general internet news - November 18

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

***************************************************
Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
Internet in Asia blog: sirc.blogspot.com
***************************************************

CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
******************************************
Reporters sans frontières Internet Under Surveillance
2004 report is released
The Internet has a bad reputation. With authoritarian
regimes, that's no surprise. It's to be expected the
enduring dictatorship in Beijing (and we must call it
that, whatever the fans of the Chinese "economic
miracle" think) has set up a big Internet police
force. Dozens of Internet users languish in Chinese
prisons for imaginary crimes - for looking at banned
websites or, even "worse," daring to post news online
about forbidden topics such as the 1989 Tiananmen
Square massacre and repression in Tibet. China is
unfortunately not the only country where dissident
Internet messages are tracked down. In Vietnam and
Tunisia, big shots (official or otherwise) are
distinctly unenthusiastic about this vast discussion
forum and information exchange they have so much
trouble controlling.
 http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=433

au: Net porn filter research needs funds
MACQUARIE University researchers have developed a new
method of filtering internet pornography, and claim it
is 99 per cent accurate.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11396863%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

au: States agree on national child porn laws
Australian police ministers have agreed to adopt
national laws to help fight child pornography.
 http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1245713.htm

http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11412610%255E1702,00.html

au: Aussie emails and texts to be monitored in new
laws
The Australian government endorsed new security laws
yesterday that will help authorities monitor the
emails and phone text messages of people suspected of
planning terror attacks.
 http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3097766a28,00.html

http://smh.com.au/news/Breaking/New-laws-to-monitor-email-SMS/2004/11/16/1100574453061.html

in: Prove your identity before you start surfing
Internet cafes in Karnataka will have to keep track of
who uses the internet in government effort to curb
cybercrimes
 http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=16662
 http://crime-research.org/news/15.11.2004/790/

RIGHTS GROUPS CONDEMN IRAN’S INTERNET CRACKDOWN
Iran’s neo-conservatives are restricting access to the
Internet, according to international human rights
groups. The crackdown is designed to aid a broader
Iranian neo-con effort to stifle their reformist
opponents.

http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav111604.shtml

nl: In wake of filmmaker's murder, Dutch government
cracks down on 'radical' websites
Following the murder of controversial Dutch film maker
Theo van Gogh by a suspected religious extremist, the
Dutch minister of home affairs, Johan Remkes minister
of justice, Piet Hein Donner, have announced proposals
to crack down on radical websites and their authors.
 http://dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4391

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;?storyID=6800287

ru/fi: Chechen Rebel Web Site Reopened
A Web site used by a Chechen warlord to claim
responsibility for September's school siege in Russia
has reopened, one month after it was closed by the
Finnish company that hosted it.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6804830

au/us: Dow Jones Settles Defamation Lawsuit
In a low-key end to a groundbreaking case that
extended the reach of Australia's libel laws to the
world, Dow Jones & Co. has settled a defamation
lawsuit launched against it by an Australian mining
magnate

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AUSTRALIA_INTERNET_DEFAMATION

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LEGAL AND SECURITY
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au: Gutnick may set web precedent
IN a low-key end to a groundbreaking case that
extended the reach of Australia's libel laws to the
world, Dow Jones Co. has settled a defamation lawsuit
launched against it by mining magnate Joe Gutnick.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11401297%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

http://news.com.com/Dow+Jones+settles+Net+defamation+suit/2110-1030_3-5453453.html

http://out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=landmarkaustralian1100526576

us: Security Events Grow 150 Percent from Q3 2003;
Ease of Execution, Hacker Sophistication and Financial
Reward Catalyze New Hybrid Internet Attacks (news
release)
VeriSign released the fourth edition of the VeriSign
Internet Security Intelligence Briefing (ISIB). The
ISIB report details Internet usage and growth trends
as well as threat, vulnerability and fraud patterns.
The briefing also provides an in-depth look at spam,
offering insight into the issue of unwanted email, its
relationship to Internet crimes, the challenges it
poses to organizations and consumers, and techniques
to address the problem.

