Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the 500th edition of the complete domain news compiled with auDA's support, including an RSS feed - already online!And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.**********************************************************
Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/**********************************************************
Call to regulate the net
rejected by Vint Cerf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6968322.stmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today4_20070829.ram [audio interview]Google: censorship is not up to us
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2347562.eceInternet censorship should be trade barrier: Google
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39288868,00.htmGerman left slam email spy plan
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22332480-15306,00.htmlYahoo Says It Sympathizes With Chinese Citizens Suing The Company
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803022Yahoo to Court: Dismiss Torture Case
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/yahoo-to-court-dismiss-torture-case/China to Put Cartoon Cops on Internet Patrols
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,502711,00.htmlG-8: Ministers? Declaration: Reinforcing the
International Fight Against Child Pornography [news release]
http://www.bmi.bund.de/cln_012/nn_769658/Internet/Content/Nachrichten/Pressemitteilungen/2007/Einzelseiten/G8__Muenchen__Ministererklaerung__Kinder__en.htmlAre web filters just a waste of everyone's time and money?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/30/guardianweeklytechnologysection.internet1sg: PacNet need not reveal downloaders' names
http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20070824-22910.htmlnz: Westpac to cover customers for internet fraud
http://stuff.co.nz/4181650a28.htmlOne in 10 Aussies victims of ID theft: report
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/28/1188067100796.htmlau: National privacy survey: ID theft, ID scanning and online privacy concerns are on the rise [news release]
http://privacy.gov.au/news/media/2007_15.htmlMonster says millions of users' data may be stolen [Reuters]
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2937065020070830China's Premier 'Gravely Concerned' by Hack on Germany
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132479Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.htmlEuropean phone companies push ahead on Internet television
http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/28/business/tv.phpMajority of British households on broadband Internet [AFP]
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067136681.htmlThe Cost Of America's Slow Internet Connection
http://nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070827%5cACQRTT200708271608RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0656.htm&Keeping employees from web browsing 'a tough ask'
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10460688Nokia to Introduce Digital Music Service
http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/29/business/nokia.phpNokia goes head to head with Apple
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/08/29/nokia_goes_head_to_head_with_apple.htmlEU security organisation asks 'How Safe is Social Networking?'
http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11156Breaking barriers: Technology is opening new doors for people with disabilities
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067156259.htmlGerman anger over neo-Nazi YouTube clips [Reuters]
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2016987.htmCourt rules against TorrentSpy in hacking case
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204948.htmlTorrentSpy shuts down in the U.S.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204618.htmlRussian music site to 'relaunch'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6967172.stm**********************
RESEARCH PAPERS
**********************
Technology and Pornography by Dawn C. Nunziato [Brigham Young University Law Review]
Abstract: Over the past decade, legislators and industry players have attempted to employ technology to restrict the
availability to minors of sexually-themed Internet content. Legislative efforts have relied on adult verification and software filtering technology. The constitutionality of such schemes generally depends on the level of sophistication, efficacy, and deployment of adult verification technology, the burdens that the required use of such technology imposes on content providers and Internet end users, and availability of less restrictive but equally effective alternatives for achieving the government's interest. In the case of both the CDA and COPA, challengers pointed to the less restrictive alternative of software filters in convincing the Court to strike down these statutes as constitutionally infirm. Recently, an organization called CP80 has proposed legislation (Internet Community Ports Act) that would require that all Internet content be classified by content providers into one of two categories - Adult/Inappropriate for Minors or Appropriate for
Minors. This proposed legislation relies on port-filtering technology to restrict minors' access to the former category of content. Under this proposed scheme, certain Internet ports would be designated as Adult Ports to transmit adult content while others would be designated as Community Ports to be used for all other content. Individual users would then direct their ISPs to provide content to them on all ports or only on Community Ports.
