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! Headlines from the October 22 edition of the news include: Internet Governance, Global Privacy and IGF-Rio | ICANN Posts Draft of Strategic Plan for Consultation | gov.uk websites - accessible or offline by end 2008! | Have a CERTs - attending GovCert.NL Symposium in the Netherlands by Milton Mueller | Security experts say Rock Phish widening net And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Internet preparing to go into outer space [AFP] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300852020.html ICANN Posts Next Draft of Accountability and Transparency Frameworks and Principles for Consultation http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-17oct07.htm My Name, My Language, My Internet: IDN Test Goes Live http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-15oct07.htm Maori domain names coming to New-Zealand? http://domainesinfo.fr/english/118/maori-domain-names-coming-to-new-zealand.php AC/DC win web battle http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22589614-5001026,00.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22588611-2,00.html Internet Hijacker, Mousetrapper, John Zuccarini Settles FTC Charges http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3020 us: Internet Hijacker, Mousetrapper Settles FTC Charges [news release] http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/cupcake.shtm Pirates commandeer anti-piracy domain name http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300696657.html ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** The ?Internet of Things,? the Internet and Internet Governance by Brian Cute As the second Internet Governance Forum approaches, it is an appropriate moment to take stock of how the Internet Governance dialogue has evolved since the conclusion of the WSIS Summit in 2005. One year after the first IGF in Athens, it is clear that government, industry and civil society stakeholders are still grappling over the direction and focus of the IGF. For skeptics who view the IGF as little more than a talk shop that kicked the Internet Governance ?can? down the road five years, the evolution of this dialogue is of minor consequence. For those who view the IGF as something more, it is clear that the IGF dialogue will indeed evolve and, along the way, will impact the conceptual approach governments take to the Internet itself. There is little doubt that some governments will choose to borrow concepts from the IGF when developing law and policy and will ultimately apply them to the Internet within their respective jurisdictions. Given the global nature of the Internet, this should be a fundamental concern. http://www.circleid.com/posts/7101616_the_internet_of_things_governance/ iSchool Takes Leadership Role in Promoting Discussion of Global Internet Governance [news release] The School of Information Studies (iSchool) is playing a lead role in the Second Annual Global Internet Governance Academic Network (GigaNet) Symposium on November 11 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The academic community involved in GigaNet is anticipated to be a substantial contributor to Internet policy discussions occurring at the global level. The symposium?s program committee was chaired by iSchool Professor Milton Mueller and is sponsored by four research groups, including the Internet Governance Project (IGP), which involves four professors from Syracuse University and is based out of the iSchool at Syracuse. http://ischool.syr.edu/about/news.aspx?recid=472 Internet preparing to go into outer space [AFP] After expanding across Earth, the Internet is now set to spread into outer space to reach parts no network has gone before, one of its co-creators predicted Wednesday. Vinton Cerf said the proposed "interplanetary" Internet would allow people an ability "to access information and to control experiments taking place far away" from Earth. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300852020.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300852020.html The future of the Internet by Vint Cerf As intellectual phenomena go, the Internet is still very young. If we look at other innovative technologies that fundamentally transformed human communications-the printing press, the telephone and television, to name a few-we are confronted with the fact that it takes generations for their full effects to be understood. http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?f=b0_&n=200710170178 Cerf: Internet Will Expand Into Outer Space Astronauts would never again be without Google. But that?s just one of the benefits that could come from expanding the Internet into space, which is where Vint Cerf says it?s going to go. http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/10/17/cerf-internet-will-expand-into-outer-space http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90781/6285211.html http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-10/17/content_6897022.htm ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Posts Next Draft of Accountability and Transparency Frameworks and Principles for Consultation ICANN today posts the next version of the Frameworks and Principles for consultation http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-17oct07.htm My Name, My Language, My Internet: IDN Test Goes Live Internet users around the globe can now experiment with their name in their language on their Internet with today?s launch of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers live testing of Internationalized Domain Names in 11 languages. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-15oct07.htm Seeking Ideas on Allocation Methods by Patrick Jones Yesterday ICANN opened a forum for ideas on potential allocation methods for single-letter and single-digit domain names at the second level in gTLD registries (see announcement). The comment forum runs until 15 November 2007 23:59 UTC. http://blog.icann.org/?p=224 First Internationalized Domains Go Live In a move to make the Internet less English-dependent, ICANN has rolled out its first public test of international domains names using non-Roman characters in site names. http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/14486/first_internationalized_domains_go_live Web domains get language lesson Since it was created, the Internet has been dominated by the English language. But a new experiment launching Monday threatens to disrupt the status quo online and could change the way French-speaking and Native Canadians surf the Web. