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general internet news - 20 November
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And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for recent updates with RSS feeds.
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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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us: Legal Precedent Set for Web Accesibility
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1608
Terrorists using comedy websites to lure recruits
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/16/1163266696652.html
Microsoft has still not complied with 2004 ruling, says Commission
http://out-law.com/page-7490
un: Broadband the new utility - UN
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20773285%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
"Niice!" - Kazakh state Web site a hit after Borat (Reuters)
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=14014225
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CENSORSHIP, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Here are two signs of hope for the world's secret superpower
Timothy Garton Ash writing in The Guardian looks at the growing importance of the media in the world, calling the newspaper "a weapon more powerful than most in the possession of the US army" with "much of its impact comes from its dissemination through electronic screens" today. Garton Ash goes on to say "The engine of this growth in media power, as in military firepower, is technological change." The article then goes on to look at the launch of al-Jazeera English.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1948662,00.html
uk: Sunday Times Leading article: Drawing the age line
Paedophilia is quite rightly one of society’s greatest taboos. Sex with children is repellent for all but a perverted minority. Middle-aged men who prey on young girls, whether they are former pop stars such as Gary Glitter or sleazy perverts in dirty raincoats, deserve everything that the law can throw at them. The internet has been a great boon for mankind but the fact that it has made it easier for paedophiles to swap their pornography and groom children for sex is a significant demerit to the world wide web.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2088-2460044,00.html
uk: Police chief sparks row over stigma of sex with children
The police’s leading child protection officer has said that men who have sex with children should not be classed as “paedophiles” if the victim is between the ages of 13 and 15 years old.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2459775,00.html
uk: 'Wave, you're on Catch a Perv!'
Two students have set up an internet chatroom that catches out men making sexually explicit advances to someone they believe is a 13-year-old girl. Entrapment, or a public service?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1948826,00.html
us: ACLU sues rural libraries over Internet filtering policies (AP)
A rural library district was sued Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union over its Internet filtering policy.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Library_Filters.html
ACLU Sues Washington Library District over Filtering (news release)
Three individuals and the Second Amendment Foundation, a pro-firearm nonprofit group, have engaged the American Civil Liberties Union to represent them in a lawsuit against the internet filtering policy of the North Central Regional Library, headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington. The challenge centers on NCRL’s use of Secure Computing’s Bess censorware on all its public computers, which the plaintiffs allege has blocked them from viewing constitutionally protected websites. The lawsuit, filed November 16 in U.S. District Court in Spokane, also contends that the library staff refused to disable the filters upon request.
http://ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=news&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=143452
us: EDITORIAL: Who polices Internet porn?
You don't need to look far to spot Internet pornography. One wrong keystroke on a search engine or an accidental click on an email link usually sends the average person spiraling toward an unending stream of explicit pop-ups.
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/11/16/Opinion/Editorial.Who.Polices.Internet.Porn-2464589.shtml?norewrite200611182152&sourcedomain=www.dailyfreepress.com>
cn: Wikipedia back offline after brief easing of ban
The easing of a ban on a popular online encyclopedia on the mainland has been short-lived. Barely a week after Wikipedia users were able to access the website -- after a year-long ban -- they reported yesterday that it had been blocked again in several parts of the mainland.
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=57932
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/16038650.htm
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15374
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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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us: Legal Precedent Set for Web Accesibility
A federal district court judge recently ruled in September that a retailer may be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. The ruling was issued in a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind against Target Corp. (Northern District of California Case No. C 06-01802 MHP) The suit charges that Target’s website is inaccessible to the blind, and therefore violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ADA), the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act.