In this Article, Professor Nunziato scrutinises attempts to use technology to remedy the problem of minors' access to harmful Internet content, focusing on the relationship between the efficacy of the technology and the constitutionality of the legislation at issue. The more effective software filtering becomes in restricting minors' access to harmful content, the less likely the courts will uphold other legislative means. She then analyses the foundational First Amendment jurisprudence regarding the regulation of
minors' access to sexually-themed content. Next, I examine the fate of Congress's recent efforts to regulate in this area, with particular emphasis on the current status of COPA. Finally, she analyses the constitutionality of the proposed Internet Community Ports Act in light of the scrutiny courts have imposed upon prior legislative efforts and the burdens the Act would impose on content providers and Internet users.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1003394The Radio and the Internet by Susan P Crawford [Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper]
Abstract: The airwaves offer the potential for contributing to enormous economic growth if they are used more efficiently for facilitating high-speed internet access, but recent industry and government actions have failed to follow this path. This Article evaluates the multi-billion-dollar 700 MHz auction regime established by the
Federal Communications Commission in August 2007 as a case study in our national approach to this valuable resource, and argues that the public interest would best be served by having ubiquitous access to the internet be the top priority of communications policy. The Article criticizes the nearly exclusive focus of the FCC on the interests of incumbents and law enforcement, and suggests that spectrum policy be focused on enabling unlicensed uses of the airwaves that can assist the nation with online access.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1007221Regulation of Blog Campaign Advocacy on the Internet: Comparing U.S., German and EU Approaches by Allison Hayward [George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper]
Abstract: This essay examines how U.S., Germany, and EU cases have treated the regulation of political commentary on the Internet. As political blogging grows in
popularity, the reach of these sites, and their influence in political campaigns, may make them a target for regulation by rivals and incumbents, both at home and abroad. Since ordinarily any URL can be reached from anywhere with Internet access, conflicting domestic rules about what can be said (and who can say it) present potential for conflicting rules on blogging.
In brief, U.S. law protects blogging content, but may impose restrictions on the source of political commentary by barring certain funding sources. German law imposes stricter limits on the content of blogging, but does not regulate financial sources to the same degree. European court rulings may offer greater protection than domestic German law, but seem inconsistent and thus add uncertainty and ambiguity to the situation. In the end, bloggers may avoid legal entanglement because they enjoy public sympathy and support, but better still would be an international agreement to spare
blogging from prosecution.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1008928Internet Content Regulation: Is a Global Community Standard a Fallacy or the Only Way Out? by Abhilash Nair [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd]
Abstract: One of the major factors that render it difficult to regulate content on the Internet is its borderless nature. The concept of 'contemporary community standards' was initially seen as unworkable in the Internet context. While the line of argument that if a publisher chooses to send its material into a particular community, it is the publisher's responsibility to abide by that community's standards was the accepted norm in the traditional forms of media, this was considered too harsh an approach to be applied for the Internet. There has been a shift in this rigid position over the years, which was reflected in the US
Supreme Court decision in Ashcroft v. ACLU when the court held that reliance on community standards to identify material that is harmful to minors does not by itself render the statute substantially overbroad for purposes of the First Amendment. Protection of children is at the core of all arguments for regulating content, so there has been no dearth for analogies drawn to the considerable uniform standard already achieved in other areas such as child pornography. The article will examine the strength of different arguments in favour of establishing a global community standard for the Internet, and in particular will analyse this in the context of sovereignty of states, free _expression_ rights, and the rights children already enjoy in the offline world but unfortunately not so much in the online world. It is argued that while a global standard is difficult to achieve, it is not impossible and there are factors that are worthy of consideration that should
prompt us to look towards this direction.
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778584101Holding Companies to Account in Cyberspace: The Threat Posed by Internet-based, Anti-corporate Campaigners by Tom Burns [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd]
Abstract: Companies are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation to reach new markets and to lower their costs. It is common for large companies to establish overseas subsidiaries. The different legal regimes and law enforcement policies that exist in many developing economies and the current weaknesses of international regulation means that it can be difficult to hold international companies to account when they transgress. However, this may be changing to some extent as a result of the Internet. This paper proposes to examine
the extent to which the Internet can act as a medium for non-governmental organisations and pressure groups to bring about changes in corporate behaviour where the law or law enforcement has proved to be ineffective in curbing corporate abuses. New developments on the web (and particularly the rise of the 'blog') have been strengthening the persuasive power of pressure groups and the NGOs with regards to companies. However, this state of affairs may not last as companies seek new ways to limit the impact of these groups on their corporate strategies. This paper shall examine how companies are currently dealing with the threat to their corporate reputations from the Internet and shall consider whether companies can succeed in keeping effective regulation of their international commercial activities in the global market place at bay.
