QuickLinks 216 - 8 December 2001

Legal and regulatory issues

   Audiovisual

1. EU - Communication from the Commission on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting

   Cable and satellite

2. EU - Municipal tax applying only to satellite dishes contrary to freedom to provide services

   Competition

3. Microsoft calls states proposed curbs 'extreme'
4. Microsoft foes see EU as final hope

   Computer crime

5. UK - Internet bank fraudsters jailed
6. USA - Hospital Pediatric Intern Under Investigation in Child Porn Case
7. USA - Judge pleads innocent to child porn charges
8. USA - Student jailed after internet porn sting

   Consumer protection

9. New online trustmark scheme launched

   Content regulation

10. Group Condemns Arrest Of Online Singapore Govt Critic
11. La Birmanie ouvre une petite fenêtre
12. Taiwan Drafts New Rules For Internet Cafes
13. Australia - New Internet laws on hold
14. Deutschland - Provider in der Zensur-Zwickmühle

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

15. USA - Cable Modem Users Can't Get Help From FCC

   Copyright, trademarks and patents

16. Spanish media piracy under attack
17. Deustchland - Polizeiaktion gegen Premiere-Piraten
18. WIPO - Global E-Copyrights Treaty To Take Effect In March 2002

   Data Protection (privacy)

19. EU - Results of Telecom Council
20. Website privacy policies need plainer English
21. UK - Government tones down data retention
22. USA - Davis suspends sale of state's birth, death data
23. USA - Sex offender addresses remain off Web

   Digital divide

24. EU / Latin America - European Commission launches "@lis"

   Domain names

25. Asia-Pacific Region Gets Domain Name Dispute Arbitrator
26. Dot-Info Challenges Name-Grabs
27. Porn Directory Isn't Only Master Of 'Link-O-Rama' Domain
28. Web address disputes deemed unfair
29. Deustchland - DeNIC will sicherer werden

   e-Government

30. Ministerial declaration: eGovernment - a priority for Europe
31. 28% Of British Govt Functions Now Online
32. EU launches "eGovernment Awards"
33. EU - Court of Justice upholds annulment of Council decision refusing access
34. France - Web public : les 10 meilleurs sites
35. USA - IT staff shortage threatens egovernment

   Employment and social issues

36. UK - Online kiosks aid abused women

   Health

37. Deustchland - Gesundheitsministerin will elektronischen Gesundheitspass einführen

   Hotlines

38. EC, US To Share Internet Child-Porn Reporting, Databases

   Information society and Internet policy

39. Towards the knowledge-based economy and society

   Internet access and use

40. UK - Friaco not to blame for broadband fiasco, says AOL
41. UK - Government accepts broadband recommendations

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

42. Big Stink Over a Simple Link
43. France - Europe 2 condamné pour un lien déplacé

   Protection of minors

44. USA - Curbs on 'explicit material' under scrutiny
45. USA - Online Porn Mars School Laptop Program
46. Deutschland - Scharfe Kritik an der geplanten Neufassung des Jugendschutzes
47. USA - Family Group Turns Up Heat On Yahoo

   Racism and xenophobia

48. USA - French groups appeal Yahoo's win in Nazi memorabilia case

   Safer Internet awareness

49. Deutschland - «Internet-ABC» soll Kompetenz vermitteln
50. UK - Ad campaign warns of chat room dangers

   Security and encryption

51. UK - House Committee OKs Increase In Security Research Funds
52. USA - White House Cybersecurity Chief Unveils Plans

   Telecommunications

53. Deutschland - Regulierungsbehörde schimpft auf Telekom
54. EU - EP Committees adopt telecoms package with great majorities

   Terrorism

55. Italy blocks EU arrest warrant plans
56. Who EU Calling a Terrorist?
57. UK - Anti-terror defeats for government

Market & Technology

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

58. BBC offers documentaries on demand

   Market

59. AOL's Problems Go Beyond Even Harry Potter's Magic
60. Broadband Britain lacks sex drive
61. Broadband Set To Squeeze Portals In Europe
62. Excite@Home to shut down; AT&T drops bid
63. Gates: Broadband woes hobble Net advertising
64. How the music industry blew it
65. RealNetworks First To Connect Consumers To MusicNet
66. VeriSign to play domain-name watchdog

   Mobile and wireless

67. DoCoMo aims to widen 3G network coverage
68. European 3G costs are unlikely to be recouped
69. Handset shortage delays MMO2's 3G service

   Security and encryption

70. AOL joins safe Net standard
71. Computer Security Advisory Site Suffers Attack
72. Hard-Coded Into E-Mail Hell By BadTrans
73. New Internet worm makes some files a 'goner'
74. Study: Security fixes overwhelming IT managers

