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general internet news - 26 March
Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for a more recent edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!
And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates.
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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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Wikipedia's Not the Net Police
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070321_174505.htm
us: Judge overturns US web porn law
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6481873.stm
uk: Police hunt chatroom users over web suicide ʽgoadingʼ
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1563933.ece
Many net users 'not safety-aware'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6472723.stm
nz: 'Average Kiwis' use child porn
http://stuff.co.nz/4005099a11.html
nz: Inside the mind of an internet porn addict
http://stuff.co.nz/4005164a11275.html
YouTube May Have Met Its Match
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070323_690765.htm
Belgian company loses lawsuit against Google
http://infoworld.com/article/07/03/23/HNgooglebelgiansuit_1.html
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RESEARCH PAPERS
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OECD Information Technology Outlook 2006
Information technology and broadband are major drivers of economic change, restructuring businesses, affecting skills and employment, and contributing to growth and consumer benefits. This volume describes recent market dynamics and trends in industries supplying IT goods and services and offers an overview of the globalisation of the information and communication technology sector and the rise of ICT-enabled international sourcing. The OECD Information Technology Outlook 2006 analyses the development and impact of the changing global distribution of services activities and the rise of China and India as significant suppliers of ICT-related goods and services. ICT skills across the economy are also examined to provide insights into the dynamics of job creation and international sourcing. The 2006 edition also looks at the increasing importance of digital content in selected industries and how it is transforming value chains and business models. The potential of
technological developments is examined: ubiquitous networks, location-based services, natural disaster warning systems, the participative web and the convergence of information technology with nanotechnology and biotechnology. Finally, this volume analyses changes in IT policies in OECD countries and the emergence of new priorities to meet new challenges.
http://www.oecd.org/sti/ito
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CENSORSHIP
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Wikipedia's Not the Net Police
The online encyclopedia says it will verify contributors' credentials, but the job of monitoring Internet honesty belongs to all of us
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070321_174505.htm
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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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us: Judge overturns US web porn law
A US federal judge has overturned a law designed to protect children from viewing internet pornography, saying it violated the right of free speech. The law made it illegal for websites to provide children access to "harmful" material, but it was never enforced.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6481873.stm
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1554275.ece
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6169621.html
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005178.php
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56486.html
us: Future of Internet Porn Fight Hazy
In the wake of this week's federal ruling that threw out the 1998 Child Online Protection Act, advocates on both sides of the issue are unsure what the next step will be. In light of the ruling, COPA supporters want the government to demand a court appeal or move new legislation to Congress for a vote.
http://technewsworld.com/story/56486.html
us: Internet Porn Law Ruled Unconstitutional
Congress suffered yet another setback Thursday in its ongoing efforts to shield children from sexually explicit content on the Internet when a federal judge struck down the Child Online Protection Act, a 1998 federal law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to allow children access to "harmful" material. Senior U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed Jr. said he was forced to conclude that the law violates the First Amendment -- but also said he wasn't happy to do so.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1174554226562
us: CDT Hails Landmark Internet Censorship Ruling
A federal court in Pennsylvania today struck down a controversial law that would have required Web site operators to restrict access to large amounts of constitutionally protected content. Ostensibly aimed at protecting kids from "harmful" material, the law would have led to severe restrictions on a wide range of legal, socially valuable speech, including content relating to sexual identity, health and art. Judge Lowell A. Reed found that parental empowerment tools like Internet filters represent a far more efficient, less restrictive way of protecting kids from unwanted content. CDT, which has filed friend-of-the-court briefs opposing COPA and supporting parental empowerment technology, applauds the ruling.
http://www.cdt.org/publications/policyposts/2007/04
us: Sexual exploitation of children over the internet: Bipartisan staff report for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
Based on the Committeeʼs jurisdiction over matters related to the Internet, telecommunications and consumer safety, Committee leadership instructed staff to review U.S. law enforcement efforts to combat online child pornography, the role of NCMEC as a conduit between law enforcement and private industry, and how private industry is responding to this threat against children over the Internet. As the extent of this criminal activity became clear, the investigation was expanded to include all methods by which the Internet was used in the sexual exploitation of children.
http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/108/News/01032007_Report.pdf
uk: Bullies use iPods and networking sites to wage hi-tech campaigns
Playground bullies are deploying iPods and social networking sites such as MySpace and MSN Messenger to wage increasingly hi-tech campaigns against victims, according to new research.
