Don't forget to check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for a more recent edition of the complete domain news, including an RSS feed - already online!
And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for regular updates. ********************************************************** Sponsored by the Singapore Internet Research Centre Nanyang Technological University, Singapore http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/ ********************************************************** Web censorship spreading globally http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1dbb5faa-d268-11db-a7c0-000b5df10621.html Repressive governments widen stifling techniques http://www.ft.com/cms/s/775d5b9e-d268-11db-a7c0-000b5df10621.html China ramps up blog censorship http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/13/1173722436034.html Indonesia to tighten Internet surveillance (AFP) http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/14/1173722532227.html The unsung guardians of the internet http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2033503,00.html Google to erase information on billions of internet searches http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2034172,00.html us: Google and YouTube to be sued http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6446193.stm Google confident YouTube protected by strong law (Reuters) http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10428914 YouTube's fate rests on decade-old copyright law http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6166862.html us: Internet Expert Warns Against Net Regulation (news release) http://redorbit.com/news/technology/869726/internet_expert_warns_against_net_regulation/ us: Democrats grill FCC about neutrality, surveillance, more http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=13&articleId=9013144 Internet Addiction, a Worldwide Crisis http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1705 in: Computer curfew after student suicides http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1511445.ece *********** CENSORSHIP *********** Web censorship spreading globally Internet censorship is spreading rapidly, being practised by about two dozen countries and applied to a far wider range of online information and applications, according to research by a transatlantic group of academics. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1dbb5faa-d268-11db-a7c0-000b5df10621.html Repressive governments widen stifling techniques Repressive governments no longer limit themselves simply to blocking access to websites they want to keep from their citizens. Increasingly, experts on internet censorship say, they are turning to a range of other techniques, from methods developed for cyber-warfare to the filtering-out of specific content deemed undesirable. In the process they have been relying on private companies, many from the US and other liberal regimes, to supply the technical know-how and, in some cases, act as their eyes and ears in cyberspace. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/775d5b9e-d268-11db-a7c0-000b5df10621.html China ramps up blog censorship China will intensify controls of the growing numbers of bloggers using the internet to lay bare their thoughts, politics and even bodies, the country's chief censor has announced. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/13/1173722436034.html Indonesia to tighten Internet surveillance (AFP) Indonesia plans to tackle Internet crime by tightening the supervision of web surfers, an official said Tuesday. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/14/1173722532227.html http://www.todayonline.com/articles/177099.asp http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070313-062946-4686r http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3728849 Egypt court rejects blogger appeal (AFP) An Egyptian court on Monday upheld a four-year sentence against a blogger convicted of insulting religion and defaming the president, a verdict condemned by rights groups as a threat to free speech. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/176866.asp http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3728721 Egyptian judge wants more websites gagged (AFP) The Egyptian judge, who chairs the court that is to hear a blogger's appeal against a four-year jail sentence that drew criticism from around the world, is seeking to gag 21 websites, a judicial source has told AFP. http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2885&iArticleId=3726888 au: Game site skirts censors' ban A legal loophole has enabled a major local computer software distributor to sell downloads of a game that was banned in Australia last year because it promoted vandalism. And Australian authorities may be powerless to prevent the ban from being circumvented. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/14/1173722550955.html ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ au: Porn penalties 'minor' SOUTH Australians prosecuted in the nation's biggest child pornography crackdown have received only "very minor penalties", police have revealed. http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21384168-2682,00.html MySpace Kicks Out Phony Cops MySpace.com says some of the profile pages representing police or sheriff's departments on the popular Internet networking site are fakes. While MySpace has encouraged police to have a presence on the site as a way to deter online sexual predators, at least six of the 16 law enforcement profile pages on MySpace were bogus. MySpace also has closed down pages claiming to represent the New York Police Department profile and five other police departments. http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/section/internet/?init=11 *************************************** CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY *************************************** The unsung guardians of the internet An army of 'digilanti' - unpaid loners at their PCs - are trying to keep the web free of spam and scammers http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,2033503,00.html Google to erase information on billions of internet searches Google will erase personal information on billions of internet searches in an attempt to secure the privacy of its users, the company has announced. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2034172,00.html Google tightens privacy measures (AP) Google is adopting new privacy measures to make it more difficult to connect online search requests with the people making them a thorny issue that provoked a showdown with the U.S. government last year. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2007-03-14-google-privacy_N.htm http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/15/1173722604920.html http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOOGLE_PRIVACY Google Changes Policy on Search Records Google said it would start to make search logs anonymous after 18 to 24 months. Under current practices, the company keeps the logs indefinitely. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/technology/15googles.web.html us: Google and YouTube to be sued Entertainment giant Viacom Media says it will sue Google and video-sharing website YouTube for $1bn. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6446193.stm http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article1509555.ece http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2355971.ece http://www.guardian.co.uk/Media/site/story/0,,2033399,00.html Google confident YouTube protected by strong law (Reuters) Google Inc. is confident its popular video-sharing site YouTube and other Web services Google offers have strong legal protections under current copyright law, company attorneys said. Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. ended six months of thinly veiled threats of legal action against YouTube http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10428914 YouTube's fate rests on decade-old copyright law Whether YouTube suffers the same fate as Napster may depend on the wording of a nearly antique law written long before video-sharing Web sites were envisioned. http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6166862.html WhoseTube? Viacom Sues Google Over Video Clips Since it bought YouTube last October, Google has been chasing deals that would give it the right to put mainstream video programming on the site. Just a few weeks ago, Googles chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, seemed confident that this courtship of old-line media companies would prove fruitful. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/technology/14viacom.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/14/business/viacom.php Viacom vs. Google: Test of key online law The copyright lawsuit filed Tuesday by Viacom against Google and its YouTube subsidiary could end up rewriting one of the key laws of the Internet age: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/16899987.htm YouTube's fate rests on decade-old copyright law Whether YouTube suffers the same fate as Napster may depend on the wording of a nearly antique law written long before video-sharing Web sites were envisioned. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/YouTube_s_fate_rests_on_decade_old_copyright_law/0,130061733,339274229,00.htm The effects of a happy slapping epidemic: European governments crack down on the recording and distribution of violence online Several years ago, the United Kingdom noticed a disturbing pastime among a segment of its youths happy slapping. Individuals or groups found amusing the slapping or striking of strangers while accomplices filmed the assaults using mobile phones. The images were later showcased on the Internet. In recent years, the happy slapping virus has spread into France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, among other European countries. And governments have had enough of this cruel and sometimes lethal form of entertainment. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1707 Yahoo! dissident case is abandoned The authorities in Hong Kong have decided that there is not enough evidence to prove that Yahoo! Hong Kong provided private information that helped to convict a Chinese reporter accused of leaking state secrets. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1514012.ece Informing case against Yahoo is dropped in Hong Kong (AP) Investigators said there was not enough evidence to show that Yahoo's Hong Kong branch provided private information that helped convict a Chinese reporter accused of leaking state secrets. http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/14/business/yahoo.php Official: Yahoo didn't violate laws in case of jailed Chinese journalist (AP) Investigators said Wednesday there was not enough evidence to show that Yahoo's Hong Kong branch provided private information that helped convict a Chinese reporter accused of leaking state secrets. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2007-03-14-yahoo-laws_N.htm au: Tax office hunts dodgers on eBay eBay has handed over the personal and financial details of hundreds of its top customers to the Australian Taxation Office as part of an investigation into GST compliance. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21372166-2,00.html Cracking Google's 'secret sauce' algorithm Google rules all in the online world, and businesses live or die on its search rankings determined by a secret algorithm. Everyone is trying to crack the code, and some people might pay $10 million or more to anyone who does. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012943 kr: Illegal Organ Trades on Internet Rampant The trade of human organs over the Internet is still rampant despite police clampdowns, according to a lawmaker Tuesday. http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200703/kt2007031319253310230.htm us: Cyber-Criminals and Their Tools Getting Bolder, More Sophisticated Robert Hoyler thought hackers who broke into his computer stole only his bank account information. But it turned out that the thieves also left something behind: a hidden software virus that recorded his every keystroke. So when Hoyler's bank issued him new account numbers and passwords, the hackers got all that information, too. His health insurance, online shopping and Social Security data went into a file in a master database at a Web site controlled by the attackers, stashed among personal information on more than 3,220 U.S. residents. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/13/AR2007031301522.html Man blows himself up in Moroccan web café A man who was prevented from looking at terrorist websites by the owners of an internet café in Casablanca blew himself up with explosives hidden on his body, a spokesman for the Moroccan Interior Ministry said today. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article1502217.ece uk: Internet scams dominate UK card fraud losses Card fraud in the UK fell three per cent from £439.4m in 2005 to £428m last year, according to figures from payment association APACS released Wednesday. Overall, card fraud has dropped £80m from a record high of £504.8m in 2004. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/14/uk_card_fraud_trends/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** us: Internet Expert Warns Against Net Regulation (news release) The Chairman of NETCompetition.org, Scott Cleland, urged the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet to work with the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to keep the Internet unfettered by Federal or state regulation. http://redorbit.com/news/technology/869726/internet_expert_warns_against_net_regulation/ us: Democrats grill FCC about neutrality, surveillance, more Democratic members of the House of Representatives criticized the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday, complaining that the agency hasn't investigated government spying on telephone and Internet conversations and hasn't taken a strong stand for network neutrality. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=13&articleId=9013144 us: Federal agencies ban Windows Vista As Microsoft is out touting the "wow" of Windows Vista, two federal agencies are among those saying "whoa." http://news.com.com/2100-1002_3-6166868.html us: CDT Opposes Bill Expanding Pentagon Domestic Data Mining CDT and other civil liberties groups are urging Congress to reject legislation that would exempt the Department of Defense from a key provision of the Privacy Act. The little-noticed amendment, already included in the Senate version of the Intelligence Authorization Act, would permit government agencies to disclose information on US citizens to the Defense Department. Such language could pave the way for entire databases of information to be transferred to the Defense Department without a clear purpose -- in turn opening the door to greater data mining by military agencies. http://www.cdt.org/security/20070308intelligenceletter.pdf ***************************** INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE ***************************** Internet Addiction, a Worldwide Crisis Some countries like China, India and United States present a high rate of internet addiction cases, especially among the young male population. Indeed, some internet addiction treatments are being developed by psychologist and research teams at medical schools. Even internet addiction boot-camps have been created in Asia to combat this concerning trend. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1705 in: Computer curfew after student suicides An elite Indian Institute of Technology restricted access to the internet in an attempt to make whiz-kids more sociable http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1511445.ece The End User: Getting mobile on the Web The British arm of the online technology news service Cnet recently ferreted out a handful of tasks that even you can do with your phone that proves the value of accessing text on a cellphone. We're not talking mobile spreadsheets here. Without actually saying so, Cnet has put its finger on the combination of factors that has by and large eluded mobile services that have tried so hard to win us over: give us something simple, cheap and useful. http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/14/business/ptend15.php 'Gahooyoogle' your way around the Net A Web site that allows Netizens to conduct searches using both Yahoo and Google concurrently has been unveiled. Dubbed Gahooyoogle, the site includes a search bar for users to enter search terms, which will be parsed to both search engines. Results are displayed on a single screen within the Web browser. http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/personaltech/stories/172990.html 'Bandwidth hogs' finding the Internet has its limits Amanda Lee of Cambridge, Massachusetts, received a call from Comcast in December ordering her to curtail her Web use or lose her high-speed Internet connection for a year. http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/14/technology/btny.php us: Pew: Latinos Less Likely to Be Online (AP) Latinos are not going online as much as non-Hispanic whites and blacks, even at younger ages where Internet use is far greater, according to a report released Wednesday. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LATINOS_ONLINE http://clickz.com/stats/sectors/demographics/article.php/3625244 Top 10 Search Terms in 10 Categories, February 2007 The top 10 search terms in IT and Internet; automotive; movies; Internet advertising; food and beverage; pharmaceuticals and medical; blogs and personal Web sites; broadcast media; shopping; and travel. Clickstream data are collected by Hitwise. http://clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3625229 *************** DIGITAL DIVIDE *************** uk: Sunderland wins £3m to bridge the social and digital divide (news release) Sunderland was today unveiled as the winner of Communities and Local Government's Digital Challenge competition and will receive £3m to deliver its plans for a digitally enabled community that will benefit some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in the area. http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=270772 ************ FILE SHARING ************ Music Industry Tightens Squeeze On Students The recording industry is dusting off an old tactic in its never-ending effort to crack down on pirated music: Target the college kids. So far this year, the music industry's trade group has sent out hundreds of complaints to students, pressured school administrators to take tougher anti-piracy measures and tried shaming colleges into doing better by putting out a list of the top offending schools. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/08/AR2007030801895.html First legal download to burn film service One of the last barriers to convenient film distribution via the internet fell yesterday with the launch of the first legal download-to-burn service in Britain. Customers will be able to sign up with Lovefilm.com to create high-quality DVDs direct from their computers. Previously, customers could rent or buy films digitally but could not then transfer them to the DVD format. Hollywood has struggled to adapt to the digital revolution, which it has regarded traditionally as a threat to the box office. