[APPLe list] general internet news - March 13

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

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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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Don't forget to check out my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings.


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Web companies track users' Internet activity hundreds of times per month
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/privacy.php

Online Behavior Tracking: No Such Thing as Enough
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Online-Behavior-Tracking-No-Such-Thing-as-Enough-62051.html

France wins EU approval to give Internet search engine project €99 million [AP]
http://news.theage.com.au/france-wins-eu-approval-to-give-internet-search-engine-project-euro99-million/20080312-1ysf.html

Study: amount of digital info > global storage capacity
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080312-study-amount-of-digital-info-global-storage-capacity.html

Third of online shops undermine consumer rights, says OFT
http://out-law.com/page-8934

Internet for porn, not politics: Ex Polish PM
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497955

Aussie uptake of Facebook soars by 1000% in the past year
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1208534065;fp;2;fpid;1

Report: More companies ban social networks, Web 2.0 sites
http://cio.com/article/195200/Report_More_Companies_Ban_Social_Networks_Web_._Sites_

Pitcairn Island relays most spam per person
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/11/global_spam_trends/

E-mail inventor: I didn't foresee spam
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3525110.ece

The law vs. online hate speech - Anonymous bullies must be held accountable by Andrew Keen
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0311/p09s02-coop.html

REM launch new album on social networking app
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497725

ie: "Year of filters" turning into year of lawsuits against ISPs
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080311-year-of-filters-turning-into-year-of-lawsuits-against-isps.html

Reporters Without Borders launches Online Free Expression Day
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9068099

Japan to outlaw possession of child pornography
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/11/japan.internationalcrime

Google cleared for DoubleClick takeover
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/11/googlethemedia.digitalmedia

EU threatens WTO action over U.S. ban on Internet gambling [Bloomberg]
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/gamble.php

Google could be superseded, says web inventor
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3532832.ece

$5 billion needed to sort out Kiwi broadband
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497643

Pedophilia Suspect on Trial in Thailand [AP]
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Thailand-Canada-Pedophile-Trial.html


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INTERNET USE
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Web companies track users' Internet activity hundreds of times per month
A new analysis of online consumer data shows that large Web companies are learning more than ever before the gritty details of what people search for and do on the Internet, gathering clues about the tastes and preferences of a typical user several hundred times a month.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/privacy.php

Online Behavior Tracking: No Such Thing as Enough
Every time you go online, you leave electronic footprints -- and someone is following them. When you display a page, enter a search query, play a video or click on an ad online, that information is logged by the servers of the companies that own the site or serve the video or ad or search results. Those are some of the findings comScore came up with in response to a project it jointly worked on with The New York Times' Louise Story to find out how much data Web companies can collect from users.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Online-Behavior-Tracking-No-Such-Thing-as-Enough-62051.html

Serving Up Television Without the TV Set
The "stupid computer" is a repeated target of the dimwitted office manager Michael Scott on "The Office." But the show itself may be motivating viewers to put down their remote controls and pick up their laptops. When the fourth season of "The Office," an NBC comedy, had its premiere in September, one in five viewings was on a computer screen instead of a television.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/technology/10online.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/tv.php

Why online anonymity is the last refuge of cowards and scoundrels by Andrew Keen
But the one issue over which [Jimmy] Wales and I did profoundly disagree was internet anonymity. Wiki technology undermines the authority of professional editors and enables anyone with an internet connection to automatically become an author. But when you do away with editorial gatekeepers, there is no way of checking the identity of your contributors. Thus, Wikipedia's content is created by a nameless and faceless army of potentially corrupt or ignorant contributors. Unlike Wales, I simply can't trust information when I don't know the identity of its authors. Rather than a right, I think Wikipedian editors have a responsibility to reveal who they are. As I told Jimmy Wales at our debate, I believe that Wikipedia will only become a genuinely reliable information resource when he changes the site's rules to force Wikipedians to reveal their real identities.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/andrew-keen-on-new-media-793594.html

France wins EU approval to give Internet search engine project €99 million [AP]
France on Tuesday won EU approval to give €99 million (US$152 million) to several companies hoping to build a European rival to U.S. search giant Google Inc.
http://news.smh.com.au/france-wins-eu-approval-to-give-internet-search-engine-project-euro99-million/20080312-1ysf.html
http://news.theage.com.au/france-wins-eu-approval-to-give-internet-search-engine-project-euro99-million/20080312-1ysf.html

