general internet news - 12 January

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

Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!

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ch: Credit card checks for child porn welcomed
http://www.nzz.ch/2007/01/11/eng/article7421368.html

German child porn ring busted
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/11/german_child_porn_ring_busted/

Cisco sues over iPhone trademark at core of Apple plan
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2541956,00.html

Cisco on brink of losing iPhone name in Europe
http://out-law.com/page-7650

nz: Text messaging scams on the rise in NZ
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/3925540a11275.html

us: Companies fear their workers' lax e-mail security
http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/11/business/email.php

Europe gets 'ItsSpace'
http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/10/business/ptend11.php

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CHILD PROTECTION
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ch: Credit card checks for child porn welcomed
Credit card companies could be obliged to cooperate with the Swiss authorities in the fight against online child pornography, according to data protection experts.
http://www.nzz.ch/2007/01/11/eng/article7421368.html

German child porn ring busted
German police have arrested over 300 people in ten different states after detectives analysed credit card transactions from 22m customers.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/11/german_child_porn_ring_busted/
http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2172234/germans-crack-child-porn

Germany checks 22M credit cards for child porn payments (IDG)
German police have added a new weapon in their fight against child pornography on the Internet -- in addition to scouring IP addresses, they're now collaborating with credit-card companies to search databases for transaction information.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=9007618
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/488120/955760

de: Child pornography operation occasions scrutiny of millions of credit card transactions
Within the context of "Mikado," an operation by the police and the prosecuting authorities to combat child pornography, and with the public prosecutors office and State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt in charge agents of all the State Offices of Criminal Investigation of the German federal states have in September of 2006 searched hundreds of private homes throughout the Federal Republic.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/83427
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2305591,00.html

uk: Child porn probe 'shocked police'
Police, social services and experts were taken by surprise by the huge scale of internet child porn revealed by a major inquiry, peers have heard. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6249579.stm

uk: Advice for children and the web
A campaign has begun to give advice to parents and teachers after children as young as eight were found to have accessed internet pornography. A free computer CD on how to monitor internet usage is being made available by Warwickshire County Council. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/6245979.stm

nz: Mother's fury as girl downloads phone nude
A mother is calling for tighter controls on mobile phones after her 10-year-old daughter accidentally downloaded a picture of a naked woman.
http://stuff.co.nz/3926374a28.html

Computer-Generated Child Pornography Images still Represent a Gap in the U.S. Law
On August 11 and November 22, 2006, U.S. District Judge Nancy Gertner from Massachusetts District Court confirmed a long standing U.S. precedent suggesting that to secure a conviction for child pornography, prosecutors must prove that the images are images of real- not virtual- children. The holding on this Massachusetts case centered on First Amendment rights. The Court on its November decision held that "The Government may not suppress lawful speech as the means to suppress unlawful speech.” Indeed, the Court further said, “The possible harm to society in permitting some unprotected speech to go unpunished is outweighed by the possibility that protected speech of others may be muted.”
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1653

us: Teens opt to guard privacy on Web
Teens may be looking for new friends or searching for their identity. They may want to assert their independence, or maybe just flirt. Their reasons vary, but more than half of the nation's online youth ages 12 to 17 are connecting with one another via the Web, says a new report on social-networking sites such as MySpace.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/technology/orl-myspaceteens0807jan08,0,3669107.story

New British System Combats Online Grooming And Cyber Bullying
A new British system, available in January, will strike a major blow in the battle against online grooming and the cyber-bulling of children. Child protection technology specialist, Crisp Thinking, has developed the Anti-Grooming Engine (AGE), which protects young people from external threats rather than moderating what they can look at on-line.
http://www.managinginformation.com/news/content_show_full.php?id=5410

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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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The rise of the cyber-stalker
These days men don't need to hang around their exes' homes to torment them - all they need to do is log on. Julie Bindel on an old crime in new clothing
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1986908,00.html

Brazil's ISPs stuff YouTube
A Brazilian judge has lifted an order which caused the country's ISPs to block access to YouTube following a ruling last week over a sex-romp video of footballer Ronaldo's former missus Daniela Cicarelli.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/09/youtube_waxed/

Brazilian judge reverses YouTube ban
A judge reversed course Tuesday and lifted an order that led to a ban of YouTube in Brazil because a sexy video of supermodel Daniela Cicarelli had circulated widely on the video-sharing site.
http://businessweek.com/ap/tech/D8MI04P80.htm
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6148913.html

Supermodel opposes YouTube ban in Brazil
Brazilian supermodel Daniela Cicarelli said she disagreed with a judge's now-reversed order to ban YouTube in an attempt to stop steamy footage of her from being viewed. But she stopped short of offering an apology.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-01-10-model-brazil-ban_x.htm