   Statistics

75. E-Voter Institute Study Shows the Emergence of E-Politics
76. Mobiles outstrip landline usage in Sweden
77. Research: Sharp rise in number of e-billing users
78. Spam, Porn Costing U.K. Firms $4.6 Billion A Year - ISP

QuickLinks 216 - 8 December 2001

   Audiovisual

1. EU - Communication from the Commission on the application of State aid rules to public service broadcasting (RAPID)
This Communication sets out the principles to be followed by the Commission in the application of Articles 87 and 86(2) of the EC Treaty to State funding of public service broadcasting. OJ C 320, 15.11.2001, pages 5-11. es | da | de | el | en | fr | it | nl | pt | fi | sv

   Cable and satellite

2. EU - Municipal tax applying only to satellite dishes contrary to freedom to provide services (ECJ)
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-17/00 François De Coster v Collège des bourgmestre et échevins de Watermael. The tax regulation adopted by a Belgian municipality applying only to satellite dishes penalises programmes transmitted from other Member States and that barrier to trade cannot be justified by concern for the protection of the environment as argued by the municipality

   Competition

3. Microsoft calls states proposed curbs 'extreme' (FT)
The nine states still pursuing the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft proposed a sweeping set of penalties that would force the software giant to sell a stripped-down version of its ubiquitous Windows operating system to competing software firms.

4. Microsoft foes see EU as final hope (Reuters)
Microsoft's opponents see the European Union's antitrust case as their last, best hope to get tough sanctions against the U.S. software giant for allegedly rigging its Windows software to damage competitors.

   Computer crime

5. UK - Internet bank fraudsters jailed (Ananova)
Five people have been sentenced after using the internet to defraud banks and credit card companies out of £130,000. The four men and a woman were arrested by officers from the National Crime Squad in August last year after a six-month operation. Aylesbury Crown Court was told the gang used the internet to hijack the identities of innocent people to obtain credit cards and loans.

6. USA - Hospital Pediatric Intern Under Investigation in Child Porn Case (Fox News)
FBI officials have confirmed that a pediatric intern at Tripler Medical Center on Honolulu is under investigation for allegedly possessing child pornography. However, a Tripler spokeswoman said she doubts the activity has anything to do with the hospital.

7. USA - Judge pleads innocent to child porn charges (AP)
An Orange County Superior Court judge pleaded innocent to six counts of possession of child pornography.

8. USA - Student jailed after internet porn sting (Scotmad Online)
An American student at Aberdeen University has been jailed for more than seven years for child sexual exploitation. David Steinheimer was sentenced to seven years and three months at the US District Court in Houston, Texas. He pleaded guilty to trying to befriend a 13-year-old boy on the internet so he could abuse him. The student travelled from Aberdeen to Houston in October 2000 to meet who he thought was the boy, only to discover it he was an undercover FBI agent.

   Consumer protection

9. New online trustmark scheme launched (EurActiv)
EuroCommerce, the European Association representing retail, wholesale and international trade, introduces trustmark because it wants to create trust and give security to online shoppers. The Euro-Logo trustmark scheme is based on their European Code of Conduct, taking into account current and future relevant legislation.

   Content regulation

10. Group Condemns Arrest Of Online Singapore Govt Critic (Newsbytes)
The arrest and subsequent detention in a mental health facility of a Singapore man who allegedly posted inflammatory political articles on a Web site has been condemned by Internet groups, including the organization that runs the Web site where his writings appeared.

11. La Birmanie ouvre une petite fenêtre (Libération)
Les autorités militaires limitent le surf à 55 sites dûment sélectionnés.

12. Taiwan Drafts New Rules For Internet Cafes (Newsbytes)
Taiwan's many Internet cafes and their clientele will be restricted under new rules drafted by the government that are awaiting legislative approval.

13. Australia - New Internet laws on hold (AAP)
Concerns from media organisations about proposed new Internet laws restricting the broadcast of sexually explicit or violent material have forced the NSW government to put its bill on hold. Instead, a parliamentary inquiry will be held into the effectiveness and enforceability of the Classification (Publications, Film and Computer Games) Enforcement Amendment Bill 2001.

14. Deutschland - Provider in der Zensur-Zwickmühle (Heise)
Harald A. Summa vom eco Forum hält eine erfolgreiche Sperrung ausländischer Internet-Seiten für unmöglich. Der Geschäftsführer des Verbands der deutschen Internet-Wirtschaft meint darüber hinaus, Sperrmaßnahmen seien kontraproduktiv und hätten schädliche Nebenwirkungen. Sie führten zu einer Verlagerung des rechtswidrigen Datenverkehrs in andere Bereiche, die dann auch nicht mehr vom Verfassungsschutz kontrolliert werden könnten.