http://verisign.com/verisign-inc/news-and-events/news-archive/us-news-2004/page_017577.html

uk: Camera phone clampdown demanded
There is growing pressure on manufacturers to
introduce safeguards to stop camera phones being used
to take intrusive snaps

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/mobile/0,39020360,39174085,00.htm
 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4017225.stm

uk: Cybercriminals infiltrating U.K. companies
Criminal gangs in Britain are increasingly attempting
to plant insiders in companies to steal data and aid
cybercrime attacks.
 http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-5450117.html

us: Federal Judge Tosses Porn Purveyor's Copyright
Suit Against Credit Card Companies
Credit card companies aren't liable when someone uses
their charge card to buy purloined pornography, a
federal court in San Jose, Calif., ruled Monday.
 http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1100535339538

us: Hearings Ordered on Grand Jury's Validity in Net
Porn Case
Chalk up another significant victory for the team of
lawyers at Sprague & Sprague who represent Voicenet
Communications Inc., an Internet company targeted by
Bucks County prosecutors in a child pornography
investigation, now that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
has ordered hearings on whether it was ever proper to
take the case before a county grand jury.
 http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1100535342882

us: Woman waives preliminary hearing in Internet
scheme
A Normalville woman who allegedly went into Internet
chat rooms to solicit men to rape a Champion woman
under the guise of sexual play waived her preliminary
hearing Tuesday

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13378938

us: Protecting Children
Some alarming information from child advocates about
the large number of children who are sexually abused
and exploited.

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=2569712&nav=0s3dT9wQ

us: Texas PUTTING BRAKES ON CYBER CRIME
An arrest milestone has been reached in the state's
efforts to identify and then remove child sex
predators from communities, including Smith County,
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Tuesday.

http://www.tylerpaper.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13378836

my: Beware stealth IDD charges from porn sites
Those, ahem, adult-entertainment sites that you or
certain poorly-supervised members of your family
sometimes enjoy surfing to could wind up costing you a
pretty penny, warns TM Net Sdn Bhd chief executive
Datuk Baharum Salleh.

http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2004/11/16/technology/9387046&sec=technology

us: Texas officials wary of plan to hunt by Internet
Hunters soon may be able to sit at their computers and
blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via the
Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials
up in arms.

http://reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6834742

us: Parody Lawsuits Revisited
"Even More Parodic Than the Real Thing" is the title
of a new article by Bruce Keller, Co-director of the
Berkman Center's Clinical Program and Partner at
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and Rebecca Tushnet,
Assistant Professor at NYU School of Law. This
article, published in The Trademark Reporter,
considers the legacy of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music,
Inc., in which the Court appeared to draw a
distinction between parodies -- generally considered
fair uses for copyright purposes -- and satires, which
have had a more difficult time qualifying as fair use.
The authors conclude that this basic distinction has
led to "wildly divergent results" in different
courtrooms. "We have no ready answer to this problem,"
the authors write, "we can only suggest that the
parody/satire divide has proved a frolic and detour
ill suited to the proper intellectual property
policy."

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=618

Russia leads in child porn business
Experts of National Children's Homes (UK) issued
report on the origin of child porn in the Internet.
Russia took the second place after U.S. in producing
child porn.
 http://crime-research.org/news/16.11.2004/792/

de: Kinderporno-Ermittler brauchen mehr Know-How
Herbert Mertin, Justizminister des deutschen
Bundeslands Rheinland-Pfalz, fordert mehr Kenntnisse
für die Ermittler in Sachen Online-Kinderpornos.

