Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition
of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates in between postings.



The domain name news is supported by auDA.


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

ICANN Rejects Creation of '.xxx' Domain (AP)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/24/1174597921741.html

Nearly 7-year effort to establish Internet red light district hits dead end, again
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/31/1174761800794.html

Why I Voted for .XXX by Susan Crawford
http://www.circleid.com/posts/why_i_voted_for_xxx/

Highly Commended: Mueller's work on IP addressing
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2007/3/29/2844838.html

The United Kingdom and the .co.uk Country Code Top Level Domain
http://dnjournal.com/articles/cctld/couk-072406.htm

Domains Explained, Part 1: Registrants, Registries, Registrars and Resellers by Joey deVilla
http://blog.tucows.com/blog/_archives/2007/3/30/2846801.html

EURid's Year overview for 2006 now available (news release)
http://eurid.eu/content/view/197/33/lang,en/

Trademark protection and the Internet
http://nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/BUSINESSREVIEW05/70329011/

**********************
ICANN IN LISBON
**********************
Proposal for porn domain rejected
Plans to create an internet domain specifically for pornographic websites have been rejected. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6509885.stm

ICANN Rejects Creation of '.xxx' Domain (AP)
ICANN defeated a proposal Friday to give adult websites their own ".xxx" domain. Many in the adult-entertainment industry and religious groups alike had criticized the plan, which the Canadian government also warned this week could leave ICANN in the tricky business of content regulation. The 9-5 decision by ICANN's board came nearly seven years after the proposal was first floated by ICM Registry LLC. It was the third time ICANN has rejected such a bid. Paul Twomey, ICANN's chief executive, who had described the proposal this week as "clearly controversial, clearly polarizing" abstained from the vote but did not say why.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/24/1174597921741.html
http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/30/technology/web0330-icann.php

Nearly 7-year effort to establish Internet red light district hits dead end, again
For nearly seven years, Stuart Lawley has tried to build a red-light district on the Internet, one that could help, at least nominally, keep pornographic websites away from prying underaged eyes. His efforts came to a halt for a third and possibly final time Friday when a key Internet oversight agency rejected his proposed ".xxx" address amid concerns the adult-entertainment industry that Lawley had courted was not unified in its support.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/31/1174761800794.html
http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/31/technology/EU-TEC-Internet-Pornography.php

ICANN Board Rejects .XXX Domain Application
The Board of ICANN voted to reject the .XXX sponsored Top Level Domain application from ICM Registry, Inc. "This decision was the result of very careful scrutiny and consideration of all the arguments. That consideration has led a majority of the Board to believe that the proposal should be rejected" said Dr Vint Cerf, Chairman of ICANN.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-30mar07.htm

No XXX URL for you!
... The reason behind this no XXX domain name registration stems from the question of what constitutes pornography. Different places have different definitions of what pornography is. In most of Asia, it's anything involving nudity, regardless of the context or taste. In some US States, it can vary. I'm not certain as to the rest of the world, I'll probably have to get a government grant and start some global research. ICANN was also fearful that by applying this new extension, that they would become the exclusive regulatory body for all TLD (Top Level Domain, being the .com or .biz or .net that follows a web name) sites ending in .xxx. That's not their function.
http://neoseeker.com/news/story/6638/

Construction on Online Back Alley Halted (AP)
ICANN put the brakes on plans to construct an online red-light district, rejecting for a third time a proposal to create a voluntary ".xxx" address for pornographic Web sites. The board of ICANN cited fears that it would find itself having to regulate content and concerns that such a domain name did not have the support of the adult-entertainment industry.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033000233.html
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INTERNET_PORNOGRAPHY
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_5564793

Icann rejects .xxx domain for web porn ? again
ICANN has rejected, for the third time, a proposal to give adult websites their own top-level domain. The plan, which has been under discussion for several years, would have involved pornographic sites moving from .com or .co.uk sites to addresses ending in .xxx.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1590900.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1593742.ece

Creation of 'XXX' domain for porn websites rejected (AFP)
ICANN on Friday rejected plans to establish a new ".XXX" domain for racy or sexually explicit websites. ICANN said an ".XXX domain" would not resolve the issue of how to protect "vulnerable members of the community". ICANN would also be obligated "to acquire a responsibility related to content and conduct," it said in a statement after a board meeting.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/31/1174761769564.html
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/180613.asp

Internet rejects XXX adult-only sites (Reuters)
ICANN rejected a proposal to create an adults-only zone on the internet, or a .XXX domain. Supporters of an .XXX domain argued it would make it easier to confine sex sites and filter them out. Opponents argued it would make pornography on the internet easier to find.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=257905
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL3035677920070330

