Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for today's edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The 3 September edition of the news is the 5th birthday edition, following hot on the heels of the 500th edition last week! The first edition was dated 2 September 2002. Headlines from the 3 September edition of the news include: Vint Cerf of Google on the internet's future | Japan will research Net replacement | Internet pipes can't keep up in YouTube age | Buzz of Google's 'intellectual bumblebee' | Malicious Web: Not just porn sites - The New Zealand Honeynet Project | Public Comments Require Changes in ICANN new gTLD Policy by Milton Mueller | Inside Views: Acting To Protect Freedom of Expression At ICANN by Dan Krimm | Court tosses $11 million judgment against Spamhaus | auDA reviews community geographic domain names policy | CTC teaches cyber safety with auDA Foundation grant | China sale spurs domain name boom | Is .EU squatter an accredited registrar? | EURid blocks 10,000 .EU names | .ru to pass 1,000,000 domains in September | Heavy metal domain dispute over pantera.com | Bodog loses domain but strikes back | 'China Barbie' takes on Mattel And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Getting it right: Protecting American critical infrastructure in cyberspace by Sean M. Condron [Harvard Journal of Law & Technology] The attacks of September 11, 2001 highlight the deadly intent of our adversaries and the nation?s vulnerability to ?different, unorthodox, and unimaginable? threats. Due to the low cost and wide availability of computers, cyber attacks are an attractive method of warfare. Unlike traditional military weapons, an adversary can use a personal computer, which can be purchased almost anywhere for a few hundred dollars, to accomplish a military objective. In 2003, the Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Center received reports of 137,529 ?incidents.? Attacks against network systems have become so common that, in 2004, the Computer Emergency Response Team stopped maintaining statistics showing the number of ?incidents.? In 2004, the Congressional Research Service estimated that the economic impact of cyber attacks in the United States was $226 billion. ... It may thus be preferable to approach cyber security as a threat to national security rather than as a criminal matter. This change would raise at least three issues. First, it may be necessary to revisit and clarify the government?s current distinction between homeland security and homeland defense as applied to cyberspace. Second, this change requires consideration of the jus ad bellum paradigm that controls a state?s self-defense response against a cyber attack. Finally, the delicate balance between national security interests and civil liberties should be considered in developing a strategy for responding to cyber attacks. This Article presents a framework for addressing these issues. http://jolt.law.harvard.edu/articles/pdf/v20/20HarvJLTech403.pdf Gaining a Stake in Global Internet Governance: The EU, ICANN and Strategic Norm Manipulation by George Christou & Seamus Simpson [sub req'd] The global governance of the Internet and the influence that the EU is able to exert in international governance institutions are two important topics that this article brings together in the context of the EU's relationship with ICANN. Employing Schimmelfennig's model of rational action in international institutional contexts, the article explores how the EU acted to secure its interests within an organizationally constrained environment. While ICANN was formed through an essentially rationalist process where the EU accepted a less than first-best outcome in return for a stake in its governance, a dialectical relationship thereafter developed where the EU accepted and adapted ICANN's key norms but also asserted its material interests through rhetorical action due to its relatively weak position at ICANN's inception. http://ejc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/22/2/147 The Early Ground Offensives in Internet Governance by Kevin M. Rogers [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd] Abstract: The second stage of the WSIS in Tunisia in November 2005 saw the long-standing debate over who should govern the Internet reach an apparent culmination. The vast majority of parties involved (over 10,000 people from over 170 countries) announced their acquiescence to the final agreement, which allowed ICANN to maintain responsibility for domain name allocation, while introducing a non-binding multi-stakeholder IGF to be set up alongside.1 However, this current paper will show that the agreement provides limited assistance to the ongoing discussion and resolution on Internet Governance, and furthermore that unless the key players - particularly the USA - alter their stance, the Internet is in danger of fragmentation and gridlock, which is a genuine possibility unless the governance of the Internet moves to an International level away from exclusive US control. The conclusions made in Tunisia are not fully representative and the perception of US control has not been removed. Until this is revisited and altered, the Internet remains in considerable threat of break-up and potential gridlock. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778585567 Rethinking Accountability in Cyberspace: A New Perspective on ICANN by C. N. J. De Vey Mestdagh & R. W. Rijgersberg [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd] Abstract: One of the most persistent debates regarding Internet governance concerns ICANN's accountability deficit. This paper identifies the habitual application of a state frame of reference, by which scholars and politicians address accountability issues regarding the domain name system, as the source of this debate. Re-examination of the assumptions underlying two exemplary solutions for the deficit, direct elections and intergovernmental supervision, shows that the state frame of reference informing this debate ultimately breaks down. The availability of alternative services renders the call for a state-based model by which to judge and design ICANN's accountability provisions superfluous. The latter part of the paper shows that a market model is more appropriate to assess ICANN's accountability mechanisms and its role among other domain name services providers. In addition, a market frame of reference enables us to understand ICANN's hybrid organisational structure better. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778582759 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** ISOC Call for Participation: Trust and the Future of the Internet [news release] The Internet Society (ISOC) Board of Trustees is currently engaged in a discovery process to define a long term Major Strategic Initiative to ensure that the Internet of the future remains accessible to everyone. The Board believes that Trust is an essential component of all successful relationships and that an erosion of Trust: in individuals, networks, or computing platforms, will undermine the continued health and success of the Internet. http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/headlines/20070809.shtml Vint Cerf on the future 'Godfather of the internet' talks to us about TV, Google and the net: ... Over the course of several meetings during the day we discussed a wide range of topics including but not limited to: the future of the TV industry, internet censorship, the net in space, Google's plans for mobile phones, being chair of ICANN, where the internet is headed - oh, and what it is he actually does at Google and how he came to be there. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/2007/08/28/vint_cerf_on_the_future.html Call to regulate the net rejected by Vint Cerf The internet should not be used as a scapegoat for society's ills, said Vint Cerf, Google's net evangelist and a founding father of the network. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4's Today programme he rejected calls for strict control of what is put online. He said the net was just a reflection of the society in which we live. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6968322.stm http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today4_20070829.ram [audio interview] http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/08/29/net-evangelists-regulation-rejection Google: censorship is not up to us Internet companies such as Google should not be responsible for censoring content, one of the web's founding fathers has said. Vint Cerf, who is credited with inventing one of the internet's key protocols and now holds the position of chief internet evangelist at Google, said companies should comply with existing laws and take down illegal content when requested to do so, but should not actively seek out breaches. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2347562.ece The Council of Europe contributes to 2007 Internet Governance Forum The Council of Europe has sent its submission to the next Internet Governance Forum taking place from 12 to 15 November in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The Council promotes the public service value of the Internet and places users rights, in particular freedom of expression, and safety at the forefront. The Council plays a leading role in the fight against Internet-based crimes drawing its action from key conventions on cybercrime, terrorism, sexual exploitation of children and counterfeit medicines. Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio will take part in the Forum and address its opening ceremony. For their submission, see: http://www.coe.int/t/dc/press/source/CoE%20submission%20to%20IGF_100807FINAL.doc Google expert says 'TV is dead' One of the founding fathers of the internet has predicted the end of traditional television. Vint Cerf, who helped to build the internet while working as a researcher in America, said that television was approaching its "iPod moment". In the same way that people now download their favourite music onto their iPod, he said that viewers would soon be downloading most of favourite programmes onto their computers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/27/wgoogle127.xml http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2007/08/27/google-evangelist-internet-founder-predicts-web-future http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/godfather%20of%20internet%20predicts%20demise%20of%20tv_1041843 http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/08/29/4455281-sun.html Home broadband customers are crippled, Vint Cerf reckons THE CO-FATHER of the TCP/IP protocol and so-called "father of the Internet" as well told a packed auditorium at the University of Buenos Aires last week that all internet links should be symmetric. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=41961 ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** Latest VeriSign Domain Name Industry Brief Underscores Growth of Internet Internationally [news release] The number of domain names registered globally now totals more than 138 million, according to the second quarter 2007 Domain Name Industry Brief published by VeriSign. The largest TLDs in terms of total base of registrations are .com, .de, .net, .uk, .cn and .org. A factor in the expansion of domain name registrations in the second quarter was strong growth in ccTLD registrations, such as .cn, .ru and .kr. ccTLDs grew to about 51.5 million by the end of the second quarter, approximately 13% more than the first quarter of 2007, and 36% more than the same quarter of last year. Other gTLDs saw growth as well, including .com and .net, which grew to 73 million domain name registrations. Not surprisingly, as domain name registrations increased, so have the demands on the registry infrastructures that enable users to register domain names, access Web sites, send emails or conduct commerce and communications. http://www.verisign.com/press_releases/pr/page_042743.html Country-specific domain names popular [AP] The number of domain name registrations worldwide reached 138 million midway through 2007, a 31% increase from a year earlier, according to VeriSign. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/30/1188067225545.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/158832.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/08/30/1188067225545.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20500486/ http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TECHBIT_DOMAIN_NAMES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-08-29-16-48-25 VeriSign: 138M Domains Registered, New Registration Hits Record http://domainnamewire.com/2007/08/29/verisign-138m-domains-registered-new-registration-hits-record/ Dot-com names get dottier From Abazab to Xoopit, start-ups try to be clever and unique to stand out from the hundreds of new firms online. Still, many are just gibberish ... Silicon Valley is in the midst of a great corporate baby boom. Venture capitalists have pumped $2.5 billion into 400 young Internet companies since the beginning of 2006, compared with $1.3 billion into 236 companies during the previous two years, according to research firm Dow Jones VentureOne. These entrepreneurial brain children have short life expectancies, destined to fight for revenue with the likes of Google, Yahoo and EBay. But still they are being born -- and they need names. Naming a company is far more difficult than naming a child. The name needs to sound snappy, separate its young company from the pack and provide a unique Web address. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-names29aug29,1,3782702.story ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** 'Dream Team' Takes on Black Hats A secretive summit of law enforcement, federal government, ISPs, and select members of the research community held in Washington, D.C., yesterday and today had the distinct air of a hunt -- a manhunt. According to sources who were there, the closed-door Internet Security Operations and Intelligence III (ISOI3) meeting focused more on going after the bad guys behind botnets and cybercrime than just studying malware, as in previous summits. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132400 All of world's biggest firms hit by typosquatting The world's 500 biggest companies have all fallen victim to typosquatting. OUT-LAW research has found that the fast-growing trend of making ad money from web domains similar to famous brands affects all the world's biggest firms. http://out-law.com/page-8423 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/29/biggest_companies_typosquatted/ On the Trail of 'Fast Flux' Botnets Fast-flux botnets are multiplying and making it tougher to trace botnets, but there are ways to sniff out these wily networks run by the dark side, researchers say. "I don't think there's any question that the FFers know they are being monitored," says Nicholas Bourbaki, an independent researcher and fast-flux expert. That poses a few obvious challenges to an investigation, including the perpetrators turning on you: Bourbaki goes only by this pseudonym for fear of reprisal from botnet operators that he tracks and fights. "If you are not a Trend Micro, Symantec, [or] McAfee, you are in the position of being wiped off of the map anytime you get too annoying to these criminals." http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132720 ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN's Whois privacy reforms stalled again A working group set up by ICANN to thrash out differences over proposed privacy changes to the WHOIS database stopped work last week with little real agreement on how or even whether to implement the reforms. The group's failure to come up with a proposal that could have been accepted by ICANN continues a long-standing stalemate on proposed reforms to the way WHOIS data is handled. The group's findings were summarized in a final outcomes document released Aug. 20. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9033398 http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136522-pg,1/article.html http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;368095639;fp;2;fpid;1 If WHOIS Privacy is a Good Idea, Why is it Going Nowhere? by John Levine ICANN has been wrangling about WHOIS privacy for years. Last week, yet another WHOIS working group ended without making any progress. What?s the problem? Actually, there are two: one is that WHOIS privacy is not necessarily all it?s cracked up to be, and the other is that so far, nothing in the debate has given any of the parties any incentive to come to agreement. http://www.circleid.com/posts/782811_whois_privacy_going_nowhere/ ICANN Tests IDN TLD (Live!) by William Tan At ICANN San Juan, I found out from Tina Dam, ICANN?s IDN Program Director, that she was putting together a live IDN TLD test bed plan which includes translations of the string .test into eleven written languages (Arabic, Chinese-simplified, Chinese-traditional, Greek, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Russian, Tamil and Yiddish) and ten scripts (Arabic, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Greek, Han, Hangul, Hebrew, Hiragana, Katakana, Tamil). http://www.circleid.com/posts/782810_icann_tests_idn_tld_live/ ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** DotAsia Partners with ICANNWiki to Harness Online Community Participation for Pioneer Domains Program [news release] DotAsia Organisation, the registry operator of the ?.Asia? Internet domain, today announced a landmark partnership with ICANNWiki, a grassroots domain collaborative website and industry resource for ICANN stakeholders, that will leverage the Web 2.0 web-based communities to expand online community participation for DotAsia?s .Asia Pioneer Domains Program. http://think.asia/press/2007-08-27-DotAsia-PR.html 2007 CIRA Board of Directors Election Campaign Forum Starts August 28, 2007 [news release] The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) launched its online 2007 Board of Directors Election Campaign Forum. The Campaign Forum provides Candidates, CIRA Members, and the general public an opportunity to discuss viewpoints, concerns, and Candidate positions related to how Candidates will serve Canada?s Internet community if elected as a Director in the 2007 CIRA Board of Directors Election. http://cira.ca/news-releases/208.html .cat - 24,000 registrations in first year There will be more than 24,000 .cat registrations after its first year in operation according to reports in Noticiasdot.com. Currently there are over 23,600 registrations. The executive director of Punt.Cat, Jordi Iparaguirre, describes this as a ?notable? achievement. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2462 http://domainpulse.com/2007/08/27/cat-24000-registrations-in-first-year/ http://domainnews.com/registries/2007082805/cat-24000-registrations-in-first-year/ ch: Switzerland's one-millionth domain name: www.ez14.ch [news release] The holder of the one millionth domain name is called Laurent Sch?tz and comes from Lucerne. EZ14 stands for "Einsatzzug 14" (Engine 14) of the City of Lucerne's fire brigade. Laurent Sch?tz had the idea of setting up the website a few days before he registered the domain name. He intends to use the website to post photos of joint excursions for his colleagues. http://switch.ch/about/news.html?id=146 New registration system for .CZ CZ NIC, registry for the Czech Republic's .CZ domain, is launching an updated registration system called DSDng which translates as Distributed Next Generation Domain Administration. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/092/new-registration-system-for-cz.php Now more than 2.5 million .eu registrations Eighteen months after its official launch, there are now more than 2.5 million .eu domain names. While most registrants continue to use their gTLD or ccTLD address as their default domain name, there are a number of companies and organisations using their .eu domain, most multinational or pan-European companies still use the .com or .org address as the default. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2463 http://domainpulse.com/2007/08/27/now-more-than-25-million-eu-registrations/ http://domainnews.com/registries/2007082810/now-more-than-25-million-eu-registrations/ EU web domain name grows rapidly One year after its official launch, the internet domain name .eu has drawn more than 2.5m registrations, making it one of the fastest growing top TLDs on the web. ... However, most groups continue to use international domains such as .org or .com domain name or their national TLD in parallel. The new domain has proved especially popular with groups created by cross-border mergers ? such as Dexia, the Franco- Belgian group ? and with companies registered outside their home country for regulatory reasons. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ec3d2460-e84a-11db-b2c3-000b5df10621.html http://www.circleid.com/posts/eu_domain_cross_border/ EURid Suspends More Domains EURid is reported to have taken action against an alleged cybersquatter based in China, Zheng Qingying. John over on WhoisIreland picked up the story from DomainsInfo. He?s also provided a list with some of the domains affected. http://www.circleid.com/posts/78299_eurid_suspends_more_domains/ http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2007/08/29/eurid-suspends-more-domains/ Flemish extreme right groups want a Geo TLD by Patrick Vande Walle Now that Catalonia got its .cat domain, other regions are coming up with similar requests. One of those is lead by a group of associations from the Belgian Flanders region, claiming a .VL TLD. The Jonge Vlamingen association is a nationalist group wishing to make Flanders independent from Belgium. http://patrick.vande-walle.eu/internet/icann/dot-vl/ The most popular three rumors answered by Neil Edwards, CEO dotMobi There are three rumors floating around the blogosphere about dotMobi right now. I feel compelled to give you the CEO view on them. You may choose to ignore what I say, but I have no problem answering the mail in a public forum. The rumours addressed are: 1. dotMobi investors are doing nothing with .mobi and created the company as a money making scam; 2. dotMobi will never release its premium names and 3. dotMobi put too much emphasis on live sites. http://dotmobi.typepad.com/dotmobi/2007/08/the-most-popula.html ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Bodog hit with $48-million judgment Online gambling website Bodog.com was out of service Monday and remained inoperative Tuesday, apparently due to a $48.6-million default judgment obtained by a Las Vegas company against Bodog in a patent infringement case. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=0ab54419-fc28-447b-95ce-4f96bb381756 http://domainpulse.com/2007/08/29/bodogcom-domain-name-dispute/ http://domainnews.com/litigation/2007082914/bodogcom-domain-name-dispute/ Bodog apparently involved in legal struggle for control of the Bodog.com domain Online poker players have noticed connection problems at Bodog.com over the last few days, with the problem escalating and reaching an apparent peak today, as virtually no players were able to connect to the site or the room. Apparently the cause behind these troubles is an unspecified legal dispute over the Bodog.com domain name. http://news.parttimepoker.com/2007/08/28/bodog-apparently-involved-in-legal-struggle-for-control-of-the-bodogcom-domain/ http://www.ogpaper.com/news/news-0943.html http://www.gambling911.com/Bodog-Website-Down-082807.html http://www.poker-king.com/poker-king-articles.php?article=234 http://news.parttimepoker.com/2007/08/28/bodog-poker-loses-control-of-domain-name-in-lawsuit/ us: Anti-cyber squatting statutes broken The City of Bridgeton wants a recently retired city police officer who oversees an Internet chat room and message board on which users wax critical about the current city administration to relinquish ownership of several domain names bearing the city's name. http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/local/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1188367843322550.xml&coll=10 Barbie comes out swinging - perspective by Eric J. Sinrod It is not a good idea to offend Barbie. Case in point--Mattel has sued a company called Global China Networks for infringing on the Barbie trademark. The dispute stems from GCN's use of the domain name ChinaBarbie.com, a pornographic Web site. Mattel accuses GCN of cybersquatting, trademark dilution, trademark infringement and unfair competition. http://news.com.com/2010-1030_3-6204958.