general internet news - 24 April

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

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Google's China Problem (and China's Google Problem)
http://nytimes.com/2006/04/23/magazine/23google.html

Kids outsmart Web filters
http://news.com.com/2009-1041_3-6062548.html

zw: Outrage At Govt Bid to Monitor Private Mail
http://allafrica.com/stories/200604210671.html

ca: Children vulnerable to Internet luring,
pornography
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=fa201809-e14f-420d-a210-df6fa752a8ad&k=69664

de: German court rules moderators liable for forum
comments
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/21/moderator_liable_for_comments/

us: US steps up fight on child porn
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4929578.stm

Companies fight EU net regulation
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1756499,00.html

us: Mandatory Labeling, ISP Data Retention Proposal
Raises Concern
http://cdt.org/

OECD Recommendation on Cross-Border Co-operation in
the Enforcement of Laws against Spam
http://www.oecd-antispam.org/article.php3?id_article=237

More than 63,000 Internet users in Myanmar
http://internetinasia.typepad.com/blog/2006/04/more_than_63000.html

eBay explores 'super union' to thwart Google
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2145181,00.html

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RESEARCH PAPERS
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Challenges to Authority, Burdens of Legitimization:
The Printing Press and the Internet By Zach Kertcher
and Ainat N. Margalit
The Internet is often regarded as a challenge to the
nation-state's ability to regulate flows of finance,
information, and symbols. Rather than examining
whether it is possible to enforce regulation on such a
media, this paper addresses two additional fundamental
questions: (1) what do regulatory discourses and
attempts to regulate reveal about the nation-state's
political authority under globalization, and (2) how
does this authority vary across social, political, and
cultural contexts? In order to address these
challenging queries we follow a unique path, both
empirically and theoretically. Theoretically, we argue
that political authority is a pivotal common
denominator that undergirds diverse understandings of
globalization. We then critically examine different
conceptions of political authority and construct a
typology that orients our study. Empirically, we
follow our typology by comparing two historical
phenomena: attempts by the Catholic Church to regulate
the printing press during the 15th and 16th centuries,
and attempts by China, Malaysia and the United States
to regulate the Internet. Despite certain important
commonalities, we posit that each of these cases
illustrates a different model of the legitimization
processes and transformations in political authority
that occur under globalization.
http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=38

Copyright vs. Free Expression: The Case of
Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing of Music in the United
Kingdom By Robert Danay
This paper explores the extent to which the
peer-to-peer (p2p) file-sharing of music is a form of
communication protected from the restrictions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (U.K.) (CDPA)
by the guarantee of free expression enshrined in
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights
(ECHR) and incorporated into domestic law through the
Human Rights Act 1998 (U.K.) (HRA). The paper first
examines the protection offered to freedom of
expression through the existing copyright scheme. It
is asserted that due to a lack of context-sensitivity,
mechanisms such as the idea-expression dichotomy must
not be relied upon to deny the existence of prima
facie breaches of Article 10(1) of the ECHR. Rather,
such breaches must be acknowledged and justified (if
possible) as being ?necessary in a democratic society?
under Article 10(2) of the ECHR. Next, the extent to
which p2p music file-sharing represents an
infringement under the terms of the CDPA (exclusive of
any effect of the ECHR) is examined. It is concluded
that such sharing does amount to an infringement under
the Act and is not subject to any of the enumerated
defences. The final part of the paper explores the
extent to which the statutory restriction on
file-sharing of music may be permitted under Article
10 of the ECHR. It is suggested that, for a number of
reasons, the CDPA?s restriction on free expression may
not be ?necessary in a democratic society? under
Article 10(2) of the ECHR. As a result, should this
statutory restriction be impugned in a U.K. courtroom
in the context of p2p music file-sharing, such a court
may be under an obligation to exculpate infringing
parties under the ?public interest? defence or to make
a declaration of incompatibility under the HRA.
http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=37

