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 29 edition of the news include: Kremlin Seeks To Extend Its Reach in Cyberspace | IGF Rio to be Supported by Online Community by Derrick L. Cogburn | ICANN Ombudsman Releases Annual Report | Internet pioneer Cerf steps down after 7 years heading key Internet oversight group | Vint Cerf has 5 books to write | WHOIS Redux: Demand Privacy in Domain Name Registration by Wendy Seltzer And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** Deutsche Telekom Prepares for Two-Tier Internet http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/deutsche-telecom-prepares-for-two-tier-internet/ Insider domain name snatching probed http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/209755.html http://domainesinfo.fr/english/127/is-front-running-a-domain-name-myth.php http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071024-icann-probing-insider-trading-allegations-with-domain-name-registrations.html Venue chosen for ICANN Paris 2008 http://domainesinfo.fr/english/126/venue-chosen-for-icann-paris-2008.php ICANN Releases RAA Public Consultation Comments http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-23oct07.htm ICANN Advisory "L Root" changing IP address on 1st November by Kim Davies http://blog.icann.org/?p=227 Review of the ICANN Nominating Committee http://icann.org/reviews/nomcom-28feb07.htm sg: Launch of Pure Numeric Domain Names [news release] http://nic.net.sg/newsroom/20071022092943.html tk: Putting an island in touch with the world http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/25/internet.guardianweeklytechnologysection NeuStar Wins Contract for .US ccTLD [news release] http://neustar.biz/pressroom/announcements/press_release.cfm?press_id=1356 Estonia's CTO speaks out on cyberattacks http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39290289,00.htm China Rejects Renewed Accusations of Cyber Spying http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2836152,00.html Germany accuses China of digital espionage [Reuters] http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39290260,00.htm ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Method and apparatus for DNS resolution by Theodore Thomas Herzog et al Abstract: A method and apparatus for resolving where to forward DNS (domain name service) requests for a user simultaneously logged into more than one service existing on a data communications network utilizes an active service list (ASL) to keep track of the services that the user is currently logged into. The active service list includes a list of services sorted in a particular order based on information about the service and sometimes the order in which the user logged into the services. http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en&lr=&vid=USPAT7177947&id=Se1-AAAAEBAJ&oi=fnd The Brand Wars Are Coming! How to Defend Your Brands on the Internet By Erik J. Heels Cybersquatters, typosquatters, parody domain names, look-alike URLs and competitors purchasing others' keywords-these are the kinds of developments posing threats to brands online. Here are 11 protection tactics. http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/articles/v33/is5/an16.shtml Council of Europe people-centred approach to the Internet and its governance inspires UN Internet Governance Forum discussions The Council of Europe written submission to the next Internet Governance Forum (IGF) taking place from 12 to 15 November in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) has been extensively referred to in the recently finalised UN/IGF synthesis paper (in particular in paragraphs 11, 12, 18, 24, 31, 33, 42, 43 and 46 of the paper) that will serve as an input into this years IGF discussions. The Council of Europe promotes the public service value of the Internet and places users rights, in particular freedom of expression, and safety at the forefront. The Council plays a leading role in the fight against Internet-based crimes drawing its action from key conventions and work on cybercrime, terrorism, sexual exploitation of children, action against trafficking in human beings and counterfeit medicines. Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio will take part in the Forum together with several other Council of Europe experts and staff members. http://www.coe.int/t/dc/press/source/CoE%20submission%20to%20IGF_100807FINAL.doc Internet domain names and the interaction with intellectual property by Abida Chaudria [sub req'd] Abstract: This is the first in a series of articles looking at the interaction between domain names and intellectual property. This article defines and summarises the various types of domain names, how they are registered, the legal effects of registration, the WHOIS databases and, briefly, the interaction between domain names and intellectual property. Subsequent articles will consider the preferential sunrise periods for registration of certain domains by trade mark owners, the various kinds of disputes that arise in relation to domain names, dispute resolution procedures and legal proceedings for registered trade mark infringement and passing off in the UK. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VB3-4MTD8G5-8&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F2007&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=01a8908b0435612faa0a4d1955dff80c The Internet and Global Governance: Principles and Norms for a New Regime - Author(s): Milton Mueller | John Mathiason | Hans Klein [sub req'd] Since the mid-1990s, efforts have been under way to construct an international regime for global Internet governance. Beginning with the formation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, efforts at regime construction were a main focus of the 20012005 UN World Summit on the Information Society. However, little progress was made toward an international agreement. This reflected policymakers' illadvised attempt to shortcut regime construction: they attempted to define regime rules and procedures without first defining underlying principles and norms. This article offers example sets of principles and norms of the type that are missing and that could provide the foundation for an Internet governance regime. The authors conclude that a framework convention would be the appropriate institutional mechanism for advancing regime construction. http://www.atypon-link.com/LRP/doi/abs/10.5555/ggov.2007.13.2.237 Internationalized access to domain names: a review of methods and issues - Author(s): Sung J. Shim [sub req'd] Abstract: Purpose This article aims to understand the opportunities as well as the challenges posed by the methods for internationalized access to domain names. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=1BF78740EF8337BDB1A2FC9AD0AD9E09 ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Working with Civil Society at the heart of a UNESCO Forum [news release] Working with civil society will be the theme of the International Forum of Civil Society UNESCOs Partners on 25 October, during the 34th session of UNESCOs General Conference (16 October to 3 November). Hubert Védrine, former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nitin Desai, President of the Internet Governance Forum and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs as well as Lindsay Owen-Jones, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LOréal, will give keynote speeches during the meeting. http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=40384&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html http://egovmonitor.com/node/15375 Deutsche Telekom Prepares for Two-Tier Internet In the discussion about net neutrality, the phone and cable companies in the United States never said they would charge some companies more money for better access to their networks. They just said they dont want rules to prevent them from doing so. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/deutsche-telecom-prepares-for-two-tier-internet/ Why a Net Neutrality Law is Not Enough by David Isenberg Once we decide that Network Neutrality is a good thing to (re)enshrine in law, then we need to ask how to do that effectively. One way would be to pass a law saying, Thou shalt not discriminate. Thats the current approach. But network operators will say that they must manage their network, and if, in the course of network management, they were to disadvantage some source, destination, application, service or content, they might be accused of violating the law. http://www.circleid.com/posts/net_neutrality_law_not_enough/ Comcast Traffic Jamming Heats Net Neutrality Debate [AP] Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally. The interference, which the Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/ebiz/59914.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/205323.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/19/financial/f061526D54.DTL Google's Cerf: Deep space Web decades out Internet visionary Vint Cerf predicted on Wednesday that in the coming decades, scientists will have developed an interplanetary Web, or a common set of communications protocols that will allow sensors on spacecraft, satellites and planets to transmit information to each other and back to Earth. Google, of course, would be the search engine to organize all that data. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9804027-7.html Vinton Cerf Proposes Interplanetary Internet The Internet is now ready to explore new frontiers in outer space, Vinton Cerf, one of its co-creators predicted last week during a news conference (Agence France-Presse). According to Cerf, the Internet service would give people an ability to access information and to control experiments far away, from earth. http://www.profy.com/2007/10/23/vinton-cerf-proposes-interplanetary-internet/ ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** Insider domain name snatching probed [AP] ICANN is investigating suspicions that insider information is being used to snatch desired domain names before an individual or business can register them. The Security and Stability Advisory Committee of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers termed the practice "domain name front running" and likened it to a stock broker buying or selling shares ahead of a client's trade, in anticipation of a movement in price. http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/209755.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102401108.html http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2007-10-24-domain-name-probe_N.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071024.wgtsnatch1024/BNStory/Technology/ Is front running a domain name myth? ICANN's Security Committee is asking for everyone's help in trying to ascertain whether Domain Name Front Running a domain availability check done by one person means the domain is registered by someone else really does exist. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/127/is-front-running-a-domain-name-myth.php ICANN To Probe Insider Domain Purchases [AHN] Are insiders unfairly profiting from the demand for Internet domains? Although never proven, a group overseeing Internet addresses hopes to prevent speculation becoming accepted fact. http://allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008933439 ICANN probing "insider trading" allegations with domain name registrations ICANN has begun an investigation into accusations that some insiders may be using inside information to collect data and purchase unregistered domain names that get a lot of DNS lookup requestsnonexistent domains that surfers frequently try to access. ICANN refers to the practice as "domain name front running," adding that italong with several registrars and intellectual property attorneyshas received a number of complaints from registrants suggesting that such a thing has occurred. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071024-icann-probing-insider-trading-allegations-with-domain-name-registrations.html Venue chosen for ICANN Paris 2008 Next year's Paris ICANN meeting will be held at one of the city's skyscraper hotels, the Méridien Montparnasse. http://domainesinfo.fr/english/126/venue-chosen-for-icann-paris-2008.php ICANN Releases RAA Public Consultation Comments ICANN released a compilation of the public input received during the public comment period of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) consultation process. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-23oct07.htm ICANN makes net global with non-English script domains User-testing is being conducted via a number of wiki pages that have been created with domain names in the 11 languages http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/1AA0D9C778FE26D6CC2573790005A8C6 ICANN Advisory L Root changing IP address on 1st November by Kim Davies This is advance notice that there is a scheduled change to the IP address for one of the authorities listed for the DNS root zone. The change is to L.ROOT-SERVERS.NET, which is administered by ICANN. http://blog.icann.org/?p=227 Review of the ICANN Nominating Committee ICANN has been provided with the Interisle Consulting Group's review of ICANN's Nominating Committee (NomCom). This report will be used to inform ICANN's effort to develop detailed proposals for improving the way ICANN fills leaderhsip positions. ICANN's Board will work with the ICANN community to consider this report, along with public input, in a collaborative process to strengthen this element of ICANN. This independent review of the NomCom is the second in a series of such reviews mandated in ICANN's bylaws as part of ICANN's ongoing commitment to evolve and improve its operations. http://icann.org/reviews/nomcom-28feb07.htm Fellowship Program Brings Global Voices Together at ICANN Global input and ideas will be on the rise at the 30th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers thanks to ICANNs on-going fellowship program. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-24oct07.htm Icann posts draft of Strategic Plan for consultation http://telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=189083 ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** Dot, squiggle, plop: Unencoding the web by Guy Kewney Column: My first response to the idea of a dot-sex web domain was: "Well, that's a rip-off". And when I heard about dot-tv and dot-euro I wasn't the only one to say: "Here we go again..." And I bet most of us were equally cynical about dot-asia. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/23/dot_squiggle/ New DotAsia Domain Launch - Online Registration of Interest via Melbourne IT Corporate Brand Services Melbourne IT Limited announced that it is accepting online expressions of interest for the new .asia domain space that will officially launch to the general public in February 2008. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=50850 Terms and conditions for domain name registration in Belgium The official .be domain name in Belgium is registered through accredited agents or registrars of the DNS BE on behalf of their individual clients. DNS Belgium is the official organization in charge of registration for .be country code top level domain (cc TLD) names. Certain technical requirements must be met in order to register a domain name, although generally, registration is possible through an automated system. Domain name disputes in Belgium are settled by judicial proceedings, arbitration or other available procedures. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=EDECC552-88CA-4011-8859-B778173D18DF Bulgaria's Uninet Starts Selling Domains in Cyrillic Internet users in Bulgaria can now experiment with their name in their language on their Internet after the launch of the sale of domain names in Cyrillic. The selling company is called Uninet Association in cooperation with i-DNS.net International. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=86755 EU Domains at Cost - Register a .eu Domain at Rock Bottom Prices Irish domain registrar Blacknight Solutions is offering EU domains (.eu) at 5 per annum. This represents the lowest price available in the market today. http://emediawire.com/releases/2007/10/emw563454.htm German internet users interested in regional TLDs - survey [sub req'd] http://telecom.paper.nl/news/article.aspx?id=189438 sg: Launch of Pure Numeric Domain Names [news release] On 22 October 2007, SGNIC announced the launch of pure numeric domain names. The launch will be in 2 phases: Soft Launch from 22 October 2007 to 26 March 2008 and the General Launch from 27 March 2008 onwards. http://nic.net.sg/newsroom/20071022092943.html sg: Pure numeric domain names to be introduced by SGNIC Using only numbers as website addresses will soon be possible. This is because pure numeric domain names will be introduced by the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) to link websites to businesses, organisations and even personal pages. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/307175/1/.html http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Tech+%2526+Science/STIStory_169365.html http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62033738,00.htm tk: Putting an island in touch with the world ... None of this would have been possible six years ago. Then, most communication on Tokelau happened by radio, although there was a basic phone network and internet access at 9.6kbps. That all changed in 2001, when Dutch entrepreneur Joost Zuurbier visited Tokelau with a proposal: he would pay the islanders for the right to sell internet addresses with the Tokelauan .tk domain. "Hotmail had just been sold for a fortune, based on the idea of providing people with free email," says Zuurbier. "I was convinced there was a similar business to be made from providing free web addresses; I just needed to find a country that wasn't using its own domain." http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/25/internet.guardianweeklytechnologysection NeuStar Wins Contract for .US ccTLD [news release] NeuStar announced that it has been awarded the contract to operate and administer the .US Internet domain name registry. The official ccTLD for the United States, .US is overseen by the United States Department of Commerce. http://neustar.biz/pressroom/announcements/press_release.cfm?press_id=1356 Neustar keeps US domain Neustar has been given the contract to run the US's .us domain for the next three to five years, beating competition from Go Daddy and Afilias, the Department of Commerce has announced. http://cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=1ACC290D-0D17-4B5D-B593-BC1E2CD38702 NeuStar wins contract to operate '.us' Internet domain name registry NeuStar Inc. said Monday it won a U.S. Department of Commerce contract to operate the '.us' Internet domain name registry. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20400412.htm vn: Domain name disputes Disputes involving domain names happen everyday, including ones involving .vn domain names. The Vietnam Internet Centre (VNNIC) has received many petitions asking it to take back, lock or delete domain names registered at the centre. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2007/10/751120/ ********************** - DOMAIN SECURITY ********************** Estonia's CTO speaks out on cyberattacks Speaking to ZDNet.co.uk at the RSA Conference Europe 2007 in London, Mikhel Tammet, director of the Estonian communication and information technology department, said he believes forces within the Russian government may have initiated and sponsored attacks against his country's critical national infrastructure earlier this year. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39290289,00.htm China Rejects Renewed Accusations of Cyber Spying China has protested against new accusations made by a senior German intelligence official that the Chinese government is behind almost daily Internet espionage attacks on Germany. The Chinese Exterior Ministry said on Tuesday that it was "confused" by the comments made by Hans Elmar Remberg, vice president of the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the country's domestic intelligence agency. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2836152,00.html Germany accuses China of digital espionage [Reuters] The Chinese state is behind almost daily internet espionage attacks on German companies and government bodies, a top German intelligence official said on Monday. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000189,39290260,00.htm http://stuff.co.nz/4247790a28.html http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,2204563,00.asp ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Library loses right to its Web name Type www.oceancountylibrary.org into your Web browser, and you no longer will be directed to the Web site for the Ocean County Library. http://app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/NEWS02/710230375/1070/NEWS02 ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Verisign to Profit from Rootserver Data? by Frank Michlick Traffic WatchAccording to sources, Verisign, the operator of the generic TLDs .COM & .NET registry, is considering selling access to selected root dns server lookup data to registrars. The root servers are what make domain names work on the Internet, meaning that many domain queries hit these servers on their way to a site or an email recipient. http://www.domainnamenews.com/editorial/verisign-to-profit-from-rootserver-data/ au: Kevin07 on a mobile near you The Labor Party has taken its election campaign to a new level, launching its first national mobile phone advertising campaign on Telstra's content services. The launch follows the unveiling of a mobile version of the Kevin07 website - www.kevin07.mobi. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22645438-16123,00.html Gowlings Domain Name Portal updated This Portal provides a thorough review of all relevant Canadian Internet Court and arbitration cases relating to domain names and trademarks, while also providing a comparative review of UDRP and U.S. law. Relevant International decisions and laws are also canvassed. We invite you to review our Internet Briefs, our overview of the Key Differences between the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy and the Canadian Dispute Resolution Policy, our Case Summaries of all dot-ca arbitration cases and an information update of Dot-EU domain names. http://gowlingsondomains.com/ Dollar Drops, Domain Names Rise U.S. dollars slide creates buying opportunities for domain names. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/10/23/dollar-drops-domain-names-rise/ The Sun launches website for mobiles The Sun has boosted its mobile phone offering to readers today, becoming the first national newspaper to launch a ".mobi" domain name with content tailored to mobile users. http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,,2196788,00.html http://www.itpro.co.uk/wireless/news/132743/the-sun-launches-thesunmobi.html RIMs new domain names - BlackBerry 9100 and 9300 series on the horizon? It seems our friends up north decided to get a little busy in recent weeks, registering a number of new domains in mid-October. It looks as if Research In Motion intend to keep their naming conventions in line with the 8000 series family - at least for now. http://boygeniusreport.com/2007/10/22/rims-new-domain-names-blackberry-9100-and-9300-series-on-the-horizon/ Searcher Beware: Your great idea may get scooped out from under you [news release] Business organizations need to be aware of a new risk when it comes to domain names that might prevent them from registering a new domain for their company, product or brand. The practice has become so widespread that the global domain authority, ICANN, has just issued a global warning about the risk. http://earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,205448.shtml ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Are Domain Name Portfolios Actually Worth What They Are Touted to Be? by Suresh Ramasubramanian According to a recent article in Domain Name Wire, shares of domain name company Tucows are down over 15% in early trading after announcing earnings. ... This article only reinforces my frequent comparisons of domaining to the Tulip craze or the south sea bubble. http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_name_portfolios_worth/ Mobile Ads are Worth(less) What is a click-through on a mobile phone worth? In November 2006, Sedo announced that it would serve parked pages on .mobi domains. The parked pages are simple, text-based lists of ad links. One of the .mobi parked pages I reviewed showed ads for a credit card. If you clicked the link from your mobile phone, it took you to a credit card application that could not be viewed on most mobile phones and wouldnt work without SSL security. In other words, the clicks were worthless to the advertiser. http://domainnamewire.com/2007/10/24/mobile-ads-are-worthless/ ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** ...Now up for bid! - Go Daddy unveils expanded auction lineup [news release] It just may be the hottest ticket on the Net - if you are in the market for a catchy domain name already registered by someone else. GoDaddy.com today revealed its final list of domain names available for the upcoming Go Daddy Signature Auction. The online auction takes place November 6-8. Interest in the event is keen and the sheer number of names up for bid auction grew rapidly in recent days. A complete list of the domains is available at www.GoDaddySignatureAuctions.com. https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/news/release_view.asp?news%5Fitem%5Fid=122&app%5Fhdr= Godaddy Signature Domain Auction List Announced Godaddy.com has released the final list of domain names to be auctioned off in their new Signature Domain Auctions beginning November 6th. The list of 30 domains was compiled from submissions from the Godaddy website. Godaddy put up a page about the Signature Domain Auctions earlier this year and have been vetting submissions and preparing for the release since the announcement. http://www.domainnamenews.com/domain-aftermarket/godaddy-signature-domain-auction-list-announced/929 Go Daddy reveals domain names up for auction Go Daddy Group Inc. Tuesday unveiled 30 domain names that it is putting up for auction next month. http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1024biz-godaddybrief24-ON.html ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Parent and Teen Internet Use Parents today are less likely to say that the internet has been a good thing for their children than they were in 2004. However, this does not mean there was a corresponding increase in the amount of parents who think the internet has been harmful to their children. Instead, the biggest increase has been in the amount of parents who do not think the internet has had an effect on their children one way or the other. Fully, 87% of parents of teenagers are online -- at least 17% more than average adults. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/225/report_display.asp Broadband: What's All the Fuss About? Today, with nearly half of all Americans having high-speed internet connections at home, online interactivity means something different for a lot of Americans than it did when it was mainly about email. Many-to-many communication is now buttressed by many-to-many participation in the online world through user-created media. Still, questions remain about the use of advanced communications networks. Among them: Why does access to a high-speed connection at home matter? The fuss about broadband extends beyond access to information to active participation in the online commons as people with shared interests or problems gather at various online forums to chat or collaborate. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/224/report_display.asp Teens and Online Stranger Contact Fully 32% of online teens have been contacted by someone with no connection to them or any of their friends, and 7% of online teens say they have felt scared or uncomfortable as a result of contact by an online stranger. Several behaviors are associated with high levels of online stranger contact, including social networking profile ownership, posting photos online and using social networking sites to flirt. Although several factors are linked with increased levels of stranger contact in general, gender is the only variable with a consistent association with contact that is scary or uncomfortable--girls are much more likely to report scary or uncomfortable contact than boys. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/223/report_display.asp What Google Knows: Privacy and Internet Search Engines by Omer Tene [College of Management - School of Law] Abstract: Search engines are the most important phenomenon on the Internet today and Google is the gold standard of search. Google evokes ambivalent feelings. It is adored for its ingenuity, simple, modest-looking interface and superb services offered at no (evident) cost. Yet increasingly, it is feared by privacy advocates who view it as a private sector big brother posing perhaps the biggest privacy problem of all times. Google is an informational gatekeeper harboring previously unimaginable riches of personal data. Billions of search queries stream across Google's servers each month, the aggregate thoughtstream of humankind, online. Google compiles individual search logs, containing information about users' fears and expectations, interests and passions, and ripe with information that is financial, medical, sexual, political, in short personal in nature. How did Google evolve from being a benevolent giant seeking to do no evil into a privacy menace reviled by human rights advocates worldwide? Are the fears of Google's omniscient presence justified or overstated? What personal data should Google be allowed to retain and for how long? What rules should govern access to Google's database? What are the legal protections currently in place and are they sufficient to quell the emerging privacy crisis? These are the main issues addressed in this article. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1021490 Google's Law by Greg Lastowka [Rutgers School of Law] Abstract: Google has become, for the majority of Americans, the index of choice for online information. Through dynamically generated results pages keyed to a near-infinite variety of search terms, Google steers our thoughts and our learning online. It tells us what words mean, what things look like, where to buy things, and who and what is most important to us. Google's control over "results" constitutes an awesome ability to set the course of human knowledge. As this paper will explain, fortunes are won and lost based on Google's results pages, including the fortunes of Google itself. Because Google's results are so significant to e-commerce activities today, they have already been the subject of substantial litigation. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1017536 Net Neutrality on the Internet: A Two-Sided Market Analysis by Nicholas Economides & Joacim Tåg [NYU Law and Economics Research Paper] Abstract: We discuss the benefits of net neutrality regulation in the context of a two-sided market model in which platforms sell Internet access services to consumers and may set fees to content and applications providers "on the other side" of the Internet. When access is monopolized, we find that generally net neutrality regulation (that imposes zero fees "on the other side" of the market) increases total industry surplus compared to the fully private optimum at which the monopoly platform imposes positive fees on content and applications providers. Similarly, we find that imposing net neutrality in duopoly increases total surplus compared to duopoly competition between platforms that charge positive fees on content providers. We also discuss the incentives of duopolists to collude in setting the fees "on the other side" of the Internet while competing for Internet access customers. Additionally, we discuss how price and non-price discrimination strategies may be used once net neutrality is abolished. Finally, we discuss how the results generalize to other two-sided markets. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1019121 net neutrality, two-sided markets, Internet, monopoly, duopoly, regulation, discrimination ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** US Congress To Google: Don't Sell Out To Censors For global tech companies like Google and Yahoo!, cooperating with repressive states like China has been a public relations nightmare. Now that ethical dilemma may be slowly widening into a legal morass. The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs voted Tuesday to pass the Global Online Freedom Act, a bill designed to penalize U.S. companies up to $2 million if they cooperate with the technological surveillance of political dissidents or share technology and information used for "Internet-restricting" purposes. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/10/23/china-google-censorship-technology-security_cx_ag_1023chinahouse.html U.S. panel endorses bill to stop online repression [Reuters] A key congressional panel endorsed legislation on Tuesday that would bar U.S. Internet companies from cooperating with authorities in China and other repressive regimes. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN2335804120071023 Brutality on show as Burma lifts ban Graphic digital photos of the Burmese regime's brutal crackdown on monks and democracy activists have started to appear in the West, after the junta restored access to the internet last week. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22624191-25837,00.html Kazakhstan shuts down opposition Web sites [Reuters] Kazakhstan has blocked access to a number of opposition Web sites in a move Internet users condemned on Wednesday as a crackdown on freedom of speech. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL2470624120071024 http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/24/2069572.htm http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/10/24/kazakhstan_shuts_down_opposition_web_sites/ Kazakhstan blocks opposition websites Kazakhstan yesterday blocked access to several websites critical of the government, including the "main opposition outlets", kub.kz and geo.kz, Reuters reports. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/24/kazakh_websites_blocked/ How to Do It: Circumventing the Censors Most Internet censorship regimesincluding those in Burma, China, and North Korearely on list-based software that flags and then blocks access to certain keywords, domain names, and URL addresses. Such technology can be highly effective. But it is also possible for ordinary citizens to get around it using some simple techniques. Heres how to do it. http://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4022 Daily reality of net censorship Bill Thompson asks how far repressive regimes will go to control what their citizens do online. "The military regime in Burma has controlled access to the internet for many years, but when information about the recent protests appeared all over the web, from YouTube videos to personal testimony on blogs, the generals showed that there were other options available to them and effectively cut the country off from the worldwide network." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7047592.stm ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: How you can help to halt online child abuse As many as one in twenty people stumble across child sexual abuse images while surfing the internet, with more than a third of all sites showing the most extreme images, according to a report published today. Three in ten of the victims appear to be aged under 6 with 5 per cent apparently younger than 2, according to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which shuts down illegal internet content. More than three quarters of the children are girls. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2726517.ece Web giants aid child porn hotline Top internet companies have joined forces to publicise a hotline to report online child pornography. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7059290.stm Making the internet safer [news release] The Internet Watch Foundation has made Wednesday 24 October IWF Awareness Day, to focus attention on issues of child safety on the internet. The Home Office supports the foundation's work to make the internet safer. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news/iwf-awareness Industry giants join forces to back IWF Awareness Day [news release] The UKs major online brands are joining forces today to publicise the existence of the Hotline operated by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) so all UK internet users know what to do if they accidentally stumble across online images of children being sexually abused. The first national IWF Awareness Day, supported by the IWFs members companies, is reaching out to the UKs vast online population to make them aware that the IWF is dedicated to getting this abusive content removed. http://iwf.org.uk/media/news.212.htm uk: Anti-cyberbullying programme launches A nationwide initiative teaching eight- to 11-year-olds about the dangers of cyberbullying on social networking websites launched today. The digital initiative, launched by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, the national body given the task of tackling child sex abuse online, features a cybercafe that aims to teach children about internet safety. http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,,2197487,00.html nz: Parents Face Real Bills for Virtual Real Estate Teenagers are using their parents' credit cards to buy thousands of dollars' worth of virtual property, including real estate, on Web sites such as Second Life. NetSafe chief executive Martin Cocker says parents are shocked because they don't realize it's possible to buy something that doesn't exist in the real world -- and they don't know how fast it's possible to spend. Members of sites such as Second Life create an animated persona called an "avatar," which can run, jump, fly, dance and express emotions. They can also build fantasy locations for socializing. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/59973.html http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/59973.html au: Bullies who leave no bruises The real dangers of the internet lie in what our children are doing to each other. "Imagine Chloe, 14, coming home from school ... Her bedroom door shuts and her parents don't see her until she is called downstairs for her evening meal. Like hundreds of thousands of parents across Australia, Chloe's parents are blissfully unaware of what is transpiring behind her door. They may assume that she is deeply absorbed in reading this year's set text for English or labouring over a hot computer in preparation for tomorrow's French test. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/25/1192941199459.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/25/1192941199459.html Study: US Parents More Ambivalent About Net [AP] Parents have become more ambivalent about the Internet, with a new study finding fewer of them considering it good for their children. The Pew Internet and American Life Project said Wednesday that about 59 percent of Americans with children ages 12-17 consider the Internet a positive influence on their kids. That is based on a 2006 survey, the latest available on the topic, and represents a drop from 67 percent in 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/25/1192941185885.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/25/1192941185885.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/210015.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** au: Website pitch too good to be true Local jobseekers are being targeted with seemingly genuine online job offers, backed by professional-looking corporate websites aimed at trapping unsuspecting mules, who then conduct illegal money transfers on behalf of criminals. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22629039-24169,00.html Russian Company Outed as Mother of all Cybercrime A Russian company named the Russian Business Network, or RBN has been identified as a "Conduit for Cybercrime" by the Washington Post and blasted by the anti-spam organization Spamhaus for being " ...among the world's worst spammer, child-pornography, malware, phishing and cybercrime-hosting networks." The security vendor iDefense advises clients to block all traffic from RBN. Recently, the Bank of India was cyber-attacked, with much of the activity emanating from RBN servers. Yet, the company founder claims it is all just a case of mistaken identity. Russian officials have shown no interest in shuttering this leviathan of Internet cyber-crime. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1887 us: You and YouPorn are now free to make porn In a major First Amendment victory, a federal court strikes down regulations covering anyone who produces adult images. http://www.salon.com/tech/machinist/blog/2007/10/24/porn_law/ Russians behind attack PDFs, security researcher says A notorious Russian hacker gang is responsible for ongoing attacks using malicious PDF documents, a researcher said Wednesday. Users can thank the Russian Business Network, a well-known collective of cybercriminals, for the malware-armed PDF attachments that began appearing in in-boxes Tuesday, said Ken Dunham, director of response for iSight Partners. If the rigged PDFs succeed in infecting the target Windows system, the attack code installs a pair of rootkit files that "sniff and steal financial and other valuable data," said Dunham via e-mail. http://pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1535329574;fp;2;fpid;1 uk: Why was someone arrested over the TV Links website? As reported in the Guardian, last Thursday a 26-year-old Cheltenham man was arrested and the site, tv-links.co.uk, was closed . According to the Gloucester police, the arrest was carried out for alleged violations of Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/25/piracy.intellectualproperty uk: Student jailed for promoting terrorism A British-born Muslim student was jailed for eight years today for distributing material that glorified terrorism and suicide bombing. Mohammed Atif Siddique, 21, was found guilty last month of providing training material on bomb-making and of threatening to become a suicide bomber. Siddique was also convicted of distributing a range of terrorist material via the internet. http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2197529,00.html How Big is the Storm Botnet? by John Levine The Storm worm has gotten a lot of press this year, with a lot of the coverage tending toward the apocalyptic. Theres no question that its one of the most successful pieces of malware to date, but just how successful is it? http://www.circleid.com/posts/7102410_how_big_is_storm_botnet/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** au: Secrecy impedes informed discourse by Ken McKinnon, chairman of the Australian Press Council The Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader need to do much more to remove impediments to the free flow of information to the public. It is not the media that John Howard's proposals and those of Kevin Rudd will have to satisfy. Citizens are entitled to know details of what the federal government claims to be doing in their name. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22642863-7583,00.html us: NSA cooperation: OK for e-mail, IM companies? A new Senate bill would protect not only telephone companies from lawsuits claiming illegal cooperation with the National Security Agency. It would retroactively immunize e-mail providers, search engines, Internet service providers and instant-messaging services too. http://www.news.com/2100-7348_3-6214609.html uk: Government to police virtual worlds The Government is to take a firmer hand in policing activities within virtual worlds such as Second Life, in an acknowledgement of their increasing popularity. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/virtual_worlds/article2731497.ece UK anti file-sharing laws considered The UK government could legislate to crack down on illegal file-sharers, a senior official has told the BBC's iPM programme. Lord Triesman, the parliamentary Under Secretary for Innovation, Universities and Skills, said intellectual property theft would not be tolerated. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7059881.stm Italy proposes 'anti-blogger' law Italian bloggers are protesting at a proposed law that would force them to register with the government in order to write a blog, even a personal one with no commercial purpose. http://out-law.com/page-8570 U.S. government considers mandating Internet service providers to forward customers' e-mails [AP] ... There is no mandate in the U.S. governing e-mail forwarding, and industry officials say imposing one would be costly and unnecessary. But federal regulators are looking at the issue more closely following a complaint from a former America Online customer who claims an abrupt termination of service devastated her business. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/24/1192941105018.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/24/1192941105018.html Microsoft gives up three-year battle to keep Windows closed to rivals Microsoft yesterday caved in to the European commission and agreed to comply with a landmark anti-trust ruling more than three years after it began a rearguard action against the decision and a record 497m (£347m) fine. http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2197106,00.html Microsoft Is Yielding in European Antitrust Fight The European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, negotiated the terms for Microsoft to share information with rivals. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/23/technology/23soft.html Why a Net Neutrality Law is Not Enough by David Isenberg Once we decide that Network Neutrality is a good thing to (re)enshrine in law, then we need to ask how to do that effectively. One way would be to pass a law saying, Thou shalt not discriminate. Thats the current approach. But network operators will say that they must manage their network, and if, in the course of network management, they were to disadvantage some source, destination, application, service or content, they might be accused of violating the law. http://www.circleid.com/posts/net_neutrality_law_not_enough/ Austria OKs terror snooping Trojan plan Austria has become one of the first countries to officially sanction the use of Trojan Horse malware as a tactic for monitoring the PCs of suspected terrorists and criminals. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/23/teutonic_trojan/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Mobile advertising: The next big thing Advertising on mobile phones is a tiny business. Last year spending on mobile ads was US$871m worldwide according to Informa Telecoms & Media, a research firm, compared with $24 billion spent on internet advertising and $450 billion spent on all advertising. But marketing wizards are beginning to talk about it with the sort of hyperbole they normally reserve for products they are paid to sell. It is destined, some say, to supplant not only internet advertising, the latest fad, but also television, radio, print and billboards, the four traditional pillars of the business. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9912455 uk: Shoppers predicted to spend £500 each online this Christmas Shoppers are expected to spend more than £500 each online this Christmas as Britons turn from the cold and bustling high street to buy presents on the internet, leaving e-tailers celebrating a record year. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article3090327.ece Newspapers down but definitely not out [Fortune] Last week could hardly have been grimmer for the newspaper industry. First off, Gannett and McClatchy - the two biggest newspapers publishers in the U.S., respectively - reported diminished revenues and profits. Meanwhile, following the lead of Belo, publisher of the Dallas Morning News, Scripps announced it was splitting its growing television and interactive businesses off from the company's newspaper business so that investors could get excited about the company's slumping stock price. http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/22/magazines/fortune/siklos_newspapers.fortune/index.htm Why I miss the dead-tree newspaper I can skim the print version of the the New York Times in a half-hour. You can't do that online! http://machinist.salon.com/feature/2007/10/24/newspapers/index.