http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2381056.ece
uk: Girls are main target of ʽcyberbulliesʼ
Bullying of girls by text or e-mail is on the increase with up to a fifth claiming to have been sent nasty messages last year
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1550626.ece
IMSafer aims to guard MySpace kids from predators
The language-analysis engine can scan individual postings for potentially dangerous, threatening or sexually explicit content, says the company
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/C44D090B787B434ECC2572A60013E6EA
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CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY
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uk: Police hunt chatroom users over web suicide ʽgoadingʼ
About 100 internet chatroom users who witnessed a British man kill himself online were this weekend being traced by detectives
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1563933.ece
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1557531.ece
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/23/shropshire_webcam_death/
Many net users 'not safety-aware'
Fewer than half of net users believe it is down to them to protect personal information online, a UK survey suggests.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6472723.stm
nz: 'Average Kiwis' use child porn
The typical man trading internet child pornography is an Auckland Pakeha, aged in his early 30s, according to new research from Internal Affairs. He is most likely a student or working in the IT industry. In other words, such traders appear to be average Kiwi blokes.
http://stuff.co.nz/4005099a11.html
nz: Inside the mind of an internet porn addict
He was an ordinary man with an ordinary interest in soft porn. But when Alex began to search online for child pornography, he began a 15-year descent into degradation that ended with a knock on his door from police. He talks to Ruth Laugesen.
http://stuff.co.nz/4005164a11275.html
http://stuff.co.nz/4004461a6619.html
YouTube May Have Met Its Match
With friends like News Corp., who needs YouTube? Not NBC Universal, apparently. Ditto for AOL, Microsoft, and a who's who of other Internet giants throwing their weight behind a News Corp.-NBC video-sharing service that could prove to be a potent alternative to Google's YouTube.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070323_690765.htm
Belgian company loses lawsuit against Google
A Belgian court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a company that said a feature for Google Inc.'s search engine offers up password-cracking tools and serial numbers to unlock their software.
http://infoworld.com/article/07/03/23/HNgooglebelgiansuit_1.html
http://out-law.com/page-7901
Kroes: Microsoft abusing position
Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, threatened Microsoft with punitive fines again yesterday, accusing the world's biggest software group of continuing to abuse its dominant position.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2040984,00.html
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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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EU Approves Penalties on IP
A proposal for the EU's first-ever directive harmonising criminal law in all member states has been backed by MEPs as they voted for a draft report on criminal penalties - including imprisonment - for crimes breaching intellectual property rights.
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2007/gb20070322_828919.htm
eu: Mobile TV: Commission urges industry and Member States to develop a proactive European strategy
Availability of service everywhere and anytime, attractive commercial offers, interoperability of devices, spectrum availability and light regulation on licences are all vital ingredients for boosting the demand for Mobile TV in Europe, said the EU's Telecom Commissioner Viviane Reding on 16 March at the CeBIT IT-fair in Hannover/Germany.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=3249
us: FCC to study need for more Net neutrality regulation
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that it will study whether stronger language is necessary in its policy on protecting Net neutrality, but consumer groups and Democratic commissioners criticized the move for not being bold enough.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6169719.html
EU tells German states to rethink online gambling ban (Reuters)
German regions have been told by the European Commission to rethink plans to ban online gambling or face possible legal action, an official at the EU's executive arm said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL2317961820070323
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SPAM
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Bulk of Asian email is spam - study (AFP)
Almost 70 percent of all electronic mail from Asia is "spam", or unsolicited advertisements, an anti-virus firm said. The Philippines had the worst record with spam making up 88 percent of all emails, Symantec said in excerpts of its Internet Threat Security Report released here.
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2883&iArticleId=3749954
nz: New Anti-Spam Legislation (reg req'd)
The New Zealand Government has recently enacted legislation that will affect any organisation which uses email or text messages as a marketing tool. Substantial penalties apply to those who breach the new law. It will therefore be important for businesses to take action to ensure that their email practices and databases comply.
http://mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=46986
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INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE
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Many Americans see little point to Web (Reuters)
A little under one-third of U.S. households have no Internet access and do not plan to get it, with most of the holdouts seeing little use for it in their lives, according to a survey released on Friday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2323460320070323
uk: No link between watching too much TV and obesity, study finds
It is a sight that can make parents despair: their teenage offspring idling away the best years of their lives in front of the TV screen. But, according to new research, watching a lot of television and playing computer games does not automatically make your child a couch potato. An analysis of the activity diaries of 1,500 12 to 16-year-olds by Loughborough University found the time that youths spent in front of the box or on the net was a poor indicator of their overall levels of activity.
