Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news.


And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings.


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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Why doesn?t Washington understand the Internet? by Rebecca MacKinnon
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-doesnt-washington-understand-the-internet/2012/01/17/gIQAGPzWEQ_story.html

Costa Rica Declares ICANN Meeting One Of "National Interest"
http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2012/january/26/costarica12012609.htm

Verisign Announces Strong Growth As .COM Passes 100m Registrations
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/27/verisign-announces-strong-growth-as-com-passes-100m-registrations/

Our Estimate: Verisign Manages Over 100 Million .COM Domains
http://blog.domaintools.com/2012/01/our-estimate-verisign-manages-over-100-million-com-domains/

Business Awareness of New TLDs Sorely Lacking: Adrian Kinderis
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/30/business-awareness-of-new-tlds-sorely-lacking-adrian-kinderis/

Thousands of Infrastructure Computer Systems are Online, Unprotected
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/01/26/thousands-of-infrastructure-computer-systems-are-online-unprotected/

The State of the Industry January 2012: 15 Industry Experts On 2011's Most Important Trends and Their Forecast for the Year Ahead
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2012/january.htm


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REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS
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The Wayward Anti-Cybersquatter Consumer Protection Act: A Survey of 11 Years of ACPA Caselaw by Roberrt Cannon, Federal Communications Commission; Cybertelecom [TPRC 2011]
Abstract: The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) has lost its way. The ACPA was passed in an era of domain name land grabs, where nefarious individuals would register and warehouse oodles of valuable domain names, and then extract ransom from bewildered trademark owners. Interstellar Starship Servs., Ltd. v. Epix, Inc., 304 F.3d 936, 946 (9th Cir. 2002).
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1985781

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GOVERNANCE
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Why doesn?t Washington understand the Internet? by Rebecca MacKinnon
In late 2010, on the eve of the Arab Spring uprisings, a Tunisian blogger asked Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah what democratic nations should do to help cyber?activists in the Middle East. Abdel Fattah, who had spent time in jail under Hosni Mubarak?s regime, argued that if Western democracies wanted to support the region?s Internet activists, they should put their own houses in order. He called on the world?s democracies to ?fight the troubling trends emerging in your own backyards? that ?give our own regimes great excuses for their own actions.?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-doesnt-washington-understand-the-internet/2012/01/17/gIQAGPzWEQ_story.html

IGF improvements, enhanced cooperation and the CSTD
Both the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and the idea of ?enhanced co-operation on public policy issues pertaining to the Internet? are outcomes of the 2005 WSIS document, Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.
http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/01/28/cstdwg-meeting-summary

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DOMAIN NAMES
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**********************
 - ICANN
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Letter from Kurt Pritz to Senators Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell, Claire McCaskill, Olympia Snowe and Mark Warner
ICANN's Expansion of TLDs
http://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/pritz-to-boxer-cantwell-et-al-25jan12-en.pdf

Letter from the GNSO Registries Stakeholder Group to the ICANN Board of Directors
Response to Inquiry on Outstanding Communications ? Vertical Integration
http://www.icann.org/en/correspondence/rysg-to-icann-board-26jan12-en.pdf

ICANN International Meeting 43
Costa Rica Promotional Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bys4l6duSXU

Costa Rica Declares ICANN Meeting One Of "National Interest"
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla and the Ministro de Ciencia y Tecnolog?a (Minister of Science and Technology), Alejandro Cruz, have declared the next ICANN meeting to be held in San Jos? in March, a national interest.
http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2012/january/26/costarica12012609.htm

Vertical integration blows up again: EC and registries lay into ICANN [sub req'd]
The crucial issue of market separation between those that run an Internet registry and those that sell domains underneath it has risen its ugly head again, with both the European Commission and existing Internet registries sending critical letters to ICANN asking for resolution on the issue.
http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/01/28/vertical-integration-blows-up

Vertical integration blows up again: EC and registries lay into ICANN [sub req'd]
A full analysis of the European Commission and Internet registries letters to ICANN over "vertical integration". It's an issue that will define the domain name market for the next 20 years.
http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/01/19/gnso-council-transcript-summary

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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Second phase of consultation on implementation of French characters in .CA domain names opens
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) launched the second and final phase of its consultation in the implementation of French characters (also known as Internationalized Domain Names, or IDNs) in .CA domain names yesterday. .CA holders and Canadian Internet users are invited to provide their feedback on certain revisions to CIRA?s proposed policy to help the organization finalize its plan for launching IDNs later this year.
http://www.cira.ca/news/news-releases/second-phase-of-consultation-on-implementation-of-french-characters-in-ca-domain-names-opens/