Agency Rejects .xxx Suffixes for Sex-Related Sites on Internet
A longstanding proposal to create a specialized .xxx suffix for sex-related entertainment Web sites received a final rejection yesterday by the agency governing the Internet address system. The plan, first introduced seven years ago by ICM Registry, was rejected by a vote of 9 to 5 by Icann at a meeting in Lisbon.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/30/business/icann.php
http://nytimes.com/2007/03/31/technology/31domain.html

us: FRC Praises Rejection of 'XXX' Domain (news release)
The Family Research Council (FRC) praised ICANN for rejecting a proposal that would create a XXX domain address to house pornographic websites. The ICANN board voted 9-5 to reject the domain, which is the third rejection within the last seven years.
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR07C07

ICANN rejects .xxx domain registry
ICANN has rejected a controversial proposal to create a new .xxx domain suffix for adult Web sites.
http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6172046.html
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6172046.html

ICANN Votes Against Porn Domain Again (IDG)
ICANN rejected for the second time the creation of a ".xxx" top-level domain, supported by some as a way to isolate adult content on the Internet.
http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/78C2B6847DEE21C3CC2572B000752408
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130292-pg,1/article.html

Porn domain '.xxx' rejected by agency (AP)
ICANN voted Friday to reject a company's proposal to create an ".xxx" domain for adult Web sites.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/30/technology/porn_domain/
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/ap/story.asp?AP_ID=D8O6J3DG0

ICANN Axes .XXX Domain
There will be no new .xxx suffix to designate adult-themed Internet sites, ruled ICANN, the organization responsible for oversight of domain names. Although this marks the third time ICANN has rejected a .xxx proposal, its proponents are not likely to drop the issue. A court battle may lie ahead.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56631.html
http://technewsworld.com/story/CY2l7vjDSlhqbQ/ICANN-Axes-XXX-Domain.xhtml

Three Strikes for '.XXX' Domain
The hotly contested ?.xxx? domain - which would have drawn in and regulated porn sites that currently exist within the ?.com,? ?.biz,? ?.org,? or ?.net? domains. - was rejected for a third time on Friday. Christians expressed their approval over the ruling, saying that the bill was rightly rejected because it would have increased the problems among pornography use on the internet. They added that children would be exposed to pornographic images more readily, and it would increase accessibility.
http://christianpost.com/article/20070331/26637_Three_Strikes_for_'.XXX'_Domain.htm

Questions and Answers on Domain Name System and the Bid for `.xxx'
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070330/internet_pornography_q_a.html

ICANN rejects .xxx
In an unusual open board meeting today, ICANN once again rejected the establishment of a .xxx top level domain (TLD). The vote was 8-4 with a single abstention, that of CEO Paul Twomey.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/30/icann_rejects_domain/

Icann finds no sex appeal in XXX domain (vnunet)
Icann has once again turned down a bid to set up a .xxx domain name for pornographic sites. Today's verdict is the third time that the domain name manager has rejected the attempt to establish a dedicated web suffix for adult sites.
http://www.infomaticsonline.co.uk/vnunet/news/2186917/icann-finds-sex-appeal-xxx
http://itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=49035

ICANN to decide if pornographic Web sites to have own '.xxx' domain (AP)
Pornographic web sites could have a virtual red-light district if ICANN agrees Friday (30/3) to a proposal that would create a ".xxx" Internet address aimed at making clear what content is adults only. ICANN has already rejected similar proposals twice since 2000. ICANN plans to vote on whether to approve the domain name for voluntary use by porn sites after a week of meetings and public forums in Lisbon, Portugal, focusing on if it could help keep objectionable material away from underaged eyes or promulgate censorship of free expression. The Canadian government has raised objections relating to a '.xxx' domain name may inadvertently leave ICANN in the business of content regulation, "which would be inconsistent with its technical mandate."
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/30/1174761713571.html

ICANN committee says plan to give porn sites '.xxx' domain still faces questions
The chairman of a key ICANN committee said Thursday that questions remain about how to implement a new ".xxx" domain name for pornographic and adult websites, a signal that its creation could be delayed again. Janis Karklins, chairman of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, said ICANN's board had not yet answered questions about whether the application meets the standards needed to be established.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/29/1174761590907.html
http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21467379%5e15306%5e%5enbv%5e15306,00.html

Why I Voted for .XXX by Susan Crawford
The ICANN Board voted today 9-5, with Paul Twomey abstaining, to reject a proposal to open .xxx. This is my statement in connection with that vote. I found the resolution adopted by the Board (rejecting xxx) both weak and unprincipled.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/why_i_voted_for_xxx/
http://scrawford.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/3/30/2845638.html
http://www.isp-planet.com/quotes/2007/crawford_0330.html

ICANN kills .xxx, USG ordered to turn over related documents by Brenden Kuerbis
ICANN finally made a decision to kill the .xxx application, with the Board voting 9-5 against it. In a bad sign for the future, the vote indicated that ICANN's approach to top level domains will be to block any proposed that are politically or culturally controversial.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2007/3/30/2847139.html

