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general internet news - 4 September
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Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/
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Microsoft tests parental-control software
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6111058.html
vn: Cyber dissident released from prison into house
arrest
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA410062006
au: Maddocks Intellectual Property & Technology Update
http://www.maddocks.com.au/download/ipt-sep-2006.pdf
de: Germany Plans Tough Measures for Stopping Terror
on the Web
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2151091,00.html
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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Microsoft tests parental-control software
Slightly later than planned, Microsoft on Wednesday
released a trial version of a free parental-control
tool for Windows XP. Windows Live OneCare Family
Safety is designed to help keep Web content that
parents deem inappropriate from reaching their
children. The beta version of the tool, available to
the general public, updates an earlier preview version
of the tool made available to about 3,000 testers in
March.
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-6111058.html
uk: All sides of the story?
Recent audience research came back with one big
message: "We want all sides of the story." BBC Ten
O'Clock News logoWe try to challenge the received
wisdom on a daily basis - but one of the most
interesting examples of this came in our coverage of
the decision to make it illegal to view violent porn.
Teacher Jane Longhurst was murdered by a man who was
obsessed with violent pornography (he is currently
appealing against the guilty verdict). The sites show
torture, murder, gang rape?you get the picture.
There's clearly a market for this kind of stuff, and
yesterday Jane's mother won a campaign against it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/index.html#a003979
uk: Violent porn ban 'a memorial to my daughter'
The bereaved mother whose two-year campaign inspired
the forthcoming ban on viewing violent pornography
said yesterday that the measure would be a memorial to
her daughter. Liz Longhurst began her battle to change
the law after her daughter Jane was killed in 2003 by
a man said to be obsessed with violent internet
pornography. More than 50,000 people signed a petition
supporting her.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1861750,00.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/30/pornography_possession_laws/
uk: Violent porn ban
Downloading 'violent and extreme' porn will be a
criminal offence
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2335463,00.html
us: Injunction Issued Against Utah Internet Censorship
Law
A federal court in Utah has blocked enforcement of an
Internet censorship bill that CDT, the American Civil
Liberties Union, and a broad coalition of bookstores,
independent artists and ISPs challenged as
unconstitutional in 2005. The court entered a
stipulated preliminary injunction that prevents the
enforcement of statutory provisions amended by Utah
House Bill 260 (including a vague "harmful-to-minors"
provision as it might apply to Internet
communications). The lawsuit argues that H.B. 260 is
unconstitutional under the First Amendment and the
Commerce Clause. The law would force web sites to
remove lawful content from the Internet or face
prosecution. It would also require ISPs to block
access to adult sites in such a way that many innocent
sites would likely also be blocked.
Injunction -
http://www.cdt.org/speech/20060829utah.pdf
Original CDT Complaint -
http://www.cdt.org/speech/utahwebblock/20050609hb260complaint.pdf
zw: Outrage at Zimbabwe bug plan
Zimbabweans express anger at proposed legislation to
monitor telephone calls and internet use.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5301146.stm
cn: Racy blog spurs 'Net hunt in China
Chinese Internet users are raging against the
anonymous author of a blog they say insulted China
with its purported accounts of a British teacher's
sexual exploits among Shanghai women.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/01/china.cyber.manhunt.ap/
cn: British bounder's sex blog causes Net uproar
Chinese Internet vigilantes have launched a hunt for a
self-professed British bounder who has sparked outrage
by blogging about his seduction of women in Shanghai.
The campaign to uncover the identity of the blogger
and have him kicked out of China is the latest in a
series of online denunciations that have drawn
comparisons with the humiliations inflicted by mobs
during the Cultural Revolution.