VeriSign Swings To 4Q Profit Amid Stronger Sales, Lower Overhead Costs [Dow Jones]
VeriSign Inc. swung to a fourth-quarter profit as the Internet domain-name company benefited from improved sales and lower overhead costs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120126-718417.html

Verisign Announces Strong Growth As .COM Passes 100m Registrations
Total registrations of .COM and .NET domain names increased to 113.8 million at the end of 2011 representing an eight per cent increase year-on-year Verisign announced. The company also announced the total number of .COM and .NET registrations increased by 7.9 million registrations in the final quarter of 2011.
http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=16822
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/27/verisign-announces-strong-growth-as-com-passes-100m-registrations/

Verisign Reports 13% Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth in 2011
... Business and Corporate Highlights: Verisign Registry Services ended the quarter with approximately 113.8 million active domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net, representing an 8% increase year-over-year. In the fourth quarter, Verisign added 7.9 million new domain name registrations, representing a 4% increase year-over-year.
http://www.verisigninc.com/en_US/news-events/press-room/articles/index.xhtml?artLink=aHR0cHM6Ly9wcmVzcy52ZXJpc2lnbi5jb20vZWFzeWlyL2N1c3RvbXJlbC5kbz9lYXN5aXJpZD1BRkMwRkYwREI1QzU2MEQzJnZlcnNpb249bGl2ZSZwcmlkPTg0NTA4NiZyZWxlYXNlanNwPWN1c3RvbV85Nw%3D%3D

Our Estimate: Verisign Manages Over 100 Million .COM Domains
A number of organizations track the .com domain registrations without taking into consideration the complete picture, thus underestimating the current count. Our research shows that the .com count is already well past that number.
http://blog.domaintools.com/2012/01/our-estimate-verisign-manages-over-100-million-com-domains/

2011 was record breaking year for .com and .net domain registrations
2011 set a record for new .com/.net domain registrations with over 32 million registration, VeriSign announced on its investor conference call this afternoon:
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/01/26/2011-was-record-breaking-year-for-com-and-net-domain-registrations/

AFNIC sponsors the 83rd IETF Meeting in Paris 25 ? 30 March 2012
AFNIC is sponsoring the 83rd Meeting of the IETF - the Internet Engineering Task Force - which is being held at the Paris Palais des Congr?s.
http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/5630/show/afnic-sponsors-the-83rd-ietf-meeting-in-paris-25-30-march-2012.html

In the Middle East, is it Really All about ME?
A few days ago, a client sent me an email asking me to weigh in on what domain names her company should register to correspond with its presence in markets in the Middle East. While she was planning to register the core brand name in the relevant ccTLDs (Brand.ae for the United Arab Emirates, Brand.co.il for Israel, etc.), her distributor in the region had advised her that local Internet users tend not to direct navigate to domains in their ccTLDs. Instead, she said that consumers typically type in the brand name followed by ?ME? in .COM. So, the distributor advised, our client should register BrandME.com.
http://www.domainnamestrategy.com/2012/01/27/middle-east-it-really-all-about-me

2011: great year for the .nl domain
The Dutch TLD, .nl, grew substantially in 2011, outperforming all the neighbouring country-code domains. Net growth was 607,265 domain names (14.5%): a huge increase on 2010. The figures confirm our earlier observation that the gloomy economic climate in the Netherlands has yet to have a negative impact on the demand for .nl domain names.
https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/2011-topjaar-voor-nl-domein-1/

no: Changes in the domain name policy 23 January 2012
The contract between Norid and the registrars (the registrar agreement) has been revised, and in connection with that we are making a few updates to the domain name policy.
http://www.norid.no/regelverk/forslag/2012-01-25/index.en.html

ru: The Registrars? Committee to create a working group to develop procedure for the registration of vacated domains
At an extended meeting held on 23 January, the Registrars Committee discussed prospective solutions to the problem of vacated domains registration. The Committee meeting was attended by representatives of the Technical Center of Internet (TCI) and the CC?s Council members.
http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=3422

100.000 .si domain names
We are happy to announce that right now there are more than 100.000 domain names in our zone. The 100.000th domain name was zj.si and was registered by registrar Jasico.
http://www.registry.si/news/news-item/article/100000-si-domain-names.html