The world's 50 most powerful blogs
From Prince Harry in Afghanistan to Tom Cruise ranting about Scientology and footage from the Burmese uprising, blogging has never been bigger. It can help elect presidents and take down attorney generals while simultaneously celebrating the minutiae of our everyday obsessions. Here are the 50 best reasons to log on. The Huffington Post is number 1, followed by Boing Boing, Techcunch, Kottke and Dooce.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/09/blogs

'Digital Universe' 10 percent bigger than predicted
IDC has measured the size of the "digital universe" -- all the digital data stored globally -- and it is 10 percent bigger than first predicted and will be 10 times bigger again by 2011. IDC said the scope of the digital universe has now reached 281 billion GB and its future growth will force enterprises to adapt to ever-increasing storage demands.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/-Digital-Universe-10-percent-bigger-than-predicted/0,130061702,339286710,00.htm

Study: amount of digital info > global storage capacity
An IDC research study sponsored by information management giant EMC provides insight into the explosive growth of digital information. IDC uses a complex formula to estimate the size of the "digital universe," the total volume of digital information that is created and replicated globally.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080312-study-amount-of-digital-info-global-storage-capacity.html

Third of online shops undermine consumer rights, says OFT
The OFT analysed over 500 UK shopping websites to see if they complied with consumer protection laws by, for example, including physical addresses on sites, telling shoppers of their rights and being transparent about pricing. It found that nearly a third of sites failed in one key regard. It said that 31% of sites appeared not to refund the full cost of returned goods, an integral part of European laws about distance selling.
http://out-law.com/page-8934

Internet for porn, not politics: Ex Polish PM
Poles should not be allowed to vote online because the Internet attracts people who watch "pornography while sipping a bottle of beer," former prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski told his party's Web site. ... "I am not an enthusiast of a young person sitting in front of a computer, watching video clips and pornography while sipping a bottle of beer and voting when he feels like it," he was quoted as saying on his party's revamped Web site.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL1241936920080312
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497955
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Enterprise-Apps/ExPolish-Leader-Internet-for-Porn-not-Voting/

Spitzer's E-Escort Plight Shows Workings of Prostitution 2.0
Emperors_club With New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer allegedly caught nibbling the fruits of a high-class, tech-savvy prostitution ring, it's clearer than ever the world's oldest profession is doing a fine job of harnessing the latest technology.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/worlds-oldest-p.html

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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Whitehall crackdown on bloggers and social networks after Civil Serf
Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, is to set out new guidance to civil servants to cover blogging and online social networks following the demise of the “Civil Serf” blogger, The Times has learnt.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3522316.ece

Aussie uptake of Facebook soars by 1000% in the past year
Australians have gone Facebook crazy. In the past year the number of user accounts on the social networking site has increased by over 1000 per cent to 2.6 million users.
In February 2007, there were 220,000 active user accounts. Today that stands at 2.6 million. That is a 1081.8 percentage increase.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1208534065;fp;2;fpid;1
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1208534065;fp;2;fpid;1

Report: More companies ban social networks, Web 2.0 sites
A report released by MessageLabs, a UK-based security vendor, found that nearly 20 percent of organizations blocked social networking and dating sites in February due to concerns about employee productivity and malware. In addition, the number of websites blocked by filters was nearly 47 percent, which, according to MessageLabs, should spur IT departments to update their electronic use policies to reflect newer Web 2.0 technologies.
http://cio.com/article/195200/Report_More_Companies_Ban_Social_Networks_Web_._Sites_
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/143336/
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1732497583;fp;2;fpid;1

Yahoo May Join Google-Led Social Networking Alliance
Yahoo intends to join OpenSocial, a Google-led alliance that is developing a common set of standards so developers can create programs that run on many social networks and other Web sites, according to a person with direct knowledge of Yahoo’s plans.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/yahoo-to-join-google-led-social-networking-alliance/

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Bigger is better in monitors -- to a point
Two 20-in. monitors or one 24-in. screen are best for productivity, says researcher
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9067718

Millions of Britain's PCs dumped at tips
Millions of serviceable computers in the UK end up in landfill sites rather than being recycled, a study has claimed. The research, sponsored by Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC), found that 12.5 million unwanted PCs and laptops have not been reused or recycled by their owners.
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39365230,00.htm