Web porn sites debated in secret
Government advisers deliberated behind closed doors Wednesday but issued no public statement on a plan to give the online back alleys their own home through a voluntary ".xxx" Internet address.
http://www.connpost.com/ci_5541044
http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=367755
http://earthtimes.org/articles/show/45447.html

Plan for '.xxx' Web domain would protect children
The Internet has turned out to be one of the all-time greatest intellectual and recreational tools. Information that used to take hours - if not days - to compile can be found in mere minutes. We also can keep up with the latest scores and celebrity news. But the Internet also can be a dangerous place, especially for children. Study after study shows that exposure to pornography contributes to potential problems in adulthood. And adult Web site producers are becoming more and more cunning in how they disguise sites.
http://thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070401/OPINION/704010325

'Christians' on Porn Sites?
The question comes to mind when FoxNews.com reports: "Religious groups worried that ?.xxx? would legitimize and expand the number of adults sites, which more than a third of U.S. Internet users visit each month, according to comScore Media Metrix." A third? "They will keep their '.com' domains, and I have no doubt they will buy their '.xxx' as well," said Patrick Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian public-interest law firm. "There will be twice as much pornography on the Internet."
http://theconservativevoice.com/article/23942.html
http://americandaily.com/article/18205

ICANN Concludes Busy 28th Public Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal
More than 830 people from 81 countries gathered in Lisbon, Portugal for ICANN's 28th Public Meeting. "We've just finished one of ICANN's busiest and issue-intensive meetings and it helped ICANN make substantial progress on numerous fronts," said Dr Vint Cerf, Chairman of ICANN. Considerations included: formalization of relationships with ccTLD managers .ly, .ci & .ru; formation of a new working group to develop the recommendations in the Final Task Force Report on Whois Services presented to the GSNO; discussion on Registrar Accreditation Agreements and how to improve them; creation of three new Regional At Large Organizations for Africa, Europe, and Asia-Australia-Pacific; rejection of the .XXX; presentations by Sweden and Bulgaria on the enhanced Domain Name System security enhancements in their respective TLDs; updates on moving to IPv6; release of the One World Trust independent review of ICANN's accountability and transparency which stated that overall ICANN is a very
 transparent organization and the release of the next steps in the development of a set of Management Operating Principles for accountability and transparency.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-1-30mar07.htm

Independent Review of ICANN's Accountability and Transparency
As one of a number of initiatives aimed at further improvements in accountability and transparency, ICANN engaged One World Trust to undertake an independent review of standards of accountability and transparency within ICANN. The terms of reference for the report were designed to allow a wide ranging review.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-29mar07.htm

Thousands of Voices Get Direct Say At ICANN
Internet users from three of ICANN's five global regions will now have direct input to the organization thanks to the creation of three Regional At-Large Organisations (RALOs). Memorandums of Understanding creating RALOs for Africa and Europe were signed today by ICANN and member groups of the RALOs in a special ceremony at ICANN's 28th Public Meeting in Lisbon. The third RALO ? Asia-Australia-Pacific ? was announced and will be formally signed at the 30th Public Meeting to be held later this year.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-29mar07.htm

ICANN Seeks Public Comments on Proposed Terms of Reference for Independent Review of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
ICANN is seeking public comments on proposed Terms of Reference, which detail questions that would guide the independent review of ICANN's At-Large Advisory Committee. The public comment period will last from 30 March 2007 to 29 April 2007.
http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-30mar07.htm

ICANN Lisbon: ICANN urged to cut phishing trawl with banking domain
Security watchers are calling on ICANN to adopt a new TLD to be used exclusively by registered banks and financial organisations. The proposed TLD - proposals include .safe, .sure or .bank -  would aim to give consumers increased piece of mind that they are dealing with a legitimate financial institution while potentially making it easier to identify rogue sites. The idea has been in existence for some time, but the massive rise in phishing attacks over recent months has renewed interest. 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/29/banking_domain/

Registerfly Victims Are Really Stuck Now by John Levine
Last week I noted here that cutting off collapsed domain Registerfly will leave a huge problem for registrants. ICANN is supposed to have escrowed copies of each registrar?s registrant data, but has never got around to setting that up. This means that unless Registerfly can supply the data, there may be no record of the actual owner of their domains.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/registerfly_victims_really_stuck/

ICANN RegisterFly Update March 31
This is an update on the termination of RegistrFly as an ICANN accredited registrar. As was previously advised ICANN sent a notice of termination to RegisterFly effective 31 March 2007. Under the agreement RegisterFly can initiate arbitration challenging the termination. RegisterFly has decided to do that and has notified ICANN.
http://blog.icann.org/?p=83