Cyrillic domain .srb officially kicks in
State Secretary for the Digital Agenda at the Ministry of Culture, Media and Information Society Jasna Matic said that the Cyrillic internet domain .srb, which has officially been launched today, is a major step forward in internet development in Serbia and its integration in citizens? everyday life.
http://www.emg.rs/en/news/serbia/173609.html

uk: Seeking views on a draft Members' Code
As with any successful membership organisation, it is important for us to review how we operate to ensure that we are well equipped to deal with future challenges.
http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=9002
http://www.domainnews.com/en/nominet-seeks-views-on-draft-members-code.html
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/29/nominet-seeks-views-on-draft-members-code/

uk: Nominet puts the squeeze on rude members
Nominet, which runs the .uk domain registry, has proposed a new code of conduct that would ban unprofessional behaviour by its members.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/27/nominet_to_clamp_down_on_rude_members/

uk: Nominet Publish Draft Member Code
Nominet, the domain registry for the .uk ccTLD, has published a draft ?member code?. Nominet?s structure means that its registrars are also ?members? of the organisation, so this move is quite an interesting one.
http://www.internetnews.me/2012/01/26/nominet-publish-draft-member-code/

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 - NEW TLDS
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Business Awareness of New TLDs Sorely Lacking: Adrian Kinderis
Business awareness of new TLDs is very poor outside of North America, says Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services. Within North American, Kinderis estimates 90 per cent of businesses he encounters at events are aware of the new TLD process, but in the Asia Pacific he says the understanding is simply not there.
http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=16839
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/30/business-awareness-of-new-tlds-sorely-lacking-adrian-kinderis/
http://www.domainnews.com/en/business-awareness-of-new-tlds-sorely-lacking-adrian-kinderis.html

When a gTLD isn't a gTLD
For brand owners, the launch of a new gTLD brings with it a now all-too familiar nuisance: the Sunrise period. Sunrise periods are a necessary evil for businesses: on the one hand, they provide businesses with the opportunity to protect their brand in newly launched extensions, but on the other hand, they require businesses to monitor for announcements, navigate through the steps of registering their trademarks, and pay the associated fees. For companies that hold multiple trademarks, this can be an expensive and time-consuming process. However, as the number of gTLDs is poised to expand significantly, participating in Sunrise periods will remain an important aspect of businesses? online brand protection strategies.
http://www.domainnamestrategy.com/2012/01/23/when-gtld-isnt-gtld

Verisign to apply for a dozen new gTLDs
Verisign plans to apply to ICANN for about 12 new gTLDs, according to the executive in charge of registry services.
http://domainincite.com/verisign-to-apply-for-a-dozen-new-gtlds/

VeriSign plans to apply for about 12 new top level domain names
VeriSign plans to apply for ?about 12? TLDs this year, Pat Kane, Senior Vice President and General Manager of VeriSign Naming Services, said on VeriSign?s investor conference call this evening.
http://domainnamewire.com/2012/01/26/verisign-plans-to-apply-for-about-12-new-top-level-domain-names/

NCC Group and ARI Registry Services announce strategic alliance for new TLD applicants
Following the opening of applications for new TLDs on 12 January, NCC Group, the world's largest IT assurance/software and data escrow company, and ARI Registry Services, a leading provider of back-end registry services and consulting to applicants for TLDs, today announce a program to assist prospective applicants with the management of their new domains. Under the terms of this agreement, NCC Group will refer prospective applicants to ARI Registry Services for technical back-end registry services and consulting, and ARI Registry Services will refer prospective applicants to NCC Group for data escrow and IT assurance services.
http://ausregistry.com/news-ncc_group_and_ari_announce_strategic_alliance.php

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Thousands of Infrastructure Computer Systems are Online, Unprotected
We?ve written before about hapless business owners practically handing hackers customers? information by failing to observe basic computer security (Subway, we?re looking at you). But this is a security fail on a whole different level. A researcher has just revealed that about ten thousand systems controlling water plants, sewage plants, and other infrastructure are online, mostly unprotected and findable with a simple search.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/01/26/thousands-of-infrastructure-computer-systems-are-online-unprotected/

FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application
The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material "scraped" from social networks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16738209

Call for cyberwar 'peacekeepers' force
The US Army's Cyber Command is recruiting. Its mission? To create "a world class cyberwarrior force", and to develop cyberspace as an "active domain".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9687338.stm

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Manwin files its first cybersquatting complaint
Manwin Licensing, the company currently suing ICANN and ICM Registry claiming .xxx breaks US competition law, has filed its first cybersquatting complaint using the UDRP.
http://domainincite.com/manwin-files-its-first-cybersquatting-complaint/

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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The State of the Industry January 2012: 15 Industry Experts On 2011's Most Important Trends and Their Forecast for the Year Ahead
For the 8th consecutive year, we are kicking off the New Year with our annual State of the Industry Cover Story, an endeavor that brings together experts and company leaders from across the industry to get their thoughts on the key trends of the past year and what they believe is in store in the year ahead.
http://dnjournal.com/cover/2012/january.htm