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

15. USA - Cable Modem Users Can't Get Help From FCC (Washington Post)
For the hundreds of thousands of cable-modem users who lost their Internet and e-mail services this past weekend, and for the millions who still might, there is a stark reality: No government agency can help. High-speed Internet access is now as important to many small businesses as electric power and telephone service. Yet unlike those utilities, cable-modem service is not regulated by the government, even by those agencies that oversee Internet access provided by telephone lines.

   Copyright, trademarks and patents

16. Spanish media piracy under attack (FT)
Recording studios, publishing houses, software manufacturers and the film industry came together in Spain to demand an end to piracy which is estimated to be costing the leisure and entertainment industries more than Pta130bn ($700m, €780m) a year.

17. Deustchland - Polizeiaktion gegen Premiere-Piraten (Heise)
In Hamburg, dem Ruhrgebiet und Bayern hat die Polizei bei Haussuchungen mehr als 8000 illegale SmartCards sichergestellt. Darüber hinaus seien viele Computer, Kartenlesegeräte und gestohlene Digital-Decoder beschlagnahmt worden, meldet der Münchner Sender Premiere World. SmartCards sind der Schlüssel zu den Pay-TV-Angeboten des Senders.

18. WIPO - Global E-Copyrights Treaty To Take Effect In March 2002 (Newsbytes)
A global treaty that brings international copyright law in step with the Internet age garnered its 30th signature, paving the way for the pact to go into effect in March 2002. see WIPO Press Release.

   Data Protection (privacy)

19. EU - Results of Telecom Council (RAPID)
6 December 2001, Brussels. The Council reached a political agreement on the draft Directive on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector. The Council agreed on: a harmonised "opt-in" solution for unsolicited commercial e-mail (with an exception for existing customer relationships); an obligation to provide users information in advance about the purposes of cookies and to offer them the possibility to refuse; the inclusion of additional language regarding measures that Member States may take to safeguard public security interests or that are necessary for criminal investigations. The text clarifies that such measures must be appropriate, proportional for the intended purpose and necessary within a democratic society. See also COREPER version of Common Position (Consilium) and EU fails to find compromise on telecoms laws (FT).

20. Website privacy policies need plainer English (NUA)
Web-savvy browsers almost never bother to read the privacy policies of websites they frequent, although most would do so if they were made more succinct and easier to read. See also Banks Learn To Write Readable Privacy Policies (Newsbytes) FTC Workshop.

21. UK - Government tones down data retention (NMA To Go)
The Government's controversial data retention proposals for ISPs look set to be watered down following opposition from the House of Lords. The Lords unanimously agreed that, despite Government insistence to the contrary, the Information Commissioner would be consulted on the voluntary code of practice which will lay out the framework for the data retention powers.

22. USA - Davis suspends sale of state's birth, death data (Mercury News)
Saying personal information "shouldn't be bought and traded like baseball cards," Gov. Gray Davis halted the sale of California birth and death records. The Democratic governor put a 45-day freeze on the sales and asked the California Department of Health Services to take a second look at whether it is legal to sell CD-ROMs that contain basic birth and death data on millions of Americans.

23. USA - Sex offender addresses remain off Web (Reuters)
A federal judge has ruled that New Jersey cannot post the addresses of sex offenders on the Internet under the state's first-in-the-nation sex offenders' registration law. U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas ruled that New Jersey's Megan's Law does allow state police to list the names of sex offenders on a Web site due to be launched next month. But he said an offender's constitutional right to privacy outweighed the government's need to publish their addresses on the Web. The addresses of the worst offenders can be released to neighbors under existing law.

   Digital divide

24. EU / Latin America - European Commission launches "@lis" (RAPID)
The European Commission has approved an ambitious co-operation programme « ALliance for the Information Society » (@LIS) with Latin America. It aims at establishing dialogue and co-operation on policy and regulatory frameworks in key areas for the development of a widespread information society, such as telecommunications, e-commerce and standardisation, and at boosting interconnections between research networks and communities in both regions. Several innovative take-up projects in Latin America will be set up in order to demonstrate the benefits of the Information Society applications to citizens. The @lis programme will be endowed with some 85 million €. The official launch will take place at the "@LIS Take-off Conference" in Spain in April 2002.

   Domain names

25. Asia-Pacific Region Gets Domain Name Dispute Arbitrator (Newsbytes)
Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region now have a regionally located arbitrator of domain name disputes designated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit corporation that manages the Internet's addressing system. The Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNDRC) is an alliance of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. The provider has offices in Hong Kong and Beijing.

26. Dot-Info Challenges Name-Grabs (Wired)
Domain manager Afilias, registrar for the dot-info top level domains, will modify its rules to ensure that disputed domains could only be awarded to legitimate trademark holders. Thousands of applicants abused a preregistration process for trademark holders this summer in order to grab generic names like "finance.info" before they were made available to the public.

27. Porn Directory Isn't Only Master Of 'Link-O-Rama' Domain (Newsbytes)
Webmasters can't claim trademark-like rights to Internet domain names just because they operate popular sites, the publisher of an online pornography directory has been told by an international arbitrator.