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2387861.ece
Wireless: Tracking what people do on their cellphones
M:Metrics is set to offer a service that tracks continuously how and when cellphones are used - to send e-mail messages, play games, access the Web, or make calls - data the company says could unleash the phones' advertising potential.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/25/business/wireless26.php
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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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India, Commonwealth to bridge digital divide
India's efforts to bridge the digital divide in the Commonwealth will get an impetus at an international e-partnership summit here on Friday that will be attended by Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/India_Commonwealth_to_bridge_digital_divide/RssArticleShow/articleshow/1790395.cms
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FILE SHARING
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us: TV networks plan rival to YouTube
NBC and Fox are to create a portal for TV shows and movies to hit back against video sharing sites.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6480949.stm
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2383889.ece
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2041002,00.html
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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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The very model of a modern creative society? I don't think so
The problem with copyright we have now is that a gross imbalance has been allowed to develop between the legal privileges of rights holders and society's need to facilitate innovation and creativity.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2041938,00.html
Wiki wars
One of the internet's greatest success stories is under constant attack from cyber vandals. Now Wikipedia is fighting the information saboteurs - but can it stem the damage?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2042231,00.html
Google's expansion is coming at a price: it's losing its popularity
Is Google becoming the new Microsoft? On one level, the question is preposterous, as the two companies do different things. Google is the most widely used internet search engine and dominates online advertising. Microsoft rules the world of computer operating systems: its ubiquitous Windows powers most of the world's personal computers. In addition, Microsoft has a commanding position in basic office software, such as word-processing and spreadsheets. But increasingly, the two technology giants are treading on each other's toes. For instance, Microsoft is building a search engine business, while Google is launching products that allow users to tap into Google-branded word processing and other web services.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2041921,00.html
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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Indian industry discusses the future of communications convergence
The Indian Merchants' Chamber held its 5th international conference on communications convergence on 16-17 March 2007 in Mumbai, focusing on the theme: new technologies, new business horizons (webcast).
http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/newslog/Indian+Industry+Discusses+The+Future+Of+Communications+Convergence.aspx
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VoIP
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us: VoIP and the law: An overview
The United States has some laws and restrictions on the books that pertain to VoIP, but more are likely on the way. Deb Shinder offers an overview of legislation that affects VoIP services and discusses what the future may bring. In many respects, the Internet has been the last frontier of freedom. In a world where governments increasingly control more and more aspects of our lives, cyberspace was the one "place" where one could come and go without being subject to much regulation.
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6169960.html
us: Feds claim VoIP for their own
A US appellate court ruled this week that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) acted correctly in pulling the rug out from under state regulators in their attempts to establish rules for VoIP providers in individual state markets. This decision is bound to help VoIP services (at least for the moment), as it will eliminate the cost of complying with 50 different sets of state regulations.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/23/us_voip_court_victory/
UK Security Worries Over VOIP Rollouts
When it comes to rolling out VoIP, the top priority for businesses is call quality, according to a silicon.com reader poll. But security issues also make a strong showing on techies' radars.
http://businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2007/gb20070322_124821.htm
Operators face continue decline in enterprise voice revenue
A new study has warned that mobile network operators will have to work hard to slow the decline in enterprise voice revenues in the face of technology that allows companies to bypass their more expensive services.
http://telecomasia.net/article.php?type=article&id_article=4066
VoIP phreakers establish thriving black market
Telephone systems hackers have established a thriving black market in reselling stolen VoIP minutes. Hackers are breaking into gateway servers used to connect a carrier's phone network to the internet and reselling this access to smaller, unscrupulous operators, sometimes via web-based wholesale minutes markets. Wholesale purchasers of the purloined access are often small telco operations who resell access to ordinary punters via printed phone cards.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/22/voip_fraud/
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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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See http://lists.technewsreview.com.au/mailman/listinfo/technewsreview for an archive of recent newsletters and to subscribe to the domain name and general internet news. Also see http://technewsreview.com.au/ for recent news updates.
Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.
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(c) David Goldstein 2007
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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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