca: ISP Liability: Canada’s Proposed Copyright Reforms
Technology has always driven copyright reform. Each
new medium—from audio recordings to television—has
offered a new way to capture and disseminate ideas.

http://www.mondaq.com/article_preview.asp?a=28043&e=on

Computer crimes: international prospects
Computer crimes are distant. So, according to the
information provided by law enforcement of the
Republic of Belarus, they initiated 11 criminal cases
against several persons living in Germany. The
suspects were the former residents of Belarus and
Russia.
 http://crime-research.org/news/04.09.2004/615/

Organized Crime Invades Cyberspace
Antivirus researchers have uncovered a startling
increase in organized virus- and worm-writing activity
that they say is powering an underground economy
specializing in identity theft and spam.

http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,95501,00.html

******
POLICY
******
ca: Police call for stronger child porn sentences
With Ottawa expected to reintroduce new child porn
legislation soon, critics are keeping up the pressure
for increases in minimum sentences. Many people
convicted of such crimes end up serving no jail time.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1094244468871_89653668/?hub=Canada

us: Strange Bedfellows in E-Mail Case
Civil liberties groups made common cause today with
the Justice Department, a traditional target of their
lawsuits, by filing court papers supporting the
government's appeal of a court ruling that said
internet service providers are allowed to snoop on
their customers.
 http://wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,64847,00.html

http://news.com.com/Feds+try+again+for+wiretapping+conviction/2100-1028_3-5347251.html

za: Internet Body Seeks Executive Council
THE Internet Society of SA has called for nominations
to its executive committee in a bid to revamp the
worldwide organisation's local chapter.
 http://allafrica.com/stories/200409020198.html

Broadcast Treaty Battle Rages On 
An international treaty to give broadcasters the right
to control who may record, transmit, or distribute
their signals is reaching a crucial stage of
negotiation by the World Intellectual Property
Organization in Geneva.
 http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64696,00.html

*****
SPAM
*****
Spam volume keeps rising
Rising tides of spam are drowning the usefulness of
e-mail, according to a new report from IDC.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5339257.html

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/networks/0,39020345,39165256,00.htm

************
INTERNET USE
************
Lower costs prompt UK Internet boom
The number of newcomers to the Internet in Britain has
surged this year to its highest level since the dotcom
heyday of 2001, according to a study.

http://reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6150166

******************
ONLINE MUSIC & P2P
******************
us: Copyright Office pitches anti-P2P bill
A hotly contested wrangle in Congress over how to
outlaw file-swapping networks just took a new twist.
The U.S. Copyright Office has drafted a new version of
the Induce Act that it believes will ban networks like
Kazaa and Morpheus while not putting hardware such as
portable hard drives and MP3 players on the wrong side
of the law.
 http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5345528.html

Record industry produces first chart of legal
downloads
A key plank of the British record industry's response
to the increasing popularity of music downloading has
been put in place with the introduction of the first
'official' chart to measure tracks bought on the
internet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1295488,00.html

************************
COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
************************
It Takes Time to Judge the True Impact of New
Technology
About this time last year, I wrote a column following
up on some pieces I'd written earlier to see what if
anything new had happened to those topics. The
reaction I heard afterwards convinced me that
revisiting old news was a worthwhile exercise -- in
general, it's too easy for tech reporters to lose
sight of how a product works over time in the real
world, as opposed to a brief trial in a reviewer's
hands.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61088-2004Sep4.html

Internet's Speed Increases As It Turns 35 Years Old
As the Internet turned 35 last week, Web speed-demons
claimed a new record for how fast data can be
transmitted over computer networks, announcing they
had sent the equivalent of a big fat DVD movie file
from Switzerland to California in a few seconds.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61089-2004Sep4.html

In Internet Calling, Skype Is Living Up to the Hype
(reg req'd)
Skype is the easiest, fastest and cheapest way for
individual customers to use their computers with
broadband connections as telephones.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/business/yourmoney/05tech.html

Microsoft warns spyware could foul up security update
Though Microsoft Corp.'s new security update package
is all about protecting systems from worms, viruses
and spyware, it can't do much about what's already on
computers -- and that could pose a problem.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/9565886.htm

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/09/03/microsoft_warns_on_security

Windows update prompts problems
Millions of business users face problems when
installing Microsoft's big security update for Windows
XP.
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3617366.stm

Rivals Say Microsoft Online Music Store Falls Short
Microsoft's. newly launched MSN Music download service
has a long way to go to catch up with iTunes and other
online services, competitors said on Thursday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56891-2004Sep2.html

Microsoft's bug trouble
Microsoft's increased focus on security is having
unintended consequences

http://economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3158694

Paris showcase for Apple's vision
Apple has been showing off in Paris what we can expect
from the company in the coming months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/3580988.stm

Geneva pioneers Swiss internet voting
Some 22,000 people resident in the constituencies of
Anières, Carouge, Cologny and Meyrin will be able to
cast their ballots by computer beginning this Friday.
 http://dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=2983