ICANN Lisbon: ICANN ready to shut up and move on
ICANN, the de facto determinant of much that occurs on the internet, will wrap up its triennial meeting tomorrow with an unusual open board meeting on the controversial .xxx gTLD. The week has been a mixed bag - the unveiling of a new, more user-friendly ICANN website has been one of the nicest surprises, although the news that ICANN was itself subject to a lawsuit arising out of the seemingly never-ending RegisterFly disaster deflated what was an optimistic beginning to a long week. Ongoing arguments by the representatives of intellectual property owners (i.e., intellectual property attorneys) provided a nonstop subtext to just about every meeting attended by yours truly. The article addresses the main topics for meetings attended - IDNs (superficially uncontroversial but subtly troubling to all involved); and the Whois database (proposed changes to the registry are problematic inasmuch as there is little middle ground between the opposing parties - Europeans and
 Americans).
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/30/icann_lisbon_registerfly_meeting/

Lisbon 2007: ICANN fires back with stern threat of legal action...again
Without any fanfare, or even notice of an ongoing lawsuit against itself, ICANN posted another letter to RegisterFly on Wednesday giving it notice (again) of an intent to pursue legal action against the disintegrating registrar.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/29/icann_lisbon_registerfly_lawsuit/

Report criticizes ICANN's openness
An independent review of the Internet's main governing group, known as ICANN, has criticized the group's openness. According to U.K. based non-profit One World Trust, which prepared the review, ICANN doesn't have an employee whistleblower policy, doesn't consistently follow rules about publicly disclosing operating details, and often misses deadlines to make board meeting minutes publicly available.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/report-criticizes-net-regulators-openness/story.aspx?guid=%7B08FDA01B-D295-4233-B916-0CD3B26C43F4%7D

I want a .pony domain by Alastair Rankine
I read that the ICANN has yet again had to fend off an attempt to set up a .xxx gTLD. As a parent I am keenly interested in protecting my children?s actions online and often discuss with my SO how to manage their access when they start to reach the age when they spend more time online. Although I am far more worried about them exposing their own identities, than about being exposed to others, the latter is still a concern. There are certainly sites out there that I cannot now un-see, however much I wish I could. No doubt these sites and others will cause confusion, anxiety, and harm to tender intellects.
http://girtby.net/articles/2007/4/1/i-want-a-pony-domain

**********************
OTHER DOMAIN NAMES
**********************
Highly Commended: Mueller's work on IP addressing
Emerald Group Publishing has informed us that Milton Mueller's paper, IP addressing: the next frontier of internet governance debate has been selected as a Highly Commended Winner at the Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2007.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2007/3/29/2844838.html

The United Kingdom and the .co.uk Country Code Top Level Domain
Sedo has long considered the United Kingdom a key market and has been active in the UK for almost five years. Last year, Sedo even hosted the UK?s first ever domain event, which was a fantastic opportunity to learn key insights into the market, exchange ideas and suggestions from key players, and to communicate what our UK users can gain from Sedo?s overall experience operating in the secondary market. The UK is not just one of most important industrial nations for the ?Old Economy,? it has a vibrant economy and a well-educated population that is extremely internet savvy, making it one of the strongest internet markets world-wide. Despite all this, some of the best bargains in the aftermarket are to be found in the UK, especially among .CO.UK domains. We would like to take this opportunity to explain why this is, and discuss a little bit about the UK domain name market in general.
http://dnjournal.com/articles/cctld/couk-072406.htm

us: Department of Homeland and Security wants master key for DNS
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which was created after the attacks on September 11, 2001 as a kind of overriding department, wants to have the key to sign the DNS root zone solidly in the hands of the US government.
http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/87655

Domains Explained, Part 1: Registrants, Registries, Registrars and Resellers by Joey deVilla
In Monday's article -- Questions to Ask Before You Pick Your Domain Name Registrar -- Elliot covered a lot of ground in his list of things you should know about when picking a domain name registrar. In this series of articles, I'll expand on what he wrote and explain some of the finer points of domain names that you might not be aware of. The last question in Elliot's list was Are you a registrar or a reseller? If these terms, along with registry and registrant are unfamiliar to you, read on -- I'm going to explain what each one means.
http://blog.tucows.com/blog/_archives/2007/3/30/2846801.html

EURid's Year overview for 2006 now available (news release)
The .eu registry has recently made available a year in review for 2006. The report is a summary of the past year, containing amongst other things, information on business and technical operations as well as an overview of the year?s activities from a legal perspective. Comprehensive statistics further bolster the report and cover a diverse range of .eu related topics including: .eu domain usage, interest shown in .eu by each member state and the total number of domain names per country of registrar.
http://eurid.eu/content/view/197/33/lang,en/