Law as a Network Standard By Dan L. Burk
The problem of global information flows via computer
networks raises issues of competition,
interoperability, and standard-setting parallel to
those in the analysis of technical standards. Uniform
standards, whether technical or legal, give rise to a
constellation of positive and negative network
effects. As a global network based upon the ?end to
end? principle of interoperability, the Internet
mediates between different, otherwise incompatible
computing platforms. To the extent that law and
technological ?code? may act as substitutes in shaping
human behavior, the Internet similarly mediates
between different, otherwise incompatible legal
platforms. Much of the legal and social controversy
surrounding the Internet stems from the
interconnection of such incompatible legal systems. As
with technical systems, problems of incompatibility
may be addressed by the adoption of uniform legal
standards. This, however, raises legal
standard-setting problems similar to those seen in
technical standard setting, where the standard may be
?tipped? in favor of dominant producers. In
particular, if law is considered a social product, the
benefits of interjurisdictional competition and
diversity may be lost as a single uniform legal
standard dominates the market for law.
http://research.yale.edu/lawmeme/yjolt/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36

Production, Preservation, and Disclosure of Metadata
by J. Brian Beckham
Abstract: As the use of information technology
increasingly pervades every facet of our personal and
professional life, legal practitioners are taking
increasing notice of the effect that metadata can have
on their practice. In particular, the prevalence of
metadata threatens to have a dramatic effect on
discovery issues, such as document retention and
production. This article endeavors to define and
discuss the concept of metadata, and then explore how
this new category of information will apply to
traditional notions of waiver and privilege. It will
then highlight several proposals for the
discoverability of metadata, and will conclude with a
discussion of the ethical implications for counsel in
dealing with electronically transmitted documents.
http://www.stlr.org/cite.cgi?volume=7&article=1

Download, stream, or somewhere in between: the
potential for legal music use in podcasting
Podcasting is an increasingly popular new digital
technology with the potential to be a great conduit of
expression. Currently, the use of music is limited in
podcasting due in large part to uncertainty as to what
rights must be licensed before copyrighted music can
be used legitimately. This iBrief examines what legal
rights are implicated by podcasting by analyzing U.S.
copyright law and comparing related technologies. This
iBrief concludes that onerous licensing requirements
are unnecessary, and for podcasting to realize its
potential, a simple licensing framework must be
established.
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2006dltr0012.html

Shielding journalist-"bloggers": the need to protect
newsgathering despite the distribution medium
The failure to agree on a sufficiently narrow
definition of ?journalist? has stalled efforts to
enact a federal shield law to legally protect
reporter-source communications from compelled
disclosure in federal court. The increasing use of the
Internet in news coverage and the greater reliance by
the public on the Internet as a news source creates
further problems as to who should qualify for federal
shield law protection. This iBrief argues that a
functional definition of ?journalist? can be created
to shield journalists from compelled source disclosure
so as to protect the free flow of information to the
public, but limits must be set to prevent abuse of
such protection.
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2006dltr0011.html

The Value of Broadband and the Deadweight Loss of
Taxing New Technology by AUSTAN GOOLSBEE (sub req'd)
Abstract: With fixed costs of developing technology,
taxes can generate large efficiency costs by slowing
the rate of diffusion and these costs are not
accounted for in conventional analyses. This paper
illustrates this by analyzing the impact that taxes
would have had on broadband Internet access at an
early stage of its diffusion around the country,
combining data on individual demand by area with data
on supplier entry in those markets. Applying a tax to
broadband in 1998 would have reduced the quantity and
generate a large deadweight loss in the conventional
model but when the analysis accounts for the fixed
costs of entering new markets, taxes would have also
delayed entry in several markets. In these places, the
lost consumer surplus from delay is an additional
deadweight loss and it more than doubles the estimated
efficiency costs of taxation. The conventional model
also dramatically understates the share of tax burden
that would have been borne by customers.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=881228

Rethinking Advertising Aimed at Children By William A.
Ramsey
In 1990, Congress passed the Children?s Television Act
(?CTA?), which directed the FCC to establish standards
for broadcasters regarding the amount of children?s
programming aired and to enforce limits on the amount
of commercial time aired during children?s
programming. The limits are meant to protect children
from various harms caused by advertising aimed at
children. This Note examines the constitutionality and
the effectiveness of these commercial limits. The Note
concludes that while the CTA?s commercial limits are
probably constitutional under the Court?s test for
regulations of commercial speech, the limits do not
provide children with adequate protection from the
harms of advertising. The Note suggests several
changes that should be made in the regulation of
advertising aimed at children. Most importantly, the
Note argues that the focus of the regulation should
shift from limiting the amount of commercial material
viewed by children to reducing the misleading nature
of advertising aimed at children. The Note argues that
the suggested content-based regulation would be
constitutional under the Court?s test for regulation
of commercial speech and would more effectively
protect children from the harms of advertising than
the current regulation.
http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/pubs/v58/no2/Ramsey.pdf