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article1511642.ece ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* 20 must-have Firefox extensions These plug-ins give you souped-up functionality, better look and feel, and streamlined development tasks. And some are just plain cool. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9011975 Blogging for dollars raises questions of online ethics Payments by advertisers to bloggers for writing about their goods, critics say, blur the line between opinion and product placement. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-bloggers9mar09,1,6615834.story ******************* TELECOMMUNICATIONS ******************* 50 Largest Telecommunications Service Providers for 2006 The Eastern Management Group has released the names of the World's 50 Largest Telecommunications Service Providers for 2006. Topping the list as the world's largest service provider in 2006 was Japan's NTT, with revenues of US$95 billion. Verizon ranked number two among service providers worldwide, followed by AT&T. The smallest company making the list of the 50 was Italy's Wind Telecomunicazioni, with revenues of US$6 billion. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/22574.php au: Regional ISPs thrown a $20m bone THE federal Government has allocated an extra $20 million to its Broadband Connect rural subsidy scheme in a bid to honour a rash of last-minute claims for the final scraps of the rapidly-depleting fund. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21380112%5E16123%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Broadband_Connect_gets_another_AU_20m/0,130061791,339274247,00.htm cn: Regulator moves for convergence of voice, data and cable-TV services The mainland's telecommunications regulator aims to converge voice, data and cable-television networks into a single internet platform in a move that will pave the way for telecommunications firms to run broadcasting services. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-eastasia.asp?parentid=65749 us: Convergence With AT&T's Global IP Plans AT&T is accelerating its embrace of convergence with a new $750 million investment in its global Internet infrastructure. The move represents an even bolder step by the telecommunications provider to offer a bundle of networking services that are IP-based, as well as leverage its Cingular Wireless assets. http://www.opticallynetworked.com/news/article.php/3665331 Norwegian telecom firm accuses Russian rival of smear campaign Telenor, the Norwegian cellphone company, charged that a Russian telecommunications company paid journalists in Ukraine to publish negative articles about Telenor in the midst of a business dispute. http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/14/business/telenor.php E-commerce and the Telecommunication Sector in Brazil According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Brazil boasts the most advanced Internet and e-commerce industry in Latin America and the fifth largest telecom infrastructure worldwide. This is due to privatization of Brazilian telecom services and associated advancements. between 1998 when the Brazilian telecom system was privatized, and the year 2000, telecom investments advanced an average of 1.36% GNP per year, a rate well above both Brazilian and Latin American historical levels. Thus, in record time the privatization of the Brazilian telecom system succeeded in revolutionizing the national communications industry, which in turn promoted national development of e-commerce. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1706 ***** VoIP ***** Regulation of VOIP services in the European Union In order to encourage competition between Internet carriers of telephone traffic and traditional telephone the European Commission favors an EU-wide light touch approach to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. The European Commission launched a consultation on the treatment of Voice over VoIP services under the EU regulatory framework. Based on the conclusions reached in this consultation, the European Commission expressed its intention to promote the development of VoIP services rather than develop detailed guidelines for VoIP. Moreover, VoIP providers often face difficulties to provide guaranteed access to emergency services due to technical limitations. However, rather than impose strict obligations, the European Commission has encouraged market players to collaborate on possible solutions for the provision of emergency access services. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=1E181FF9-9B49-4C77-9700-FC3DB5E6F3E4 ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** nz: Former teacher admits 28 child porn charges A former teacher who sent photos of his penis over the internet and chatted graphically online to girls as young as nine faces a jail term after admitting 28 child pornography charges. http://stuff.co.nz/3990508a12855.html au: Fifty jailed for child pornography FIFTY people have been jailed and six have taken their own lives after Victoria's biggest child pornography swoop. http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21377860-5005941,00.html au: Porn penalties 'minor' SOUTH Australians prosecuted in the nation's biggest child pornography crackdown have received only "very minor penalties", police have revealed. http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21384168-2682,00.html uk: Fears for schoolgirl 'in chat room trip' Missing 13-year-old girl may have gone to airport to meet someone she met on an internet chat room, police said today http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1509345.ece +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The domain name news is supported by auDA. See http://lists.technewsreview.com.au/mailman/listinfo/technewsreview for an archive of recent newsletters and to subscribe to the domain name and general internet news. Also see http://technewsreview.com.au/ for recent news updates. 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 Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ apple mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.apnic.net/mailman/listinfo/apple