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6204958.html iREIT Drops TM-Typo Domains? by George Kirikos As faithful CircleID readers will know, iREIT (Internet REIT, Inc.), a Texas domain name portfolio investment corporation, has been sued by Verizon and by Vulcan Golf for cybersquatting. It appears iREIT is taking steps to clean up its portfolio by deleting obvious typos of famous trademarks. http://www.circleid.com/posts/78298_ireit_drops_typo_domains/ ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** IPv6 passes first test on applications In the first large-scale test of basic enterprise networking with IPv6, applications using the next-generation IP in real-world conditions passed muster. Until recently, most of the attention on IPv6 has concentrated on the network backbone, but this summer?s tests at the University of New Hampshire?s InterOperability Laboratory (IOL) focused instead on applications. http://www.gcn.com/print/26_22/44924-1.html Move to IPv6 to Intensify Next Year New standards being introduced to manage domain names and IP addresses will make the Internet more secure and better identifiable, according to ICANN official Stephen D. Crocker. http://cio.in/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=3798 Lockheed Martin Announces IPv6 Transition Pilot [news release] Lockheed Martin announced it will transition a portion of its global network to IPv6. The pilot program will work through all phases of a full-scale IPv6 transition, similar to one that a government agency would undertake. http://lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=18545&rsbci=0 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** PacINET 2007 ? A quick review [news release] ... Attended by more than 300 participants, with about 100 from outside Solomon Islands, and opened by the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Hon. Manasseh Sogavare, participants congratulated the Local organisation committee chaired by Christina Wini for running a very successful International meeting. "It is important that all Pacific islanders encourage their governments, Internet Service Providers and Internet users to collaborate on effectively harnessing the power of the Internet as a global repository of knowledge.", Hon. Manasseh Sogavare said in his opening speech. http://scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00650.htm Google-GoDaddy Marriage on Tap? Google surprised the industry when it became accredited as a registrar more than two years ago, with analysts questioning whether or not it was planning to challenge the registrar incumbents. But Google insisted it just wanted to gain a better understanding of the DNS (domain name system) to support its Google Apps strategy. ... But some industry experts are wondering if there is more to this relationship than meets the eye. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2177278,00.asp Infoblox Buys IP Address Management Firm California-based Infoblox yesterday agreed to buy Ipanto to beef up IP address management capabilities in its network appliance portfolio. http://www.computerwire.com/industries/research/?pid=165529E4%2D5058%2D465E%2D9FD3%2D34D191E3DFA8 Google Webmaster Central Supporting IDNA Domains Google Webmaster Central has announced that it is now supporting the Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) movement which lets site owners secure domains which are not limited to the basic letters of the English Alphabet, numbers 0-9 or hyphens. http://searchenginejournal.com/google-webmaster-central-supporting-idna-domains/5559/ ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Domain Names for Boostrappers Last night I led a discussion for the web subgroup of Bootstrap Austin, an organization for people starting or running a bootstrapped business. I discussed finding the right domain name for their businesses without breaking the bank. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/08/28/domain-names-for-boostrappers/ ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** li.com sells for US$500,000 ... Sedo.com had a fabulous fortnight piling up 27 of the 50 highest sales including the top two and seven of the first ten. LI.com led the way for them at $500,000 in a deal that is the 11th highest sale reported so far this year. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales08-28-07.htm ********************** OTHER RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Technology and Pornography by Dawn C. Nunziato [Brigham Young University Law Review] Abstract: Over the past decade, legislators and industry players have attempted to employ technology to restrict the availability to minors of sexually-themed Internet content. Legislative efforts have relied on adult verification and software filtering technology. The constitutionality of such schemes generally depends on the level of sophistication, efficacy, and deployment of adult verification technology, the burdens that the required use of such technology imposes on content providers and Internet end users, and availability of less restrictive but equally effective alternatives for achieving the government's interest. In the case of both the CDA and COPA, challengers pointed to the less restrictive alternative of software filters in convincing the Court to strike down these statutes as constitutionally infirm. Recently, an organization called CP80 has proposed legislation (Internet Community Ports Act) that would require that all Internet content be classified by content providers into one of two categories - Adult/Inappropriate for Minors or Appropriate for Minors. This proposed legislation relies on port-filtering technology to restrict minors' access to the former category of content. Under this proposed scheme, certain Internet ports would be designated as Adult Ports to transmit adult content while others would be designated as Community Ports to be used for all other content. Individual users would then direct their ISPs to provide content to them on all ports or only on Community Ports. In this Article, Professor Nunziato scrutinises attempts to use technology to remedy the problem of minors' access to harmful Internet content, focusing on the relationship between the efficacy of the technology and the constitutionality of the legislation at issue. The more effective software filtering becomes in restricting minors' access to harmful content, the less likely the courts will uphold other legislative means. She then analyses the foundational First Amendment jurisprudence regarding the regulation of minors' access to sexually-themed content. Next, I examine the fate of Congress's recent efforts to regulate in this area, with particular emphasis on the current status of COPA. Finally, she analyses the constitutionality of the proposed Internet Community Ports Act in light of the scrutiny courts have imposed upon prior legislative efforts and the burdens the Act would impose on content providers and Internet users. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1003394 The Radio and the Internet by Susan P Crawford [Cardozo Legal Studies Research Paper] Abstract: The airwaves offer the potential for contributing to enormous economic growth if they are used more efficiently for facilitating high-speed internet access, but recent industry and government actions have failed to follow this path. This Article evaluates the multi-billion-dollar 700 MHz auction regime established by the Federal Communications Commission in August 2007 as a case study in our national approach to this valuable resource, and argues that the public interest would best be served by having ubiquitous access to the internet be the top priority of communications policy. The Article criticizes the nearly exclusive focus of the FCC on the interests of incumbents and law enforcement, and suggests that spectrum policy be focused on enabling unlicensed uses of the airwaves that can assist the nation with online access. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1007221 Regulation of Blog Campaign Advocacy on the Internet: Comparing U.S., German and EU Approaches by Allison Hayward [George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper] Abstract: This essay examines how U.S., Germany, and EU cases have treated the regulation of political commentary on the Internet. As political blogging grows in popularity, the reach of these sites, and their influence in political campaigns, may make them a target for regulation by rivals and incumbents, both at home and abroad. Since ordinarily any URL can be reached from anywhere with Internet access, conflicting domestic rules about what can be said (and who can say it) present potential for conflicting rules on blogging. In brief, U.S. law protects blogging content, but may impose restrictions on the source of political commentary by barring certain funding sources. German law imposes stricter limits on the content of blogging, but does not regulate financial sources to the same degree. European court rulings may offer greater protection than domestic German law, but seem inconsistent and thus add uncertainty and ambiguity to the situation. In the end, bloggers may avoid legal entanglement because they enjoy public sympathy and support, but better still would be an international agreement to spare blogging from prosecution. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1008928 Internet Content Regulation: Is a Global Community Standard a Fallacy or the Only Way Out? by Abhilash Nair [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd] Abstract: One of the major factors that render it difficult to regulate content on the Internet is its borderless nature. The concept of 'contemporary community standards' was initially seen as unworkable in the Internet context. While the line of argument that if a publisher chooses to send its material into a particular community, it is the publisher's responsibility to abide by that community's standards was the accepted norm in the traditional forms of media, this was considered too harsh an approach to be applied for the Internet. There has been a shift in this rigid position over the years, which was reflected in the US Supreme Court decision in Ashcroft v. ACLU when the court held that reliance on community standards to identify material that is harmful to minors does not by itself render the statute substantially overbroad for purposes of the First Amendment. Protection of children is at the core of all arguments for regulating content, so there has been no dearth for analogies drawn to the considerable uniform standard already achieved in other areas such as child pornography. The article will examine the strength of different arguments in favour of establishing a global community standard for the Internet, and in particular will analyse this in the context of sovereignty of states, free expression rights, and the rights children already enjoy in the offline world but unfortunately not so much in the online world. It is argued that while a global standard is difficult to achieve, it is not impossible and there are factors that are worthy of consideration that should prompt us to look towards this direction. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778584101 Holding Companies to Account in Cyberspace: The Threat Posed by Internet-based, Anti-corporate Campaigners by Tom Burns [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [sub req'd] Abstract: Companies are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation to reach new markets and to lower their costs. It is common for large companies to establish overseas subsidiaries. The different legal regimes and law enforcement policies that exist in many developing economies and the current weaknesses of international regulation means that it can be difficult to hold international companies to account when they transgress. However, this may be changing to some extent as a result of the Internet. This paper proposes to examine the extent to which the Internet can act as a medium for non-governmental organisations and pressure groups to bring about changes in corporate behaviour where the law or law enforcement has proved to be ineffective in curbing corporate abuses. New developments on the web (and particularly the rise of the 'blog') have been strengthening the persuasive power of pressure groups and the NGOs with regards to companies. However, this state of affairs may not last as companies seek new ways to limit the impact of these groups on their corporate strategies. This paper shall examine how companies are currently dealing with the threat to their corporate reputations from the Internet and shall consider whether companies can succeed in keeping effective regulation of their international commercial activities in the global market place at bay. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778582576 Weaving the Mesh: Finding Remedies in Cyberspace by Joseph A. Cannataci & Jeanne Pia Mifsud-Bonnici [International Review of Law, Computers & Technology] [ sub req'd] Abstract: This paper will categorise cyberspace as a microcosm of Darwinistic evolution, tracing the organic growth that has resulted in the increasingly tangled web of rules that today stretches throughout the on-line world. This evolution has produced a complementarity and interdependence between private and state regulation in a manner that will probably long affect current and future trends in the governance of cyberspace. The paper concludes that, while rule systems will continue to converge, the driving force will remain the perennial search to provide remedies to the needs of clients. The latter drive for real-time remedies for real problems will probably produce workable rule-systems faster because they are pushed by the needs of millions of customers operating within the context of on-line market economics. This is in direct contrast to the development of formal rules for Internet governance by states. Lawyers need practical solutions for their clients and this paper identifies a number of private international law problems that will increasingly dominate public law issues in cyberlaw. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778583691 ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Google: censorship is not up to us Internet companies such as Google should not be responsible for censoring content, one of the web's founding fathers has said. Vint Cerf, who is credited with inventing one of the internet's key protocols and now holds the position of chief internet evangelist at Google, said companies should comply with existing laws and take down illegal content when requested to do so, but should not actively seek out breaches. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article2347562.ece Internet censorship should be trade barrier: Google Internet censorship should be treated as a barrier to trade, according to the chief executive of search and advertising giant Google. Speaking last week at a conference organised by US thinktank the Progress & Freedom Foundation, Eric Schmidt said that to defend freedom of speech, governments should use Internet censorship as a non-tariff trade barrier. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39288868,00.htm http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Internet-censorship-should-be-trade-barrier-Google/0,130061733,339281587,00.htm German left slam email spy plan Left-wing members of the ruling coalition have objected strongly to plans by the German interior ministry to enlist email spy software to monitor terror suspects. A ministry spokesman confirmed that the proposed plank of new anti-terror legislation vetted the use of "Trojans" which smuggle themselves into a suspect's computer disguised as a harmless email. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22332480-15306,00.html Yahoo Says It Sympathizes With Chinese Citizens Suing The Company In its request for dismissal, Yahoo says the real issue is with governments that restrict free speech and privacy, and not a legal concern related to its actions. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803022 Yahoo files to dismiss China human rights suit Yahoo on Monday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two Chinese journalists who alleged that the Internet company and its subsidiaries "willingly" handed over information about their online writing to the People's Republic of China. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204746.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6204746.html Yahoo in China human rights case A human rights group in the US is suing Yahoo for alleged complicity in rights abuses and acts of torture in China. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6966116.stm http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2157506,00.html http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2340803.ece Yahoo to Court: Dismiss Torture Case Earlier this year, a Chinese political prisoner and his wife sued Yahoo in federal court in San Francisco, accusing the company of abetting in the commission of torture by helping the Chinese government to identify political dissidents who were later beaten and tortured. Another political prisoner has since joined the case. Now Yahoo has asked the court to dismiss the case. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/27/yahoo-to-court-dismiss-torture-case/ http://ecommercetimes.com/story/aP0qFhMbKxXGBK/Yahoo-Torture-Case-Has-No-Place-in-American-Courts.xhtml http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201802784 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/27/AR2007082701581.html Beijing Police Launch Virtual Web Patrol [AP] Police in China's capital said Tuesday they will start patrolling the Web using animated beat officers that pop up on a user's browser and walk, bike or drive across the screen warning them to stay away from illegal Internet content. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20477258/ http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/28/technology/AS-TEC-China-Web-Police.php http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067117879.html China virtual police to patrol for online porn [Reuters] China is sending out two virtual police officers to patrol the Internet to combat online pornography and other "illicit activity," state media said on Wednesday. The virtual officers, a man and a woman, "will appear either on motorcycles, in a car or on foot, at the bottom of users' computer screens every 30 minutes to remind them of Internet security," the China Daily said. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6205046.html http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6205046.html China to Put Cartoon Cops on Internet Patrols Big Brother will soon be making regular appearances on the screens of Internet users in China, but the velvet fist will take the unexpected form of a cute pair of manga cartoon cops. http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,502711,00.html China Telecom Shutters 8808 Illegal Websites A representative from China Telecom (CHA) has disclosed to local media that in coordination with the Chinese ministries' campaign against online porn, China Telecom had closed 8808 illegal websites over the past four months. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/08/29/5823-china-telecom-shutters-8808-illegal-websites/ Chinese Online Shopping Websites Monitored In Beijing The Department of Industry and Commerce of Beijing's Dongcheng District has disclosed to local media that they have listed 533 online shopping websites, including Eachnet and Dangdang.com, as key targets of supervision. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/08/28/5818-chinese-online-shopping-websites-monitored-in-beijing/ ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ G-8: Ministers? Declaration: Reinforcing the International Fight Against Child Pornography [news release] Child pornography grievously harms all children: it harms the child who is sexually assaulted in the making of the image; the same child is re-victimized every time that image is viewed; and it harms all children because it portrays them as a class of objects for sexual exploitation. We categorically denounce those who sexually exploit children by producing images of their sexual abuse and by distributing or collecting such images. Because no child should be victimized in this horrific way, today we pledge to redouble our efforts to enforce the international fight against child pornography. http://www.bmi.bund.de/cln_012/nn_769658/Internet/Content/Nachrichten/Pressemitteilungen/2007/Einzelseiten/G8__Muenchen__Ministererklaerung__Kinder__en.html Are web filters just a waste of everyone's time and money? As our regular columnist Seth Finkelstein would tell you, the only people who truly benefit from web filters are the people who make them - such as those who laboured on those provided under the Australian government's NetAlert filter scheme at a total cost of A$84m (?34.7m). http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/30/guardianweeklytechnologysection.internet1 au: Coonan admits filter flaws The Australian government has admitted no internet child safeguards were foolproof after a teenager claimed he was able to break through its multi-million dollar pornography filter in minutes. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,22320722-5013040,00.html Coonan says 'better to have filtering than not' after teen hack Senator Helen Coonan hits back at reports that the Government's recently launched NetAlert home internet security program can be easily hacked. http://itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=60041 http://www.crn.com.au/story.aspx?CIID=90734 No porn filter can stop porn entirely: Govt Following the news a teenage boy has cracked the government's filtering software in half an hour, the Communications Minister has warned parents to be vigilant about their children's exploits online whether they use filters or not. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/No-porn-filter-can-stop-porn-entirely-Govt/0,130061791,339281562,00.htm Don't ask, don't tell: why internet safety policy is cracked What are young people really doing online, and does it really matter? Well it certainly matters to them, but all too readily we think we know what they're doing. We also think we know what's required to keep them safe and secure in this space. But do we? http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2017058.htm au: Govt to investigate porn filter hacking claims Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says claims a Melbourne teenager hacked into an anti-pornography filter are being investigated. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/27/2016558.htm Aussie gov anti-porn filter 'useless', says teen The anti-pornography filtering software dished out by the Australian government at a cost of AUS$84m has been broken in minutes by a teenager, according to reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/28/aussie_filter_broken/ http://itnews.com.au/News/NewsStory.aspx?story=60080 http://www.pcw.co.uk/vnunet/news/2197474/child-beats-australia-national au: Filtering the internet The Federal Government spent $84 million on an internet pornography filter to protect children and released it last Tuesday. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22319071-24218,00.html us: Man Who Put Girls? Photos on Internet to Exit a State [AP] A self-described pedophile said he would leave California after a judge ordered him to stay away permanently from places where children gather, the man told a television station for a report that was broadcast Sunday. http://nytimes.com/2007/08/27/us/27pedophile.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** 'Dream Team' Takes on Black Hats A secretive summit of law enforcement, federal government, ISPs, and select members of the research community held in Washington, D.C., yesterday and today had the distinct air of a hunt -- a manhunt. According to sources who were there, the closed-door Internet Security Operations and Intelligence III (ISOI3) meeting focused more on going after the bad guys behind botnets and cybercrime than just studying malware, as in previous summits. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132400 sg: PacNet need not reveal downloaders' names In a surprise court ruling, a judge has decided that Pacific Internet (PacNet) does not have to reveal names of subscribers who allegedly downloaded pirated versions of the Japanese cartoons. Anime distributor Odex has been demanding the names of up to 1,000 PacNet downloaders. http://digital.asiaone.com/Digital/News/Story/A1Story20070824-22910.html nz: Westpac to cover customers for internet fraud Westpac has broken ranks with the other big banks and guaranteed customers it will reimburse them for any losses they suffer as a result of Internet banking fraud. ... Keith Davidson, of InternetNZ, said Westpac had thrown down the gauntlet to all banks to go beyond the code's minimum requirements. http://stuff.co.nz/4181650a28.html http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/C83DF440B9B0A51FCC2573450024D7BE http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10460455 au: Police arrest suspected internet predator Western Australian police believe they have captured an international conman preying on women in internet dating chatrooms. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/29/2018971.htm The Right to Speak Anonymously on the Internet is not Absolute The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects freedom of speech and sufficient case law extends this Constitutional right to Internet speech. Yet, just as the freedom of speech, Internet speech is not absolute. Most US Courts are ruling against tortuous and criminal Internet speech, after a cautious balance between freedom of speech and privacy rights. Due to its nature, Internet communications seem to constantly involve forms of expression that intermingle with privacy issues in cyberspace. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1840 Legal threats halt iPhone crack A British firm which claims to have unlocked the iPhone is holding back the software following legal threats. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6966600.stm http://out-law.com/page-8420 iPhone hacker swaps secret for car A teenager who unlocked his iPhone so it could be used on networks outside the US has traded the gadget for a brand new Nissan 350Z. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067144694.html Six major Internet companies sued over e-mail filtering patent Google, Yahoo, AOL, Amazon.com, Borders. and IAC/InteractiveCorp have been sued by Marshall, Texas-based Polaris IP LLC for allegedly violating its patent for an "automatic message interpretation and routing system." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9033623 http://out-law.com/page-8426 ************************** PRIVACY ************************** One in 10 Aussies victims of ID theft: report Almost 2 million Australians have had their personal details stolen and used fraudulently by a third party, according to a report released today by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which highlights the internet as a growing privacy pain point. The report found only 17% of Australians trusted online businesses to handle their personal information responsibly, compared with 37% for regular retailers, 73% for government departments and 91% for health service providers. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/28/1188067100796.html http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2018000.htm National privacy survey: ID theft, ID scanning and online privacy concerns are on the rise [news release] A national survey commissioned by the Office of the Australian Privacy Commissioner has found that technological developments have increased Australians' privacy concerns. http://privacy.gov.au/news/media/2007_15.html nz: Internet a resource for identity thieves Internet users could unwittingly be exposing themselves to identity fraud through social networking websites, Internet privacy experts say. Auckland University computer science researcher Peter Gutmann said people needed to be more cautious when posting personal information on sites such as Bebo and MySpace. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4181713a6479.html Monster says millions of users' data may be stolen [Reuters] The theft of contact information for job seekers in the database of Monster Worldwide was greater than the 1.3 million individuals the company reported last week, Chief Executive Sal Iannuzzi said on Wednesday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2937065020070830 Monster Outlines Anti-Fraud Measures Job searching site warns users to watch out for fraud and says that its recent security breach "was not an isolated incident." http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136544-c,sites/article.html http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/08/29/Monster-outlines-anti-fraud-measures_1.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** China accused of hacking into heart of Merkel administration China has hacked into the computers of Angela Merkel?s Chancellery and three other German ministries in an extraordinary economic espionage operation that threatens to blight the German leader?s already delicate trip to Beijing this week. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2332130.ece China's Premier 'Gravely Concerned' by Hack on Germany Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is "gravely concerned" by allegations that hackers in his country have attacked German government systems, according to a report from the two countries' diplomatic meeting earlier today. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=132479 http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9032898 http://golem.de/0708/54346.html [German] http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/94980 [German] Deal struck on net radio royalties Internet radio stations in the US have reached an agreement with the body charged with collecting copyright royalties from them. The news is a breakthrough in a long-running dispute that stations said threatened the future of internet radio. http://out-law.com/page-8415 au: Qld govt sets lean, green PC shopping policy The Queensland Government has announced a new 'green' IT procurement plan, covering all government agency purchases of PCs, laptops and servers over the next three years. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/hardware/soa/Qld-govt-sets-lean-green-PC-shopping-policy/0,130061702,339281538,00.htm nz: Broadband ruling 'will stifle competition' High wholesale broadband prices proposed by the Commerce Commission will stifle competition, not encourage it, says an industry player. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4183135a28.html ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Japan's Warp-Speed Ride to Internet Future Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service here is eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.html The end of communications as we know it [news release] New research released today by Dimension Data shows that e-mail has overtaken telephony as a communication tool in the workplace. Other electronic communication tools are also reaching high adoption levels. http://www.dimensiondata.com/NR/rdonlyres/1FF223E4-ADCC-4CC3-A332-7D2983605C44/7616/THEENDOFCOMMUNICATIONSASWEKNOWIT1.pdf European phone companies push ahead on Internet television Several European phone companies this week plan to announce major expansions of Internet protocol television, or IPTV, led by Deutsche Telekom, which is spending ?3 billion and so far has wired 15 million German households, or roughly 4 in 10, for broadband TV. The moves will put Europe, which some analysts say already leads the globe in Internet TV, further ahead of the United States and Asia in this field. But despite the flurry of interest in digital video, skeptics say that it is not clear that IPTV has a future as a stand-alone business for telephone companies. http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/28/business/tv.