Kim Dotcom actually owns kim.com
A week on from his spectacular arrest, fascination with Megaupload?s Kim Dotcom shows no sign of abating. One nugget which hasn?t yet been noted: the German-born hacker does actually own the domain name kim.com.
http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2012/01/kim-dotcom/

Five amusing Twitter accounts to follow
One of the good things about Twitter is that there?s no Whois (yet), which makes it fertile ground for pseudonymous humor.
http://domainincite.com/five-amusing-twitter-accounts-to-follow/

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Diversity Reigns on This Week's Domain Sale Chart as 6 ccTLDS and 2 Non .Com gTLDs Join a Dozen .Coms on the Leader Board 
Diversity was the keyword for week two of the 2012 domain sales season. As usual, the .coms did dominate with a dozen entries on our latest weekly all extension Top 20 Sales Chart, however a half dozen ccTLDs and a pair of non .com gTLDs also elbowed their way onto the elite list.
http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2012/20120125.htm

DOMAINfest Global Announces Latest Updates For Next Week?s Conference
It?s sunny and warm in Santa Monica in the lead-up to DOMAINfest Global and just five days away from the conference. The organisers are promising excitement from morning ?til? night with opportunities to learn, network, do deals and have fun.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/27/domainfest-global-announces-latest-updates-for-next-weeks-conference/

Premium Domains Announced For Moniker and SnapNames auction on At DOMAINfest Global
With the DOMAINfest Global Conference starting this coming week, details of the Moniker Domain Live Auction, combining low and no reserve plus premium domains across all price ranges and categories have been announced. Domains up for auction include Bargain.com, Democracy.com, Work.com, QR.com, Security.com, Host.com, Emails.com, Promo.com plus many more. The auction is on Thursday, February 2nd at 4:30pm with an extended online auction from February 2nd to February 16th.
http://www.domainpulse.com/2012/01/28/premium-domains-announced-for-moniker-and-snapnames-auction-on-at-domainfest-global/

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REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS
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Balancing Internet Regulation and Human Rights by Aleksey Ponomarev [Stockholm University; Sorainen Law Firm]
Abstract: It?s not a secret that with the development of the Internet the transition from freedom into control can be noticed. Having been considered as a completely independent medium of communication which lays outside of any state jurisdiction according to views of "digital libertarians" in the early days of the Internet, cyberspace is becoming fully, and extensively, regulated space that we have ever known.
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1990182

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INTERNET USE
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Web economy in G20 set to double by 2016, Google says
The value of the web economy in G20 countries will nearly double by 2016, according to Boston Consulting Group. Driving the spurt from $2.3tn (?1.5tn) to $4.2tn (?2.7tn) will be the rapid rise of mobile internet access.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16753902

Aussies relunctant to pay for web content
Australians remain resistant to paying for online content and services and smartphone applications despite spending an extraordinary amount of time online outside of work and education, according to a global survey.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/aussies-love-new-the-internet-but-dont-want-to-pay-for-accessing-content-services/story-e6frg996-1226254711826

Harvard study finds the iPad can be a pain in the neck
Apple sold a record breaking 15.43 million iPads in the last three months of 2011, which means a lot of people are starting to use tablet computers. And with last week's news that Apple is planning to bring textbooks to the iPad -- well, that's a lot more people who may start to use tablets, too.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/harvard-researchers-ergonomics-ipad.html

Does Heavy Media Use Make Girls Less Happy?
Researchers at Stanford University examined an online survey taken by more than 3,400 8- to 12-year-old girls and found that ?those who say they spend considerable amounts of time using multimedia describe themselves in ways that suggest they are less happy and less socially comfortable than peers who say they spend less time on screens.?
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/does-heavy-media-use-make-girls-less-happy/

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
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African Twitter map reveals how continent stays connected
Analysis of 11.5m tweets in last three months of 2011 shows South Africa generated the most, with more than 5m recorded
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/26/african-twitter-map-continent-connected

us: In Nonstop Whirlwind of Campaigns, Twitter Is a Critical Tool
When Newt Gingrich said in a recent debate that he was a man of ?grandiose? ideas, Mitt Romney?s campaign pounced. It sent mocking Twitter messages with a hashtag, ?#grandiosenewt?, encouraging voters to add their own examples of occasions when they felt Mr. Gingrich had been ?grandiose.?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/politics/twitter-is-a-critical-tool-in-republican-campaigns.html

Google+ Social Site Opened Up to Anyone 13 or Older, With New Protections
Google Inc. opened its social- networking site to anyone 13 or older and added features to protect teenagers? safety, helping the company compete with Facebook Inc., which has similar age requirements.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/google-social-site-opened-up-to-anyone-13-or-older-with-new-protections.html