Agency Law in Cyberspace by DEBORAH DEMOTT
Abstract: This short article articulates and defends
the proposition that basic doctrines within common-law
agency apply readily to transactions and other
encounters effected through the internet. In
cyberspace, as in physical space, common-law agency
specifies the circumstances under which an actor?s
conduct should carry consequences for another person?s
legal position unless a statute provides otherwise.
Recent cases illustrate an easy translation into
cyberspace of concepts that are well-developed
elsewhere, including the test of whether a particular
relationship amounts to one of agency and whether a
person acted with actual or apparent authority to bind
another.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=893602

Spam Legislation in Canada: Federalism, Freedom of
Expression and the Regulation of the Internet by KAREN
NG
This paper begins by reviewing the rise and nature of
spam along with its associated costs and problems. It
then reviews various options others have considered to
control spam. It is expected that Canada would
consider these options as it enters its own dialogue
in deciding whether to enact spam-specific
legislation. The prospect of future Canadian spam
legislation raises two important constitutional
considerations: (1) which level of Canadian government
(federal or provincial/territorial) is legislatively
competent to regulate the problem of unsolicited email
communications; and (2) whether any effective spam
legislation can be proposed which is also likely to
survive scrutiny under subsection 2(b) of the Charter.
This paper concludes that Canada?s Parliament is
competent to enact legislation targeting the
unsolicited nature of spam, and that spam legislation
can be effective while also surviving Charter scrutiny
as a section 1 demonstrably justified limitation upon
the section 2(b) Charter rights of spammers.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=894082

Home is where the Internet Connection is: Law, Spam
and the Protection of Personal Space by ANDREA SLANE
Abstract: The article examines how images of home
internet access have informed two prominent strands in
the development of anti-spam law, namely
property-based and autonomy rights-based approaches.
Through a comparison of legislative and common law
attempts to legally articulate and address the wrongs
inflicted by unsolicited bulk email in both the United
States and Canada, the article traces slow and halting
progress away from an exclusively property-based
approach to one which considers part of the wrong to
be the invasion of the personal autonomy rights of
spam recipients. The internet-connected home thereby
becomes a visual stand-in for the less materially
bound personal space within which an individual can
exert a right not to receive unwanted messages.
Solutions able to address this right directly are
therefore most capable of getting at the underlying
popular complaint against spam, while validating a
larger cultural trend toward more portable notions of
privacy.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=894072

Extraterritorial Internet Gambling: Legal Challenges
and Policy Options by EDWARD A. MORSE
Abstract: Absent international cooperation, which
appears unlikely, legal options for restricting access
to Internet gambling appear quite limited. Efforts to
control domestic companies that provide financial
support critical to Internet businesses can be
circumvented by intermediaries, which provide a
constantly moving target for regulators and
cooperating firms. Other options may involve more
invasive legal and regulatory efforts, which threaten
privacy values and access to legitimate commerce. The
willingness to pursue those invasive options may
depend on what social science research reveals about
the particular social harms of internet gambling as
compared with other forms, as well as the perceived
threat to national security from unregulated cash
flows to online casinos.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=891851

In Google we trust: Information integrity in the
digital age by Lee Shaker
Abstract: This paper considers information safety and
accuracy in the digital age using Google as an entry
point. In doing so, it explores the role media play in
shaping the relationship of information, privacy, and
trust between Google and the public. This inquiry is
undertaken using framing theory to guide a content
analysis of the way Google is presented in New York
Times articles from a two?year period ending in
November, 2005. Analysis of the extensive coverage of
Google?s share price and earnings reports leads to the
conclusion that trust in Google is fostered in part
simply by reports of its fiscal success. To the extent
that this is true, meaningful public debate about
information policies is inhibited.
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_4/shaker/index.html