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SPAM
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Pitcairn Island relays most spam per person
Pitcairn Island, the final South Sea island refuge of the Bounty mutineers, relays more spam per capita than any other nation. But with an estimated population of 48, perhaps it's not that surprising.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/11/global_spam_trends/

Pitcairn Islands is top rogue nation for relaying spam
The tiny British overseas territory of the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean relays the most spam per person in the world.
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/03/11/229802/pitcairn-islands-is-top-rogue-nation-for-relaying-spam.htm

Spam Takes a Vacation
If you're thinking of heading to a quiet Pacific island in order to escape spam, forget about it. Some of those islands are worse junk email offenders than the U.S., China, or Russia.
http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=148157

E-mail inventor: I didn't foresee spam
... Did Mr Tomlinson have any idea quite the havoc - not to mention large-scale criminal enterprise - his creation would be capable of unleashing? "Absolutely not. At that time, the number of people who used e-mail was very small - maybe between 500 to 1,000. So if you were getting spam, you'd know who was sending it. You'd be able to say to them: that's not a good thing to do."
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3525110.ece

us: Advertising Sent To Cellphones Opens New Front In War on Spam
The spam messages that have long plagued e-mail inboxes are now finding victims through a much more personal route: the cellphone. Text messages are the latest tool for advertisers and scammers to target consumers. But unlike junk e-mail that can be deleted with the click of a button, text-message spam costs money for the person who receives it and chips away at the mobile phone's aura of privacy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/09/AR2008030902213.html

Google: Spam, Virus Attacks to Get More Clever
Google's Postini team recommends enterprises guard against socially generated spam and virus attacks in 2008. Spam and virus threats to enterprise messaging security and compliance may level off this year compared to 2007, but social engineering techniques are evolving to challenge businesses and security software providers, according to a new report released by Google's Postini team.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Google-Spam-Virus-Attacks-to-Get-More-Clever/

Spammers feast on Gmail's CAPTCHA [IDG]
Spam originating from Google's Gmail domain doubled last month, showing spammers are still defeating the CAPTCHA – the distorted text meant to thwart mass registration of email accounts and other website abuse.
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?NewsID=11677

Gmail falls prey to spam bots
Spammers have cracked the captcha mechanism Gmail uses to make sure you are a human before you can open an e-mail account, leading to a huge increase in the amount of spam sent from Gmail last month, security firm MessageLabs says.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,62038708,00.htm

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
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Could the internet be Africa's saviour? by Andrew Keen
... We-Think [is] likely to be the most controversial book about the internet to be published in Britain this year. ... The internet will revolutionise innovation, Charles Leadbeater argues in We-Think. Collaborative websites will transform innovation from a selfish, individual preoccupation in to the socially responsible activity of the community. The internet will prioritise public interest over individual interest. The old Cartesian principle of "I think therefore I am" will be replaced by the communitarian credo of "We-Think therefore we are". The consequences of this technological revolution on the future of capitalism, private property, the law and politics will be epochal, Leadbeater promises us. We-Think is inspiring in its analysis of the impact of the internet on the less developed world. Leadbeater suggests that the collaborative internet will foster democracy, economic equality and social justice in Africa. For this insight alone, We-Think is
 thoughtful. I urge you to read it.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/andrew-keen-on-new-media-793594.html

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ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL
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The law vs. online hate speech - Anonymous bullies must be held accountable by Andrew Keen
The cartoon isn't as amusing as it once was. "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog," one Web-surfing canine barked to another in that 1993 classic from the New Yorker. Back then, of course, at the innocent dawn of the Internet Age, the idea that we might all be anonymous on the Web promised infinite intellectual freedom. Unfortunately, however, that promise hasn't been realized. Today, too many anonymous Internet users are posting hateful content about their neighbors, classmates, and co-workers.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0311/p09s02-coop.html

Judge rules against accused spyware distributor [IDG]
A US judge has granted a request by the US Federal Trade Commission for a judgment against a company accused of distributing spyware and adware onto people's computers.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1225397433;fp;2;fpid;1