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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us: How Pimps Use the Web to Sell Girls
In November, a terrified 13-year-old girl pounded on an apartment door in Brooklyn. When a surprised woman answered, the girl pleaded for a phone. She called her mother, and then dialed 911.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/opinion/how-pimps-use-the-web-to-sell-girls.html

nz: 30% of teens have shared passwords with peers
The world of social networking has added a new and worrying dimension to the age-old perils of teenage relationships.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/connect/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501833&objectid=10781760

nz: Bay teens face prosecution over Facebook sites
Hastings police say prosecution cases have been brought against two Hawke's Bay teens who set up hate pages on Facebook and that other Hawke's Bay teens are risking arrest by setting up pages such as "Taradale Confessions."
http://www.hawkesbaytoday.co.nz/news/teens-warned-over-facebook-postings/1252737/

nz: Traps for unwary in world of online banking
A feeling of helplessness overcame me at New Year when my credit card maxxed out. ... According to NetSafe, New Zealanders reported online frauds to theorb.org.nz amounting to $750,000 in the year to last August.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=10781645

nz: Internet in schools as 'vital as water'
A Palmerston North principal believes the internet is as vital to a school as electricity and water. Ross Intermediate School is known for its high-end technology and equipment, and principal Wayne Codyre says the internet had a significant impact on students.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6334928/Internet-in-schools-as-vital-as-water

au: Police to tackle cyber abuse across the country
POLICE across the nation are joining forces to tackle cyber bullying.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/crackdown-on-digital-bullies/story-e6frfro0-1226256988941

au: Tony Abbott touts Coalition cyber safety push
Coalition leader Tony Abbott has announced plans to set up an Online Safety Working Group to develop the Coalition's online safety policy.
http://www.itwire.com/it-policy-news/regulation/52423-tony-abbott-touts-coalition-cyber-safety-push

ae: TRA organizes a session on cyber safety and security at Rashid School for Boys [news release]
In line with its commitment to spread awareness to UAE students and youth on the safe and secure usage of the information and telecommunication technology tools within the telecommunications sector in the country, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), represented by the Computer Emergency Response Team (aeCERT) organized a session on cyber safety and security at Rashid School for Boys in Dubai.
http://tra.gov.ae/news_TRA_organizes_a_session_on_cyber_safety_and_security_at_Rashid_School_for_Boys-374-1.php

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad
... In the last decade, Apple has become one of the mightiest, richest and most successful companies in the world, in part by mastering global manufacturing. Apple and its high-technology peers ? as well as dozens of other American industries ? have achieved a pace of innovation nearly unmatched in modern history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html

North Korea threatens to punish mobile-phone users as 'war criminals'
North Korea has warned that any of its citizens caught trying to defect to China or using mobile phones during the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong-il will be branded as "war criminals" and punished accordingly.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/9040152/North-Korea-threatens-to-punish-mobile-phone-users-as-war-criminals.html

North Korean government labels cell phone users as war criminals
In North Korea, using a cell phone could come with the accusation and punishment of being a war criminal.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57367200-93/north-korean-government-labels-cell-phone-users-as-war-criminals/

Build Up Your Phone's Defenses Against Hackers
Chuck Bokath would be terrifying if he were not such a nice guy. A jovial senior engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, Mr. Bokath can hack into your cellphone just by dialing the number. He can remotely listen to your calls, read your text messages, snap pictures with your phone?s camera and track your movements around town ? not to mention access the password to your online bank account.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/technology/personaltech/protecting-a-cellphone-against-hackers.html

Massive Android malware op may have infected 5 million users
The largest-ever Android malware campaign may have duped as many as 5 million users into downloading infected apps from Google's Android Market, Symantec said today.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223777/Massive_Android_malware_op_may_have_infected_5_million_users

The BlackBerry, Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants
Research in Motion, maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, sent its co-chief executives packing last week and replaced them with Thorsten Heins, who had been RIM?s chief operating officer. How would he characterize his employer?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/business/blackberry-aiming-to-avoid-the-hall-of-fallen-giants.html

Nokia puts brave face on 31% decline in sales as Windows smartphones launch
Nokia's battle to rejoin the race with Apple and Google's Android has seen the world's largest phone maker burn through over ?1bn (?830m) in a year, with unit sales of smartphones down 31% in the last quarter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/26/nokia-sales-smartphone-windows

One-Billion-Euro Loss and a Silver Lining for Nokia
Nokia, the world?s largest seller of mobile phones by volume, said Thursday that it suffered a huge loss in the fourth quarter but reported better-than-expected sales of its new Windows smartphones, sending its shares soaring.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/technology/1-billion-euro-loss-and-a-silver-lining-for-nokia.html

