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!
And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** 2008 ICANN Nominating Committee Issues Invitation for Statements of Interest in ICANN Leadership Positions http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-14dec07.htm auDA board accepts 2007 Names Policy Panel's final report http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-13122007/ Cracking open the cybercrime economy http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6222896.html Job.at sells for €408,000 http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3458 Australian city domain name sales highlight sales last week http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/17/australian-city-domain-name-sales-highlight-sales-last-week/ ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** Solution in Sight for Internet Governance Regional Liaison of ICANN Africa, Anne-Rachel Inné says the solution to the debate on Internet governance can only be achieved by considering different options available to stakeholders. "There cannot be one answer to it all but in the meantime we must take whatever solution is available and make it workable." She was speaking at a workshop on the topic Multi-Stakeholderism in Internet Governance (a look at ICANN and IGF). http://allafrica.com/stories/200712131225.html Canadian Tech History: Internet Pioneers When it comes to online pioneers, the names of Americans like Vinton Cerf, creator of transfer protocols, Tim Berners-Lee, father of hypertext, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg are often bandied about, and deservedly so. But what about Canadians? Surely some enterprising Canucks must have turned their creativity online. And, in fact, they have. From the first modern search engine to websites that changed the way we surf and interact, Canadian innovators have left their mark on the net. (Be sure to read our articles on Celebrating Canadian invention and innovation.) So, to give props to these cunning Canucks, here's a rundown of some notable Canadian innovations. And, if you feel like someone is missing from our list, please let us know in the comments. http://www.pcworld.ca/news/column/cf4ebda70a01040800397d4e9df7754e/pg1.htm ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** 2008 ICANN Nominating Committee Issues Invitation for Statements of Interest in ICANN Leadership Positions ICANN's Nominating Committee invites Statements of Interest from the Internet community as it seeks qualified candidates to assist in ICANN's technical and policy coordination role. Interested individuals are invited to submit a Statement of Interest to this year's Committee for the following positions: http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-14dec07.htm UNECA Champions Local Language On Net The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) recently launched the Academic Network of African Researchers on Languages to undertake research on how "Internet language" can be simplified and translated into local languages. "We want to link computer sciences closer with languages with an objective of bridging the language digital divide that does hinder our local people from using ICTs especially in the use of Internet," said UNECA's Director of ICT, Science and technology Division Aida Opoku-Mensah. http://allafrica.com/stories/200712131227.html Making the Internet truly local IDNs are the Internet's real star at the moment. But why do they matter? And why is ICANN putting so much effort into them? We asked Tina Dam, Director of ICANN's IDN program, to enlighten us. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/145/making-the-internet-truly-local.php ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** auDA board accepts 2007 Names Policy Panel's final report The auDA board has accepted the final report of the 2007 Names Policy Panel, which recommends a number of changes to the .au policy framework. The Panel reported that, overall, it believes the current .au policy rules strike an appropriate balance between allowing people to register the domain names they want whilst protecting the integrity and usability of the .au domain. However, the Panel identified some ways in which the policy rules might be clarified or enhanced to ensure they are workable and effective. http://www.auda.org.au/news-archive/auda-13122007/ New key Top Level Domain launch: .rs (Serbia) Melbourne IT Corporate Brand Services would like to highlight new activity in regards to the launch of the Serbia ccTLD name, .rs. http://www.melbourneitcbs.com/news.php?article=1&title=New%20key%20Top%20Level%20Domain%20launch%3A%20.rs%20%28Serbia%29&year=2007&month=12 Shorter .my Internet Addressing for Priority Customers MYNIC are making available registration of domain names at the second level for companies and organisations that already have registered a com.my, edu.my, org.my and net.my name. If eligible, applicants can apply up until December 31. http://mynic.net.my/newhp/announcements/mynic-12dec07.html Serbian .RS Domains to Be Launched January [news release] Serbian Registry of Domain Names (RNIDS) adopted on October 26, 2007 new regulations on .rs ccTLD. .rs stands for the Republic of Serbia. It was previously .yu ccTLD, which stood for Yugoslavia. According to the new regulations, both foreign and domestic individuals and legal entities are now eligible to register an unlimited number of .rs domains in Serbia. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/16/serbian-rs-domains-to-be-launched-january/ http://www.domainnews.com/registries/2007121996/serbian-rs-domains-to-be-launched-january/ .travel to make policy changes The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC), the company that oversees the .travel top level domain registration process, has approved some very important policy changes to take effect December 21, 2007 that may affect the companies and organizations of .travel names. According to TTPC, these changes are being made to improve and speed up the registration process for use of .travel Internet addresses. http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/23786 http://www.ttpc.travel/announcements.html Nominet registrant satisfaction survey results [news release] We conducted our fifth registrant satisfaction survey in September 2007 and the results of this are now available. We are pleased to report that the responses that our customers gave resulted in an overall customer satisfaction index rating of 83.5%. This is a slight decrease of 0.7% when compared against our last survey that was conducted in February 2007. Whilst this is slightly disappointing, it is worthwhile to consider we still remain in the top quartile on the Satisfaction Index League Table. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=3494 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Cracking open the cybercrime economy "Over the years, the criminal elements, the ones who are making money, making millions out of all this online crime, are just getting stronger and stronger. I don't think we are really winning this war." As director of antivirus research for F-Secure, you might expect Mikko Hypponen to overplay the seriousness of the situation. But according to the Finnish company, during 2007 the number of samples of malicious code on its database doubled, having taken 20 years to reach the size it was at the beginning of this year. http://www.news.com/2100-7349_3-6222896.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6222896.html ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Defendants Respond to Dell’s Anti-Tasting Suit By John Levine The defendants in Dell’s domain tasting suit responded last Friday. It looks like a pretty feeble response to me. Their main argument is that they’re just the registrar, and deny Dell’s claim that the registrants are fakes made up by the registrar. They also argue that they’re not infringing, they didn’t use the names in question in commerce, they were just acting as helpful search engines, you know, like Google or Yahoo. (The comparison to Google and Yahoo is theirs.) http://www.circleid.com/posts/712141_defendants_respond_dell_anti_tasting/ Dell v. Belgium Domains et al: Potential Damages of $110,000,000.00 Dell, Inc and Alienware Corporation filed the federal complaint against Belgium Domains, LLC, CapitolDomains, LLC, DomainDoorman,LLC, Netrian Ventures, LTD, IHoldings.com, Inc., Juan Pablo Vazquez adn Joe Doe Defendants on October 7, 2007. The complaint was filed under seal until Dell could get its request for injunctive relief heard by the court, asking for an order that the domains get locked down and evidence be preserved, among other emergency ex parte relief. http://tcattorney.typepad.com/anticybersquatting_consum/2007/12/dell-v-belgium.html ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** RIPE NCC Makes Record Number of IPv6 Allocations [news release] The months of October and November 2007 set new records for the number of IPv6 allocations made in a single month by the RIPE NCC. 24 allocations were made to RIPE NCC members in October, a record immediately broken by the 31 allocations made in November. The previous peak was 19 allocations in a single month, which was achieved on three separate occasions in 2003, 2004 and 2007. http://ripe.net/news/ipv6-allocation-reccord.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Domain names show sustained growth With a 31% increase year over year, the domain name market remains buoyant. There are now 146 million names registered worldwide. http://www.domainesinfo.fr/english/146/domain-names-show-sustained-growth.php au: NetRegistry deploys open source e-commerce Domain name and hosting company NetRegistry has selected the locally-developed Freeway open source e-commerce system to resell to its customer base. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;654815026;fp;2;fpid;1 http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;654815026;fp;2;fpid;1 http://www.linuxworld.com.au/index.php/id;654815026;fp;2;fpid;1 http://www.cio.com.au/index.php/id;654815026 NeuStar launches recursive domain name system services US-based NeuStar has launched its DNS Advantage service, which is a managed recursive domain name system service for connectivity providers and enterprises to offer reliable internet service. http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=EF33A132-AA03-4BCA-88D2-6895CDEBE8E0 ********************** - DOMAINING ********************** Second DOMAINfest Global Event Offers Information-Intensive Industry Agenda [news release] DomainSponsor, the domain monetization business of Oversee.net, today announced that the conference agenda for theDomainSponsor logo second annual DOMAINfest Global, taking place January 21-23, 2008 in Hollywood, CA, has been finalized. http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/13/second-domainfest-global-event-offers-information-intensive-industry-agenda/ ********************** - AFTERMARKET ********************** Job.at sells for €408,000 Job.at sold for €408,000 this week, the highest value of any .at domain name sold to date, and second highest value of any domain name sold in a German-speaking country. The highest known sale prior to this was Mozart.at for €70,000 in the .AT ccTLD and US$695,000 for poker.com, bought by a German company. There have been other unreported .AT sales, but it is not believed any of these were above €200,000. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=3458 http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/15/jobat-sells-for-e408000/ http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007121992/more-on-jobat-selling-for-e408000/ Trio of Six-Figure Sales Including a Pair of Top Notch Australian City Domains Lead This Week's Sales Parade Rick Latona's DigiPawn.com closed two blockbuster deals this week, selling a pair of blue chip Australian city domains; Melbourne.com for $700,000 and Brisbane.com for $100,000. Latona also personally sold this week's #5 domain, Lowell.com to Elliot Silver's Top Notch Domains, LLC for $50,000, giving Latona a hand in three of the week's top five reported sales. The Melbourne.com sale is the 11th highest sale reported year to date. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2007/domainsales12-12-07.htm Australian city domain name sales highlight sales last week Melbourne.com sold for US$700,000 and Brisbane.com for $100,000 and are first and third in last week’s listing of Ron Jackson’s top domain name sales with ui.com second for $275,000. http://www.domainnews.com/aftermarket/2007121998/australian-city-domain-name-sales-highlight-sales-last-week/ http://www.domainpulse.com/2007/12/17/australian-city-domain-name-sales-highlight-sales-last-week/ Why Dot Mobis are Overvalued Astonishing to read about recent domain sales in general, but what caught my eye was the recent feeding frenzy over the humble dot mobi extension (.mobi). Most eyepopping, music.mobi was recently sold for $616,000 to domain media mogul Alvaro Albarracin who also snapped up games.mobi for $405,500. http://metropost.com/why-dot-mobis-are-overvalued/2007/12/14 ********************** RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Australian families with children are 'media-rich', research finds [news release] Australian families with children are media-rich, with multiple communications devices in the home; they value the internet and are striking a comfortable balance in their children’s use of media, according to research released today by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The Media and Communications in Australian Families 2007 report surveyed a representative sample of 751 family households with children aged between 8 and 17 to gauge media use in the home, how young people divide their leisure time and how parents view their children’s use of media and communications technologies. The report also includes a review of academic research about the influences of media and communications activities on children. http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310897 M-Taiwan Program: A WiMAX Ecosystem Globally known for its superior Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry, and wanting to play a lead role in matters of adopting technology in the WiMAX™ world, Taiwan has methodically created a dedicated ecosystem to demonstrate WiMAX™ technology in action through a full-scale value chain. http://www.wimaxforum.org/technology/downloads/M_Taiwan_Program.pdf ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** More Australian girls than boys using internet: study A report on young people's use of media has found that the amount of time they spend using technology has not increased in the last 12 years despite the rise in the use of the internet and mobile phones. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/17/2120921.htm Australian kids 'prefer outdoors to technology' [AAP] Children and teenagers rank outdoor activities and hanging out with friends well above sitting in front of a TV or a computer, a new study has found. More encouraging to parents, young people have not increased the total time they spend using computers and mobile phones in the past 12 years. http://news.theage.com.au/kids-prefer-outdoors-to-technology/20071217-1hjd.html http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,22937106-5014108,00.html http://news.smh.com.au/kids-prefer-outdoors-to-technology/20071217-1hjd.html http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/kids-prefer-outdoors-to-technology/20071217-1hjd.html http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=445416 http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=28&ContentID=51291 http://au.news.yahoo.com/071217/2/15abq.html The etiquette of telecommunications: Getting the message, at last On a May evening in 1864, several British politicians were disturbed by a knock at the door and the delivery of a telegram—a most unusual occurrence at such a late hour. Had war broken out? Had the queen been taken ill? They ripped open the envelopes and were surprised to find a message relating not to some national calamity, but to dentistry. Messrs Gabriel, of 27 Harley Street, advised that their dental practice would be open from 10am to 5pm until October. Infuriated, some of the recipients of this unsolicited message wrote to the Times. “I have never had any dealings with Messrs Gabriel,” thundered one of them, “and beg to know by what right do they disturb me by a telegram which is simply the medium of advertisement?” The Times helpfully reprinted the offending telegram, providing its senders with further free publicity. http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286400 Online shopping becoming more popular in NZ Research from MasterCard indicates New Zealanders are embracing online shopping this festive season, with consumers spending more time and money than before doing their Christmas shopping online. http://nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=19760&cid=3&cname=Technology Home porn gives industry the blues ... According to surveys, sites such as YouPorn and Pornotube draw more internet traffic than CNN. Like YouTube, the phenomenally popular, Google-owned website, X-rated sites depend on users streaming videos to the site - and YouPorn is adding 15 million new users a month. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2228220,00.html CNN and Yahoo in tight race for online crown CNN, Yahoo and MSNBC are all vying for the title of most-visited online news site. Last month, the CNN Digital Network had the largest unique audience in its 11-year history, according to Nielsen Online. The Time Warner-owned news source received nearly 33 million unique visitors, beating out Yahoo News and the MSNBC Digital Network, which had about 31 million and 30 million visitors, respectively. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN1637216020071217 New Zealanders choose web over GP Computer savvy New Zealanders are consulting the internet before visiting their own GP and using web based-research to challenge medical opinions. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1320238/1507176 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Google to tackle Wikipedia with new knowledge service Google is to go head-to-head with Wikipedia, the web’s largest reference work, in a clash of two of the internet’s most powerful brands. A new Google service, dubbed knol, will invite “people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it”, Udi Manber, a Google engineer, said. Like Wikipedia, articles in knol (the name derives from “knowledge”) will be free to read online. In a departure from the nonprofit Wikipedia model, however, knol’s authors will be able to attach advertising to their work and take a share of revenues. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3054287.ece Google's Know-It-All Project Google wants in on the Wikipedia game. On Friday, the search engine announced the creation of "Knol," a project that allows users to create their own Wikipedia-like pages on specific subjects. The big difference: users put their names--and Google's advertisements--on their knol pages and split the revenue with the search company. The project , which is described as "experimental" by Google, could be seen as good news for wiki-heads hoping to make money from the same specialized knowledge they give to Wikipedia for free. But it set off jitters among those in the search business who worry that it represents another step by Google to become a Web publisher as well as a search engine. Increasingly, they contend, Google-produced pages could fill the search engine's results and push out other publishers' content. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/12/14/google-knols-wikipedia-tech-intel-cx_ag_1214knol.html Google Gets Ready to Rumble With Microsoft ... The growing confrontation between Google and Microsoft promises to be an epic business battle. It is likely to shape the prosperity and progress of both companies, and also inform how consumers and corporations work, shop, communicate and go about their digital lives. Google sees all of this happening on remote servers in faraway data centers, accessible over the Web by an array of wired and wireless devices — a setup known as cloud computing. Microsoft sees a Web future as well, but one whose center of gravity remains firmly tethered to its desktop PC software. Therein lies the conflict. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/technology/16goog.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/16/technology/16google.5.php Wikipedia Competitor Being Tested by Google Google is testing a new Web service intended to become a repository of knowledge from experts on various topics, one that could turn into a competitor to Wikipedia and other sites. If it attracts a following, the service could accelerate Google’s transformation from a search engine into a company that helps create and publish Web content. Some critics said that shift could compromise Google’s objectivity in presenting search results. The service, called Knol, which is short for knowledge, would allow people to create Web pages on any topic. It is designed to include features that permit readers to submit comments, rate pages and suggest changes. However, unlike Wikipedia, which allows anyone to edit an entry, only the author of a “knol,” as the pages in the service would be called, would be allowed to edit. Different authors could have competing pages on the same topic. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/technology/15web.html Google launches its own Wikipedia -- with a twist Google Inc. Thursday announced plans to launch a tool it said will allow users to contribute articles for a new online encyclopedia of sorts. Unlike Wikipedia, Google's new Knol (which stands for a unit of knowledge) will include the names of authors, who will maintain sole responsibility for editing the content. "The key idea behind the Knol project is to highlight authors," wrote Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, in a blog post. "Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors -- but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted. A Knol on a particular topic is meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9053099 Google debuts knowledge project Google has started a project to set up a repository of expert information about any and every subject. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7144970.stm ********************** SPAM ********************** Spam Reaching Record Volumes, Researchers Say Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, spam is growing again. According to two separate reports issued this week, that hateful, useless email is increasing again, both in volume and as a percentage of the messaging payload, researchers say. Ninety to 95 percent of all email sent in 2007 was spam, according to Barracuda Networks, which conducted an analysis of more than 1 billion daily email messages sent to its more than 50,000 customers worldwide. This figure has jumped from an estimated 85 percent to 90 percent of email in 2006 -- and leaped from figures collected in 2001, when spam accounted for only 5 percent of email messages. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=141350 ********************** DIGITAL DIVIDE ********************** Poor Counries Must Not Be Left Behind in Technological Growth It is ironical that the telephone, the internet and other communication technologies we think help to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, could widen it. This is because issues of cost and access will continue to create groups of info-rich and info-poor people. Considering that better prospects for economic activity take place in the realms of information, knowledge and communication in general, people who cannot afford them certainly lose out. There is a disparity in access between the developed and the developing worlds, and even within these countries themselves. In the US, for instance, the land of opportunity, only 57 per cent of African-Americans get to go online, compared to 70 per cent access in the case of whites. But while your race or income determines whether or not you will use communication technologies in the West, in the poor countries, it is largely where you live that dictates if you will log on or continue to stay offline. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=112657 http://allafrica.com/stories/200712150139.html uk: BBC backs better broadband to prevent digital divide The BBC is throwing its weight behind Ofcom, the communications watchdog, in pushing for a faster broadband network to be built across Britain. Ashley Highfield, the BBC’s director for future media and technology, said he was concerned that without a next-generation network, Britain would face a “digital divide” between people with fast access to the internet and those without. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/85ab6626-aa78-11dc-a779-0000779fd2ac.html uk: Help older people on to the web, research urges Fear of internet fraud is the biggest barrier to the over 50s getting online, according to a new report today which urges the government to do more to end "digital exclusion". More than four-in-10 people over 50 fear that going online will make them vulnerable to fraud, say the findings from pollster ICM. Overall, its poll found that 82% of people in that age group admitted some anxiety about going online. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/dec/17/1 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** Microsoft faces antitrust complaint for bundling browser Less than two months after Microsoft lost a landmark antitrust case in Europe, a Norwegian software company filed a new complaint Thursday, challenging the U.S. software giant's bundling of its Web browser with the Windows operating system. The complaint to the European Commission was filed by Opera Software, based in Oslo, a maker of browsers for personal computers and mobile devices. The company had $60 million in sales in 2006. The company's chief technology officer, Hakon Lie, said that the bundling of the Internet Explorer browser into Windows, which has more than 80 percent of the market share in Europe, violated European antitrust law. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/13/business/msft.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/technology/14opera.html Microsoft accused on net browser A complaint has been filed to the European Commission accusing Microsoft of stifling competition by tying its browser to Windows. Opera Software said the close ties between Internet Explorer (IE) and Windows made it hard for rivals to be a serious choice for web users. Opera also said Microsoft flouted web standards, making it much harder for browsers to be interoperable. Microsoft said putting its browser in its operating system benefited users. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7143912.stm Opera files complaint against Microsoft [Reuters] Opera Software, the small Norwegian maker of Web browsers, has filed the first complaint against Microsoft to the European Commission since the software giant lost a landmark antitrust case earlier this year. http://www.news.com/2100-1014_3-6222606.html Microsoft faces new antitrust challenge in Europe A small Norwegian web browser firm has complained to the European Commission that Microsoft's behaviour is damaging competition in Europe. The complaint follows the European Court of First Instance's backing in September of earlier European Commission antitrust penalties against the software giant. http://out-law.com/page-8767 Sports groups clash with media over pictures There are no cheerleaders, jerseys or duck-billed caps for these teams. But the corporate players are fast emerging as forces in the future of the media's role in international sports. On one side is the Sports Rights Owners Coalition, which formed with little fanfare and now includes 37 sports institutions - from soccer's Premier League and FIFA to cycling's Tour de France to World Snooker - seeking international treaties to "protect and promote the special nature of sport" and its intellectual property rights in a fast-changing digital world. On the other side is the News Media Coalition, a temporary name for about 40 news organizations including Reuters and The Associated Press that are in the final stage of creating a permanent group to champion their rights to cover games and publish photographs widely in print and online. http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/16/technology/COALITION17.php ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Protect your identity while holiday shopping, Canadian Privacy Commissioner says [news release] Adopting a few simple