Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most
recent edition of the domain news - it's already been
posted online.

The domain name news is supported by auDA.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Big holes in net's heart revealed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4954208.stm

eu: Commission seeks global partnership on Internet
governance, freedom of expression and the combat
against cyber-repression (news release)
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/542&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Wall Street Journal Article on Whois Privacy
http://www.circleid.com/posts/wall_street_journal_whois_privacy/

Should owners of Web sites be anonymous?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06117/685630-96.stm

Internet domain names go multilingual
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw983248380932B232

The Web's Million-Dollar Typos
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/29/AR2006042900279.html

Internet Domain Names as Ubiqutous as Social Security
Numbers
http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_names_social_security_numbers/

Lesbian.com up for sale for $2 million
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060424-051636-6148r

***********
GOVERNANCE
***********
The net fought the law - and the law won
A new book challenges the myth of the ungovernability
of the internet. John Naughton commends a thoughtful
study on the fatuity of technological determinism.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1764405,00.html

eu: Commission seeks global partnership on Internet
governance, freedom of expression and the combat
against cyber-repression (news release)
To keep up the momentum of the successful World Summit
on Information Society (Tunis, 16-18 November 2005),
the European Commission has set out today its
priorities for implementing the international policy
commitments made at the Summit. These priorities
include safeguarding and strengthening human rights,
in particular the freedom to receive and access
information. Information and communication
technologies (ICTs) should be used to contribute to
open democratic societies and to economic and social
progress worldwide. The Commission calls for
continuing international talks to improve Internet
governance through the two new processes created by
the Summit: the multi-stakeholder Internet Governance
Forum and the mechanism of enhanced cooperation that
will involve all governments on an equal footing.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/542&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Global Internet Task Force Meeting Focuses on
Advancing Freedom on Web
The second meeting of the Global Internet Freedom Task
Force (GIFT) "discussed practical and constructive
strategies to advance Internet freedom," said Under
Secretary for Economic, Business and Agricultural
Affairs Josette Shiner, who chaired the April 3
meeting.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/64149.htm

Internet Governance Forum Substantive Agenda Setting
WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus Contribution
The WSIS Civil Society Human Rights Caucus (HR Caucus)
has been active in the WSIS framework since its
creation in 2002. Its more than 65 members,
international and national civil society organizations
from all around the world, have decided to remain
involved, as a caucus, in post-WSIS developments. The
Caucus involvement in WSIS follow-up concerns both the
Internet Governance Forum (IGF) activities and the
post-WSIS Action lines developments.
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/hr-wsis/hris-igfagenda310306-en.html
http://www.iris.sgdg.org/actions/smsi/hr-wsis/hris-igfagenda310306-en.pdf

conference: Information Society: Governance, Ethics
and Social Consequences (22-23 May 2006)
'Information Society : Governance, Ethics and Social
Consequences' is a two-day conference that pays
tribute to and builds on the work of Professor Jacques
Berleur of the University of Namur, Belgium. Two of
the key institutions with which Jacques has worked
closely over the years, the University of Namur and
the International Federation for Information
Processing, are joining together to celebrate his
commitment to their endeavours in a very dynamic,
pro-active, and future-looking way. The purpose of the
conference is to dedicate academic reflection on the
issues, challenges and problems posed by the
Information Society, and also to focus on applied
approaches. The Conference intends to bring together
actors from institutions, organisations and companies
as well as representatives of the International
Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) in an
animated discussion.
http://www.info.fundp.ac.be/informationsociety/Introduction.html

Intel Backs 'Net Neutrality'
Intel has waded into the debate over the future of the
internet, joining major web companies in supporting
legislation that would force internet service
providers to treat all traffic equally.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,70756-0.html

us: Tech Giants' Internet Battles
A host of tech outfits, from Google to Intel, suffered
a setback in a battle over access to the Internet on
Apr. 26. At issue is whether telcos like AT&T and
cable operators such as Comcast, which maintain the
country's vast broadband networks, can favor one
provider's Web traffic over another's. A measure that
would bar the practice was shot down by a
Congressional committee.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2006/tc20060426_553893.htm