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=52127
Internet safety is responsibility for everyone
People talk about the Internet as if it has completely
changed our world. But what the Internet has really
done is change the pace of our lives. Its speed brings
an ease, a simplicity born of fast access. That same
quickness can bring on problems at an astonishing
rate.
http://newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190318972
vn: Cyber dissident released from prison into house
arrest
Prisoner of conscience Dr Pham Hong Son was today
released from jail as part of an amnesty to mark
Vietnam's National Day on 2 September. He will remain
under house arrest for up to three years.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA410062006
vn: Internet Filtering in Vietnam in 2005-2006: A
Country Study
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam regulates access to
the Internet by its citizens extensively, through both
technical and legal means. This study by the OpenNet
Initiative (ONI) finds that the Vietnamese state
attempts to block citizens from accessing political
and religious material deemed to be subversive along
various axes.
http://www.opennet.net/studies/vietnam/
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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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de: Germany Plans Tough Measures for Stopping Terror
on the Web
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the
United States, the number of Internet sites promoting
violent jihad have soared. Germany wants to crack down
on such sites and will change the law to do it.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2151091,00.html
uk: What a tangled web we weave
James Sturcke hears service providers claim obtuse
libel laws are stifling freedom of speech on the
internet and only protecting one group - lawyers: The
global nature of the internet means anyone reading an
article online anywhere in the world could sue under
UK libel laws. The government faces severe criticism
for failing to tackle the confusion over how
defamation law applies to online publications, four
years after a Law Commission report urged that the
issue be clarified.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1862104,00.html
us: Child-Porn Victim Masha Brings Her Story to
Washington
There are approximately 3 million images of child
pornography on the Internet. As large as that number
may seem, it can be a sad, abstract and faceless
statistic.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/International/story?id=1919036
us: Safe and Secure in Cyberspace - How to deal with
"cyber-bullying"
These days, kids don't just talk to each other, they
text. And what they say can be cruel or threatening.
"Cyber-bullying" has been reported at schools across
the country. Technology makes it easier and far less
obvious for bullies to pick on other kids.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5342291
us: Parents must be aware of new form of bullying
Cyber bullies wreaking harm electronically
Most parents of elementary, middle school or high
school students can remember a playground bully from
their own school days: loud, physically forceful and
threatening. Or maybe the bullying was communicated
quietly with a menacing glare or a whispered insult
between classes.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/115694893931760.xml&coll=2
us: Trade Secret Protection and the World Wide Web
Don?t Mix (reg req'd)
In a rare decision focusing on trade secret law, a New
York court held that a corporation providing online
tax preparation services cannot receive trade secret
protection for its online content because it is
"publicly exhibited on the website and [thus] not
secret." Midsummer Financial Products, Inc. v. Rapid
Filing Services LLC, Case 600425/06, (NY Sup. Ct. July
12, 2006) (Freedman, J.).
http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=42424
uk: Beating the bullies at the touch of a button
EDINBURGH scientists have unveiled the latest weapon
against school bullies - a £2.7 million computer game.
Researchers at Heriot-Watt University led a project to
develop the pioneering programme which allows children
to tackle cyber bullies in preparation for real-life
playground scuffles.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/education.cfm?id=1281062006
cn: Trial of China's largest pornographic website
begins
A trial involving China's largest pornographic
website, which boasts more than 600,000 registered
members, began on Wednesday. Nine creators and
organizers of the website, Qingseliuyuetian, meaning
"pornographic summer", are being sued at the Taiyuan
Intermediate People's Court, in north China's Shanxi
Province.