Cisco sues over iPhone trademark at core of Apple plan
The multimedia mobile phone on which Apple Computer has staked its future hit a snag yesterday when Cisco Systems, the computer networking equipment maker, sued Apple over the use of the iPhone name.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2541956,00.html
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1988612,00.html

Cisco on brink of losing iPhone name in Europe
Cisco could be on the brink of losing the rights to the iPhone trade mark in Europe, according to trade mark experts. Apple could end up with European rights to iPhone, in contrast to reports around the world suggesting that Cisco's rights were absolute.
http://out-law.com/page-7650

uk: Technology law round-up
A case involving two Russian companies accused of hacking into a London computer system can be heard in English courts, a High Court judge has ruled. The allegations make for an exciting story of corporate espionage in the internet age, but the case serves as a reminder that, even today, cross-border lawsuits are anything but point-and-click operations.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20409-2367289,00.html

nz: Text messaging scams on the rise in NZ
The Consumers Institute hopes it can stem the tide of a potential flood of text message scams as New Zealand mobile phone users begin to feel the sting that has been plaguing international counterparts for years.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/3925540a11275.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10418778

us: Companies fear their workers' lax e-mail security
A growing number of Internet-savvy workers are forwarding their office e-mail to free, Web-accessible personal accounts offered by Google, Yahoo and other companies.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/11/business/email.php

Google Anti-Israel Probe
Google has launched an enquiry into its interactive atlas program Google Earth after a TJ investigation revealed the online mapping and navigation service is replete with anti-Israel propaganda.
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/?content_id=5297
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/?content_id=5298

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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us: Congress off to slow start with tech
When newly empowered Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives launch into their much-touted 100-hours agenda on Tuesday, don't expect to see much in the way of issues important to the high-tech industry.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6148312.html

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SPAM
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The menace in your inbox
Unlike many of my friends and colleagues, I've generally had a fairly relaxed attitude about Internet spam. Unwanted e-mails in your inbox? Just delete them – it takes a lot less energy than being an anti-spam vigilante. But I sure don't think that way anymore.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20411-2489744,00.html

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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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BBC to develop social networking Web sites (Reuters)
The BBC plans to develop its online presence by providing social networking sites based on its most popular brands such as Top Gear, a BBC spokeswoman said on Thursday.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2007-01-11T170044Z_01_L11618969_RTRIDST_0_TECH-BBC-ONLINE-DC.XML

uk: Workers 'prefer lying by e-mail'
Workers do not like lying to colleagues face-to-face and prefer the anonymity of the phone or e-mail, a study says.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6246621.stm

Shy shoppers go online for Ann Summers sex toys (Reuters)
Sex toys and lingerie retailer Ann Summers said on Thursday its festive sales improved on the previous year thanks to a surge in sales of lingerie and naughty novelties over the Internet.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2007-01-11T105342Z_01_L11593887_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-RETAIL-ANN-SUMMERS.XML

us: Pew Study: Majority of teens stay private online
Just more than half of all U.S. teens use social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, according to a new Pew Internet & American Life Project study.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6148192.html

Yahoo! social networking push on mobiles
The new service, which being developed by the company's Connected Life division, hopes to recreate the popularity of Bebo and Facebook
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2537931,00.html

China's first official blogger
A Communist Party secretary writes an official blog, and is encouraging others to do so
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19509-2531996,00.html

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Australia trials low-cost laptop for indigenous Australians
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project aims to put low-cost laptops into the hands of impoverished children in the developing world, but work is already underway to trial them among indigenous populations in Australia.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/12/1168105153500.html

au: NT schools to trial $100 laptop
NORTHERN Territory schools will become the first in Australia to test a revolutionary new laptop computer that costs just $US100 ($128).
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21048174%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Europe gets 'ItsSpace'
Even before its official opening, set for Thursday, the French version of the popular social-networking Web site MySpace had about 1.2 million unique users.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/10/business/ptend11.php

Digital media reaches critical mass
Digital media is the new focus for technology convergence and the impact will be felt across multiple industries, new research from iSuppli claims. “Over the last three years, broadband has become ubiquitous, both in the wired and wireless worlds,” said Mark Kirstein, vice president of multimedia content and services at iSuppli. “Worldwide broadband subscribers have reached 248 million, while the number of 3G wireless subscribers will pass one billion at the end of 2006. The electronics industry now is turning its attention to delivering the high-value applications and content that will capitalise on these fast-access networks.”
http://www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?newsid=16938

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Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!

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

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(c) David Goldstein 2006
 
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David Goldstein
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 email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au
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