The new mobile scholar and the effective use of
information and communication technology by David B.
Bills, Stephanie Holliman, Laura Lowe, J. Evans
Ochola, Su-Euk Park, Eric J. Reed, Christine Wolfe,
and Laura Thudium Zieglowsky
Abstract: Our goal in this article is to understand
how scholars ? who need to collect, organize, analyze,
and present large amounts of information in a short
period of time ? can use mobile information and
communication technology (ICT) to work more
efficiently and effectively. We argue that wireless
fidelity (wi?fi) and universal serial bus (USB)
technologies have made it possible for social
scientists to work more productively outside of their
own offices, but that many lack the kinds of practical
knowledge needed to do so. We discuss ways in which
understanding and using some basic and generally
inexpensive ICT devices can help the ?new mobile
scholar? take full advantage of emerging ICTs.
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_4/bills/index.html

Net Neutrality - Just who owes who in the content
economy? by Geoff Huston
Its always surprising to see that some discussions
just never seem to die. The recently revived one about
the "neutrality" of the network operator is about as
old as the role of the carriage operator itself. The
latest round of public debate appears to have been
sparked late in 2005 with an interview with the CEO of
SBC on the topic of Internet "upstarts".
http://ispcolumn.isoc.org/2006-03/content.html

Plagiarism in cyberspace: learning the rules of
recycling content with a view towards nurturing
academic trust in an electronic world by Deborah R.
Gerhardt
Plagiarism is an issue of trust. If we respect honor
codes, we gain the comfort of knowing that what we
read is spoken in the voice of the author and what we
write will not be misrepresented as someone else's
original work. Are these simple comforts
anachronistic? Perhaps. Acts of plagiarism among
students are on the rise, and recently, a series of
famous academics, historians, journalists, and even a
Tony-award nominated playwright have been accused of
plagiarism. If our academic communities hope to
reverse this trend, we must reflect on how and why
plagiarism occurs and what we can do about it. Now
that we are empowered by the Internet, plagiarism is
easier to commit and more tempting than ever before.
Thanks to this same technology, plagiarism is also
easier to catch.
http://law.richmond.edu/jolt/v12i3/article10.pdf

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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Google's China Problem (and China's Google Problem)
This New York Times essay that deals with China and
Google, censorship, internet use in China, cultural
differences on the use of the internet between China
and the west. "For many young people in China, Kai-Fu
Lee is a celebrity. Not quite on the level of a movie
star like Edison Chen or the singers in the boy band
F4, but for a 44-year-old computer scientist who
invariably appears in a somber dark suit, he can
really draw a crowd. When Lee, the new head of
operations for Google in China, gave a lecture at one
Chinese university about how young Chinese should
compete with the rest of the world, scalpers sold
tickets for $60 apiece. At another, an audience of
8,000 showed up; students sprawled out on the ground,
fixed on every word.
http://nytimes.com/2006/04/23/magazine/23google.html
http://news.com.com/Google+in+China+The+big+disconnect/2100-1028_3-6063413.html

Kids outsmart Web filters
Last November, Ryan, a high-school sophomore, figured
out a way to outsmart the Web filters on a school PC
in order to visit the off-limits MySpace.com while
doing "homework" in the computer lab.
http://news.com.com/2009-1041_3-6062548.html

zw: Outrage At Govt Bid to Monitor Private Mail
ZIMBABWE'S civil society - frantically trying to
preserve the country's shrinking democratic space - is
outraged by fresh attempts by the state to push a new
law, which seeks to monitor electronic mail and
Internet access by citizens.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200604210671.html
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/viewinfo.cfm?id=1232

au: Bullies take sticks and stones from playground to
internet
BULLYING has moved out of the school yard and into
cyberspace, with the internet and mobile phones now
the major tools of student bullies.
http://smh.com.au/news/national/bullies-take-sticks-and-stones-from-playground-to-internet/2006/04/22/1145344321883.html

Childnet continues to train volunteers to reach
parents with internet safety advice (news release)
Childnet ran an intensive day?s training seminar for a
group of local volunteers in Northern Ireland who are
supporting parents and young people on how to use the
internet safely and positively. Under the ?Springvale
Community Outreach? initiative (SCOI) the Belfast
Institute hosted the programme with Childnet training
local teachers, ICT tutors and education & development
workers in 4 interactive presentations called ?Mind
the Gap?
http://www.childnet-int.org/news/articles/210406.html