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071015.wrinternet15/BNStory/Technology http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/15/tech-domains.html ICANN to Test Domain Names in 11 Languages ICANN is launching an evaluation of IDN that will allow Internet users to test top-level domains in 11 languages. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138451-pg,1/article.html ICANN Tests Non-Roman Characters in Domain Names For years, speakers of languages that use alphabets or symbols other than those found in the set of Roman characters used in English and Western European languages have been rather put out. They can't use their own characters to represent full domain names. While certain alphabets, like Cyrllic, are supported through a strange mapping system known as punycode for parts of a domain name, the TLD, like .com, still has to be entered in English. That's about to change. http://db.tidbits.com/article/9235 India chosen for first ICANN meeting of 2008 New Delhi will be host city for next year's first ICANN meeting, scheduled from February 10 to 15, 2007. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/117/india-chosen-for-first-icann-meeting-of-2008.php ICANN sets up forum on single letter, single digit domains [sub req'd] http://telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=188498 ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** France gets two new Internet domains - .BL & .MF The status of the French territories of Saint-Barth?lemy and Saint-Martin was recently changed, with each getting a new ISO country code and a new Internet suffix. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/122/france-gets-two-new-internet-domains.php CNNIC Exposes Five Domain Name Service Providers China Internet Network Information Center has exposed five domain name service providers that have received the most complaints from consumers but have not taken effective measures to rectify their problems. http://www.chinatechnews.com/2007/10/18/5980-cnnic-exposes-five-domain-name-service-providers/ Dynamic updates comme to .EU Any changes to the .EU namespace ? including putting a new .EU website up - will now be felt almost immediately thanks to new technical developments. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/121/dynamic-updates-comme-to-eu.php Maori domain names coming to New-Zealand? The New-Zealand registry is considering including Maori characters in .NZ domains. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/118/maori-domain-names-coming-to-new-zealand.php ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** The Enron whistle-blower who wasn't ... According to Brewer, Mark wanted to come up with a catchy Internet domain name that Azurix could use as an online trading platform for water, much as Enron had done in the field of natural gas. Azurix employees and executives brainstormed and came up with several potential website names, including Waterswap.com, Watervault.com and Water2Water.com. In one case, Brewer says, it was decided on a Friday afternoon that Azurix should register a particular domain name. Part of Brewer's job was to register the site. But on the following Monday morning, when she tried to do so, Brewer learned that Jusbasche had scooped up the domain name Friday evening. Brewer informed her boss, Mends. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2007-10-11-enron-lynn-brewer_N.htm Russian Hosting Firm Denies Criminal Ties, Says It May Sue Blacklister Speaking to the Western press for the first time, a Russia-based web-hosting firm pilloried by security companies as a free zone for online crime insists that it's really just misunderstood. "We can't understand on which basis these organizations have such an opinion about our company," Tim Jaret of the Russian Business Network says in an e-mail interview. "We can say that this is subjective opinion based on these organizations' guesswork." Jaret's e-mail signature identifies him as working in RBN's abuse department. http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2007/10/russian_network ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** AC/DC win web battle AC/DC at last won the cyber battle for their domain name after years of fans being directed to a pornographic website. The Aussie hard rockers launched their new official site, ACDC.com yesterday as they count down to the release of their double DVD concert set, Plug Me In. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22589614-5001026,00.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22588611-2,00.html http://knac.com/article.asp?ArticleID=5918 http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=2999 http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=29567 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/16/acdc_get_their_domain/ Internet Hijacker, Mousetrapper, John Zuccarini Settles FTC Charges John Zuccarini, typosquatter extraordinaire, who used more than 5,500 copycat domain names to divert surfers from their intended Internet destinations to one of his sites, such as Bobthebiulder.com and teltubbies.com, and held them captive while he pelted their screens with a barrage of adult-oriented ads, has agreed to settle FTC charges that he was in contempt of a court order requiring him to halt the practices. Under the new FTC order, Zuccarini must give up $164,000 in ill-gotten gains, conform to enhanced compliance and monitoring requirements, and transmit a copy of the new order to his probation officer. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3020 http://www.domainnews.com/litigation/2007101711/internet-hijacker-mousetrapper-john-zuccarini-settles-ftc-charges/ http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/10/17/internet-hijacker-mousetrapper-john-zuccarini-settles-ftc-charges/ us: Internet Hijacker, Mousetrapper Settles FTC Charges [news release] An operator who used more than 5,500 copycat Web addresses to divert surfers from their intended Internet destinations to one of his sites, and held them captive while he pelted their screens with a barrage of adult-oriented ads, has agreed to settle FTC charges that he was in contempt of a court order requiring him to halt the practices. Under the new FTC order, the defendant must give up $164,000 in ill-gotten gains, conform to enhanced compliance and monitoring requirements, and transmit a copy of the new order to his probation officer. In October 2001, the FTC charged that John Zuccarini was registering Internet domain names that were misspellings of legitimate domain names or that incorporated transposed or