precautions to protect your personal information while holiday shopping will reduce the risk you’ll become an identity theft victim, says Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. http://privcom.gc.ca/media/nr-c/2007/nr-c_071207_e.asp ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Iran shuts down 24 cafes in Internet crackdown [Reuters] Iranian police have closed down 24 Internet cafes and other coffee shops in as many hours, detaining 23 people, as part of a broad crackdown on immoral behaviour in the Islamic state, official media said on Sunday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKDAH64551120071216 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ US Crackdown on Child Pornography Lewd photographs of children were disappearing from adult bookstores. Child porn magazines in plain brown envelopes were no longer reaching customers through the mail. It was the early 1990s, and experts believed that federal law enforcement efforts were ending child pornography. "We thought this was one of those rare forms of social deviance, of criminal behavior, that had been eradicated," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "Except for a fixated group of hard-core pedophiles, we thought it was gone." But an increase of Internet-fueled child pornography has triggered a new federal crackdown. Cybercrime, the majority of which involves child pornography, is now the FBI's third-highest priority, behind counterterrorism and counterintelligence. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121402257.html http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/16/MNJFTVF78.DTL us: Child Online Safety Comes of Age by Stephen Balkam In the first event of its kind, over 200 of the world's leading experts on child protection on the Internet came together in Washington, D.C. last week for the inaugural Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) Conference and Exhibition. Held at the Ronald Reagan Building a block from the White House, the FOSI conference was both a gathering of the faithful in the, at times, contentious world of online safety, and a celebration of the maturing of this issue in the minds of government, industry and the NGO sector. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-balkam/child-online-safety-comes_b_76624.html au: Coalition internet campaign 'inaccurate' Industry professionals have raised doubts about the accuracy of statistics used in the Howard government's multimillion-dollar internet safety campaign. The NetAlert campaign used media advertisements and billboards to warn of the risks to children and teenagers online. One advertisement said a survey had shown that more than half of 11-15-year-olds who chatted online were contacted by strangers. Another claimed a survey had shown that almost half of 11-14-year-olds had viewed websites their parents would find alarming. Similar statistics were quoted in the NetAlert information booklet sent to every household. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/14/1197568265011.html ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** FTC head won't recuse herself from Google-DoubleClick deal review Deborah Platt Majoras, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), won't remove herself from the agency's pending review of Google Inc.'s proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick Inc. In a statement today, Majoras said that after reviewing concerns about the case and consulting with the agency's ethics attorney, she has "determined not to recuse myself from this matter because the relevant laws and rules, as detailed below, neither require nor support recusal." http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9053159 Regulator Won’t Step Aside in Google Review [AP] The head of the Federal Trade Commission said on Friday that she would not remove herself from an antitrust review of Google’s purchase of the online advertising company DoubleClick, rebuffing requests from privacy groups opposed to the transaction. The chairwoman of the agency, Deborah Platt Majoras, said she had reviewed a petition from the groups with the agency’s ethics official and other staff members and had determined that “the relevant laws and rules . . . neither require nor support recusal.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/technology/15google.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/12/12/technology/12google.php FTC Issues Statements Regarding Recusal Petition for Review of Proposed Acquisition of Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners V, LP (DoubleClick, Inc.) By Google, Inc. This statement responds to the “Complaint Requesting Recusal of the Federal Trade Commission Chairman From the Pending Review of the Proposed Google-Doubleclick Merger” (“Petition”), which was filed with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) by Messrs. Rotenberg and Chester on December 12, 2007. After reviewing the relevant facts and consulting with the FTC’s Designated Agency Ethics Official, Deputy General Counsel Christian S. White, the General Counsel, my fellow Commissioners, and members of my staff, I have determined not to recuse myself from this matter because the relevant laws and rules, as detailed below, neither require nor support recusal. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/12/google.shtm ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* About 1 in 5 IBM Employees Now in India [AP] IBM Corp.'s expansion in developing countries shows no sign of relenting. The technology company revealed Friday that it now has 73,000 employees in India, almost a 40 percent leap from last year. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IBM_EMPLOYEES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-12-14-16-43-32 ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR CHILD PORN ********************************** Spanish police arrest 63 in Net child porn swoop [Reuters] Spanish police said on Sunday they had arrested 63 people across the country in five investigations into child pornography being posted, viewed and paid for on the Internet. It is the second huge swoop this year after police arrested 66 people on charges of child pornography in July. http://news.zdnet.com/2110-9588_22-6223040.html http://www.news.com/2110-1030_3-6223040.html http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1661754020071216 63 held in Spain over Internet child pornography Spanish police say they have arrested 63 people across the country as part of investigations into child pornography on the Internet. Police said some of the people they arrested had produced child pornography material that was then posted on the Web. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,,12215_cid_3007865,00.html au: Men refused bail over alleged child porn ring Five men have faced court today on child pornography offences after police made a string of arrests across three states at the weekend. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/17/2121104.htm Australian online porn ring traced to country NSW Detectives have smashed a nationwide child pornography ring that allegedly included a former police officer and a trainee teacher. In a series of co-ordinated raids at homes across NSW and Victoria on Saturday night, police seized thousands of photographs of young children and arrested six men. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,,22935502-5013040,00.html More child porn ring arrests [AAP] Police expect to make more arrests as a global child pornography ring unravels. Two teachers and a former police officer were among six men arrested as police cracked the pornography ring in weekend raids after a covert 11-month Australia-wide operation. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/17/1197740127807.html http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=445302 Orange man caught in child porn swoop AN Orange man has been charged in relation to an alleged child pornography ring which police claim had international links. http://orange.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/orange-man-caught-in-child-porn-swoop/1142848.html Malvern man among seven arrested in child porn bust A RETIRED Melbourne man is among seven Australians accused of being implicated in a nationwide child pornography ring with overseas links. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22933704-661,00.html Australian porn ring 'targeted overseas children' Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says more arrests are likely from an investigation into a child pornography ring that spanned three states and targeted children in Australia and overseas. A trainee teacher, a swimming instructor and a former policeman were among six suspects arrested yesterday with alleged links to the ring. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/17/2120294.htm au: Child porn swoop nets seven suspects A former policeman, a swimming instructor and a student teacher are alleged to be members of a pedophile ring that sought to groom children for internet pornography. The alleged Australian network, which police say had links to others overseas, comprised six men and a 17-year-old youth, all of whom were arrested in an operation by NSW, Queensland, Victorian and federal police yesterday. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/12/16/1197740096711.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/16/1197740090752.html au: Child predator network dismantled [news release] Seven men have been charged and a child predator network has been dismantled following an intensive 11-month joint investigation led by the NSW Police Force, with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest_releases?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjMwMi5odG1sJmFsbD0x Porn ring suspect ran ‘Boy Lovers’ website, court told [AAP] A Melbourne man arrested as part of a national swoop on an alleged child pornography ring had made handwritten notes on how to seduce young boys, a court heard today. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/17/1197740171077.html http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=28&ContentID=51321 Child porn ring smashed after raids [AAP] TWO teachers and a former police officer were among six men arrested as police cracked an Australia-wide child pornography ring in weekend raids after a covert 11-month operation. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21498,22934248-5005361,00.html http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22932381-5001021,00.html Internet child sex offenders 'not safe' NSW Police Minister David Campbell says a series of child pornography arrests overnight show that anonymous internet offenders are not safe from police. http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=445173 Porn suspect 'had thousands of photos' [AAP] A Melbourne man arrested as part of an alleged internet child porn syndicate had thousands of photos of young boys and instructions on how to seduce children, a court has been told. http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=445482 Teacher faces child porn charges Australian Federal Police today arrested a Victorian school teacher and charged him with two child pornography offences. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/17/1197740173689.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 Make the switch to the world's best email. Get the new Yahoo!7 Mail now. www.yahoo7.com.au/worldsbestemail --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