Volunteers Make A Real Impact in Schools (news
release)
Childnet is delighted to announce the results from the
evaluation of the recently launched volunteer
programme ?GETTING TO KNOW IT ALL? which the charity
ran with partners Microsoft, MSN and the Police?s
Virtual Global Task Force.
http://www.childnet-int.org/news/articles/200406.html

Canadian Cyber Cops
Sites such as Rupert Murdoch's MySpace are
increasingly highlighted as favourite hunting grounds
for sexual predators. MySpace's solution was to hire
an ex-federal prosecutor of "internet exploitation
cases" to act as a kind of cyber cop.
http://p2pnet.net/story/8593

us: MySpace lawsuits on the rise
The popular web site MySpace is prompting legal
battles in Florida and around the country.
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=29424

us: BOE looks into 'cyber bullying'
In the wake of violence involving high schools on
O'ahu and the Big Island in the last two months, the
Board of Education has formed an ad-hoc committee on
school safety, with "cyber bullying" on youth-oriented
Web sites one of the issues under scrutiny.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Apr/21/ln/FP604210371.html

ca: Children vulnerable to Internet luring,
pornography
With the creation of the Internet, children have
access to information and educational tools their
parents? generation would have never dreamed possible.
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=fa201809-e14f-420d-a210-df6fa752a8ad&k=69664

us: Internet safety begins with communication
While it is a useful and valuable tool, the Internet
also can be a dangerous place?and children need to
understand where the danger lies and how to avoid it.
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2006-04-19/25096

cn: New evidence of Yahoo's complicity in punishing
'dissidents'
Reporters Without Borders provides copy of verdict
that says Yahoo! turned over draft e-mails by Internet
activists
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=43774

Rights group says Yahoo gave China information used to
jail a third Chinese user
Yahoo turned over a draft e-mail from one of its users
to Chinese authorities, who used the information to
jail the man on subversion charges, according to the
verdict from his 2003 trial released Wednesday by a
rights group.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/2006-04-19-yahoo-china-dissident_x.htm
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11894524

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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de: German court rules moderators liable for forum
comments
A Hamburg court has ruled that moderators of internet
forums are liable for content posted on their sites.
The previous interpretation held that they were only
accountable for illegal content they had been made
aware of. The new ruling means if operators do not
have enough in-house resources to monitor forums, they
should "reduce the scope of their business
operations".
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/21/moderator_liable_for_comments/

de: First-instance district court of Hamburg says
forum operators are liable for comments
After more than four months, the first-instance
district court of Hamburg has handed down its written
statement on its widely reported ruling of December
02, 2005 on liability for forums. The statements
refers to web forums as an "especially dangerous
feature." Those who operate such a source of trouble,
the court argued, must be held especially liable.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/72085

uk: Film reveals sex trafficking facts
A FILM aimed at educating men who look at internet
pornography about the realities of sex trafficking was
launched today by Crimestoppers.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=595782006

us: 5 Kan. students arrested in alleged plot
Five teenage boys fully intended to go on a shooting
spree at their high school but were stopped after one
of them discussed the plot on a website, law
enforcement and school officials said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-20-kansas_x.htm

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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us: US steps up fight on child porn
The Bush administration is pushing for tougher
measures to combat child pornography online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4929578.stm
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/14391833.htm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/20/national/main1526039.shtml
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/14389740.htm
http://news.com.com/U.S.+attorney+general+calls+for+reasonable+data+retention/2100-1030_3-6063185.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6063554.html

us: Gonzales Says ISPs Are Blocking Efforts to Combat
Child Pornography
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales used strikingly
graphic language Thursday to focus attention on online
child pornography and said Internet services companies
are not doing enough to combat the problem.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192523,00.html
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3733243

us: 'Fatally flawed' law makes porn sites warn at
every page
Every page on a commercial website that contains
sexually explicit material will be required to include
a warning label to protect web users inadvertently
finding it under proposals announced by US Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales yesterday.
http://www.out-law.com/page-6857

us: Attorney General Announces Legislative Initiative
to Combat Child Pornography and Obscenity on the
Internet (news release)
The legislation announced today, as well as Project
Safe Childhood, which was announced on February 15 and
will be launched in May, are a key part of the
Department of Justice?s effort to protect America?s
children from those individuals who would harm them.
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/April/06_ag_232.html