http://newsbyte.ch/start.cfm?gruppe=news&rubrik=alle&startid=64124&action=1

******
POLICY
******
APC’s Latest Annual Report: 2003 - The year technology
policy became social policy
In spite of the wide range of activities that took
place during last year, for APC, 2003 is memorable for
one particular process that galvanised our efforts -
the World Summit on the Information Society which took
place in Geneva in December 2003. WSIS was a watershed
in public participation as information and
communications policy shifted from the obscure world
of techno-jargon to be recognised as social policy
that affects everyone. From APC's perspective as a
network of ‘social techies’ this was a major
break-through.
APC’S latest annual report includes APC’s advocacy
work for WSIS and other major highlights as well as
achievements from APC members on five continents
building of a better world for all through technology.
Find out more about it or download the full report
directly! The report will be available next month in
Spanish.
 http://apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=28269

ru: Minister urges control of Internet
The Russian segment of the Internet must be controlled
by the state, Andrey Fursenko, the Russian Minister
for Education and Science, said at the first World
Scientific Forum in Kyoto, the Novye Izvestia
newspaper reported.

http://www.russiajournal.com/news/cnews-article.shtml?nd=46369

us: Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Force Garners Excellence in Criminal Investigations
Award (news release)
The International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) and ChoicePoint today announced that the
Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
(ICAC) is the 2004 recipient of the IACP/ChoicePoint
Excellence in Criminal Investigations Award.
 http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041116/cltu029_1.html


Internet leaders ponder U.S. tech policies
Will the United States remain a world leader in
technology and science amid growing global
competition?
 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9589_22-5453833.html

us: Congress May Act on Internet Piracy Bill
The entertainment industry is pushing Congress to
approve a bill that could send thousands of Internet
music and movie downloaders to jail, but the
legislation faces opposition from groups that say it
would unfairly punish consumers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53675-2004Nov16.html

*****
SPAM
*****
us: Porn spammers sued by Microsoft
US software giant Microsoft has sued a group of
spammers that it accuses of sending unsolicited emails
promoting pornography to millions of its Hotmail
customers.

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,11403085%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

Putting a Spammer in Jail
The country's first criminal trial about spam ended in
Leesburg, Virginia earlier this month with a
conviction of Jeremy Jaynes, better known under his
nom de spam of Gavin Stubberfield. I was an expert
witness for the prosecution, the Commonwealth of
Virginia. The case was brought under Virginia's state
anti-spam law, not the weaker Federal CAN-SPAM act.
 http://www.circleid.com/article/804_0_1_0_C/

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INTERNET USE
************
Computer users warned over sight
Watching a computer screen for nine or more hours a
day might be linked to a progressive eye disease that
can blind without treatment, researchers have warned.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,1352048,00.html

Al Qaeda uses Internet to defy Saudi manhunt
Al Qaeda militants have defied a crackdown and the
loss of senior leaders in Saudi Arabia by using the
Internet to win over new recruits in Osama bin Laden's
birthplace.

http://reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6825416

uk: London gets 'largest ever' indoor Wi-Fi site
The British Library claims to have built the largest
indoor wireless LAN in the capital

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/wireless/0,39020348,39174090,00.htm

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/11/16/british_library_wi-fi_zone/

us: Internet is 'in early adolescence'
Silicon Valley venture capitalists are putting their
money where their mouths are and backing a major
revolution in the way we use the Internet

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,39020369,39174086,00.htm

Wireless, broadband to drive Net growth, tech leaders
say
Wireless services will lead the next growth phase of
the Internet as venture capitalists who helped fund
the early boom open their wallets again, industry
leaders said on Monday.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-11-16-tech-summit_x.htm

us: videoo games - IU researchers helping to study
video game-violence link
Researchers from the Indiana University School of
Medicine are trying to determine whether violent video
games such as Grand Theft Auto can make players more
prone to violent behavior.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2004-11-16-vgviolence_x.htm