inverted words or phrases. For example, the defendant registered 15 variations of the popular children?s cartoon site, www.cartoonnetwork.com, and 41 variations on the name of pop star Britney Spears. Surfers who looked for a site but misspelled its Web address or inverted a term ? using cartoonjoe.com, for example, rather than joecartoon.com ? were taken to the defendant's sites. They then were allegedly bombarded with a rapid series of windows displaying ads for goods and services ranging from Internet gambling to pornography. In some cases, the legitimate Web site the consumer was attempting to access also was launched, so consumers thought the series of ads was from a legitimate Web site. It was difficult or impossible for consumers to close the windows or escape. http://ftc.gov/opa/2007/10/cupcake.shtm Porn typosquatter fined again by FTC [IDG] A so-called typosquatter who served pornographic advertisements on domains such as Bobthebiulder.com and teltubbies.com has been fined again by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/16/Porn-typosquatter-fined-again-by-FTC_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138517-c,adsvisitortracking/article.html http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/101607-porn-typosquatter-fined-again-by.html Serial typosquatter settles FTC charges An internet hijacker who allegedly registered 5,500 copycat web addresses in a bid to divert lost surfers onto a porno site has agreed to hand over $164,000 to settle charges brought against him by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/17/web_hijack_settlement/ Pirates commandeer anti-piracy web address The Pirate Bay, a Swedish organisation well-known as the scourge of law enforcement agencies and anti-piracy advocates, has staged one of its most audacious raids to date. The group, which operates one of the world's leading file sharing sites onto which illegally copied movies, films and music are uploaded and downloaded, has hoisted its flag over the IFIP.com domain. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300696657.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300696657.html The Pirate Bay absconds with domain name of its nemesis For years, the folks at The Pirate Bay have stuck in the craw of officials at The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The lobby group for the record industry has grown fond of branding the leading BitTorrent site as an international hub for illegal file sharing. Now the international anti-piracy organization can add "domain name raider" to its litany. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/16/ifpi_loses_domain_name_to_nemesis/ http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/internet-and-broadband/news/pirates-take-over-anti-piracy-website?articleid=605538661 http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/101507_Pirate_Bay_Takes_Anti_Piracy_Domain.cfm http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/15/pirates-anti-piracy-domain-name http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/17/riaa-fumes-pirate-bay I, the Domain Name Tasting Victim by Rajnesh D. Singh I have recently been a ?victim? of the domain name tasting ?scam?. A domain name (.COM) which is related to me personally (and which was owned by someone else previously) expired and as I knew from Whois (which is another debate on its own) that the expiry date was coming up, I kept a watch on when it would become available so I could register it. To cut a long story short, it took me nearly 6 weeks to get the domain. http://www.circleid.com/posts/7101718_domain_name_tasting_victim/ ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Russian Standard Vodka and Forbes Win 2007 Domain Name and Internet Traffic Industry Awards [news release] T.R.A.F.F.I.C. concluded its T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East 2007 show by announcing the winners of its annual We Get It! Awards. This year?s winners are Russian Standard Vodka and Steve Forbes, CEO of Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Magazine and former presidential candidate (who also delivered the conference?s keynote address). The domain name and Internet traffic industry?s version of the Academy Awards, We Get It! is bestowed upon the organization or individual(s) that has best demonstrated an understanding of the power of domains and the Internet by attracting visitors, increasing sales and beating competitors in terms of Internet marketing. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/10/16/russian-standard-vodka-and-forbes-win-2007-domain-name-and-internet-traffic-industry-awards/ http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007101607/russian-standard-vodka-and-forbes-win-2007-domain-name-and-internet-traffic-industry-awards/ Getting in on the 'Mobile' Internet In the early part of 2006, ICANN approved the domain suffix .mobi for Web sites designed for Internet-enabled mobile phones and other mobile devices. http://htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3705521 ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Is a pay-per-click advertising recession on the way? Here are five reasons why a pay-per-click advertising recession looms. (If you depend on Adsense for the bulk of your revenue, this applies to you as well.) http://domainerseo.com/post/16024860 Fusu introduces Domain Stock Exchange in private beta by Frank Michlick Fusu ScreenshotSome friends of mine have been quietly working away for the last months and are now ready to introduce a new product in a invitation-only beta release. This preview is a Domain Name News exclusive: Fusu - The Domain Stock Exchange. The world?s first Domain Stock Exchange provides a secondary market trading platform for domain names. http://domainnamenews.com/domain-sales/fusu-introduces-domain-stock-exchange-in-private-beta/885 Driving Traffic Quality: A Roundup of Yahoo's Latest Efforts For you, the advertiser, this means qualified clicks from users most likely to become customers. As a part of our ongoing effort to improve the quality of the network and your traffic, we have undertaken several initiatives. The newest of these is a feature called ?Blocked Domains,? which allows you to specify certain sites in our partner distribution network on which you do not want your ads to appear. The new Blocked Domains feature, which launches later this month, is just the latest among several initiatives we are undertaking in order to in order to provide increased value. http://www.ysmblog.com/blog/2007/10/01/driving-traffic-quality/ ********************** - DOMAIN