Companies fight EU net regulation
Proposed EU rules to extend the regulation of
television to the internet could hamper the medium, an
industry alliance has warned.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1756499,00.html
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/UNID/84A8E93AF389D488CC25714E008305B5

eu: High-Tech Companies Attack European Net Governance
Proposal (sub req'd)
An alliance of blue-chip, high-technology companies
attacked a proposed European law regulating the
Internet. Under the proposed law, many Internet
"broadcasts" would face the same requirements on
advertising content and production quotas as
traditional television.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114536572144228622.html

us: Mandatory Labeling, ISP Data Retention Proposal
Raises Concern
Attorney General Gonzales today called for mandatory
data retention requirements for Internet service
providers, asserting that such requirements would be
useful in online child pornography investigations.
Data retention requirements would be burdensome, raise
serious privacy concerns, and be of questionable value
given existing laws that require ISPs to preserve data
at the request of law enforcement. The proposed
legislation would also require mandatory labeling of
sexually explicit content, a provision CDT believes
would be ineffective in protecting kids, as well as
being a form of forced speech that violates the First
Amendment.
http://cdt.org/

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SPAM
*****
OECD Recommendation on Cross-Border Co-operation in
the Enforcement of Laws against Spam
This Recommendation is primarily aimed at national
public bodies, with enforcement authority for Laws
Connected with Spam. It is recognised that some Member
countries have many competent bodies, some of which
are regional or local, that can take or initiate
action against spam. It is also recognised that, in
some Member countries, private enforcement bodies may
play a very important role in ensuring enforcement of
Laws Connected with Spam, including in cross-border
situations.      
This Recommendation covers cross-border spam
enforcement co-operation only in areas where the
conduct prohibited by the Laws Connected with Spam of
the Member country receiving a request for assistance
is substantially similar to conduct prohibited by the
Laws Connected with Spam of the Member country
requesting assistance. Co-operation under this
Recommendation does not affect the freedom of
expression as protected in laws of Member countries.
http://www.oecd-antispam.org/article.php3?id_article=237

us: FTC Calls for International Anti-Spam Efforts
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined 29 other
countries today in calling for increased cooperation
between nations in combating spam.
http://internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3600246

China close to being top spammer
China is close to overtaking the US as the top source
of junk e-mail messages, figures show.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4929716.stm

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
*****************************
More than 63,000 Internet users in Myanmar
Although there has been a significant increase in the
number of Internet users in Myanmar over the last 5
years (up  to 63,700 from a few thousand people in
2000), it still only measures up to 1 Internet user
every 1,000 people - the lowest penetration rate in
Southeast Asia.
http://internetinasia.typepad.com/blog/2006/04/more_than_63000.html

Podcasting shakes up local media
Rise of on-demand programming may mean a wider
audience but radio and TV affiliates worry about
losing ad dollars.
http://csmonitor.com/2006/0417/p02s02-ussc.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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eBay explores 'super union' to thwart Google
The prospect of a "super-union" between two or more of
the internet's most powerful companies was raised
today as news emerged that eBay has held talks with
Yahoo! and Microsoft over a possible partnership
designed to thwart the advance of arch-rival Google.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2145181,00.html

After 2 Years, Microsoft Set to Appeal European Ruling
When Microsoft and the European Commission meet next
week for the latest stage of their long-running
antitrust dispute, they will each argue that time has
proved them right.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/22/technology/22soft.html

Future of innovation at stake in Microsoft case
Microsoft and its critics agree that the future of
innovation is at stake when the U.S. software giant
challenges a landmark 2004 antitrust ruling next week
before the European Union's second highest court.
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=11903232

Malaysia Reassures U.S. on Property Rights
Malaysia pledged tougher steps Thursday to wipe out
pirated computer software and entertainment discs as
part of efforts to strike a free trade accord with the
United States.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/3806541.html

Firefox sorts out security flaws
Computer users are being urged to update the Firefox
web browser to close serious security holes in it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4925606.stm

You've got (paid-for) mail
Advocates believe that 'paid-for' email schemes are
essential to put a stop to ever increasing spam, but
critics say it will lead to a two-tier internet.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1756680,00.html


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Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most
recent edition of the domain news. The domain name
news is supported by auDA.

Also see
http://internews.tv/mailman/admin/internetnews_internews.tv
for an archive and to subscribe to the domain name or
general internet news.

Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.

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

(c) David Goldstein 2006

David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
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