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778582576Weaving the Mesh: Finding Remedies in Cyberspace by Joseph A. Cannataci & Jeanne Pia Mifsud-Bonnici [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [ sub req'd]
Abstract: This paper will categorise cyberspace as a microcosm of Darwinistic evolution, tracing the organic growth that has resulted in the increasingly tangled web of rules that today stretches throughout the on-line world. This evolution has produced a complementarity and interdependence between private and state regulation in a manner that will probably long affect current and future trends in the governance of cyberspace. The paper concludes that, while rule systems will continue to converge, the driving force will remain the perennial search to provide remedies to the needs of clients. The latter drive for real-time remedies for
real problems will probably produce workable rule-systems faster because they are pushed by the needs of millions of customers operating within the context of on-line market economics. This is in direct contrast to the development of formal rules for Internet governance by states. Lawyers need practical solutions for their clients and this paper identifies a number of private international law problems that will increasingly dominate public law issues in cyberlaw.
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778583691**********************
CENSORSHIP
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Call to regulate the net rejected by Vint Cerf
The internet should not be used as a scapegoat for society's ills, said Vint Cerf, Google's net evangelist and a founding father of the network. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme he rejected
calls for strict control of what is put online. He said the net was just a reflection of the society in which we live.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6968322.stmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today4_20070829.ram [audio interview]Google: censorship is not up to us
Internet companies such as Google should not be responsible for censoring content, one of the web's founding fathers has said. Vint Cerf, who is credited with inventing one of the internet's key protocols and now holds the position of chief internet evangelist at Google, said companies should comply with existing laws and take down illegal content when requested to do so, but should not actively seek out breaches.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2347562.eceInternet censorship should be trade barrier: Google
Internet censorship should be treated as a barrier to trade, according to the chief executive of search and advertising giant Google. Speaking last week at a conference organised by US thinktank the Progress & Freedom Foundation, Eric Schmidt said that to defend freedom of speech, governments should use Internet censorship as a non-tariff trade barrier.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39288868,00.htmhttp://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Internet-censorship-should-be-trade-barrier-Google/0,130061733,339281587,00.htmGerman left slam email spy plan
Left-wing members of the ruling coalition have objected strongly to plans by the German interior ministry to enlist email spy software to monitor terror suspects. A ministry spokesman confirmed that the proposed plank of new anti-terror legislation vetted the use of "Trojans" which smuggle themselves into a suspect's computer disguised as a harmless email.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22332480-15306,00.htmlYahoo Says It Sympathizes With Chinese Citizens Suing The Company
In its request for dismissal, Yahoo
says the real issue is with governments that restrict free speech and privacy, and not a legal concern related to its actions.