Ongoing Internet Emergency and Domain Names by Gadi Evron
There is a current ongoing Internet emergency: a critical 0day vulnerability currently exploited in the wild threatens numerous desktop systems which are being compromised and turned into bots, and the domain names hosting it are a significant part of the reason why this attack has not yet been mitigated. This incident is currently being handled by several operational groups.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/internet_emergency_domain_names/

Trademark protection and the Internet
E-business constitutes over $2 trillion in annual sales for our economy, and two-thirds of American households now contain a computer with Internet access. So it is no surprise that businesses try to get a competitive edge with their Web sites. Sometimes those tactics run afoul of traditional notions of trademark infringement and unfair competition.
http://nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070330/BUSINESSREVIEW05/70329011/

The Name Game (Plus Typos)
The latest, thornier problem is a further evolution of another longtime practice: taking advantage of mistyped domains.
http://nytimes.com/2007/03/31/technology/31online.html

Two UDRP decisions over "gripe" domain names
airfrancestinks.com has been transferred to Air France, but zipzoomflysucks.com will remain in the hands on the defendant. The first domain name was used in conjunction with links (apparently not sponsored), mainly related to the air travel sector. The second name was used in conjunction with a website that is critical of Complainant?s business practices.
http://domaine.blogspot.com/2007/03/two-udrp-decisions-over-gripe-domain.html

Can a panel refer to the European Court of Justice in an ADR .eu procedure?
On the ADR decisions.eu Wiki, Thomas Schafft mentions a German language case over flights.eu. For the first time (and amazingly), the Panel issues an interim injunction in which it refers to the ECJ... first to ask if the Arbitration Center for .eu Disputes is allowed to do so, and two other questions.
http://domaine.blogspot.com/2007/03/can-panel-refer-to-european-court-of.html

Only 3 approved providers left for UDRP
There are four approved providers for Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy: Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (since March 2002), CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (since May 2000), National Arbitration Forum and World Intellectual Property Organization (since December 1999).
http://domaine.blogspot.com/2007/03/only-3-approved-providers-left-for-udrp.html

Netcraft April 2007 Web Server Survey
In the April 2007 survey we received responses from 113,658,468 sites, an increase of 3.2 million sites from last month's survey. Apache continues to be the most widely-used web server, powering more than 66.9 million sites, compared to 35.3 million sites using Microsoft server software.
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2007/04/02/april_2007_web_server_survey.html

India among top 5 countries in Asia for .Info registrations
'.Info', a generic top level domain name for internet address, has become popular in India with the country being placed at third position in Asia for .Info registration.
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=363048&sid=BUS&ssid=54

in: Firm restrained from using 'Tata' trademark
The Delhi High Court has restrained Abacus Outsourcing and Consultancy Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based firm, from using the trademark and trade name 'Tata' or device 'T'. ... Restraining the local company from using Tata's domain name 'www.tatalimited.com', the court withheld company's ICICI Bank account in which it has deposited the money collected from various job seekers.
http://chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7b0013EC4E-80AB-4F59-B51E-0D3A5E5E93D8%7d
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=363348

VeriSign Ranked Among FORTUNE'S 2007 List of "America's Most Admired Companies" (news release)
VeriSign announced it has been named to FORTUNE?s list of ?America?s Most Admired Companies? for 2007. VeriSign debuted as one of the top five companies in the Information Technology Services category and achieved high scores for the use of its corporate assets, its social responsibility initiatives and the quality of its management team.
http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_040905.html

us: Pedophile Web Site Shut Down: Content Violated Host's Standards
A Web site catering to pedophiles and listing local family events was shut down late Wednesday night. Virginia-based Internet service provider Network Solutions suspended the "Seattle-Tacoma- Everett Girl Love" site, which it had been hosting since late last fall. After two calls made to the company earlier this week, its legal department investigated the site and deemed it in violation of the company's standards, said company spokeswoman Susan Wade.
http://redorbit.com/news/technology/887029/pedophile_web_site_shut_down_content_violated_hosts_standards/

When Domain Names Aren't Enough by Paul Hoffman
A recent trend in the Japanese web advertising market may presage changes that could come to the Western world. As described here, some advertising in Japan now includes a picture of a filled-in browser search box instead of a domain name. The idea is that an advertiser can buy top-of-page advertising at the main search engines for various terms and then suggest to people reading their print ads to use those terms to search.
http://www.circleid.com/posts/when_domain_name_not_enough/

us: Internet domain names spark political battle
Melinda Kantner?s domain name is not for sale. Her political opponent owns it. Kantner, the Democratic county controller candidate, learned March 21 that Jason Gherghel, the Republican county controller candidate, had registered her domain name with various suffixes, such as .com, .net and .org. On Thursday, she filed a complaint with the Schuylkill County Board of Election and demanded an investigation of election irregularities and the Pennsylvania election code. Kantner, an outspoken critic of county solicitor Paul J. Datte, also requested an independent counselor review the complaint due to Datte?s ties with the county?s Republican party.
http://www.republicanherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18153520