Tunisian Commitments Unfulfilled Following WSIS II
(news release)
The following is a 24 April 2006 press release by
three members of the IFEX-TMG who participated in a
mission to Tunisia: Freedom in Tunisia remains well
below international standards five months after the
WSIS was held in Tunis in November 2005, in spite of
commitments made by Tunisian authorities to uphold
guarantees to free expression enshrined in
international conventions and treaties, to which
Tunisia is a signatory.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200604270343.html

tn: Free Expression Still Under Siege
Five months after the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) focused international attention on the
host country Tunisia's poor human rights record,
freedom of expression remains well below international
standards, a fact-finding mission by the IFEX Tunisia
Monitoring Group (TMG) has found.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200604260725.html

****************
DOMAIN NAMES
****************
Big holes in net's heart revealed
Simple attacks could let malicious hackers take over
more than one-third of the net's sites, reveals
research. The finding was uncovered by researchers who
analysed how the net's addressing system works.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4954208.stm
http://www.computerweekly.com/Feeds/RS/Articles/2006/04/27/215668/DNSnetworkattacksmaybeimminent.htm
http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;1726414791;fp;2;fpid;1
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/04/26/77800_HNdnsbugs_1.html
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/UNID/7C89121FC101F208CC25715D0010F327

au: Review of the relationship between trade marks and
business names, company names and domain names
The Australian Advisory Council on Intellectual
Property recently released a report on the issue of
the relationship between TM and business names,
company names and domain names.
To the Council, "the two most significant issues
regarding domain names are: bad faith registration of
domain names, whereby one party deliberately and
unlawfully benefits by registering a domain name
containing the other?s trade mark, business name or
company name; and a public misconception that domain
name registrars check for existing prior rights, such
as registered trade marks, when registering a domain
name."
http://domaine.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_domaine_archive.html

Wall Street Journal Article on Whois Privacy
Today?s Wall Street Journal discusses the fight over
Whois privacy. The article on the front page of the
Marketplace section starts by discussing how the
American Red Cross and eBay use the Whois database to
track down scammers:
http://www.circleid.com/posts/wall_street_journal_whois_privacy/

See the Wall Street Journal article here (subscription
essential):
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114609925357637113.html

Should owners of Web sites be anonymous?
Last fall, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the
American Red Cross used an Internet database called
"Whois" that lists names and numbers of Web-site
owners to shut down dozens of unauthorized Web sites
that were soliciting money under the Red Cross logo.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06117/685630-96.stm

Internet domain names go multilingual
Now, speakers of Euskara and Tibetan can register
their Internet domain names in their native tongues.
In a move that further opens up the Internet to
non-native English speakers, VeriSign Incorporated on
Monday opened up registrations for Internet domain
names in more than 70 additional, mostly-European
languages.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=qw983248380932B232

The Web's Million-Dollar Typos
Google Inc., which runs the largest ad network on the
Internet, is making millions of dollars a year by
filling otherwise unused Web sites with ads. In many
instances, these ad-filled pages appear when users
mistype an Internet address, such as "BistBuy.com."
This new form of advertising is turning into a booming
business that some say is cluttering the Internet and
could be violating trademark rules. It also has
sparked a speculative frenzy of investment in domain
names, pushing the value of some beyond the $1 million
mark.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/29/AR2006042900279.html

Internet Domain Names as Ubiqutous as Social Security
Numbers
Jim Croce?s famous song ?I got A Name? may one day
need to be changed to ?I got A Domain? if current
Internet growth rates remain the same. Today there
over 70 million registered Internet domain names
across the globe, according to Dotster, Inc., a
leading provider of Internet domain name and hosting
services.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_names_social_security_numbers/