http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803022Yahoo files to dismiss China human rights suit
Yahoo on Monday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two Chinese journalists who alleged that the Internet company and its subsidiaries "willingly" handed over information about their online writing to the People's Republic of China.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204746.htmlhttp://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6204746.htmlYahoo in China human rights case
A human rights group in the US
is suing Yahoo for alleged complicity in rights abuses and acts of torture in China.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6966116.stmhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2157506,00.htmlhttp://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2340803.eceYahoo to Court: Dismiss Torture Case
Earlier this year, a Chinese political prisoner and his wife sued Yahoo in federal court in San Francisco, accusing the company of abetting in the commission of torture by helping the Chinese government to identify political dissidents who were later beaten and tortured. Another political
prisoner has since joined the case. Now Yahoo has asked the court to dismiss the case.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/yahoo-to-court-dismiss-torture-case/http://ecommercetimes.com/story/aP0qFhMbKxXGBK/Yahoo-Torture-Case-Has-No-Place-in-American-Courts.xhtmlhttp://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201802784http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701581.htmlBeijing Police
Launch Virtual Web Patrol [AP]
Police in China's capital said Tuesday they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20477258/http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/28/technology/AS-TEC-China-Web-Police.phphttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067117879.htmlChina virtual police to patrol for online porn [Reuters]
China is sending out two virtual police officers to patrol the Internet to combat online pornography and other "illicit activity," state media
said on Wednesday. The virtual officers, a man and a woman, "will appear either on motorcycles, in a car or on foot, at the bottom of users' computer screens every 30 minutes to remind them of Internet security," the China Daily said.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6205046.htmlhttp://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6205046.htmlChina to Put Cartoon Cops on Internet Patrols
Big Brother will soon be making regular appearances on the screens of Internet users in China, but the velvet fist will take the unexpected form of a cute pair of manga cartoon cops.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,502711,00.htmlChina Telecom Shutters
8808 Illegal Websites
A representative from China Telecom (CHA) has disclosed to local media that in coordination with the Chinese ministries' campaign against online porn, China Telecom had closed 8808 illegal websites over the past four months.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/08/29/5823-china-telecom-shutters-8808-illegal-websites/Chinese Online Shopping Websites Monitored In Beijing
The Department of Industry and Commerce of Beijing's Dongcheng District has disclosed to local media that they have listed 533 online shopping websites, including Eachnet and Dangdang.com, as key targets of supervision.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/08/28/5818-chinese-online-shopping-websites-monitored-in-beijing/************************************************
CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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uk: Cameron hints at ban on violent video games
David Cameron indicated today that he would ban violent computer and video games as part of a raft of measures to combat crime in Britain.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/conservatives/story/0,,2157524,00.htmlus: Acquittal of man who viewed child abuse images is overturned in US
A man who admitted using his computer to view pornographic images of child abuse cannot go free just because he did not
deliberately save the images, a US court has said. The ruling overturns a previous acquittal of the man.
http://out-law.com/page-8421G-8: Ministers? Declaration: Reinforcing the International Fight Against Child Pornography [news release]
Child pornography grievously harms all children: it harms the child who is sexually assaulted in the making of the image; the same child is re-victimized every time that image is viewed; and it harms all children because it portrays them as a class of objects for sexual exploitation. We categorically denounce those who sexually exploit children by producing images of their sexual abuse and by distributing or collecting such images. Because no child should be victimized in this horrific way, today we pledge to redouble our efforts to enforce the international fight against child pornography.
http://www.bmi.bund.de/cln_012/nn_769658/Internet/Content/Nachrichten/Pressemitteilungen/2007/Einzelseiten/G8__Muenchen__Ministererklaerung__Kinder__en.htmlAre web filters just a waste of everyone's time and money?
As our regular columnist Seth Finkelstein would tell you, the only people who truly benefit from web filters are the people who make them - such as those who laboured on those provided under the Australian government's NetAlert filter scheme at a total cost of A$84m (£34.7m).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/30/guardianweeklytechnologysection.internet1au: Coonan admits filter flaws
The Australian
government has admitted no internet child safeguards were foolproof after a teenager claimed he was able to break through its multi-million dollar pornography filter in minutes.
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,22320722-5013040,00.htmlCoonan says 'better to have filtering than not' after teen hack
Senator Helen Coonan hits back at reports that the Government's recently launched NetAlert home internet security program can be easily hacked.
http://itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=60041http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CIID=90734No porn filter can stop porn entirely: Govt
Following the news a teenage boy has cracked
the government's filtering software in half an hour, the Communications Minister has warned parents to be vigilant about their children's exploits online whether they use filters or not.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/No-porn-filter-can-stop-porn-entirely-Govt/0,130061791,339281562,00.htmDon't ask, don't tell: why internet safety policy is cracked
What are young people really doing online, and does it really matter? Well it certainly matters to them, but all too readily we think we know what they're doing. We also think we know what's required to keep them safe and secure in this space. But do we?