Penn law grad countersues over Web posts about women law students [AP]
A University of Pennsylvania law graduate who lost a lucrative job offer after he was linked to Web sites that crudely discussed female law students has countersued two of the women subjects. ... The lawsuits renew debate about whether anonymous Internet scribes should be outed -- and held legally responsible -- for malicious online postings.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2008/03/06/penn_law_grad_countersues_over_web_posts_about_women_law_students/

nl: Nigerian internet scammers get jail time [Reuters]
A Dutch court has sentenced three members of a Nigerian gang to up to four years in prison for extorting tens of thousands of euros from victims who answered emails promising a stake in unclaimed inheritances.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1046544120080310
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497388

Argentine Judge Orders Closure Of Bwin Site
A Buenos Aires judge has ordered Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shut down the bwin.com.ar site, following charges that the company has violated local laws by advertising its website extensively in the Argentine media without possessing the requisite licence. The lead prosecutor in the case has said that investigations may also be opened into two companies that have been providing payments solutions for Bwin’s Argentine subsidiary.
http://www.gamblingcompliance.com/node/13186

Password-Stealing Hackers Infect Thousands of Web Pages [IDG]
Hackers looking to steal passwords used in popular online games have infected more than 10,000 Web pages in recent days. The Web attack, which appears to be a coordinated effort run out of servers in China, was first noticed by McAfee researchers on Wednesday morning. Within hours, the security company had tracked more than 10,000 Web pages infected on hundreds of Web sites.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143397/article.html

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PRIVACY
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us: CDT launches health privacy initiative
Privacy needs to be a higher priority as the U.S. government and other groups push for adoption of health IT as a way to improve the country's healthcare system, said the Center for Democracy and Technology , which has launched a health privacy initiative.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/11/CDT-launches-health-privacy-initiative_1.html

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FILE SHARING
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R.E.M. to debut new album on Facebook application
The American band will release Accelerate as a stream available for sharing a week before the album hits the shops
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3532355.ece

REM launch new album on social networking app
Forget the traditional radio premiere: REM's new album, Accelerate, is set to debut on the social networking application iLike.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497725

ie: "Year of filters" turning into year of lawsuits against ISPs
The Big Four record labels have taken an Irish ISP to court, seeking to keep P2P activity off of its network. Eircom, the largest broadband ISP in Ireland, was sued by the labels in the High Court of Ireland yesterday; the case has been assigned to Ireland's Commercial Court, which handles commercial litigation.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080311-year-of-filters-turning-into-year-of-lawsuits-against-isps.html

Judge to Viacom: No punitive damages in YouTube case
Viacom suffered a (slight) setback today in $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube. The two media titans are going toe-to-toe in a New York courtroom, but the judge recently ruled that Viacom cannot seek punitive damages against YouTube. Massive statutory damages, however, remain on the table.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080311-judge-to-viacom-no-punitive-damages-in-youtube-case.html

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CENSORSHIP
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Virtual demos over net censorship
Thousands of people are taking part in "virtual protests" against countries accused of censoring the internet. For its first Online Free Expression Day, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has created virtual versions of nine public spaces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7292130.stm

Reporters Without Borders launches Online Free Expression Day
Reporters Without Borders is asking Internet users to demonstrate virtually against countries that censor Internet freedom.
http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9068099

Media body accuses UNESCO of bowing to censors [Reuters]
A leading media watchdog accused a United Nations agency of "grovelling" to authoritarian governments by dropping sponsorship of a free speech day on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1242897720080312

Real-name Registration To Be Adopted In Beijing Internet Cafes
According to Beijing Xicheng District's Culture Administration Enforcement Team, the eight urban districts of Beijing will adopt real-name registration at their netcafes in the first half of this year.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/2008/03/12/6482-real-name-registration-to-be-adopted-in-beijing-internet-cafes/

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CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION
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Japan to outlaw possession of child pornography
Japan is to bow to international pressure and ban the possession of child pornography, although the new law is expected to anger child welfare groups by exempting manga comics and animated films.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/11/japan.internationalcrime

UNICEF calls on Japan to crack down on child pornography
Japan should ban possession of child pornography and crack down on animated films, comic books and computer games that show children being sexually exploited, UNICEF said Tuesday.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/world/story/527089.html