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/business/worldbusiness/29tele.html Majority of British households on broadband Internet [AFP] The majority of households in the United Kingdom now have a broadband Internet connection, official statistics out Tuesday showed. A total of 15.23 million households (61%) have Internet access, an increase of nearly one million households (7%) on last year, said the 2007 National Statistics Omnibus Survey. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067136681.html Harnessing the internet force by John Nirenberg We know computer, electronics and telecommunications technologies are influencing every aspect of our lives. But not many of us have really integrated the way these technologies affect business life into the way we operate professionally. Not many of us really grasp how the new technologies transform company processes. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/exclusions/bizschool/nosplit/27/BSSessay127.xml The Cost Of America's Slow Internet Connection While America once held the place of the most wired country in the world, its internet connection has dropped behind in the broadband race. And the numbers show that not only is America's connection slower, it's costlier. America fell far from first place in broadband technology in a recent study. Countries ahead of the U.S. include South Korea, Japan and Slovenia. Japan and South Korea see 100 Mbps connections for about $40 per month. The best connections in the U.S. barely reach 1/2 this speed and cost much more. http://nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070827%5cACQRTT200708271608RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0656.htm& http://www.rttnews.com/sp/todaystop.asp?date=08/27/2007&item=12 http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/08/rural-america-w.html Nokia to Introduce Digital Music Service The Nokia Music Store, to open later this year, will let users download songs from the Internet to their computers or directly to mobile phones, over wireless networks. http://iht.com/articles/2007/08/29/business/nokia.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/technology/30nokia.html Nokia goes head to head with Apple New phone and music download service from Nokia takes the Finnish company head to head with Apple. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/08/29/nokia_goes_head_to_head_with_apple.html Nokia launches web music service Mobile phone maker Nokia has launched a music and games download service, challenging both rival handset makers and mobile phone network providers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6969174.stm http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201802992 ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** EU security organisation asks 'How Safe is Social Networking?' Bebo, Myspace, Twitter, Facebook - Social Networking is a web success story of the new century. The usage statistics are massive - Myspace claimed its 100 Millionth user in August 2006. But a recent European Network and Information Security Agency workshop put the question - ?how safe are social networks?? http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11156 Google's Secret Society Who's the Google of social networking sites? The obvious answer may seem to be Facebook, given its rapid growth, successful cooperation with application developers, and ever-smarter ad targeting. But by some measures, the real answer is even more obvious: Google itself. This week, Google is drawing attention to its often-ignored social networking site, Orkut.com, with a redesign intended to prettify the site's Spartan look. And attention is deserved: Despite its low profile in the U.S., Orkut now draws 38.2 billion page views a month worldwide, 7.8 billion more than Facebook, according to comScore Media Metrix. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/08/28/google-brazil-network-tech-cx_ag_0828orkut.html Facebook & Predicting Behaviour All this data we are putting into the web - say, into our blogs and into facebook and elsewhere, could be used for much more than just figuring out what kind of sneaker ads we're likely to want to see. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-mcguire/facebook-predicting-beh_b_62418.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Breaking barriers: Technology is opening new doors for people with disabilities ... But like many people with disabilities, Mr Ah Tong-Pereira is turning to digital technology to help him adapt the way he communicates and participates in the world around him. Mr Ah Tong-Pereira, who works for Vision Australia, relies on a variety of digital tools each day that help him read books and newspapers as well as use a computer and browse the internet. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/08/29/1188067156259.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** German anger over neo-Nazi YouTube clips [Reuters] Video-sharing website YouTube has met with harsh criticism in Germany for hosting clips that incite racial hatred, according to a news report due to be broadcast on German public TV. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/08/28/2016987.htm http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22320717-15306,00.html http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6204719.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL2751050320070827 http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=3010699 [German] Court rules against TorrentSpy in hacking case A lawsuit filed last year by TorrentSpy--a BitTorrent search engine--that accused the movie studios' trade group of intercepting the company's private e-mails, was tossed out of court last week. But while a U.S. District judge found that the Motion Picture Association of America had not violated the federal Wiretap Act, as TorrentSpy's attorneys had argued, the MPAA acknowledged in court records that it paid $15,000 to obtain private e-mails belonging to TorrentSpy executives. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204948.html TorrentSpy shuts down in the U.S. TorrentSpy.com, the BitTorrent tracking site facing a copyright lawsuit from the motion picture industry, is shutting down access to users in the United States, the company said in a statement late Sunday night. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204618.html Russian music site to 'relaunch' The contentious Russian music download site allofmp3.com looks set to resume business after a Moscow court ruled it was legal under the country's law. A statement on the website, shut down in July, said the service would resume "in the foreseeable future". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6967172.stm http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6204898.html http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2341043.ece ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** au: Labor to scrap $1.9 billion WiMAX network Shadow minister for communications and IT Stephen Conroy has smashed the federal government's Australia Connected initiative and promised to wipe out the broadband taskforce if Labor wins government. http://computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1601507379;fp;2;fpid;1 ********************** VoIP ********************** Jericho Forum voices concerns over VoIP security A leading member of the Jericho Forum security group has criticized the security of voice over IP technology after researchers revealed that it was possible to eavesdrop on VoIP conversations. http://news.com.com/2100-7355_3-6205178.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39288928,00.htm VoIP, unified communications study reveals challenges VoIP and unified communications applications have caused performance issues with other applications as companies continue to converge communications applications onto their IP networks, according to a recent study conducted by network management supplier Network General. http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/08/29/226429/voip-unified-communications-study-reveals-challenges.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.cynosure.com.au/mailman/private/dns/attachments/20070903/ccc73128/attachment-0001.htmReceived on Mon Sep 03 2007 - 07:53:12 UTC
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