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2017058.htmau:
Govt to investigate porn filter hacking claims
Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says claims a Melbourne teenager hacked into an anti-pornography filter are being investigated.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/27/2016558.htmAussie gov anti-porn filter 'useless', says teen
The anti-pornography filtering software dished out by the Australian government at a cost of AUS$84m has been broken in minutes by a teenager, according to reports.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/28/aussie_filter_broken/http://itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=60080http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2197474/child-beats-australia-nationalau: Filtering the internet
The Federal Government spent $84 million on an internet pornography filter to protect children and released it last Tuesday.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22319071-24218,00.htmlus: Man Who Put Girls? Photos on Internet to Exit a State [AP]
A self-described pedophile said he would leave California after a judge ordered him to stay away permanently from places where children gather, the man told a television station for a report that was broadcast Sunday.
http://nytimes.com/2007/08/27/us/27pedophile.html**************************
ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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'Dream Team' Takes on Black Hats
A secretive summit of law enforcement, federal government, ISPs, and select members of the research community held in Washington, D.C., yesterday and today had the distinct air of a hunt -- a manhunt. According to sources who were there, the closed-door Internet Security Operations and Intelligence III (ISOI3) meeting focused more on going after the bad guys behind botnets and cybercrime than just studying malware, as in previous summits.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132400sg: PacNet need not reveal downloaders' names
In a surprise court ruling, a judge has decided that
Pacific Internet (PacNet) does not have to reveal names of subscribers who allegedly downloaded pirated versions of the Japanese cartoons. Anime distributor Odex has been demanding the names of up to 1,000 PacNet downloaders.
http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20070824-22910.htmlbw: Cyber Scams Escalate
The Botswana Police have warned members of the public to be wary of letters and email spam sent with an 'INTERPOL' logo.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708280482.htmlnz: Westpac to cover customers for internet fraud
Westpac has broken ranks with the other big banks and guaranteed customers it will reimburse them for any losses they suffer as a result of Internet banking fraud. ... Keith Davidson, of
InternetNZ, said Westpac had thrown down the gauntlet to all banks to go beyond the code's minimum requirements.
http://stuff.co.nz/4181650a28.htmlhttp://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/C83DF440B9B0A51FCC2573450024D7BEhttp://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10460455au: Police arrest suspected internet predator
Western Australian police believe they have captured an international conman preying on women in internet dating chatrooms.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/29/2018971.htmThe Right
to Speak Anonymously on the Internet is not Absolute
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech and sufficient case law extends this Constitutional right to Internet speech. Yet, just as the freedom of speech, Internet speech is not absolute. Most US Courts are ruling against tortuous and criminal Internet speech, after a cautious balance between freedom of speech and privacy rights. Due to its nature, Internet communications seem to constantly involve forms of _expression_ that intermingle with privacy issues in cyberspace.
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1840Legal threats halt iPhone crack
A British firm which claims to have unlocked the iPhone is holding back the software following legal threats.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6966600.stmhttp://out-law.com/page-8420iPhone hacker swaps secret for car
A teenager who unlocked his iPhone so it could be used on networks outside the US has traded the gadget for a brand new Nissan 350Z.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067144694.htmlSix major Internet companies sued over e-mail filtering patent
Google, Yahoo, AOL, Amazon.com, Borders. and IAC/InteractiveCorp have been sued by Marshall, Texas-based Polaris IP LLC for allegedly violating its patent for an "automatic message interpretation and routing system."
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9033623http://out-law.com/page-8426**************************
PRIVACY
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One in 10 Aussies victims of ID theft: report
Almost 2 million Australians have had their personal details stolen and used fraudulently by a third party, according to a report released today by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which highlights the internet as a growing privacy pain point.