********************
PROTECTION OF MINORS
********************
uk: Return to work for child porn site medic
AN anaesthetist convicted of downloading child
pornography from the internet has been allowed to
return to practice.
 http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=1043312004

http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?command=newPage&nodeId=136992&contentPK=10892181

uk: Child porn priest facing sentence
A Catholic priest and former teacher at one of
Britain's leading schools is due to be sentenced for
downloading child pornography from the internet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,1271,-4471358,00.html

http://icnorthlondononline.icnetwork.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=14601943&method=full&siteid=53340&headline=priest-jailed-over-child-porn-name_page.html

ca: Child porn found on computer
A Winnipeg man is accused of possessing child
pornography after graphic images were discovered on
his computer last week when he took it in for repairs
at a St. James shop. The 46-year-old suspect, whose
name was withheld by cops, dropped his computer off at
an Ellice Avenue computer store last Monday, said
Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Al Akre.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/09/02/612462.html

ca/us: Porn for the border
A young Missouri man's "vacation" took an unexpected
turn for the worse last month when he was busted at
the border with pornographic images of underage girls.
Aaron Lamar Leatherwood, 18, just wanted to drive to
Brandon with a friend so he could meet an Internet
girlfriend he'd been chatting with online.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2004/09/04/615152.html

us: Grand jury indicts man on child porn charges
A Mahoning County grand jury has handed up a
multicount indictment on child pornography charges
against an Austintown man.
 http://www.vindy.com/featured/281367719270473.php

us: Former Bus Driver Pleaded Guilty To Child
Pornography
A former bus driver for Durham Transportation pleaded
guilty Wednesday morning to downloading child
pornography.
 http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=2248623

us: Former Pennsylvania Trooper Sentenced For
Possessing Child Pornography
A former Pennsylvania state trooper was sentenced to
21 months in federal prison for possessing child
pornography.

http://officer.com/article/article.jsp?id=16633&siteSection=1

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-extrooper-090104,0,712798.story

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/9558025.htm

us: Suspect in Florida Deputy's Murder, His Partner
Are Indicted on Federal Child Pornography Charges
A federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale indicted
police-slaying suspect Kenneth Wilk and his domestic
partner on child pornography and witness-tampering
charges Thursday.

http://officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=16495

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krmiami/20040902/lo_krmiami/suspectentersnotguiltypleainchildporncase

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/9558479.htm

us: Glendive man admits child-porn crimes
A Glendive man admitted Thursday to distributing and
receiving child pornography using a computer.

http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/09/03/build/state/70-porn-cimes.inc

us: Alamance County man accused in child assault,
pornography
An Alamance County man has been charged with sexually
assaulting children and videotaping them in sexual
poses, police said.

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/9577165.htm?1c

us: Belding city manager pleads no contest to child
pornography charges
Prosecutors are recommending jail time for Belding's
city manager after he pleaded no contest to a charge
of having child pornography on his work and home
computers.

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2240439&nav=0RceQQDb

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1094050100221650.xml

us: Graham man arrested on pornography charges
A Graham man is in court Thursday to answer to charges
related to the discovery of child pornography in his
home.

http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=54488&SecID=2

us: Ex-Benton jailer faces child porn charges
A former Benton County jailer faces child pornography
charges after dozens of explicit images allegedly were
found on his computer after his home was searched last
May in an unrelated case.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/5498374p-5436985c.html

us: Landlord to stand trial on child porn charges
A landlord accused of rigging his tenants' shower with
one-way mirrored tiles and videotaping an 8-year-old
girl as she bathed will stand trial on child
pornography charges, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace
Douglas Smith ruled Wednesday.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-crime/2004/sep/02/517446634.html

http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2252184&nav=8faOQWDK

us: Friar's Child Pornography Trial Date Set
A November trial date was set for a Franciscan friar
from Pulaski charged with possessing child
pornography.

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=2236883&nav=51s7QOOX

us: Cops: Child porn found on computer
A Norwood man on probation for having sex with a
15-year-old Wisconsin girl he met on the Internet is
due back in district court today for allegedly having
child pornography on his home computer. John Robert
Pietrykiewicz, 25, of the 300 block of McKinley
Avenue, has been free on unsecured bail since turning
himself in earlier this week.

http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=12832940&PAG=461&rfi=9

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=12832940&PAG=461&rfi=9

us: Woman, 19, charged in cop’s child porn case
A 19-year-old Berks County woman has been charged with
sexual exploitation of a minor and related charges in
the same case where a Birdsboro police officer and his
brother were arrested for possession of child
pornography.

http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12832621&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6

us: Man, 52, charged with 1,002 child-porn counts
A 52-year-old man is behind bars, charged with 1,002
counts of possession of child pornography. Kevin
Kelly, of Rose Tree Village, Media, is behind held on
$150,000 cash bail.

http://www.delcotimes.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1675&dept_id=18171&newsid=12832936&PAG=461&rfi=9

us: Man indicted on child porn charges
A man has been indicted on charges he owned child
pornography stemming from a federal investigation of a
woman who allegedly put sexually explicit images of
her toddler online.
 http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=2247594

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/politics/9555989.htm

us:  Brooks indicted on five counts, including
possessing child pornography
Hogan Brooks, the Creighton Elementary School teacher
arrested for allegedly trying to entice a minor during
an online chat into having sex, has been indicted on
five separate counts, including four counts of
possessing child pornography.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12820901&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

us: Gore Man Faces Federal Prosecution After
Investigation Of Internet Chat Room and Photographic
Activities
Federal investigators have accused a Gore man of
operating an Internet child pornography chat group and
photographing a pre-teen girl in sexually explicit
situations.

http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWinchesterStar/040901/Area_porn'.asp

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/dn-news
for the latest domain news. Within 24 hours of this
news being posted, a more recent edition of the news
will normally be posted to the auDA web site. The
domain name news is supported by auDA.

Also see
http://greta.electric.gen.nz/mailman/listinfo/internet-news
for an archive or to subscribe to the general news.

Sources include Quicklinks (www.qlinks.net) and BNA
Internet Law News (www.bna.com/ilaw)".

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(c) David Goldstein 2004

=====
David Goldstein
 address: 2/4 Dundas Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 0015 - home

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