Lesbian.com up for sale for $2 million
The domain name Lesbian.com, registered in 1995 by a
Texas woman who wanted to protect it, is up for sale
for $2 million.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060424-051636-6148r

au: BEWARE: DomainName.com.au ?invoices? (Blair
Rafferty + Chesley Rafferty)
Blair Rafferty?s DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd has been
sending out marketing notices which look like invoices
- according to recipients. DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd
notice (Blair Rafferty + Chesley Rafferty)
DomainName.com.au Pty Ltd notice (Blair Rafferty +
Chesley Rafferty). Registrants have reported that the
notices give the impression that they are renewing
their existing ?com.au? domain name (eg mybiz.com.au),
when in fact they are purchasing a brand new ?.com?
domain name (eg mybiz.com).
http://domainwatch.org/archives/2006/04/27/beware-domainnamecomau-invoices-blair-rafferty-chesley-rafferty/

Red Letter Days loses domain name claim
The UK pioneer of giving an experience as a gift has
failed in a bid to confiscate the domain name
redletterdays.com from a Swiss seller of "special
envelopes for special days" whose site advertises
another seller of experience vouchers.
http://www.out-law.com/page-6875

First decision for .eu?s dispute resolution published
(news release)
The first .eu dispute has been settled via the .eu?s
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Policy. Currently
there are a handful of disputes being processed and
just over 100 cases have been initiated. All verdicts
are published by the Czech arbitration Court who
facilitates the .eu dispute resolutions.
http://www.eurid.eu/en/general/news/first-decision-for-eu2019s-dispute-resolution-published

Dot-eu domain name confirmed in first case
The Czech Arbitration Court has published its first
decision in a .eu domain name dispute
http://www.managingip.com/default.asp?page=9&PubID=198&SID=627131&ISS=21649&LS=EMS72764

What Makes GoDaddy Go?
On the Internet, real estate is cheap, but there's a
lot of it. Can you make money collecting a few
dollars' rent from millions of tenants? Investors may
get a better sense of how the Internet real estate
business works if GoDaddy.com, the Web's biggest
landlord, decides to go public. The company, which
declined to comment for this story, has reportedly
hired Lehman Brothers to conduct an IPO.
http://www.forbes.com/home/digitalentertainment/2006/04/21/godaddy-google-yahoo_cx_rr_0424godaddy.html

Internet domain names: Don't get caught in a rival's
web (sub req'd)
Businesses need to be wary of other companies trading
under similar internet domain names
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/sme/article360343.ece

70 Million Internet Domain Names Have Been Registered
says Web Hosting Provider and Domain Registrar Dotster
Web hosting provider and domain registrar Dotster
recently announced the likelihood that over 70 million
Internet domain names have now been registered.
According to the company, the rapid growth of domains
may have a number of social consequences.
http://www.hostsearch.com/news/dotster_news_4398.asp
http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/042806_Domain_Names_Hit_70_Million_Mark.cfm

**********
OTHER NEWS
**********
us: Censorship and Online Filtering on the Internet
(news release)
As Internet activity expands every month worldwide,
the effects of Internet filtering in the United States
and globally have become far-reaching. Most nations
censor Internet communication in some fashion.
http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2006/Apr/26-366257.html?chanlid=globalissues

us: MySpace Tightens Security After String of
Incidents
In only a few short years, MySpace has grown to over
63 million members. As this popular social networking
Internet service continues to grow, so does the
concern for safety.
http://www.thepolypost.com/story.php?story=3303

cn: Beijing shut down six websites with pornographic
contents
Beijing Internet authorities shut down six
pornographic websites in an effort to prevent their
so-called 'negative' influence on society. The six
websites, including "www.ysdm.com" and "www.xf13.net",
contained what was determined to be 'unhealthy
content' and were shut down Friday according to
relevant regulations, the newspaper Beijing News
reported on Saturday.
http://english.people.com.cn/200604/30/eng20060430_262231.html
http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/200604/30/t20060430_6864721.shtml
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=193386