Zoning the Internet: A New Approach to Protecting Children Online by Cherly B Preston
I. INTRODUCTION Some movements generate a great deal of energy but seem to get no closer to their goal. The fight to save children and teens from Internet pornography has been one such endeavor. Weeks and years, impressive fortunes, and promising political careers have been consumed with good faith efforts to address this pressing problem. Statutes are drafted, passed, and litigated. Courts struggle to frame a proper test. The Supreme Court splits in pluralities. Statutes fail. All the while, academics, lawyers, and legislators churn arguments and ideas. Still, the problem grows.
http://redorbit.com/news/technology/1291969/zoning_the_internet_a_new_approach_to_protecting_children_online/

Making Family-Friendly Internet a Reality by Cheryl B Preston
Finding a workable solution to the problem of underage access to Internet pornography is not as overwhelming as it may seem. Providing a meaningful choice for parents who want to keep pornography out of their homes is one way to protect children from the onslaught of the graphic, and often violent, sexual images readily available online. Defaulting to filters that are over- inclusive, underinclusive, constantly outdated, and easily circumvented106 ignores the problem and fails our children. Community Ports are a viable solution because they provide an opt- in choice to Internet users with minimal to no interference with the rights of those who choose to continue accessing legal sexual material by leaving their Internet access service as it currently exists. The technology for zoning the Internet exists. ICPA is written to provide a regulatory framework that allows individual Internet ISP customers a choice at the receiving end of the Internet.
http://redorbit.com/news/technology/1291976/making_familyfriendly_internet_a_reality/

us: State Senate panel passes 'cyber-bullying' bill inspired by Missouri teen's suicide
Protective legislation sparked by a 13-year-old girl's suicide after she received harassing e-mails and MySpace.com postings passed a state Senate panel Tuesday.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-legis-12mar12,1,2307498.story

au: MySpace man urges education on pedophile hazard [AAP]
Children should be aware of pedophiles using online social networking sites, but cyber grooming is rarer than the community believes, a crime expert says. Speaking at today's ID and Access Management Summit in Sydney, MySpace Safety and Security National Director Rod Nockles said education from an early age was the key to reducing cyber crime.
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,23362733-948,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23362642-5005962,00.html

Girl 'run over' after school feud [AFP]
Two teenagers have faced court after an alleged schoolyard feud escalated into cyber-stalking and ended with a 15-year-old girl being struck by a car.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23361117-911,00.html

Australien startet Aufklärungsstudie zu Cyber-Mobbing
Australien hat eine Großoffensive gegen Internet-Mobbing gestartet. Da das Problem stetig zunehme und immer mehr Kinder und Jugendliche Opfer von beleidigenden SMS, E-Mails oder erniedrigenden Fotos im Internet würden, hat die westaustralische Regierung nun eine umfassende Studie in Auftrag gegeben.
http://www.zdnet.de/news/tkomm/0,39023151,39188249,00.htm

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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Australian government wants e-mail spying to last for longer
Amendments to the Federal Telecommunications Interception Act will be put before the House of Representatives today, as the government seeks to extend the limit of a sunset clause which allows authorities to monitor internal and government communications without a specific warrant. The federal government is hoping to extend current provisions in the act which permit various government and security agencies to intercept communications sent over government networks -- including those sent by the public to the government -- without an interception warrant until 12 December 2009, after they were originally set to expire on 13 June this year.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Government-wants-e-mail-spying-to-last-for-longer/0,130061791,339286684,00.htm

Europe Backs Google Bid to Acquire DoubleClick
European regulators on Tuesday approved Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, a significant player in the $37 billion online advertising business, brushing aside complaints that the combination would allow Google to extend its Internet dominance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/technology/12google.html
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/11/business/google.php

Google cleared for DoubleClick takeover
The European Commission has cleared Google's $3.1bn (£1.5bn) takeover of online advertising network DoubleClick. After a four-month investigation, the EC concluded that the merged business would not be able "to engage in strategies aimed at marginalising Google's competitors".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/11/googlethemedia.digitalmedia

Google Is Cleared to Purchase Ad Firm
European regulators approve Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of Web-advertising giant DoubleClick, a cyber-marriage that would combine their abilities to track individuals' private lives and interests online.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/11/AR2008031100931.html

EU threatens WTO action over U.S. ban on Internet gambling [Bloomberg]
The European Union threatened Monday to lodge a complaint at the World Trade Organization over U.S. laws that bar gambling Web sites, saying the rules might break global rules by discriminating against companies based in the European bloc.
http://iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/technology/gamble.php