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1608
us: Supreme Court upholds internet child-sex laws (AP)
Two state laws designed to crack down on sexual predators who use the Internet to prey on children do not violate constitutional rights of free speech and interstate commerce, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/16029720.htm
us: N.Y. prosecutors bust 27 in online gambling sweep (AP)
More than two dozen people, including a professional baseball scout and a high-stakes poker player, were charged Wednesday in connection with a billion-dollar-a-year gambling ring that rivaled casino sports books.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/16019202.htm
uk: Boy arrested over 'web bullying'
Police investigating an attack on a boy which was recorded and put on a website, have made an arrest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/6161776.stm
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2457146,00.html
uk: 'Web rage' attacker jailed
A man was jailed at the Old Bailey today for Britain's first "web rage" attack on another internet user. Paul Gibbons, 47, traced John Jones, 43, after they exchanged insults in a chatroom. He was armed with a pickaxe handle and was with a man with a machete.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/online/askjack/story/0,,1950769,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6157190.stm
us: Dog Eats Opt-Out Requests, FTC Is Not Impressed by John Levine
Last week the Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit against Yesmail, a large ESP (Email Service Provider). The facts of the case are not in dispute, but their meaning is. Yesmail, like most large ESPs, has absorbed a number of its smaller competitors over the years including a company called @Once. Back in 2004, they screwed up their incoming mail so that a whole lot of bounces and opt-out requests were erroneously filtered out as spam. As a result, thousands of people who'd told @Once to stop sending them mail kept getting mail anyway.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/esp_spam_ftc_not_impressed/
Microsoft has still not complied with 2004 ruling, says Commission
Microsoft has still not supplied the European Commission with complete documentation it was asked for to comply with a 2004 antitrust order, the Commission has said. The Commission said it will decide at a later date if Microsoft has breached that order.
http://out-law.com/page-7490
Terrorists using comedy websites to lure recruits
Terrorists who have long embraced the internet for propaganda and planning have begun to post comedy and Top 10 lists to draw in young recruits, experts say.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/16/1163266696652.html
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-11-16-terrorism-comedy_x.htm
us: Police blotter: Florida judges target Net sex
A state law banning sexually explicit "harmful" e-mail messages to minors is invoked against a defendant using an Internet chat room.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6136534.html
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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uk: Cybercrime laws 'will harm security research'
cybercrime laws could have a "chilling effect" on anti-malware research, security experts warned this week.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39284750,00.htm
us: Gamblers take aim at Internet ban (AP)
Casino executives and a poker lobby group said that they hope a change in power brought by the midterm elections will help them overturn an Internet gambling ban rushed through Congress while Republicans were still in control.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/16023629.htm
un: Broadband the new utility - UN
Broadband internet access is becoming so vital for businesses that it can be seen as a new utility comparable to water and electricity, a new United Nations report has revealed.
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20773285%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html
us: Election '08: Vote by TiVo
In the wake of yet another election marred by technical glitches, critics of electronic voting machines are repeating their call to restore old-fashioned paper to the increasingly computerized election process. But a smaller, quieter group is convinced the real solution lies in the other direction. Now is the time, they say, to make elections completely electronic, and allow voters to cast their ballots from home, over the internet.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72113-0.html
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SPAM
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Spam, spam, spam, spam... you’ve got mail
Here's the latest hot tip for the stock market! Or do you fancy improving your performance in bed? A “spam tsunami” is deluging computers worldwide with nine out of 10 e-mails now comprising junk advertising.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2460324,00.html
es: The Spanish Data Protection Agency imposes a fine on a law firm for spam
In an unprecedented decision in relation to a law firm, the Spanish Data Protection Agency has ruled in favor of a claimant and imposed a €30,001 fine on Cremades & Calvo Sotelo for sending unsolicited commercial messages via email (spam).
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1607
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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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Net benefits for cancer patients
A new study shows chatting to other cancer patients online can help young people's recovery. Professor Gordon McVie reports
http://society.guardian.co.uk/e-public/story/0,,1948492,00.html
UK internet throws a wobbly
Several major corporate websites in the UK and parts of Microsoft's MSN service and Hotmail have been down today. The problems were blamed on PSINet while the The Internet Traffic Report showed an outage at BT's Ilford core router.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/16/blighty_hit_by_internet_brownout
eu: Half of European Union Population Uses the Web Regularly
EU Internet adoption is highest in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden in the home and Finland, Denmark, and Austria at the enterprise level.
http://clickz.com/stats/sectors/geographics/article.php/3623956
Google, Yahoo, Microsoft adopt same Web index tool
Search engine rivals Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are teaming up to make it easier for Web site owners to make sure their sites get included in the Web indexes, the companies are expected to announce.