Privacy options proposed for domain name owners (AP)
Many owners of Internet addresses face this quandary: Provide your real contact information when you register a domain name and subject yourself to junk or harassment. Or enter fake data and risk losing it outright. Help may be on the way. What's this? A key task force last week endorsed a proposal that would give more privacy options to small businesses, individuals with personal Web sites and other domain name owners.
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/technology/04/02/2domain.html

us: Retailer sues registrars in $12 million domain tasting suit
US retailer Neiman Marcus is suing two domain name registrars for more than $12 million over their registration of names containing variations of its brand. The two linked companies are accused of improperly registering more than 40 domain names.
http://out-law.com/page-7914
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/30/domain_tasting_suit/

ResellerClub Crosses 1.5 Million Domains Milestone
ResellerClub announced it now has more than 1.5 million domains under its management. Crossing this milestone also made ResellerClub the 10th largest domain registrar according to Webhosting.info
http://hostreview.com/news/press/070328DirectI.html

**********************
OTHER INTERNET NEWS
**********************
Life online: The Web in 2020: A study by the Social Issues Research Centre
The Life online report, looking as it does toward a vision of the Web in the year 2020, aims to provide an outline and analysis not only of projected technological developments but also their social, political and economic implications. What will the Web look like in 2020? What will it do? Where will it be? How will we use it? SIRC?s starting point has been the notion that the Web in 2020 will meet human needs more fully than it does at present, with many resulting social and political implications. It will have come to provide a renewed forum for social cohesion and democracy as well as continuing as a platform for information, entertainment, communication, shopping, etc. But will it, as some predict, provide a digital alternative to ?real life?, with the distinction between Human and machine becoming ever-more blurred? Or will it, as we believe, be not so indistinguishable from the Web we know today.
http://sirc.org/publik/web2020.shtml
http://sirc.org/publik/web2020.pdf

au: Your sons and daughters 'at same risk' from online predators
Parents are being warned their sons are just as likely to be targeted by internet predators as their daughters, with a survey revealing boys are less hesitant to reveal personal information online. The survey was conducted by Australian federal government body NetAlert and ninemsn.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10432101
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21476332-662,00.html
http://stuff.co.nz/4011368a19716.html

au: Girls beat boys at Internet safety (news release)
Two independent surveys recently conducted by ninemsn and NetAlert have found that girls are more responsible online than boys. The results of the online surveys, undertaken by parents and children separately, also show that while parents say they know what their children are up to when online; the kids are telling a different story.
http://netalert.net.au/03857-Girls-beat-boys-at-Internet-safety.asp

uk: Police probe ?web torture? at top school
One of Britain?s top independent schools is under police investigation over allegations of pupil bullying involving the use of internet images of torture, murder and child pornography. Officers are examining computers taken from the school, in southeast England, for any evidence of such extreme websites being viewed.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1596698.ece

us: Adult site's legal battle could aid Web hosting services
A federal appeals court ruling in a case involving an adult publisher appears to have delivered broader legal protections for online service providers against lawsuits claiming privacy violations and other illicit behavior by their users.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6172184.html

ca: The Clinton Ad and Fair Dealing by Michael Geist
The hot video of the week is the remarkable mash-up of the Apple 1984 advertisement, which in its new incarnation stars Hillary Clinton and promotes Barack Obama.  The video has been viewed more than two million times and received considerable mainstream media news coverage.  An Associated Press story caught my attention as it discussed the prospect of Apple suing the creator of the Clinton version.  The article concludes that a suit is unlikely, given the strong fair use protection for political speech. That may be true from a U.S. perspective, but would the same analysis apply in Canada?
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1825/125/

Sports organizations' new event: Guarding online revenue
When the Pan American Games start in Brazil in July, thousands of top athletes will run, wrestle and leap, but they will not be able to indulge in one popular daily exercise: blogging. Neither will their physicians, coaches or massage therapists, in a blanket ban affecting some 7,000 people during two weeks of competition ending July 29 in Rio de Janeiro. That rule may make some participants wince in virtual pain, but it reflects a spreading trend among international sports institutions to impose vigorous controls over the online use of game information and photographs.
http://iht.com/articles/2007/04/01/news/sports.php

fr: Briton sacked for writing Paris blog wins tribunal case
A British woman sacked for writing a personal blog has won a tribunal against the company that fired her. Catherine Sanderson, 34, was dismissed from her job as a secretary with the Paris branch of British accountancy firm Dixon Wilson last summer after bosses discovered her popular blog.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2046398,00.html