The report found only 17 per cent of Australians trusted online businesses to handle their personal information responsibly, compared with 37 per cent for regular retailers, 73 per cent for government departments and 91 per cent for health service providers.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/28/1188067100796.htmlhttp://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2018000.htmNational privacy survey: ID theft, ID scanning and online privacy concerns are on the rise [news release]
A national survey commissioned by the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner has found that technological developments have increased Australians' privacy concerns.
http://privacy.gov.au/news/media/2007_15.htmlnz: Internet a resource for identity thieves
Internet users could unwittingly be exposing themselves to identity fraud through social networking websites, Internet privacy experts say. Auckland University computer science
researcher Peter Gutmann said people needed to be more cautious when posting personal information on sites such as Bebo and MySpace.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4181713a6479.htmlMonster says millions of users' data may be stolen [Reuters]
The theft of contact information for job seekers in the database of Monster Worldwide was greater than the 1.3 million individuals the company reported last week, Chief Executive Sal Iannuzzi said on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2937065020070830Monster Outlines Anti-Fraud Measures
Job searching site warns users to watch out for fraud and says that its recent security breach "was not an isolated incident."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136544-c,sites/article.htmlhttp://www.infoworld.com/article/07/08/29/Monster-outlines-anti-fraud-measures_1.html**************************
GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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China accused of hacking into heart of Merkel administration
China has hacked into the computers of Angela Merkel?s Chancellery and three other German ministries in an extraordinary economic espionage operation that threatens to blight the German leader?s already delicate trip to Beijing this week.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2332130.eceChina's Premier 'Gravely Concerned' by Hack on Germany
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is "gravely concerned" by allegations that hackers in his country have attacked German government systems, according to a report from the two countries' diplomatic meeting earlier today.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132479http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9032898http://golem.de/0708/54346.html [German]http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/94980 [German]Deal struck on net radio royalties
Internet radio stations in the US have reached an agreement with the body charged with collecting copyright royalties from them. The news is a breakthrough in a long-running dispute that stations said threatened the future of internet radio.
http://out-law.com/page-8415au: Qld govt sets lean, green PC shopping policy
The Queensland Government has announced a new 'green' IT procurement plan, covering all government agency purchases of PCs, laptops and servers over the next three years.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/Qld-govt-sets-lean-green-PC-shopping-policy/0,130061702,339281538,00.htmnz: Broadband ruling 'will stifle competition'
High wholesale broadband prices proposed by the Commerce Commission will stifle competition, not encourage it, says an industry player.
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4183135a28.htmlke: Kagwe to Withdraw ICT Bill
Information minister Mutahi Kagwe is today expected to formally withdraw a Bill from the floor of the House.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708291165.html**********************
INTERNET USE
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Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to
Internet Future
Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.htmlThe end of communications as we know it [news release]
New research released today by Dimension Data shows that e-mail has overtaken telephony as a communication tool in the workplace. Other electronic communication tools are also reaching high adoption levels.
http://www.dimensiondata.com/NR/rdonlyres/1FF223E4-ADCC-4CC3-A332-7D2983605C44/7616/THEENDOFCOMMUNICATIONSASWEKNOWIT1.pdfEuropean phone companies push ahead on Internet television
Several European phone companies this week plan to announce major expansions of Internet protocol television, or IPTV, led by Deutsche Telekom, which is spending ?3 billion and so far has wired 15 million German households, or roughly 4 in 10, for broadband TV. The moves will put Europe, which some analysts say already leads the globe in Internet TV, further ahead of the United States and Asia in this field. But despite the flurry of interest in digital video, skeptics say that it is not clear that IPTV has a future as a stand-alone business for telephone companies.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/28/business/tv.phphttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/worldbusiness/29tele.htmlMajority of British households on broadband Internet [AFP]
The majority of households in the United Kingdom now have a broadband Internet connection, official statistics out Tuesday showed. A total of 15.23 million households (61 percent) have Internet access, an increase of nearly one million households (seven percent) on last year, said the 2007 National Statistics Omnibus Survey.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067136681.htmlHarnessing the internet force by John Nirenberg
We know computer, electronics and
telecommunications technologies are influencing every aspect of our lives. But not many of us have really integrated the way these technologies affect business life into the way we operate professionally. Not many of us really grasp how the new technologies transform company processes.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/exclusions/bizschool/nosplit/27/BSSessay127.xmlThe Cost Of America's Slow Internet Connection
While America once held the place of the most wired country in the world, its internet connection has dropped behind in the broadband race. And the numbers show that not only is America's connection slower, it's costlier. America fell far from first place in broadband technology in a recent study. Countries ahead of the U.S. include South Korea, Japan and Slovenia.