us: Civilians troll for predators
More adults are going online posing as children to
help snare criminals, but are they doing more harm
than good?
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-04-28-online-predators_x.htm
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/ONLINE_VIGILANTES

uk: UK computer crime laws 'ridiculous'
A British man labelled one of the world's most
dangerous hackers rails against the UK computer crime
laws.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1763989,00.html

uk: OFT to investigate online shopping
The Office of Fair Trading is to launch a
wide-reaching inquiry into online shopping to test
levels of consumer protection and confidence in the
rapidly growing web marketplace.
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1763462,00.html
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/04/28/oft_probe/
http://www.out-law.com/page-6878

uk: OFT launches fact-finding market study of internet
shopping (news release)
A new fact-finding study into online shopping has been
launched by the Office of Fair Trading. Around 130,000
UK businesses now sell online, in a market
representing about 2.5 per cent of all household
spending (over ?18 billion a year in total). In the
last five years, internet retail sales in the UK rose
by over 350 per cent, compared with growth of only 20
per cent for all retail sales. In 2005, the typical
online shopper spent ?560 online, and forecasts
suggest that this could grow to over ?860 per year by
2010 (see note 5). Other research has, however, also
identified consumer concerns when shopping online
about security of payment, or potential problems with
delivery.
http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2006/81-06.htm

uk: Guidance on privacy tools from Britain's privacy
chief
The Information Commissioner?s Office (ICO) has issued
brief guidance to bring to a wider audience the use of
privacy enhancing technologies, or PETs, to help
protect people?s personal information.
http://www.out-law.com/page-6877

us: Mandatory Labeling, ISP Data Retention Proposal
Raises Concern
Attorney General Gonzales called for mandatory data
retention requirements for Internet service providers,
asserting that such requirements would be useful in
online child pornography investigations. Data
retention requirements would be burdensome, raise
serious privacy concerns, and be of questionable value
given existing laws that require ISPs to preserve data
at the request of law enforcement. The proposed
legislation would also require mandatory labeling of
sexually explicit content, a provision CDT believes
would be ineffective in protecting kids, as well as
being a form of forced speech that violates the First
Amendment.
http://cdt.org/security/

Congress may consider mandatory ISP snooping
It didn't take long for the idea of forcing Internet
providers to retain records of their users' activities
to gain traction in the U.S. Congress.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6066608.html

us: VoIP products could face export crackdown
After spending the last decade denouncing Cold War-era
laws against overseas shipments of data-scrambling
encryption products, technology firms thought they
were off the hook when President Clinton finally eased
the rules in 1999.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6065566.html

us: Democrats lose House vote on Net neutrality
A hotly contested Democratic bid to enshrine extensive
Net neutrality regulations in the law books failed
Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6065465.html

Skype Signs Up More Than 100 Million Users
Internet telephony provider Skype announced Friday it
now has more than 100 million registered users
worldwide.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SWEDEN_SKYPE

A Convergence Train Wreck
Convergence, the promise of disparate technologies
uniting in a single cohesive and functional unit, has
been something of a Holy Grail for the gadget
business. There were some goofy ideas like
"Internet-ready" refrigerators and ovens, but more
practical applications as well, like camera-equipped
cell phones. Instead of two devices taking up pocket
space, there would be just one.
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06042838.htm

us: Internet Penetration and Impact (news release)
Internet penetration has now reached 73% for all
American adults. Internet users note big improvements
in their ability to shop and the way they pursue
hobbies and personal interests online.
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/182/report_display.asp

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

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(c) David Goldstein 2006

David Goldstein
 address: 4/3 Abbott Street
             COOGEE NSW 2034
             AUSTRALIA
 email: Goldstein_David &#167;yahoo.com.au
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - home


		
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