*****************
WSIS & GOVERNANCE
*****************
Oxford Institute Conference on Internet Governance
The conference entitled "The Debate on Internet
Governance: What's at Stake?" was held in September
2004. Speakers included Speakers: Markus Kummer,
Executive Coordinator Working Group on Internet
Governance, Esther Dyson, Founding Chair of ICANN,
Adam Peake, Glocom, Karen Banks, Association for
Progressive Communication, Richard Collins, Open
University. The keynote speech, Esther Dyson's weblog
and other documents are available at:

http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/collaboration/?rq=specialevents/20040924

UN creates internet governance working group
Preparations are in full swing for the second phase of
the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
later next year.

http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=135012
 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/1112wsis-un.html

http://www.macworld.com/news/2004/11/12/un/index.php/?lsrc=mcrss-1104

http://www.techworld.com/networking/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2610&Page=1

UN creates Internet governance working group
The row between UN countries over the management of
the Internet is set to move into next phase. The
organisation has selected members for the Working
Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) who will be
meeting in Geneva at the end of next year.

http://www.techworld.com/networking/news/index.cfm?NewsID=2610&Page=1

Etisalat to host ITU symposium in Dubai
Etisalat has teamed up with the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) to jointly host a
region-wide e-Government and Internet Protocol (IP)
symposium. The top-level meeting, to be held in
Etisalat Academy in Dubai from November 22-25, 2004,
will look at the practical issues involved in
implementing e-Government and discuss policy aspects
of the management of DNS and IP addresses.

http://www.cpilive.net/news_ver2/inside.asp?wherefrom=search&newsitem=1111200424909AMCOMPUTER+NEWS+ME%2Ehtm&channel=COMPUTER+NEWS+ME

Auf dem Weg zur neuen Diplomatie der
Informationsgesellschaft?
Die Vorbereitungen für den zweiten [externer
link]Weltgipfel zur Informationsgesellschaft
([externer link]WSIS II), der im November 2005 in
Tunis stattfindet, treten in die konkrete Phase ein.
Letzte Woche traf sich in Genf erstmalig die
sogenannte "Group of the Friends of the Chair"
([externer link]GFC). Sie soll als eine informelle
Plattform den komplizierten Verhandlungsprozess, bei
dem es auch um die ungelösten Probleme des "Digital
Solidarity Fund" und "Internet Governance" geht, in
konstruktive Bahnen lenken.
 http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/18/18663/1.html

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ONLINE MUSIC & P2P
******************
us: Movie Industry Sues Over Internet File Sharing
Movies
A trade group representing seven major movie studios
filed a first wave of lawsuits against individuals
they say are offering pirated copies of films using
Internet-based peer-to-peer file sharing programs.
 http://www.ktvu.com/news/3923266/detail.html

us: FTC announcement: Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing
Technology: Consumer Protection and Competition Issues
The workshop is the latest in a series of efforts to
assess the impact of new and significant technologies
on consumers and businesses. P2P file-sharing
technology enables individuals to share files,
including music, video, or software. Because the files
do not reside in a central location — they are stored
on the hard drives of users — P2P file-sharing
technology allows for faster file transfer and
conservation of bandwidth. The workshop is free and
open to the public; preregistration is not necessary.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/filesharing/index.htm

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
**********************************
au: St Columba's teacher facing child porn charges
A teacher at St Columba's High School has been
suspended from the Springwood school after being
charged with child pornography offences.

http://bluemountains.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=351268&y=2004&m=11

au: No jail for man convicted of possessing child porn
A northern Tasmanian man has avoided jail after being
convicted in Launceston Magistrates Court of
possessing child pornography and bestiality products.
 http://au.news.yahoo.com/041116/21/rqu4.html

au: Child porn blitz winds up
A NATIONWIDE police operation focusing on Internet
child pornography, which resulted in almost 100
charges being laid in New South Wales alone, closed
today.