Japan and South Korea see 100 Mbps connections for about $40 per month. The best connections in the U.S. barely reach 1/2 this speed and cost much more.
http://nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070827%5cACQRTT200708271608RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0656.htm&http://www.rttnews.com/sp/todaystop.asp?date=08/27/2007&item=12http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/08/rural-america-w.htmljp: Survey finds thousands of internet cafe homeless
More than 5,000 people are thought to sleep in internet cafes across Japan, according to a government study released yesterday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2157755,00.htmlInternet groups brace for subprime fallout
Internet companies are bracing for a possible fall-off in one of their biggest sources of advertising following the meltdown in the subprime mortgage market
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e2a8cf92-54c6-11dc-890c-0000779fd2ac.htmlTallinn, Estonia's Wired Capital
Tallinn is not just a world heritage site with a history ranging far back to the Middle Ages -- by bestowing its citizens with the fundamental right to free Internet access, Estonia has also become the most-wired country in Eastern Europe. ... Few countries are as crazy about the Internet as Estonia, and no capital city can keep up with Tallinn on that count. All
schools are connected to the Internet; more than 90 percent of all bank transactions are conducted online; and there are more mobile phones than residents. Tallinn's citizens pay for their parking tickets and their bus passes by sending text messages from their mobile phones. Time-consuming visits to public authorities are largely a thing of the past, too. Estonians can even obtain birth certificates via the Internet and request parental assistance payments from the government in the same way. "The state guarantees Internet access free of charge as a basic right," says Mänd. "And of course the politicians have to keep step with the civil servants."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,502322,00.htmlBangladesh internet, telecoms in chaos
Internet and international telecom services were disrupted, for the second time
within a week, from yesterday noon as miscreants in Chakoria, 121km off Chittagong, snapped the optical fibre line that connects the nation to the submarine cable.
http://asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=76919Keeping employees from web browsing 'a tough ask'
If you are at work, chances are you are probably doing it right now. Walk into any large office, and you will most likely hear the telltale computer bleeps of chat programs and online games, accompanied by furious mouse-clicking. Employees may seem busy, but many are wasting time on the internet, or "cyberslacking".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10460688Nokia to Introduce Digital Music Service
The Nokia Music Store, to open
later this year, will let users download songs from the Internet to their computers or directly to mobile phones, over wireless networks.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/29/business/nokia.phphttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/technology/30nokia.htmlNokia goes head to head with Apple
New phone and music download service from Nokia takes the Finnish company head to head with Apple.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/08/29/nokia_goes_head_to_head_with_apple.htmlNokia launches web music service
Mobile phone maker Nokia has launched a music and games download service, challenging both rival
handset makers and mobile phone network providers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6969174.stmhttp://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201802992**********************
SOCIAL NETWORKING
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EU security organisation asks 'How Safe is Social Networking?'
Bebo, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook - Social Networking is a web success story of the new century. The usage statistics are massive - Myspace claimed its 100 Millionth user in August 2006. But a recent European Network and Information Security Agency workshop put the question - ?how safe are social networks??
http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11156Google's Secret Society
Who's the Google of social networking sites? The obvious answer may seem to be Facebook, given its rapid growth, successful cooperation with application developers, and ever-smarter ad targeting. But by some measures, the real answer is even more obvious: Google itself. This week, Google is drawing attention to its often-ignored social networking site, Orkut.com, with a redesign intended to prettify the site's Spartan look. And attention is deserved: Despite its low profile in the U.S., Orkut now draws 38.2 billion page views a month worldwide, 7.8 billion more than Facebook, according to comScore Media Metrix.