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/01/eng20060901_298580.html
nz: School principal quits after porn found on
computer
A primary school principal found with porn on his
school computer has quit. Tim Jenkinson, principal of
Bayview School at Glenfield on Auckland's North Shore
was allowed to keep his job after adult pornography
was found during an upgrade of the school's computers
in July.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3783397a10,00.html
us: Tool generates fake searches for privacy
A new tool seeks to make your searches more private by
hiding them in plain sight. TrackMeNot periodically
sends fake, innocuous queries to search engines,
making it harder for someone to glean your actual
search habits by reviewing the companies' logs that
contain your queries.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2006-08-30-track-me-not_x.htm
br: Google to Give Data To Brazilian Court
Google Inc., which refused in the past year to hand
over user search data to U.S. authorities fighting
children's access to pornography, said yesterday that
it was complying with a Brazilian court's orders to
turn over data that could help identify users accused
of taking part in online communities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/01/AR2006090100608.html
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3420968
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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zw: Stakeholders Urge Withdrawal of Communications
Bill
STAKEHOLDERS in the media and communications industry
have recommended the withdrawal of the Interception of
Communications Bill currently before parliament to
pave way for the drafting of an alternative law. A new
law needed to be drafted after wide consultations to
address a number of contentious issues such as the
usurping of the judicial powers in issuing warrants.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200609010394.html
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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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Secrets spill from second-hand mobiles
Second hand mobile phones purchased over the internet
can surrendered credit card numbers, banking
passwords, business secrets and even evidence of
adultery.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/08/31/1156817011704.html
Online advertisers change tactics
Unlike TV or radio, the internet is a relatively new
arena for advertisers. With the clever consumer
knowing how to block the advertisers' pop-ups,
companies are having to find new ways to sell their
products online.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/5304892.stm
Korean site tackles might of MySpace
Jo Seul-ki, a 25-year-old school teacher in the small
South Korean city of Bucheon, is an ardent fan of
Cyworld, the country?s most popular social network,
run by SK Communications.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/eacfbf3c-3938-11db-a21d-0000779e2340.html
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FILE SHARING
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nl: ISP Releases Name in File-Sharing Case
The entertainment industry achieved a key victory
Thursday after a Dutch Internet service provider
surrendered the name and address of one of its
customers suspected of illegal file-sharing.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NETHERLANDS_FILE_SHARING
MySpace to sell music downloads
MySpace plans to start selling music downloads before
the end of the year, marking the first broad attempt
to turn the fast-growing online community site into a
commercial powerhouse
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/78094096-3a0e-11db-90bb-0000779e2340.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/09/02/1156817139937.html
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Net browser promises private surf
A web browser that leaves no trace of a user's online
surfing habits on their computer has been released.
Browzar, as it is known, automatically deletes all
records of the pages a person has visited when it
closes down.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5305250.stm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/31/browzar/
Maddocks Intellectual Property & Technology Update
Stories covered in this issue of Maddock's
Intellectual Property & Technology Update include Da
Vinci Code; Will Copyright Reforms Make a Difference
to Private Use?; Key Changes to Trade Mark Law; AFL
Loses Patent Case.
http://www.maddocks.com.au/download/ipt-sep-2006.pdf
Google Offers Classics for Free
A new feature of the search engine's online book
program makes out-of-copyright works available for
downloading and printing
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060831_349437.htm
Mozilla Goes Mainstream
The unconventional company hopes to gain market share
and outfox the competition with a new version of its
Firefox browser
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2006/tc20060830_824598.htm
Spreading the Firefox Fire
Click to launch slideshowThe little browser that could
has grabbed 10% market share thanks to Mozilla's
inventive marketing and a skulk of fox-fervent
volunteers
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/mozilla/index_01.htm
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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au: Coonan calls for clever broadband proposals
Federal communications minister Senator Helen Coonan
has extended her call for proposals on how to use
government funding to build bush broadband networks,
bringing an additional AU$113 million to the table for
key rural services.
http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Coonan_calls_for_clever_broadband_proposals/0,130061791,139268250,00.htm
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VoIP
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ca: CRTC sticks by decision on VoIP, but announces
review on regulation
The big telephone companies that sell voice over
Internet service will continue to face regulation, the
federal regulator said Friday. But the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) also said it would be conducting a review of
its regulatory framework that covers local telephone
service.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b090117A
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b090153A
http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060901.wvoip0901/GIStory/
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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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us: Porn downloader jailed for abusing child at work
A US man who abused a pre-pubescent girl in his
workplace has been jailed for 15 years. Robert M
Carey, 52, of Bowie, Maryland, also faces three years
post-incarceration probation after he admitted
producing and possessing numerous images of child
abuse.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/31/child_abuse_conviction/
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Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and
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(c) David Goldstein 2006
David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
COOGEE NSW 2034
AUSTRALIA
email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
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