http://theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11401255%255E1702,00.html
 http://au.news.yahoo.com/041115/2/rqpx.html

au: Third WA man jailed for child porn offences
JUDGES in Western Australia are maintaining their
hard-line approach to those caught up in the crackdown
on child pornography, with a third man jailed
yesterday for possession of photos.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11401172%255E2761,00.html
 http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1244081.htm

au: Man walks free after admitting to child porn
collection
A Tasmanian man has walked free after being convicted
of possessing child pornography and bestiality
products.
 http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1244192.htm
 http://au.news.yahoo.com/041115/21/rqj0.html

au: Ban on child-porn doctor
A CENTRAL Queensland doctor convicted on internet
child pornography charges has been banned from
treating patients under the age of 18.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11391141%255E1702,00.html

uk: Porn 'addict' gets 10-month jail term
A HOARDER of pornography who gathered almost 117,000
images from the internet, including more than 1,100
involving children, has been jailed for 10 months.

http://w3.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/story.asp?StoryID=64906

us: Allegheny County man pleads guilty to possessing
child pornography
An Allegheny County man has pleaded guilty to
possessing child pornography, including sexually
explicit images of a toddler that her mother allegedly
produced.
 http://www.wnep.com/Global/story.asp?S=2572671

us: Bauxite man gets three years in prison for
possessing child pornography
Clovis Tucker, 40, of Bauxite was convicted this week
of possessing child pornography and sentenced to three
years in state prison, Prosecuting Attorney Robert
Herzfeld said.

http://www.bentoncourier.com/articles/2004/11/16/news/50onews.txt

us: Man indicted on child porn charges
A federal grand jury in Fort Myers has indicted a
Collier County man on child pornography charges.

http://news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041117/NEWS01/411170387/1002/NEWS01

us: Calera man pleads guilty to child porn
A man arrested twice for child pornography pled guilty
in federal court.

http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/articles/2004/11/16/news/news07.txt

us: Man Charged With Child Abuse and Child Porn
A valley man is under arrest Tuesday night, facing
two-dozen counts of child pornography. Police say
Brian Handusek is a pedophile, and has admitted as
much. They say he gave young boys money to take photos
of each other's private parts.

http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2575478&nav=168YTDLh

us: Oklahoma City Man Arrested On Child Porn
Complaints
A 41-year-old Oklahoma City man arrested on 54
complaints of child pornography is free today after
posting a 180-thousand dollar bond.

http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=72634

us: Local man arrested on child porn charges
A Zanesville man is behind bars today after he was
arrested and charged with 62 counts of pandering
obscenity involving a minor.

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/news/stories/20041116/localnews/1599312.html

us: Olton man charged with possession, transport of
child pornography
An Olton man has been indicted by the U.S. Attorney´s
Office on charges of possession and interstate
transportation of child pornography, six months after
a previous case against him was dropped, the Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal reported Saturday.

http://www.myplainview.com/n2w/parsed/stories/11142004Oltonpornogra.shtml

us: Former South Bay school official pleads not guilty
to child pornography charges
A former assistant school principal in South Bay
pleaded not guilty in San Diego Superior Court
yesterday to charges of importing, possessing and
distributing child pornography.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041113/news_2m13rylander.html

us: Former teacher sentenced in child pornography case
A former Maui teacher has been sentenced to three
years in a federal prison for possessing child
pornography.
 http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=3741	

us: Man jailed on multiple child pornography charges
A 44-year-old Springfield Township man may face 20
years in prison on charges of possession of child
pornography and criminal sexual conduct.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/111304/loc_20041113006.shtml

us: New charges for man in child porn case
A man charged in a child pornography case earlier this
month now also faces sexual assault charges.

http://harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=40124

us: Jury selection begins in O'Keefe trial
Thirty-seven year old Michael O'Keefe faces two
federal charges of making, selling, and distributing
child pornography on the internet during the three
years he was a teacher at Lee County High School.

http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=2569443&nav=5kZQTCVX

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

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Also see
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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
BNA Internet Law News <http://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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