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/08/28/google-brazil-network-tech-cx_ag_0828orkut.htmlFacebook & Predicting Behaviour
All this data we are putting into the web - say, into our blogs and into facebook and elsewhere, could be used for much more than just figuring out what kind of sneaker ads we're likely to want to see.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-mcguire/facebook-predicting-beh_b_62418.html**********************
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Breaking barriers: Technology is opening new doors for people with disabilities
... But like many people with disabilities, Mr Ah Tong-Pereira is turning to digital technology to help him adapt the way he communicates and
participates in the world around him. Mr Ah Tong-Pereira, who works for Vision Australia, relies on a variety of digital tools each day that help him read books and newspapers as well as use a computer and browse the internet.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067156259.html**********************
DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Arab states seek to bridge 'digital divide'
Dubai will host on 19 November the region's second annual Government Technology (GT) Summit and Exhibition. The gathering will focus on challenging issues in technology facing the governments in the Arab world amid rapid international developments in the field of technology. A total of 11 Arab countries, including all the Gulf states, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria and Yemen will take part.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Business/?id=1.0.1244469711http://english.people.com.cn/90001/6248269.htmlhttp://www.ameinfo.com/129887.htmltw: More money to be spent on digital opportunity centers: premier
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung announced Monday a plan to spend an additional NT$200 million (US$6 million) on a government project that began in 2005 to lessen the urban-rural digital divide.
http://cna.com.tw/eng/cepread.php?id=200708270029**********************
FILE SHARING
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German anger over neo-Nazi YouTube clips [Reuters]
Video-sharing website
YouTube has met with harsh criticism in Germany for hosting clips that incite racial hatred, according to a news report due to be broadcast on German public TV.
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2016987.htmhttp://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22320717-15306,00.htmlhttp://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6204719.htmlhttp://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL2751050320070827http://derstandard.at/?url="">
[German]Court rules against TorrentSpy in hacking case
A lawsuit filed last year by TorrentSpy--a BitTorrent search engine--that accused the movie studios' trade group of intercepting the company's private e-mails, was tossed out of court last week.
But while a U.S. District judge found that the Motion Picture Association of America had not violated the federal Wiretap Act, as TorrentSpy's attorneys had argued, the MPAA acknowledged in court records that it paid $15,000 to obtain private e-mails belonging to TorrentSpy executives.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204948.htmlTorrentSpy shuts down in the U.S.
TorrentSpy.com, the BitTorrent tracking site facing a copyright lawsuit from the motion picture industry, is shutting down access to users in the United States, the company said in a statement late Sunday night.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204618.htmlRussian music site to 'relaunch'
The contentious Russian music download site allofmp3.com looks set to resume business after a Moscow court ruled it was legal under the country's law. A statement on the website, shut down in July, said the service would resume "in the foreseeable future".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6967172.stmhttp://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204898.htmlhttp://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2341043.ece**********************
MOBILE/WIRELESS
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au: Labor to scrap $1.9 billion WiMAX network
Shadow minister for communications and IT Stephen Conroy has smashed the federal government's Australia Connected initiative and promised to wipe out the broadband taskforce if Labor wins government.
http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1601507379;fp;2;fpid;1**********************
VoIP
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Jericho Forum voices concerns over VoIP security
A leading member of the Jericho Forum security group has criticized the security of voice over IP technology after researchers revealed that it was possible to
eavesdrop on VoIP conversations.
http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6205178.htmlhttp://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39288928,00.htmVoIP, unified communications study reveals challenges
VoIP and unified communications applications have caused performance issues with other applications as companies continue to converge communications applications onto their IP networks, according to a recent study conducted by network management supplier Network General.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/08/29/226429/voip-unified-communications-study-reveals-challenges.htm**********************************
ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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nz: No jail for child porn
A 49-year-old man caught through an international child pornography sting avoided jail because of the "brittle state" of his psyche. The man had previously pleaded guilty in Wellington District Court to 32 charges of possessing unlawful material on his computer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=137&objectid=10460221http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070827/3/1g4k.htmluk: Child porn clergyman admits guilt
A former clergyman from a breakaway Catholic church has avoided prison after he admitted owning 845 pornographic images of children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6967441.stm+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!The domain name news is supported by auDA.
For information on subscriptions to the domain name and/or general internet news please contact me. For archives of postings to the list, see http://lists.technewsreview.com.au/pipermail/technewsreview/. Also see http://technewsreview.com.au/ for recent updates.Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(c) David Goldstein 2007
---------
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)
"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're
being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery