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Australian whiz speeds up broadband by 200 times A Melbourne PhD student has developed technology to make broadband internet up to 200 times faster without having to install expensive fibre optic cables. Harnessing the potential power of telephone lines and DSL broadband, the technology will deliver internet speeds up to 250 megabits per second, compared with current typical speeds of between one and 20 megabits per second. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22639169-421,00.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Comcast Traffic Jamming Heats Net Neutrality Debate [AP] Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally. The interference, which the Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/ebiz/59914.html http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/205323.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/10/19/financial/f061526D54.DTL Police shut down website after two-year music piracy inquiry British police have closed down what they claim is one of the world's largest music piracy websites after a two-year pan-European operation. A series of raids in Middlesbrough and Amsterdam resulted in the arrest of a 24-year-old man and the closure of Oink, a private website that allowed users to locate and download music, movies and other files. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/24/piracy.crime http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1891 Huge pirate music site shut down British and Dutch police have shut down a "widely-used" source of illegally-downloaded music. A flat on Teesside and several properties in Amsterdam were raided as part of an Interpol investigation into the members-only website OiNK. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tees/7057812.stm British, Dutch Police Close Pirate Site [AP] British and Dutch police shut down what they say is one the world's biggest online sources of pirated music Tuesday and arrested the website's 24-year-old suspected operator. The invitation-only OiNK website specialized in distributing albums leaked before their official release by record companies, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/24/1192941088233.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/24/1192941088233.html ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* How Apple Can Keep Its Value With a market value of $162 billion, Apple is now the most valuable computer maker in the world, and it is the fourth most valuable technology company, after Microsoft, Google and Cisco. It will have to battle all of them to stay on top of the tech world. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/how-apple-can-keep-its-value/ How the world learned to love Apple and its Macs Apple produced a stunning set of financial results on Monday, with one big surprise. In a quarter that has been dominated by talk of the iPhone and new iPods, the Macintosh computers were the stars of the show. Apple sold 2.16m units, which is more than in any other quarter in its history. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/oct/25/it.apple In Foray Into TV, Google Is to Track Ad Audiences Google, which dominates the market for advertising on the Internet, seems to be hoping to do the same thing on television. The company is set to announce a partnership with the Nielsen Company, the voice of authority in measuring television audiences, that will give advertisers a more vivid and accurate snapshot than ever before of how many people are viewing commercials on a second-by-second basis, and who those people are. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/24/business/media/24adco.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/10/24/business/google.php Microsoft Buys Stake in Facebook Microsoft has won a high-profile technology industry battle with Google and Yahoo to invest in the social networking upstart Facebook. The two companies said on Wednesday that Microsoft would pay $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook. The investment values Facebook, which is three and a half years old and will bring in about $150 million in revenue this year, at $15 billion. http://nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/25facebook.html Microsoft Buys Facebook Stake for $240M [AP] Rapidly rising Internet star Facebook Inc. has sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google Inc. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/24/AR2007102401910.html Facebook picks Microsoft over Google for minority stake [IDG] Facebook Inc. will sell a $240 million minority stake to Microsoft Corp., which as part of the deal will also expand the advertising services it provides to the social networking Web site, the companies said today. http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9044001 ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** au: How to cut the cord with the phone company When an animal gnawed through the phone line under Di Keller's house, Optus fixed it but warned that any future repairs would cost her $100. "Basically the line wasn't installed to my satisfaction so I just got rid it," she says. Although Ms Keller represents only a small percentage of people who have chosen to dump their landline, she is far from being alone in her wish to cut the cord with her telephone operator. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/23/1192941047563.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/23/1192941047563.html au: UN backs Govt's broadband plan A United Nations telecommunications body has endorsed the broadband technology being offered as part of the federal Coalition's election campaign. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/10/25/2070306.htm China telecom sector eyes 4G technology China's telecom sector may adopt more advanced wireless technologies by restraining investments in third-generation (3G) services for mobile phones, and channel efforts into fourth generation (4G) services instead, according to ABN Amro Holdings NV. http://chinaknowledge.com/news/news-detail.aspx?id=11126 ng: NCC holds workshop on numbering and convergence THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is organizing a four-day workshop on Numbering and Convergence from 22nd to 25th October 2007 at the Sheraton Hotel Ikeja, Lagos . Registration is between 7a.m 8.45am daily, while the Workshop starts 9a.m. prompt. http://tribune.com.ng/24102007/infosys2.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2007 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Sick of deleting your inbox? Yahoo!7 Mail has free unlimited storage. http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mail/unlimitedstorage.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
