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 February 21 edition include: Internet Law Expert Larry Lessig Is Considering Run for Congress | Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Will VeriSign control the root? by Brenden Kuerbis | '.Asia' web addresses fail to connect with firms | Wikileaks domain name yanked in spat over leaked documents | Claimed ignorance of magazine foils Economist over domain name | Melbourne IT upbeat on earnings | Melbourne IT posts 118% profit lift And see my website - http://technewsreview.com.au/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** What will the Net bring to the developing world? OECD discussion by Kieren McCarthy http://blog.icann.org/?p=277 Your Internet: Open or Closed? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/your-internet-open-or-cl_b_86972.html Global Net Blackout No Easy Feat for Potential Saboteurs http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Global-Net-Blackout-No-Easy-Feat-for-Potential-Saboteurs-61697.html Unclogging the Tubes: ISPs Search for Solutions to Overburdened Lines http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Unclogging-the-Tubes-ISPs-Search-for-Solutions-to-Overburdened-Lines-61658.html ICANN panel questions Network Solutions on frontrunning by Jacqui Cheng http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080217-icann-panel-questions-network-solutions-on-frontrunning.html Panel: No evidence of domain snatching [AP] http://news.smh.com.au/panel-no-evidence-of-domain-snatching/20080216-1skr.html Non-English domains still unsettled [AP] http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/02/15/non_english_domains_still_unsettled/ .Asia Sunrise Completed with Over 30,000 Domain Applications [news release] http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-SunriseComplete-2008-02-06_EN.pdf Regensburg is the New German Domain Stronghold according to Denic analysis http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4005 .nz Dispute Resolution Service - Policy Review http://dnc.org.nz/story/30298-29-1.html Google finds evil all over the web http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/9D7013EA5389746BCC2573F20072B151 Athletes allowed to blog at Olympics [AP] http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/02/15/blogging.olympics.ap/ ********************** GOVERNANCE ********************** What will the Net bring to the developing world? OECD discussion by Kieren McCarthy ICANN is not responsible in any way for the expansion or promotion of the Internet as a network but inevitably the organisation is asked what it can do, and philosophically at least, we are dedicated to ensuring the network’s many benefits are enjoyed by as many people around the globe as possible. It is also in our interests to make sure that the organisation is in a position to effectively engage the “next billion users”. http://blog.icann.org/?p=277 Your Internet: Open or Closed? During a Friday briefing in the chambers of the House Commerce Committee Tim Wu, Ben Scott, Marvin Ammori, Jef Pearlman and Markham Erickson laid out the central struggle in our campaign to save a free-flowing Internet. At stake is whether the Internet will be open, neutral and accessible to all or a closed network -- controlled by a handful of gatekeepers with monopoly tendencies. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/your-internet-open-or-cl_b_86972.html Global Net Blackout No Easy Feat for Potential Saboteurs Evildoers disrupt communications by cutting undersea cables that crisscross the waters of the Earth. Suddenly, the 21st century wired world goes silent. Millions of people have no Internet connection; telephones go dead. Sounds like Hollywood, doesn't it? http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Global-Net-Blackout-No-Easy-Feat-for-Potential-Saboteurs-61697.html Unclogging the Tubes: ISPs Search for Solutions to Overburdened Lines Why are our Internet lines in danger of jamming up? One way of looking at it is this: ISPs have been serving us an all-you-can-eat buffet for years. That has worked great, because they've had more food than they knew what to do with and we've enjoyed the simplicity of a flat price and our pick of the dishes. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/Unclogging-the-Tubes-ISPs-Search-for-Solutions-to-Overburdened-Lines-61658.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Concludes Successful India Meeting ICANN put the wrap on its 31st International Public Meeting in New Delhi today after five days of discussions about the future of the Internet. "These meetings are vital to ICANN's model of bottom-up, consensus driven policy making in action," said Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN's Board Chairman. A total of 720 participants from 76 countries, including 290 participants from the host country India, took part in the meeting, and helped ICANN move forward on a number of discussions. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-15feb08.htm ICANN in New Delhi - what happened As ICANN calls a close to its meeting this week in Delhi, we can look back at the major happenings there. domain name front running, domain tasting and Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) were the main some of the main issues discussed. The meeting was attended by 720 participants from 76 countries, including 290 participants from the host country India. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4007 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/16/icann-in-new-delhi-what-happened/ ICANN panel questions Network Solutions on frontrunning by Jacqui Cheng ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) was unable to find a single shred of evidence on domain name frontrunning as a result of the organization's call for community feedback last October. The committee met last week in New Delhi, India, to discuss SSAC's recent report on the topic, which found that practically all instances that users had perceived to be domain name frontrunning were either just misunderstandings about how domain registrations work or mere coincidence. As a result, the committee took Network Solutions to task for its own controversial practices that the company claims are meant to protect users from frontrunning. SSAC demanded further evidence to support the reasoning behind the company's actions. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080217-icann-panel-questions-network-solutions-on-frontrunning.html Panel: No evidence of domain snatching [AP] An Internet committee investigating suspicious domain name transactions has found no evidence that insider information is being used to snatch desired Internet addresses to make money off the individual or business that actually wants to register them. The committee said the 120 claims of "domain name front running" it reviewed generally resulted from misunderstandings about how the domain name industry works. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/02/15/panel_no_evidence_of_domain_snatching/ http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0208/496385.html http://news.theage.com.au/panel-no-evidence-of-domain-snatching/20080216-1skr.html http://news.smh.com.au/panel-no-evidence-of-domain-snatching/20080216-1skr.html Non-English domains still unsettled [AP] Weeklong discussions in India about the creation of online domain names entirely in languages other than English led to greater understanding but no major decisions, the chief executive of the Internet's key oversight agency said Friday. At issue is a proposed "fast-track" mechanism for specific countries to get non-English suffixes -- the ".com" part of Internet addresses. For example, many Internet users in China would like to see a Chinese-character equivalent of the ".cn" suffix. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/02/15/non_english_domains_still_unsettled/ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/02/15/financial/f100139S32.DTL http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/318261.html http://news.smh.com.au/progress-but-no-decision-on-nonenglish-domain-names-as-internet-meetings-end-in-new-delhi/20080216-1sks.html http://news.theage.com.au/progress-but-no-decision-on-nonenglish-domain-names-as-internet-meetings-end-in-new-delhi/20080216-1sks.html No More Tasting: It’s a Bad Year To Be a Registrar The companies that handle domain registrations have built businesses around hosting, domain speculation and wholesale billing. Domain squatters, meanwhile, make millions with the right URL. But despite the huge growth of Internet sites and the brave face they put on, registrars face hard times. Regulatory changes, price increases and free hosting offerings from Google mean the future looks rough. http://gigaom.com/2008/02/16/google-apps-no-more-tasting-it%E2%80%99s-a-bad-year-to-be-a-registrar/ Live from ICANN by Tucows' James Koole The Internet co-operated this morning and I was able to get a Skype call going between Toronto and New Delhi, India where Adam Eisner, our Product Manager, Domains, has been participating in the 31st ICANN General Meeting. Adam and I had a brief chat about what’s been going on at the meeting this week including a bit about the experience of being in New Delhi. http://about.tucows.com/2008/02/14/live-from-icann/ Soon, the net could get a truly Hindi identity Come year-end and India could be among the first few countries in the world to have internationalized, or multilingual, Internet domain names represented by local language characters such as those from the Devanagari script on which Hindi is based instead of widely used Latin characters such as in English. http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/18001305/Soon-the-Net-could-get-a-trul.html ICANN to Allow Domain Extension ‘.PDF’ Web addresses, ending in ‘.mp3’ and ‘.pdf’ will become very familiar soon, following a new report by ICANN. http://www.webhostdir.com/news/articles/shownews.asp?id=24299 The Complete Guide to IDNs (International Domain Names) Just a quick note before I tell you about the IDN guide... I just got over a terrible case of the flu. Maybe it was all that rain in Hollywood? Anyway, I am back from my extended break and ready to get the DotSauce gears turning as before. http://www.dotsauce.com/2008/02/15/guide-to-idn/ ********************** - (cc)TLD NEWS ********************** .Asia Sunrise Completed with Over 30,000 Domain Applications [news release] Application periods for .Asia Sunrise successfully completed according to schedule last week on January 31, 2008. At the time of closing, DotAsia received a total of 30,780 domain name applications. These include domain names received through Pre-Sunrise, Sunrise 1, Sunrise 2, Sunrise 3, as well as the Pioneer Domains Programs. .Asia Landrush (open public registration) is set to launch at 12:00 noon UTC, February 20, 2008. http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-SunriseComplete-2008-02-06_EN.pdf Kapil Dev Snares .asia Domain Name Kapil Dev, legendary former Indian cricket captain, has snared the .asia version of his domain name, as part of Dot Asia Organisation’s Celebrity