Indian Web site defacing on the rise
As many as 1,190 Indian websites have been defaced by hackers in the first two months of 2007, reflecting a more than three-fold rise in such crimes compared to the corresponding period of last year.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/30deface.htm

uk: Chatroom users face charges over suicide
Dozens of internet users who allegedly goaded a depressed father to hang himself could face criminal charges. Kevin Whitrick, 42, killed himself live on the internet after being incited by chatroom users who initially believed he was play-acting.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2047502,00.html

uk: Internet suicide inquest opens
The inquest into a man?s apparent suicide, which was broadcast live on the internet, will open today. The body of Kevin Whitrick was found at his home in Telford, Shropshire, on March 21 after a chat room user contacted police to report that the father-of-two had ?self-harmed? while online.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1590690.ece

us: Who's guarding your data in the cybervault?
In a remarkable turnaround, ChoicePoint, the giant data broker excoriated two years ago for its lack of precautions as it went about gathering and selling personal data, has recast itself as a model corporate citizen. California's milestone data-theft disclosure law forced ChoicePoint in February 2005 to reveal that it had sold sensitive information for at least 166,000 people to a Nigerian con artist posing as a debt collector. The Federal Trade Commission hit ChoicePoint with a record $10 million fine and ordered it to set aside $5 million to aid data breach victims.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2007-04-01-choicepoint_N.htm

kh: Ban on texts during elections
Text messaging has been banned in Cambodia this weekend, amid fears of political unrest as the country votes for local government administrators.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1593741.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6513027.stm

WTO Rules Against US Net Gambling Ban
The WTO said the U.S. ban on Internet gambling is out of line with international trade policy. This ruling gives hope to Web gambling firms that have been battered by U.S. regulatory and law enforcement activity in recent months. The WTO ruled in favor of the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, which had filed a complaint in May of 2004 and had already won preliminary judgment against the U.S., including possible trade sanctions. That ruling said the U.S. had failed to live up to an earlier agreement to open up Internet gambling after it had put adequate regulations in place.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56626.html
http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/30/business/gamble.php
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1175245440129

Comment and Trackback Spam Pollutes Blogs
Blog spammers have found ways to automate inserting their unwanted messages into online conversations, but the few tools available to block them lag woefully behind.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130297-c,spam/article.html

Spam experts at MIT lift curtain on search
If there is a solution to search engine spam, no one's going to reveal it, according to experts at the MIT Spam Conference 2007 on Friday.
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6172199.html

ICT drives 50% of EU growth, says Commission's annual report on the digital economy
Public and private investment in information and communication technology is bearing fruit, finds the Commission's annual progress report on i2010 - the digitally-led strategy for growth and jobs. Technology is fuelling innovation and productivity, and there are signs of fundamental change in markets and user behaviour, as Europe moves towards a knowledge-based economy.
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=3303

The race to preserve the third space
There are few public spaces on the net, says Bill Thompson, and we need lots more of them: Tila Tequila has more than 1.5 million contacts on MySpace and a profile filled with pages of her scantily-clad form draped over chairs, cars and poles. Visit her page and you get some audio bubblegum to entertain you - apparently a track from her eagerly awaited debut album, for the multi-skilled Ms Tequila is a singer as well as a model. Now she has become the latest online celebrity to come into conflict with a social network site.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6496351.stm

IBM helps blind 'see' web video
IBM has developed a multimedia browser to make content accessible to vision impaired people
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6507189.stm
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130300-c,browsers/article.html

Web news readers have greater attention span: study (Reuters)
People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL292443320070331

uk: Web ad spend overtakes newspapers
Spending on UK internet advertising surged in 2006, overtaking newspaper ads for the first time, a report says. Online advertising expenditure jumped 41.2% to ?2.01bn during the year, the report by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6502773.stm

It may start as innocent flirtation, but be warned, you too could become a lonely MySpace addict by Peaches Geldof (daughter of Bob!)
MySpace is ruining my social life. I have become a serial blogger. It started as a flirtation, something innocent, like a fleeting summer romance. My little sister Pixie was on the computer. As is the custom, I moaned at her to get off (feigning non-existent A-level work I had to do "before it's too late"), then noticed a page full of pictures of her. "Hah! Ego-surfing again, are we?" I cried jubilantly. "No, Peaches, you're the only one who does that," she said. "I'm just uploading some photos on to my MySpace, actually."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2046136,00.html

Brazil to offer free Internet access to Amazon tribes
Brazil's government said it will provide free Internet access to native Indian tribes in the Amazon in an effort to help protect the world's biggest rain forest.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/30/1174761713574.html

in: Wi-fi buses drive rural web use
Buses equipped with wi-fi are being used to deliver web content to remote rural villages in the developing world. In rural India and parts of Rwanda, Cambodia and Paraguay, the vehicles offer web content to computers with no internet connection. The buses and a fleet of motorcycles update their pages in cities before visiting the hard-to-reach communities. As well as offering popular pages, the United Villages project also allows users to request specific information.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6506193.stm

uk: Report predicts new digital divide
A report by a British think tank has made several predictions about how we will live in the year 2020. One prediction is by that time, a new 'digital divide' will have opened, between those who use the internet and computers by choice, and those who 'drop out' in a movement to break away from technology.
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2186784/report-predicts-digital-divide