EU probes U.S. online gambling crackdown [Reuters]
The European Union launched an investigation Monday into whether U.S. prosecutions of foreign online gambling companies are discriminatory, possibly paving the way for action at the World Trade Organization.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKBRS00027820080310
http://www.news.com/2100-1028_3-6233878.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6233878.html

EU Probes U.S. Online Gaming Enforcement [IDG]
The European Commission has agreed to look into a complaint filed with it last year by a London gambling trade group that claims the U.S. is unfairly discriminating against European online gambling companies.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143295/article.html

Democrats refuse immunity for warrantless wiretappers
Democrats in the US House of Representatives defied President Bush on Tuesday by refusing to pass an overhauled surveillance law that shields telecommunication companies from lawsuits alleging they aided government eavesdropping without the required court order.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/12/house_democrat_fisa_bill/

House Democrats refuse to give telecoms immunity, seek warrantless wiretapping investigation
Locked in a standoff with the White House, House Democrats on Tuesday maintained their refusal to shield from civil lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government eavesdrop on their customers without a secret court's permission.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_8535518

us: NSA shifts to e-mail, Web, data-mining dragnet
The National Security Agency was once known for its skill in eavesdropping on the world's telephone calls through radio dishes in out-of-the-way places like England's Menwith Hill, Australia's Pine Gap, and Washington state's Yakima Training Center.
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9890761-38.html

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COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS
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Google could be superseded, says web inventor
Google may eventually be displaced as the pre-eminent brand on the internet by a company that harnesses the power of next-generation web technology, the inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has said.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3532832.ece

What Google wants is to condemn Microsoft to the electric chair
The dominant technology company of its day finds itself threatened by an upstart competitor that is seizing control of a powerful new network. Microsoft v Google? No, General Electric (GE) v Westinghouse. The continuing Yahoo takeover battle has pushed into public view a broader business conflict that's been simmering for a couple of years. The internet giant Google has been chipping away at Microsoft's hold on the personal computer industry, and Microsoft has been struggling to counter Google's growing hold over our PCs. But this high-tech war is not without precedent. A similar fight between American industrial titans played out more than a century ago.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/mar/13/google.microsoft

Wikipedia's tin-cup approach wears thin
The nonprofit website needs to raise funds, but it resists selling ads: The new headquarters of one of the world's most popular websites is 3,000 square feet of rented space furnished with desks and chairs bought on the cheap from EBay and Craigslist.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wikipedia10mar10,0,7404443.story

Google to media companies: We're your friend [IDG]
Traditional media companies should see Google as a friend willing to help them take advantage of online opportunities and not as an enemy that competes with them. ... Fears that Google will morph into a media company that produces content are completely unfounded, he said, responding to questions from a Bear Stearns analyst. "That's absolutely not the case for us," Eun said during the presentation, which was webcast.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/10/Google-to-media-companies-we-are-your-friend_1.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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$5 billion needed to sort out Kiwi broadband
A privately-funded think tank says New Zealand is being left a long way behind other countries as it waits for Telecom to develop faster broadband services.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10497643

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN
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'Swirl' abuse suspect trial due
A suspected paedophile known as Mr Swirl because of the way he allegedly disguised his face in photographs is set to go on trial in Thailand. Christopher Neil, a Canadian, denies charges of abusing two underage boys.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7286815.stm

Pedophilia Suspect on Trial in Thailand [AP]
A Canadian arrested last year in a worldwide manhunt after Interpol unscrambled his swirled digital images from Internet photos went on trial Monday in Thailand, accused of sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Thailand-Canada-Pedophile-Trial.html

30 Israelis arrested on child porn charges [UPI]
Israeli officials, acting on tips from Interpol, said they arrested 30 Israeli men Wednesday on suspicion of downloading child pornography from the Internet.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/03/12/30_israelis_arrested_on_child_porn_charges/5282/

au: Officer had 8000 child porn shots 'by mistake'
A Queensland police officer caught with more than 8000 child porn images on his home computer has avoided spending any time in jail. Thomas James Anthony Wilson, 25, pleaded guilty in Brisbane's District Court today to possessing the lewd material, including pictures of boys as young as 10 engaging in sex acts.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/13/1205126088340.html

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(c) David Goldstein 2008

 
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David Goldstein
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           AUSTRALIA
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