Nokia Discerns Hope in New Phone
In the first test of Nokia Corp.'s turnaround plan, the handset maker said sales of its first Windows smartphones were off to a good start even as its overall shipments continued to slide.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204573704577184493721205630.html

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Symantec Report Finds Spammers are Taking Advantage of New Year Holidays and Major Events [news release]
Symantec Corp. announced the findings of its January Symantec Intelligence Report, which shows that spammers are using holidays and major events to make their mail more appealing.
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20120126_01

Call for illegal site demotion on search engines
Illegal content should be forcibly demoted in web searches, a group of UK rights holders has suggested.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16740160

Megaboned - What the law profs say about the Megaupload case
On Thursday, the US government unsealed a 72-page indictment against Megaupload. The file locker was one of the largest sites on the Web, and major copyright holders had accused it of facilitating widespread copyright infringement. The government argues that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom and his lieutenants were less a legitimate business than a scheme to profit from the infringing activities of their users.
http://www.lawfuel.co.nz/news/158/megaboned-what-the-law-profs-say-about-the-megaupload-case

Retaliation Fears Spur Anonymity in Internet Case
Federal law-enforcement officials say they are concerned about cyber-retaliation against agents and prosecutors, in light of suspicions that people linked to the hacker collective Anonymous targeted the private life of a government official investigating WikiLeaks.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203363504577185364230417098.html

Are You at Risk? What Cybercriminals Do With Your Personal Data [CIO]
When Zappos notified its customers that their names, email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers and the last four digits of their credit card numbers may have been exposed during a data breach earlier this month, the online shoe retailer emphasized that "critical credit card and other payment data was NOT affected or accessed."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/248810/are_you_at_risk_what_cybercriminals_do_with_your_personal_data.html

Facebook sues alleged clickjacking spammer sparking row
Facebook is suing a marketing firm, accusing it of "spreading spam through misleading and deceptive tactics". Adscend Media is alleged to have carried out "clickjacking".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16755434

Facebook sues 'clickjacking' firm
Facebook and the US state of Washington are suing a company they accuse of "clickjacking", alleging it has reaped $1.2m a month by using bogus pages on the social network to whisk people away to other sites.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/27/facebook-sues-clickjacking-firm-adscend

nz: Hollywood playing hardball on piracy
When it comes to protecting its property Hollywood plays hardball. This month a British judge ruled that Richard O'Dwyer, a 23-year-old student, can be extradited to the United States to face charges he posted links to pirated TV shows and films via TVShack, a UK-based website O'Dwyer created as a teenager.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10781695

au: Dangers of cyberspace exposed
Law firms and Australian companies are increasingly vulnerable to the US Government's overzealous regulation of cyberspace, according to a visiting information technology law expert.
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/blogs/top_stories/archive/2012/01/26/dangers-of-cyberspace-exposed.aspx

au: Legal threat to bloggers
IN A move that tightens the screws further on internet defamation, legal action has been taken against the ABC for follow-up comment on the Marieke Hardy case.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/legal-threat-to-bloggers-20120129-1qo1w.html

Kelihos botnet suspect denies Microsoft accusations
The man accused by Microsoft of being behind a huge botnet attack has insisted he is "absolutely not guilty".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16757150

Microsoft's Kelihos botnet suspect says he's innocent
Russia-based Andrey N. Sabelnikov says he is "absolutely not guilty" of participating in the creation of the huge spam network that Microsoft shut down last September.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57367840-83/microsofts-kelihos-botnet-suspect-says-hes-innocent/

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SECURITY
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Thousands of Infrastructure Computer Systems are Online, Unprotected
We?ve written before about hapless business owners practically handing hackers customers? information by failing to observe basic computer security (Subway, we?re looking at you). But this is a security fail on a whole different level. A researcher has just revealed that about ten thousand systems controlling water plants, sewage plants, and other infrastructure are online, mostly unprotected and findable with a simple search.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/01/26/thousands-of-infrastructure-computer-systems-are-online-unprotected/

FBI plans social network map alert mash-up application
The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material "scraped" from social networks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16738209

Call for cyberwar 'peacekeepers' force
The US Army's Cyber Command is recruiting. Its mission? To create "a world class cyberwarrior force", and to develop cyberspace as an "active domain".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/9687338.stm

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PRIVACY
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Experts: Google privacy shift will have greater impact on Android users
Google doesn?t make much money from its Android phones, but chief executive Larry Page recently vowed in an earnings call that that was about to change.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-sees-profit-in-tracking-users/2012/01/25/gIQAfDJVRQ_story.html