SALES ********************** "SOLD!" Go Daddy Offers Live Auction For Premium Domain Names [news release] Have you ever wanted to have a domain name like Bob.com or TopBeaches.com? Well, now is your chance. Go Daddy Signature Auctions takes place November 6 - 8. The fast-paced, online event allows anyone to bid on a long list of premium domain names. https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/news/release_view.asp?news%5Fitem%5Fid=121&app%5Fhdr= Hot domain names could fetch millions at Go Daddy auction Popular domain names from bob.com to dietaids.com could be sold for millions of dollars next month with the help of a Scottsdale company. The Go Daddy Group Inc. is planning an auction Nov. 6-8 to put such premium domain names up for bid. http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2007/10/15/daily37.html ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Participative Web and User-Created Content: Web 2.0, Wikis and Social Networking [OECD] The Internet is becoming increasingly embedded in everyday life. Drawing on an expanding array of intelligent web services and applications, a growing number of people are creating, distributing and exploiting user-created content (UCC) and being part of the wider participative web. This study describes the rapid growth of UCC and its increasing role in worldwide communication, and draws out implications for policy. Questions addressed include: What is user-created content? What are its key drivers, its scope and different forms? What are the new value chains and business models? What are the extent and form of social, cultural and economic opportunities and impacts? What are the associated challenges? Is there a government role, and what form could it take? http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?CID=&LANG=EN&SF1=DI&ST1=5L4MJXP7SLF1 http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/get-it.asp?REF=9307031E.PDF&TYPE=browse [report] ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** A ?Journey to the Heart of Internet censorship? on eve of party congress In partnership with Reporters Without Borders and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Chinese Internet expert working in IT industry has produced an exclusive study on the key mechanism of the Chinese official system of online censorship, surveillance and propaganda. The author prefers to remain anonymous. On the eve of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which opens this week in Beijing, Reporters Without Borders and the Chinese Human Rights Defenders call on the government to allow the Chinese to exercise their rights to freedom of press, expression and information. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=23924 cn: Report highlights blog censorship Bloggers are now finding themselves prey to censorship from repressive governments as much as journalists in traditional media, a report says. Reporters Without Borders' annual study of press freedom says China is one of the worst offenders, having imprisoned 50 people for postings on the internet. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7047336.stm Crackdowns On Bloggers Increasing, Survey Finds Government repression in some countries has shifted from journalists to bloggers, with the vitality of the Internet triggering a more focused crackdown as blogs increasingly take the place of mainstream news media, according to Lucie Morillon, Washington director of the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101601843.html When US-made 'censorware' ends up in iron fists Despite Burma's record of repression, it's probably legal for American companies to sell Internet filters there, export lawyers say. But is it ethical? http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1010/p01s01-ussc.html Malaysia cracks down on bloggers The Malaysian government has warned it could use tough anti-terrorism laws against bloggers who insult Islam or the country's king. The move comes as one of Malaysia's leading online commentators has been questioned by police following a complaint by the main governing party. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6915002.stm Congressman Grills Yahoo on Chinese Dissident Case A congressman promised to hold Yahoo accountable for what he said was false testimony one company official gave before a congressional committee. Yahoo denies the testimony was false, and said it was following a lawful order when it complied with a request by Chinese authorities for information that led to the imprisonment of a dissident. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/7uhm26KJpnnvpD/Congressman-Grills-Yahoo-on-Chinese-Dissident-Case.xhtml US Congress summons Yahoo chief over jailing of Chinese dissident US lawmakers accused Yahoo of giving false information to Congress and asked that chief executive Jerry Yang appear before a committee to explain the internet search company's role in the imprisonment of a Chinese dissident. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c9eb778c-7c4b-11dc-be7e-0000779fd2ac.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ Online marketers aim for the kids With youngsters spending increasing amounts of time online and bans on advertising during children's TV programming, more companies are turning towards popular websites and virtual worlds as a way to influence younger consumers. But one of the world's most popular websites for children, Habbo Hotel, said it has been forced to patrol its website to stop unwanted advertisers from hawking their goods to children. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/17/advertising Schlag gegen Kinderpornografie - 1300 Nutzer weltweit ermittelt Bei einem der gr??ten Schl?ge gegen die Verbreitung von Kinderpornografie im Internet hat die Polizei in Spanien 30 Verd?chtige festgenommen und weltweit etwa 1300 weitere ermittelt. http://www.computerwoche.de/nachrichten/575966 http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/97541 Internationaler P?dophilenring von italienischer Polizei zerschlagen Die italienische Polizei hat einen internationalen P?dophilenring zerschlagen. 43 Durchsuchungen wurden in ganz Italien durchgef?hrt. Dabei wurden p?dophile Videos beschlagnahmt, die im Internet verkauft wurden. http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=3076819 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** An Internet Jihad Sells Extremism to Viewers in the U.S. A growing constellation of apparently independent operators is broadcasting the message of Al Qaeda and other groups, translated into English and aimed for a Western audience online. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15net.html http://www.news.com/2100-1025_3-6213512.html Newspapers challenge anonymity for child porn offender A five-judge panel in the court of appeal is to be asked to decide whether a man who admitted 20 charges of making and possessing indecent pictures of children should have his identity protected because his two daughters might be harassed or bullied at school. In a highly unusual move, the head of criminal justice, Sir Igor Judge, ordered last week that five judges instead of the usual three should hear the appeal and that the two extra judges should have a background in family cases. http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,2191439,00.html us: Law Student Faces Disciplinary Action Over Facebook Photo of Pat Robertson [AP] A Regent University law student says school officials have threatened to discipline him for posting an unflattering photo of founder Pat Robertson on his Facebook page. http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1192093405994 us: Pirates in the kitchen: Recipe copying 'rampant' online The next big copyright battle may be fought in the kitchen. Content tracking company Attributor recently conducted a study to get an idea of how frequently online recipes are copied and reposted to other sites. What it found might concern some recipe publishers. http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13553_1-9797476-32.html ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Proposed global privacy standard is too vague and too weak, says expert The set of rules which Google proposed as the foundation for a global privacy standard are inadequate, a privacy law expert has said. The rules are not specific enough to operate as a global standard, said the expert. http://out-law.com/page-8551 ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** Austria to allow monitoring of suspects' computers [AFP] The Austrian government agreed in principle Wednesday to a proposal to allow police to infiltrate the computer hard-disks of criminals and terror suspects, the first European country to do so. "This is a heartening situation for the authorities," Interior Minister Guenther Platter said, following a cabinet meeting where ministers agreed to the online-tracking proposal. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/18/1192300875531.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/18/1192300875531.html Die Online-Fahndung im Ministerrat Details zu den Pl?nen f?r die Online-Durchsuchung aus dem Ministerratspapier von Innen- und Justizministerium. http://futurezone.orf.at/it/stories/229407/ Phone carriers quiet on U.S. surveillance program [Reuters] Major U.S. telephone carriers refused to answer questions from the Democratic-led Congress about their possible participation in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program, according to documents released by lawmakers on Monday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN1539292620071015 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6213653.html Verizon Says It Turned Over Data Without Court Orders: Firm's Letter to Lawmakers Details Government Requests Verizon Communications, the nation's second-largest telecom company, told congressional investigators that it has provided customers' telephone records to federal authorities in emergency cases without court orders hundreds of times since 2005. The company said it does not determine the requests' legality or necessity because to do so would slow efforts to save lives in criminal investigations. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/15/AR2007101501857.html EU review of Google bid won't cover privacy issue Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, has dashed the hopes of opponents of Google's ?1.5bn takeover of online advertiser DoubleClick that she will investigate the transaction on privacy grounds. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2191128,00.html Two speed broadband : Europe underlines regulatory problems to be addressed through reform [news release] Although some European countries lead the world in broadband access, there is a growing gap between the best and worst performers, according to a report presented by the European Commission on 15 October. Lack of competition and regulatory weaknesses are cited as the main obstacles to broadband growth. The Commission will address these shortcomings in its proposals to reform the EU's Telecom Rules on 13 November. http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1492 EU may consider regulating broadband pricing [IDG] The gap between broadband haves and have nots in the European Union has widened during the past year, a trend that might warrant price regulation similar to that imposed on the market for mobile roaming charges earlier this year, the European Commission said Monday. http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/15/EU-to-consider-regulation-of-broadband-pricing_1.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138441-c,broadband/article.html EU eyes proposals to boost broadband availability [Reuters] Access to broadband Internet has increased in the European Union to 90 million lines, but the bloc should act to increase competition and tackle EU states that are lagging behind, the EU's top telecoms official said on Monday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1535016920071015 au: Government rolling in money The Treasurer says Labor is "flummoxed" by his audacious promise of tax cuts worth $34 billion. ... Many of them look to you and me like election commitments $1.2million for a community street soccer program, $2.3 million on NetAlert, an extra $51 million for Tasmania's Mersey Hospital and so on it all adds up. http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=your+say&subclass=general&story_id=1070128 U.S. House OKs Four-Year Extension Of Internet Tax Ban The House passed legislation Tuesday that would extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes for four years, brushing aside calls by some lawmakers for a permanent ban. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403479&subSection=News http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300790652.html [AP] http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300790652.html [AP] us: Proposed Law Lets ID Theft Victims Seek Restitution [Reuters] A bipartisan bill that would let victims of identity theft seek restitution for money and time they spent repairing their credit history was introduced on Tuesday in the Senate. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138544-c,onlineprivacy/article.html Police raid Cisco in $800m Brazilian tax probe Brazillian police and tax authorities have raided US computer giant Cisco Systems, following a two-year investigation into alleged tax avoidance on products shipped from offshore havens. The authorities have seized a commercial jet, $10 million of merchandise, 18 vehicles and the equivalent of nearly $400,000 in Brazilian and US currency. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2676141.ece http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403760 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Sex, Nazi, burrito and Viagra: Who Googles what? [Reuters] Internet users in Egypt, India and Turkey are the world's most frequent searchers for Web sites using the keyword "sex" on Google search engines, according to statistics provided by Google. Germany, Mexico and Austria were world's top three searchers of the word "Hitler" while "Nazi" scored the most hits in Chile, Australia and the United Kingdom, data from 2004 to the present retrievable on the "Google Trends" Web site showed. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKPAR75016820071017 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6214020.html http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22606475-2,00.html http://www.news.com/2100-1038_3-6214020.html http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9042998 Aussie kids are web's pro surfers Australian children are flocking to the World Wide Web, with almost half those aged six to 17 logging on every day, according to a study. Older teenagers in particular are wedded to the world of Wikipedia, email and social networking, with 75 per cent of those aged 15 to 17 going online daily for study and to chat with friends. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22590496-15318,00.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Social websites pressed on age checks MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites are facing increased pressure from state law enforcement officials in the US to introduce controversial age verification technology aimed at rooting out online sexual predators http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c6bbd8a8-7c24-11dc-be7e-0000779fd2ac.html MySpace and Skype to Announce Partnership In November, MySpace will add the Internet telephone service?s features to its instant messenger software, which will allow users to make free calls from their computers. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/technology/17skype.html Facebook strengthens child protection Facebook has agreed to change the way it handles complaints in an attempt to protect children from sexual predators and inappropriate content. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2677351.ece http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2672896.ece Facebook to Strengthen Child Warnings Facebook announced today that it will strengthen warnings about child safety on its site and said that it would take steps to improve its process of responding to complaints about sexual or inappropriate content. The company agreed to make the changes as part of a settlement with the New York State attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, who began an investigation last month into whether the Web site was misleading its users by promoting itself as a place where high school students and younger children are safe from adult sexual predators. The settlement did not include a financial penalty, but Mr. Cuomo said it would serve as a ?new model? for other sites to follow. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/nyregion/16cnd-facebook.html http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/facebook-settles-with-new-york/ Facebook settles New York child safety probe [Reuters] Facebook has agreed to settle a child safety probe in New York, the New York state attorney said on Tuesday. ... The settlement involves no financial penalties. Under the terms of the settlement, Facebook has agreed to begin addressing any complaint within 24 hours of being told of inappropriate content -- involving such things as nudity, profanity or harassment -- by a user or e-mail correspondent. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN1644234020071016 http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-facebook17oct17,1,7732215.story Facebook Agrees To Police Pornography And Predators After pressure from its users and law enforcement, Facebook this week agreed to implement new measures to protect its members from sexual predators, obscene content, and harassment. The settlement agreement announced By New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Monday requires Facebook to respond promptly to complaints about nudity, pornography, harassment, or unwanted contact with 24 hours through the abuse§facebook.com e-mail address. It also requires Facebook to allow an Independent Safety and Security Examiner (ISSE), approved by the New York State Attorney General, to report on Facebook's compliance for two years. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403449 Facebook reaches deal with New York state on enforcing safeguards [AP] New York state's top lawyer on Tuesday announced an agreement with social networking Web site Facebook to enforce safeguards against obscene content and sexual predators using the site. http://iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/16/america/NA-GEN-US-Facebook-Safeguards.php http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300738191.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300738191.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Missed call: the iPhone's hazardous chemicals: When will promises of a greener Apple bear fruit? [news release] ... An independent scientific laboratory tested 18 internal and external components of the iPhone and confirmed the presence of brominated compounds in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna, in which they made up 10 percent of the total weight of the flexible circuit board. A mixture of toxic phthalates was found to make up 1.5 percent of the plastic (PVC) coating of the headphone cables. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/iPhone-test-hazardous-toxic-chemicals151007 Greenpeace to sue Apple over 'toxic' iPhone (+ video) Greenpeace says it is suing Apple Computer over hazardous chemicals and materials it claims are in the hyper-popular iPhone. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10470675 Greenpeace: The iPhone contains toxic chemicals The environmental group Greenpeace says that it has tested Apple's iPhone for a variety of hazardous chemicals, and the iPhone failed. Greenpeace, which has long criticized Apple for the alleged toxicity of its products and manufacturing practices, found that the iPhone contained, among other bad stuff, chemicals known as phthalates, which are thought to affect hormonal levels and disrupt sexual development in humans. In response, another environmental group, California's Center for Environmental Health, has pledged to take legal action against Apple for violating California's Proposition 65, which requires companies to attach a warning label to products that may cause reproductive harm. http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/10/15/iphone_toxic/ Greenpeace Slams iPhone [Macworld] Greenpeace is gunning for Apple once again, this time arguing that the iPhone is full of hazardous chemicals. Greenpeace has disassembled an iPhone to find out what's inside, and claims to have uncovered two types of hazardous substances, some of which: "Have already been eliminated by other mobile phone makers," the organization said. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138447-c,iphone/article.html http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/telecoms/article2673340.ece 50 reasons not to buy an iPhone The much-anticipated Apple iphone goes on sale in the UK on November 9. No doubt there will be hoards of Apple fans queuing outside Carphone Warehouse and outlets of O2 mobile ? the smug operator which secured the contract to become the only supplier in Britain. But does the new phone deliver or is it all just a load of hype? And will it retain its gloss for the duration of an expensive 18-month contract. Frankly, The Times doesn?t think so, but here are 50 other things you should consider before parting with your cash: http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2007/10/50-reasons-not-.html At Last! PC Industry Gets Serious About Good Design At this week's Connecting World Design Congress, industrial design, in all its facets, will take center stage for three days. But amid all the demonstrations, talks, networking and parties one thing will be clear: Looks do matter, especially for personal computers. And surprise, it's not just Apple leading the pack anymore. http://www.wired.com/gadgets/pcs/news/2007/10/pc_design PCs Shipping at Fastest Rate in 2 Years [AP] Computer shipments rose this summer at the fastest rate in nearly two years, and Hewlett-Packard Co. pulled still farther ahead of Dell Inc. as the world's largest maker of PCs, two technology research firms reported Wednesday. Sales of portable computers drove much of the 15.5 percent increase in global PC shipments from July through September, especially in Europe, according to research firm IDC, based in Framingham, Mass. Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn., pegged the growth at 14.4 percent. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/18/1192300897022.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/18/1192300897022.html EU targets governments over electronic waste rules [Reuters] Several European Union countries have failed to turn the bloc's rules on electronic waste into national law and now face legal action from Brussels, the European Commission said on Wednesday. The rules require manufacturers to accept used refrigerators, computers, cell phones and other appliances from consumers and recycle them. The rules aim to reduce the amount of appliances that end up in landfills and are watched closely by producers in Asia and other regions outside Europe. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1736863720071017 Survey: HP tops Dell as world's largest PC supplier By: Agam Shah Hewlett-Packard maintained its lead over Dell as the world's largest PC supplier in the third quarter of 2007, extending a slim margin it established last year, market researcher IDC said this week. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138578-c,companynews/article.html http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1851805192;fp;2;fpid;1 ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Kenya awards internet cable deal Kenya has awarded an US$82m undersea internet cable project to the French-American company Alcatel-Lucent. The fibre-optic cable will be the region's first submarine telecoms link to the rest of the world and should cut costs and provide high-speed access. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7041103.stm EU digital divide is widening Europe faces a growing digital divide between countries with widespread broadband access, and those without, according to the European Commission. Across the region, average numbers of subscribers are rising. But the best performing ? such as Denmark and the Netherlands ? have around one third of the population using high-speed connections. Where at the bottom of the league table, Bulgaria has a penetration rate of only six per cent. http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2201237/eu-digital-divide-widening ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Pirates commandeer anti-piracy web address The Pirate Bay, a Swedish organisation well-known as the scourge of law enforcement agencies and anti-piracy advocates, has staged one of its most audacious raids to date. The group, which operates one of the world's leading file sharing sites onto which illegally copied movies, films and music are uploaded and downloaded, has hoisted its flag over the IFIP.com domain. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300696657.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300696657.html Led Zeppelin go digital From next month, Led Zeppelin fans will be able to download the band's entire back catalogue of music at online music stores. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/16/2060478.htm Led Zeppelin to sell music online [Reuters] Rockers Led Zeppelin will offer their music online for the first time next month, they said on Monday. The band, whose reunion gig in London in November prompted more than a million fans to apply for 10,000 available tickets, is one of the last major pop music acts to offer their catalogue digitally. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1535184120071015 Google Shields Own Backside With YouTube Antipiracy Filter Google has launched a beta version of video identification technology designed to flag unauthorized content on YouTube. The move follows its implementation of audio fingerprinting software from Audible Magic earlier this year. By filtering out pirated videos, Google aims to further cement YouTube's compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/NLZ7h6eKpD6F3E/Google-Shields-Own-Backside-With-Antipiracy-Filter.xhtml YouTube puts ID on clips Google has launched new digital "watermarking" technology on YouTube in an attempt to stop copyrighted movies and TV programmes from appearing on the popular online video service. Called YouTube Video Identification, the new technology has been in development for months with content partners including Time Warner and Disney. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2192374,00.html YouTube unveils copyright protection plan To keep their copyrighted video clips off YouTube, media companies may have to give all of their video clips to YouTube. Facing lawsuits from media companies, YouTube parent Google Inc. on Monday unveiled its long-promised method for reducing piracy on its video-sharing service. The company is fighting copyright infringement lawsuits from Viacom Inc. and other content owners. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-youtube16oct16,1,7004427.story YouTube Unveils Anti-Piracy Filters [AP] YouTube on Monday rolled out long-awaited technology to automatically remove copyrighted clips, hoping to placate movie and television studios fed up with the Web site's persistent piracy problems. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300736221.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300736221.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/201655.html Minnesota woman seeks relief from $222,000 music-sharing verdict; companies want the money [AP] A woman facing a $222,000 music-sharing verdict asked a judge on Monday to overturn it. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300722387.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/16/1192300722387.html Defense Asks RIAA Judge to Overrule 'Offensive' $222,000 Award The Minnesota woman a federal jury dinged $220,000 for pirating 24 copyrighted songs asked the trial judge on Monday to set aside the verdict on the grounds the judgment is unconstitutionally excessive. http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2007/10/copyright Australians miss out on iTunes price cut Users of Apple's iTunes Store in the US were today gifted significant price cuts for songs without copy protection, but Australians will continue to pay exorbitant prices due to Apple's dominant position here. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/17/1192300835074.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* Dot-com fever stirs sense of d?j? vu Internet companies with little revenue and few customers are commanding high price while investors are displaying symptoms of the disorder known as irrational exuberance. http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/16/business/bubble.php ********************** VoIP ********************** Australian Govt acts on 000 VoIP calls VOIP providers have been urged to ensure calls made to the triple zero emergency number are connected accordingly. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22595975-15306,00.html au: Urgent Evolution For VoIP VoIP providers have been urged by the Australian Communications and Media Authority to endeavour to provide users with access to the emergency 000 number ? a phenomenon that is currently the bane of many VoIP providers who haven?t found solutions for offering their customers the vital service. http://smarthouse.com.au/Phones/VoIP/M8T7U4N6 http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Australian-VoIP-providers-must-do-better-on-000-/0,130061791,339282983,00.htm http://bapcojournal.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/936/Australian_VoIP_providers_must_provide_emergency_access.html ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** Thai police name suspected web paedophile A suspected paedophile pictured on websites sexually abusing young boys has been identified as a 32-year-old Canadian, it emerged today. Thai police named him as Christopher Paul Neil after a worldwide appeal by Interpol using reconstructed images of his face. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2192167,00.html Online abuser 'English teacher' Police conducting a worldwide hunt for a man shown sexually abusing children in internet pictures believe he is a teacher of English now in Thailand. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7045701.stm http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/16/2060440.htm http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/16/2061076.htm [AFP] http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/15/interpol_manhunt_continues/ http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article3063809.ece Interpol tracks paedophile suspect to Thailand [Reuters] A unique public appeal by Interpol in the hunt for a serial paedophile has identified a suspect who is now believed to be on the run in Thailand, the world police organisation said on Monday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1530044720071015 au: Lawyer jailed for child porn image possession A Brisbane lawyer has been jailed for at least six months after he pleaded guilty in the District Court to possessing more than half-a-million images of child pornography. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/15/2059960.htm http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22587493-5001028,00.html http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,22588482-911,00.html Fifty five Poles arrested on spreading child pornography charges [AP] Fifty five Poles suspected of spreading child pornography over the Internet have been arrested by the country?s police, authorities said Friday. http://english.pravda.ru/news/society/12-10-2007/98740-poles_porn_child-0 us: Child Porn Sentence Lengthened A motivational speaker earns a longer prison sentence after letters calling for leniency were found to be fake. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,138443-c,cybercrime/article.html uk: Student was caught grooming his third online victim for sex Lee Costi, 21, a media student, was grooming his third online victim for sex when he was caught after an e-mail was sent to the police. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2658450.ece +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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.htmlReceived on Mon Oct 22 2007 - 13:57:08 UTC
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