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6136041.html
Traffic to online gambling sites drops in wake of new U.S. law (AP)
Internet gambling sites saw a drop in traffic last month as President Bush signed a measure aimed at banning most online wagering in the U.S.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/16011350.htm
Magnificent obsessions
Your friends don't understand you, your workmates think you're a weirdo and you've taken to hiding away to spend solitary moments with your Precious. Thanks to the internet, pursuing your obsession now needn't be a solitary pleasure.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/11/15/1163266559620.html
"Niice!" - Kazakh state Web site a hit after Borat (Reuters)
Visits to the Web site of Kazakhstan's state news agency have almost doubled in the run-up to the premiere of a film about spoof Kazakh TV reporter Borat.
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=14014225
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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Asia's poor consider Web access options
The growing power of mobile handsets is making it likely that the majority of people in Asia's poorer nations could bypass PCs altogether, and use mobile phones as their main means of Internet access.
http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42310&eid=3&edate=20061116
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FILE SHARING
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How YouTube pushed Lebanon out of the news
This time last year there had never been a mention of YouTube in Britain's 18 main newspapers. After a prescient first mention in the Times on November 19 2005, YouTube scored a measly 13 stories in the first quarter of this year. In the second quarter, it ran up 154. In the first week of November, it clocked up 79.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1946976,00.html
MySpace sued by Universal Music
Universal Music Group sues MySpace - claiming the site is encouraging users to illegally share copyrighted material.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6160414.stm
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6136829.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/11312522-7682-11db-8284-0000779e2340.html
http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=14025509
Whiff of tobacco firms on net
Is this the last frontier in tobacco marketing or simply a global stage for the look-at-me generation? Thousands of videos of sexy, smoking teens are appearing on the internet phenomenon YouTube, possibly being posted by tobacco manufacturers to recruit the next generation of smokers.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/11/17/1163266787563.html
Baidu wins in Chinese court (Reuters)
Chinese Internet search leader Baidu has been cleared of helping users download music illegally in a case brought by some of the world's largest music companies, an industry group said Friday.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6136529.html
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/17112006/80-91/china-court-rules-baidu-downloading.html
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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A bigger bang
The second internet goldrush is in full swing. John Lanchester gets to grips with the virtual universe and we meet the entrepreneurs who built a brand new internet.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1940641,00.html
Sunny and Gloomy Signs at a Web Crossroads
The main problem is that Yahoo has not been nearly as good as Google at reaping profits from the huge volume of search traffic it attracts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/business/yourmoney/19yahoo.html
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VoIP
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ae: TRA approves local VoIP
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said yesterday it would allow internet telephony, or Voice over Internet Protocol technology, only for local calls within the UAE. Long-distance calls using VoIP will continue to be prohibited for the time being to protect the revenue telecom operators receive from international calls.
http://www.gulf-news.com/business/Telecom/10083716.html
ae: VoIP set to make a big splash at GULFCOMMS 2006 (news release)
Internet telephony will be the highlight of this year's inaugural GULFCOMMS 2006, the Middle East's largest telecommunication technology event, as key VoIP player Efonica unveils a host of innovative services during the five-day event.
http://www.ameinfo.com/102256.html
uk: VoIP industry fears over-regulation
Ofcom's upcoming VoIP regulation is being anxiously awaited by the internet telephony industry, many of whom worry that the regulator will be too heavy-handed.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39284761,00.htm
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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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ca: Father made child porn with own baby
The infant daughter of a city man was repeatedly sexually abused to make kiddie porn later distributed on the Internet, a court heard today.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/11/17/2404055-sun.html
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(c) David Goldstein 2006
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David Goldstein
address: 4/3 Abbott Street
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AUSTRALIA
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phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home)
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