US lawmakers demand answers on Google's new privacy policy
US lawmakers have called for answers on Google's controversial new privacy policy that critics claim will compromise users' online anonymity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204573704577185400379605554.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/us-lawmakers-demand-answers-on-googles-new-privacy-policy/story-fn91v9q3-1226255087920

Commission closes infringement case after UK correctly implements EU rules on privacy in electronic communications [news release]
The European Commission has closed an infringement case against the UK in recognition that UK national legislation has now been changed to properly implement EU rules on ePrivacy and data protection on the confidentiality of communications such as email or Internet browsing. The Commission believes UK law and institutions are now well-equipped to enforce the privacy rights of UK users.
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/60

Online privacy: Relearning to forget
On January 25th the European Commission formally unveiled an overhaul of the continent's data-protection rules. The proposal for a snappily titled "Regulation on the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data and on the Free Movement of Such Data? is unlikely to become a bestseller. Yet the 117-page booklet might affect every one of the European Union's 500m citizens, every one of its businesses, and many more beyond. It is ?the biggest, most impactful piece of legislation that the European Union could produce unless they developed tax powers,? says Joe McNamee of European Digital Rights, a lobby group.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/01/online-privacy

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CENSORSHIP
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Twitter Can Censor by Country - Able to Block Tweets Geographically, Marking Content as Withheld
Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with "different ideas" about freedom of expression as a human right?reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204573704577185873204078142.html

Concern over Twitter's country-by-country censorship ability
Twitter is facing a backlash from its users after the website said it had the technology to censor tweets on a country by country basis.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/concern-over-twitters-countrybycountry-censorship-ability-6295742.html

Censoring of Tweets Sets Off #Outrage
It started five years ago after a young engineer in San Francisco sketched out a quirky little Web tool for telling your friends what you were up to. It became a bullhorn for millions of people worldwide, especially vital in nations that tend to muzzle their own people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/technology/when-twitter-blocks-tweets-its-outrage.html

Twitter?s country-specific censorship tool prompts user protest
Some Twitter users say they will stop using the service on Saturday in protest of the company?s new rule that allows for content to be blocked in specific countries.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/twitters-country-specific-censorship-tool-prompts-user-protest/2012/01/27/gIQALWoMVQ_story.html

Twitter Lawyer Responds to Censorship Controversy
There was considerable confusion, and opposition, following Twitter?s announcement Thursday that it can now censor tweets within specific countries if foreign governments request that it do so. The company?s top lawyer late Friday tried to clarify what the micro-blogging company will and won?t do.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/01/27/twitter-lawyer-responds-to-censorship-controversy/

Twitter bows to pressure over censorship
Twitter, the microblogging service that has made a virtue of being used as an organising tool by political activists, has bowed to the realities of global business with a new approach to censorship.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/592c2fc0-4913-11e1-88f0-00144feabdc0.html

Twitter to selectively 'censor' tweets by country
Twitter has announced that it now has the technology to selectively block tweets on a country by country basis.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16753729

Twitter Announces Micro-Censorship Policy
Within hours of the announcement, people had figured out ways to subvert Twitter?s blocking.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/twitter-announces-micro-censorship-policy/

Twitter to restrict user content in some countries
Twitter announced Thursday that it would begin restricting Tweets in certain countries, marking a policy shift for the social media platform that helped propel the popular uprisings recently sweeping across the Middle East.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/01/26/twitter-idINDEE80P0IR20120126

Twitter can now censor tweets nationally, rather than globally
The wings of some Twitter users may be clipped a bit less going forward.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/twitter-block-tweets-nationally-globally.html

Twitter to censor country-by-country [AP]
Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/27/twitter-censor-tweets-by-country
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/twitter-to-censor-country-by-country/story-e6frg6so-1226255504879

Tweets still must flow
One year ago, we posted "The Tweets Must Flow," in which we said, ?The open exchange of information can have a positive global impact ? almost every country in the world agrees that freedom of expression is a human right. Many countries also agree that freedom of expression carries with it responsibilities and has limits.?
http://blog.twitter.com/2012/01/tweets-still-must-flow.html

India refutes claims of Web censorship
An Indian minister has publicly refuted claims that the country wants to implement Web censorship in a manner similar to China, noting that the heated legal debate between India and global Internet giants has been blown out of proportion.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/india-refutes-claims-of-web-censorship-62303610.htm

Censorship in India - No freedom to offend
EVEN a magical realist would struggle with the unlikely tale that unfolded this week at the Jaipur literary festival. Salman Rushdie, an author whom Islamists revile, stayed away, warned by police that two assassins had been dispatched by a Mumbai mafioso to prowl among the literati and murder him.
http://www.economist.com/node/21543565