YouTube May Have Met Its Match
With friends like News Corp., who needs YouTube? Not NBC Universal, apparently. Ditto for AOL, Microsoft, and a who's who of other Internet giants throwing their weight behind a News Corp.-NBC video-sharing service that could prove to be a potent alternative to Google's YouTube.
http://businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070323_690765.htm

uk: I'm yours for ?12,000!
A wannabe Cambridge University student has joined the weird and wacky items for sale on eBay in a bid to secure the ?12,000 he needs to study in the city. ... But while he's got the brains, he lacks funds to make the course a reality and has come up with a novel way to raise the ?12,000 fees - selling himself on auction site eBay.
http://cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2007/03/31/a4a24230-962d-4d98-8d81-e3260d1fbf6a.lpf

Share my life on the internet, 24 hours a day
In the era of CCTV, The Truman Show, Big Brother, blogging and YouTube, the only question left is how far can you go. Now we have the answer. Justin Kan has strapped a camera to the side of his head and invited the world to log on and share his entire life, 24/7.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2047486,00.html

Google Fools: Web Service Through Toilet
Presiding over a company with a market value of $143 billion apparently gives Silicon Valley's most famous billionaires a good sense of humour _ and a case of corporate potty mouth. Senior executives at Google Inc. launched their annual April Fools' Day prank Sunday, posting a link on the company's home page to a site offering consumers free high-speed wireless Internet through their home plumbing systems.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/02/1175366111024.html
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2883&iArticleId=3761500
http://businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8O869EG0.htm

Is Google Too Powerful?
As the Web giant tears through media, software, and telecom, rivals fear its growing influence. Now they're fighting back: It's the year 2014, and Googlezon, a fearsomely powerful combination of search engine Google and online store Amazon.com, has crushed traditional media to bits. Taking its place is the computer-generated Evolving Personalized Information Construct?an online package of news, entertainment, blogs, and services drawn from all the world's up-to-the-minute knowledge and customized to match your preferences. And it's all collected, packaged, and controlled by Googlezon.
http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_15/b4029001.htm

eu: Telecommunications Competition Must Increase -Report
Competition among Europe's telecommunications operators must increase in order for the sector to prosper, the European Commission said Thursday in its annual report on the state of the European telecom market.
http://nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070329%5cACQDJON200703290552DOWJONESDJONLINE000519.htm

Telecoms in the developing world: At your service
The idea of ?universal service? is being extended from voice to broadband: The rapid growth of India's telecoms industry is visible not just in the subscriber numbers?over 6m Indians now sign up for a mobile phone every month?but in other ways, too. This week the government was to have announced the winners of an auction of the rights to create and run networks in remote rural areas. Around the world, such networks are often subsidised by a ?universal service fund? (USF) paid for by taxes on existing telecoms services. Auctions are held, and the network operators that demand the smallest subsidies win. They must then provide a certain number of public payphones, as well as signing up subscribers.
http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8931851

Bush and Clinton cameo at wireless show
Former U.S. Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton on Thursday told wireless executives at an industry event here how important their work is in shaping democracies and economies around the world.
http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/communication/stories/173662.html

uk: Net phone service rules announced
Net phone service providers must be upfront about limitations of their services, regulator Ofcom says. It said suppliers in the fast-growing Voice over IP (VoIP) sector must explain when selling services whether they include emergency services access. Providers, including Skype, must also spell out other limits, including where directory listings are unavailable.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6507587.stm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/29/ofcom_voip/
http://out-law.com/page-7917
http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=8371

nl: Dutch consumer VoIP market reaches 1.8 mln subscribers
The number of VoIP subscriptions sold in the Dutch consumer market segment reached almost 1.8 million at the end of 2006, giving digital telephony a market share of almost 30 percent, according to the latest research from Telecompaper.
http://telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=162996

VoIP and the Emerging-Market Call Center
Many call centers in emerging markets are making the migration from legacy voice and data communications to VoIP platforms as a means of obtaining a much wider range of features that can increase productivity, reduce costs and lead to more efficient and effective management.
http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56575.html

us: Study reveals need for apt VoIP tools
Despite widespread adoption of VoIP in businesses across the United States, a study released by Network Instruments found that network engineers often lack the appropriate tools to manage and troubleshoot VoIP performance problems. According to the study, nearly half of the organizations surveyed have implemented the technology, and 32 percent of these organizations lacked the ability to monitor VoIP performance.
http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800458761_499488_8f4091b520070329_no.HTM
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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 &#167;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



Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com