Pioneer Programme. In cricket mad India, this will give great publicity to the .asia TLD. Kapil Dev was unable to register his name as a domain name in the .in and .com TLDs due to previous people having registered them, although one would think if he challenged the registration it is likely he could recover the name. http://www.domainnews.com/registries/2008022532/kapil-dev-snares-asia-domain-name/ http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/15/kapil-dev-snares-asia-domain-name/ .Asia helps celebrities protect their cyber identity, as rush for domains set to begin [news release] In the backdrop of ICANN’s 31st International Public Meeting in New Delhi in association with Department of IT and National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), the DotAsia Organisation announced signups from India for its groundbreaking Celebrity Pioneer Program. ... Early adopters of the Program in India include Indian cricket hero legendary cricketer Kapil Dev, pop diva Shibani Kashyap, TV star Rakshanda Khan, ‘Indian Idol’ fame Rahul Vaidya, Anoushka - pop artist & a VJ at ‘Channel V’ amidst many others. http://dotasia.org/pressreleases/DotAsia-PR-2008-02-11_EN.pdf de: Regensburg is the New German Domain Stronghold With 380 .de domains per 1,000 inhabitants, Regensburg has scored the first place among German cities and administrative districts. This is the result of the 2007 annual regional domain statistics implemented by the German registry DENIC. Munich with 317 domains per 1,000 inhabitants must put up with the sec-ond place this time. On the federal-state level, Berlin (plus 10.3 percent), Hesse (plus 9.8 percent) and Bavaria (plus 9.6 percent) scored the highest growth rates in domain numbers. Then follows Thuringia as the federal state with the best result in the eastern part of Germany, with an increase of 8.8 percent. All in all, you can still perceive a pronounced difference between domain usage in the old and the new federal states. http://www.denic.de/en/denic/presse/press_88.html Regensburg is the New German Domain Stronghold according to Denic analysis With 380 .de domains per 1,000 inhabitants, Regensburg has scored the first place among German cities and administrative districts according to Denic's 2007 analysis of regional domain name statistics that it publishes each year. Munich with 317 domains per 1,000 inhabitants is second while at the state level, Berlin (plus 10.3 percent), Hesse (plus 9.8 percent) and Bavaria (plus 9.6 percent) scored the highest growth rates in domain numbers. Then follows Thuringia, the state with the best result in the eastern part of Germany, with an increase of 8.8 percent. http://technewsreview.com.au/article.php?article=4005 http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/02/16/regensburg-is-the-new-german-domain-stronghold/ http://www.domainnews.com/registries/2008022540/regensburg-is-the-new-german-domain-stronghold/ .nz Dispute Resolution Service - Policy Review On 1 June 2006, the .nz Dispute Resolution Service came into effect. Its implementation followed a public consultation on the options for resolving disputes over who should be the registrant of a .nz domain name (refer www.dnc.org.nz/ldrp-consultation). The intention in establishing the DRS was to provide parties with a low cost alternative to the Courts to resolve .nz domain name disputes. http://dnc.org.nz/story/30298-29-1.html uk: Half of small businesses still unrepresented online Only half of the 4.3 million businesses in the UK with fewer than 10 staff have a website, new research has revealed. The figure is reduced to 28% when sole traders are included, according to a poll by Jupiter Research on behalf on Microsoft. http://www.startups.co.uk/6678842910943018666/half-of-small-businesses-still-unrepresented-online.html UK Internet Governance Forum and Best Practice Challenge launch [news release] Nominet will be hosting a UK Internet Governance Forum event on Thursday 6 March 2008 in the Atlee Suite, Portcullis House, Houses of Parliament. This event has All-Party Parliamentary support from PITCOM, Eurim and ApComm and is presented in collaboration with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and Rt Hon Alun Michael MP. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=4804 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** Google finds evil all over the web The web is scarier than most people realise, according to research published recently by Google. The search engine giant trained its web crawling software on billions of web addresses over the past year looking for malicious pages that tried to attack their visitors. They found more than 3 million of them, meaning that about one in 1,000 web pages is malicious, according to Neils Provos, a senior staff software engineer with Google. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/scrt/9D7013EA5389746BCC2573F20072B151 Afilias and CERT-In Sign MoU to Improve Internet Security in India [news release] Afilias, a global provider of registry services, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) to share critical information and resources to enhance cyber-security in India and world-wide, increase awareness of important security issues, and to cooperate in emergency response to critical threats. http://www.afilias.info/news/press_releases/pr_articles/2008-02-12-01 ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** Registrant View on Domain Typo Tool by Jay Westerdal We have a brand new tool! We just released “Registrant View” on Typo domains. Our current view on the typo tool only showed what typos existed, our new view now shows who owns them rather then having to click through to view the owner’s name and then separately track the results in excel. It literally takes hours to perform that step manually. Our users have been asking for more transparency and easier access to typo reports which don’t require so much manual work. http://blog.domaintools.com/2008/02/registrant-view-on-domain-typo-tool/ ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** Comments on an IP Address Trading Market by Dan Campbell With IPv4 addresses becoming scarcer, there has been talk that a trading market will develop. The idea is that those holding addresses they do not really need will sell them for a profit. More alarming is that there have been a few articles about how the Regional Internet Registries (RIR) are contemplating creating such a market so that they can regulate it, conceding that it will happen anyway and taking the "if you can't be 'em, join 'em" attitude. This is all a bit disturbing. Maybe I'm naïve, but it's a little unclear to me how an unsanctioned trading market could really operate without the RIRs at least being aware. http://www.circleid.com/posts/82159_ip_address_trading_market/ ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Athletes allowed to blog at Olympics [AP] Let the blogging begin. The IOC has given athletes the right to blog at the Beijing Games this summer, a first for the Olympics, as long as they follow the many rules it set to protect copyright agreements, confidential information and security. ... Domain names for blogs should not include any word similar to "Olympic" or "Olympics." Bloggers are, however, urged to link their blogs to official Olympic Web sites. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/02/15/blogging.olympics.ap/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080215-blogging-olympics-ioc,1,7510480.story http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/5545584.html Aussie Olympian blogs muzzled, not censored Australian athletes' blogs will not censored during the Beijing Olympics, according to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) president, but the International Olympic Committee is preventing them from profiting from the games' name. ... Under the IOC guidelines, athletes are prohibited using the word "olympics" in their blog's domain name. Athletes are also banned from selling advertising on their personal blogs, and from working as journalists for media outlets. http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Aussie-Olympian-blogs-muzzled-not-censored/0,130061791,339286027,00.htm Should Registries Contact Registrants About Renewals? by Michele Neylon I've always had mixed feelings about registries contacting registrants directly. On one level it doesn't bother me in the least, but on another I can see how it causes confusion. http://www.isquattedyour.eu/2008/02/16/should-registries-contact-registrants-about-r/ ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** How the world wide web has ushered in a new age of digital democracy Internet users are increasingly determined to play an active role in influencing the way in which online information is viewed by others, according to the chief executive of one of the world's leading information-sharing websites. Jay Adelson, the co-founder and chief executive of Digg, said: “There's a groundswell of interest among internet users in actively contributing to the internet's content and, perhaps more importantly, influencing the way information is viewed by others. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article3386033.ece The internet in France : no place for terrorists, says Interior Minister of France Now sites in France featuring recipes for building explosives, terrorist propaganda, racial invective and incitement to hatred and violence will soon join child pornography on the ‘blacklist” of Internet sites prohibited in France. http://www.webinfrance.com/the-internet-in-france-no-place-for-terrorists-says-interior-minister-of-france-251.html Gay Africans and Arabs come out online [Reuters] When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realize he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL0830007120080218 ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Cell Phone Use Linked To Increased Cancer Risk A recent study says frequent cell phone users face a 50% greater risk of developing tumors of the parotid gland than those who don't use cell phones. Frequent cell phone users face a 50% greater risk of developing tumors of the parotid gland than those who don't use cell phones, according to a recently published study. http://informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206504325 Only in Japan: The Best Technologies You Can't Buy [IDG] Just a few years ago Japan's lead in all things digital was easy to see. Japanese consumers could buy new domestic gadgets from companies like Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic, often a year or two before they hit the market in other countries. But now things have changed. With gadgets increasingly coming out at the same time around the world, it's no longer the hardware that makes something cool, but what you can do with it. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142120/article.html ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** US Senate Authorizes Broad Expansion Of Surveillance Act The Senate yesterday approved a sweeping measure that would expand the government's clandestine surveillance powers, delivering a key victory to the White House by approving immunity from lawsuits for telecommunications companies that cooperated with intelligence agencies in domestic spying after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/12/AR2008021201202.html au: iiNet warns of hoax email scam iiNet warns of hoax email scamiiNet, Australia’s third largest ISP, is warning users to be aware of a hoax email purporting to be from the internet provider’s support department and requesting the disclosure of passwords. http://www.securecomputing.net.au/news/70370,iinet-warns-of-hoax-email-scam.aspx ************************** PRIVACY ************************** Is Facebook a privacy concern? The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook has sparked spirited debate around the privacy of users, but experts are divided on whether sites really breach user privacy. Sal Humphreys, a researcher at Queensland University of Technology’s ARC centre of excellence for the creative industries and innovation, said many users don’t realise what information they’re giving away when they click the ‘I accept’ button when registering with a social networking site. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23217784-15306,00.html ********************** FILE SHARING ********************** Get Ready for a Crackdown on Broadband Use As traffic increases, experts say ISPs may start charging by the gigabyte, limiting use of some services and snooping at the data passing through their networks. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142476/article.html Australian government war on music piracy As the internet threatens to kill the established music industry, the Rudd Government is considering a three-strikes policy against computer users who download songs illegally. The Government will examine new legislative proposals being unveiled in Britain this week to target people who download films and music illegally. ISPs there might be legally required to take action against users who access pirated material. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1202760662778.html A clampdown is music to the record industry's ears ... Accepting the music industry's demands would mean a radical transformation of the ISPs' role - changing them from common carriers into organisations which have to know about every file they handle. This would be technically challenging and have terrifying implications for privacy; but it would also create horrendous legal liabilities for ISPs. As common carriers, they have very limited responsibility for what users do with their services; but as Taylor's proxy snoopers they could be held liable - and not just for copyright infringement, but for lots of other questionable or controversial activities that people get up to on the net. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/17/3 Prince, Village People to sue Swedish download site [AFP] Prince and the Village People plan to take a Swedish website to court for allowing users to download their songs without permission - if they can work out who to sue, their lawyer said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/16/2164475.htm ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Russia's Medvedev lauds online media freedom [Reuters] Russia's president-in-waiting Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday media freedoms are guaranteed in Russia -- by the Internet. http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKL1590771120080215 In the new China, sex can still be the stuff of scandal The controversy over the posting of explicit images of celebrities reflects the resilience of old taboos outside the big cities http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/16/china Beijing athletes allowed to blog The International Olympic Committee is for the first time permitting athletes to write blogs. The IOC has set out guidelines for blogging at the Beijing games to ensure copyright agreements are not infringed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7248201.stm Blog away, AOC tells Olympians The Beijing Olympics are set to become the "blog Games" after Australian athletes were given the green light to express their views for the first time in blogs they write during the Olympics. http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23231455-16123,00.html Australia will not gag Beijing blogs: AOC Australian Olympics chief John Coates says the AOC's management will not to police blogs written by its athletes at this year's Beijing Games. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/17/2164887.htm IOC gives go-ahead for blogs at Beijing [Reuters] The International Olympic Committee on Friday gave the green light to allow blogging at the Olympics for the first time, issuing guidelines for this August's Beijing Games. Athletes have long demanded they be allowed to write their blogs--online journals of personal opinion or reflection--during the Games but the IOC was concerned these could potentially infringe on copyright agreements and private information. http://www.news.com/2100-1026_3-6230842.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,142534-c,onlineentertainment/article.html Wikipedia defies 180,000 demands to remove images of the Prophet Wikipedia is refusing to remove medieval artistic depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, despite being flooded with complaints from Muslims demanding the images be deleted. More than 180,000 worldwide have joined an online protest claiming the images, shown on European-language pages and taken from Persian and Ottoman miniatures dating from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, are offensive to Islam, which prohibits any representation of Muhammad. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/17/wikipedia.islam ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ uk: 'Happy slapping' teenager convicted Police warned yesterday that those who take part in the trend of filming violent attacks on their mobile phones will not escape the law, after the first conviction was secured against a teenager who recorded a so-called "happy slapping" incident. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/happy-slapping-teenager-convicted-782558.html UK online content providers sign up to code of conduct to protect children Media companies including the BBC, Channel 4, Google, Yahoo and social-networking site Bebo have signed up to a new code of conduct, to be announced today, designed to give parents more information about the suitability for children of audiovisual content available on the internet and mobile phones. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/feb/18/news uk: Task force to tackle harmful web content A task force is to look at ways to tackle illegal and undesirable content on the internet and to consider action against websites that encourage suicide and self-harm. The cluster of teenage suicides in and around the Welsh town of Bridgend has sparked panic among parents after many of the victims posted messages on tribute sites. Doctors also expressed fears about pro-anorexia websites. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/17/nweb217.xml uk: Text scams warning to youngsters The Office of Fair Trading sends text messages to 18 to 24-year-olds warning them about scams. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7246923.stm au: Web porn software filter takes biggest hit THE Rudd Government has branded as a failure the $85 million software filter scheme to protect young Australians from online pornography and will review its future. Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is assessing the NetAlert program, which will come under scrutiny at the Senate estimates hearings tomorrow. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1203190635858.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1203190635858.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1202760663247.html http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1203190626634.html Safe online havens for kids: Parents can relax - there are secure websites for kids, writes Lia Timson. At a time when cyber stalking is daily news, it's no wonder parents are often confused about which websites they should let their children visit. But if you want to stay on top of what kids are doing online without being too intrusive, and be able to make occasional cool suggestions, read on. We've compiled a list of favourites with the help of pint-size assistants. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/02/16/1202760657601.html Australian Government Considers Copying UK Copyright Law Ideas http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/18/0138221 au: NetAlert not so alert Last year the former Howard government tried to help us protect ourselves and our kiddies from internet nasties by investing in a $190 million dollar "NetAlert" program. The government-sponsored porn-blocking internet filter made headlines when it was cracked by a schoolboy within a couple of weeks of being released. http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tips/2008/02/18/netalert.html Australische Regierung strebt zum Kinderschutz staatlich verordnete Filterung an Im vergangenen Sommer hatte die inzwischen abgewählte konservative Regierung Australiens das fast 190 Millionen US-Dollar teure Programm NetAlert gestartet. Im Kern des Programms steht die Aufforderung an die Eltern, ihre Kinder durch die Installierung von Web-Filtern vor Online-Pornografie zu schützen. Die neue Regierung hat das Programm nun bereits als Fehlschlag gebrandmarkt. http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/103630 us: New face of harassment: Cyberbullying Bullying can no longer be chalked up to the traditional image of the biggest kid in the schoolyard demanding milk money. Today’s educators report that from snarky comments whispered in school hallways to physical contact, bullying is perpetrated by kids of all ages and backgrounds. But the newest and most prevalent form of harassment stems from the constantly changing world of the Internet: cyberbullying. http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/12110/ ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** UK net firms reject monitoring role UK net firms are resisting government suggestions that they should do more to monitor what customers do online. The industry association for net providers, ISPA, said legal and technical barriers prohibit them from being anything other than a "mere conduit". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7246403.stm ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** Vodafone may quit Australia – IDC Technology researcher IDC says Telstra's decision to switch on superfast broadband in 900 exchanges in provincial and rural Australian towns may trigger a chain of events that could lead to Vodafone exiting Australia. http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/4405810a28.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (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 Get the name you always wanted with the new y7mail email address. www.yahoo7.com.au/y7mail --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