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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The ACTA Fight Returns: What Is at Stake and What You Can Do by Michael Geist
The reverberations from the SOPA fight continue to be felt in the U.S. (excellent analysis from Benkler and Downes) and elsewhere (mounting Canadian concern that Bill C-11 could be amended to adopt SOPA-like rules), but it is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement that has captured increasing attention this week. Several months after the majority of ACTA participants signed the agreement, most European Union countries formally signed the agreement yesterday (notable exclusions include Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia). 
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6269/125/

Business Community Urges European Parliament to Pass ACTA [news release]
Today, European and national business associations commend the European Union (EU) and Member States as they moved to join their global allies in the battle against counterfeiting and piracy.
http://www.inta.org/Press/Pages/EUsignsACTA.aspx

Thousands march in Poland over Acta internet treaty
More than 10,000 people have taken to Poland's streets to protest the signing of an international treaty activists say amounts to internet censorship.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16735219

Big Victory on Internet Buoys Lobby
The unlikely coalition of companies and consumer groups that last week helped quash antipiracy legislation on Capitol Hill is now weighing the future of what might be called lobbying 2.0. Can the Internet industry, along with legions of newly politicized Web users, be a new force in Washington? And if so, what else can they all agree upon?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/technology/victory-on-antipiracy-issue-buoys-internet-lobby.html

Privacy Less Controversial Than Piracy? For Now, Web Giants Don?t Sound the Alarm on EU Data Protection.
Though Internet companies seemed to have found their political voices during the U.S. SOPA/PIPA debate over Internet piracy last week, they?re less up in arms about another proposed bill, this time about a unified approach to online privacy in the European Union.
http://allthingsd.com/20120126/privacy-less-controversial-than-piracy-for-now-web-giants-dont-sound-the-alarm-on-eu-data-protection/

We Are All Internet Exceptionalists Now by Milton Mueller
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its defeat call attention to a delicious irony in public discourse on Internet governance. Even those who don't want the Internet to be an exception from traditional forms of regulation and law are forced to admit that something new and exceptional must be done to bring it under control, such as massive departures from traditional concepts of territorially bounded sovereignty through the use of in rem jurisdiction.
http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2012/1/25/4985495.html

Hawaii legislators bid aloha to controversial data retention bill
Lawmakers in Hawaii on Thursday quietly dropped a bill that would have required Internet service providers to collect the detailed browsing histories of Internet users in the state and store the data for at least two years.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223770/Hawaii_legislators_bid_aloha_to_controversial_data_retention_bill
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/012712-hawaii-legislators-bid-aloha-to-255430.html

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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EU Warns on Telecom Rules
European Union member countries that fail to implement the bloc's new rules on consumer rights for telephone and Internet services could be taken to Europe's highest court as soon as next month, EU Digital Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Thursday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204573704577184583802168726.html

Israel sets its sites on its own National Broadband Network [AP]
Israel's state-owned electric company hopes roll out its own high-speed national broadband network.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/israel-sets-its-sites-on-its-own-national-broadband-network/story-e6frgakx-1226254885060

Telcos struggle to sell tablet computers - research
Telecoms operators are struggling get a meaningful slice of the growing tablet computer market due to consumers, daunted or confused by data plans, going directly to manufacturers like Apple to buy their cherished devices.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/25531-telcos-struggle-to-sell/

Georgia legislators propose bill to curtail community broadband
Georgia is the latest state to become engaged in a community broadband fight with the introduction of SB 313, the Broadband Investment Equity Act.
http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/georgia-legislators-propose-bill-curtail-community-broadband/2012-01-27

ITU?s Connect Arab Summit puts broadband at the very top of the region?s political agenda [news release]
Over the past 12 months, the Arab Spring has brought about unprecedented political changes across the region. The right to communicate is increasingly recognized and asserted, and now needs to be complemented by opportunities to be educated and employed, and to contribute to the development of the economy and wealth of the region.
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2012/07.aspx

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ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION
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nz: Man sentenced on child porn charges
An Auckland man has been jailed after American authorities tipped off the Department of Internal Affairs that he had uploaded child pornography.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/6325904/Man-sentenced-on-child-porn-charges

Auckland man jailed for child porn [AAP]
An Auckland man is behind bars after he was found guilty of possessing more than 350 images of boys as young as six engaged in sexual acts or poses.
http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8409980/auckland-man-jailed-for-child-porn

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(c) David Goldstein 2012


------
David Goldstein

 email: david at goldsteinreport.com

 web:   http://goldsteinreport.com/
         http://davidgoldstein.tel/
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/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