28. Web address disputes deemed unfair (CNET News.com)
One of four arbitrators that help work out domain-name squabbles plans to leave the business, saying the dispute-resolution process unfairly favors trademark holders and large corporations over individuals. Montreal-based eResolution said it could not find enough customers, thanks to a system that rewards arbitrators who favor trademark holders. Under the system created by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a complainant can select the arbitrator that will hear its case. Since most complainants are trademark holders, they seek out those who tend to favor their side, eResolution alleged.

29. Deustchland - DeNIC will sicherer werden (Heise)
Der deutsche Domain-Verwalter DeNIC stellte heute in Frankfurt eine Roadmap zur Sicherung der Domain-Datenbank gegen unberechtigte Änderungen vor. Damit reagierte der Registrar auf einen c't-Artikel, der eine Sicherheitslücke offengelegt hatte. Bis vor kurzem war es möglich, mit einer fingierten E-Mail die .de-Domain-Einträge zu ändern und sogar Domains auf andere Webserver umzuleiten. Als erste Reaktion auf die Veröffentlichung hatte das DeNIC einen einfachen Passwortschutz eingeführt.

   e-Government

30. Ministerial declaration: eGovernment - a priority for Europe (RAPID)
Ministers and State Secretaries from 28 countries spanning the EU, EFTA and countries in accession negotiations with the EU declared that higher priority should be given to eGovernment issues in promoting the development of a European Information Society focused on growth, employment and quality of life. The declaration was unanimously agreed at a ministerial meeting which took place in the framework of the eGovernment conference, on November 29.This was chaired by Minister Rik Daems of the Belgian Presidency, in the presence of Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society. The declaration recognises service-oriented, reliable and innovative government at all levels as being essential to the development of a dynamic, productive and democratic European society. Implementing eGovernment - one of the key themes of the eEurope Action Plan 2002 is therefore crucial. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to pursuing a long-term vision with clear and measurable objectives.

31. 28% Of British Govt Functions Now Online (Newsbytes)
The IT Trends study, from the Society of IT Management (SOCITM), says that 28 percent of U.K. government functions are now online and the country is on target to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair's stated aim of getting all government functions e-enabled by 2005.

32. EU launches "eGovernment Awards" (RAPID)
The European Commission's new "eEurope Awards for Innovation in eGovernment" aims to highlight and promote the efforts made by European national, regional and local administrations in using Information Society Technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of their public services. Its launch follows the success of the "eGovernment label". This was recently awarded to 60 online services submitted by administrations for inclusion within "eGovernment: From Policy to Practice", a conference and exhibition organised jointly on November 29-30 by the European Commission and the EU Belgian Presidency

33. EU - Court of Justice upholds annulment of Council decision refusing access (ECJ)
Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-353/99 P Council of the European Union v Hautala. The Court of Justice upheld the judgment of the Court of First Instance annulling the Council's decision to refuse Ms Hautala access to a report on arms exports. The Council must promote the widest possible access of the public to the documents it holds. If a document contains confidential information, the Council must consider whether partial access is possible.

34. France - Web public : les 10 meilleurs sites (Premier Ministre)
Michel Sapin a distingué mercredi 5 décembre dix sites Internet publics "exemplaires"

35. USA - IT staff shortage threatens egovernment (Nua)
A new study by Gartner has found that 87 percent of state governments and 80 percent of local governments in the US are suffering a critical shortage of qualified IT staff, despite the downturn in the tech industry.

   Employment and social issues

36. UK - Online kiosks aid abused women (FT)
Women who are victims of domestic violence will soon be able to turn to technology for help. London women who suffer mental and physical abuse by their spouses or partners will be able to find and contact support services via the net-connected kiosks that dot some of the capital's streets.

   Health

37. Deustchland - Gesundheitsministerin will elektronischen Gesundheitspass einführen (Heise)
Bundesgesundheitsministerin Ulla Schmidt will einen obligatorischen elektronischen Gesundheitspass für alle Mitglieder der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungen einführen, der Zugriff auf eine elektronische Patientenakte ermöglichen soll.

   Hotlines

38. EC, US To Share Internet Child-Porn Reporting, Databases (Newsbytes)
Backed up European Commission funding, nine national hotlines for reporting child pornography on the Internet will automate information sharing in an effort to curb the appearance of the prohibited material on Web sites.

   Information society and Internet policy

39. Towards the knowledge-based economy and society (RAPID)
Erkki LIIKANEN, Member of the European Commission responsible for Enterprise and Information Society, IST conference 2001, Düsseldorf, 3 December 2001

   Internet access and use

40. UK - Friaco not to blame for broadband fiasco, says AOL (ZDNet UK)
AOL has produced market research that it says disproves the myths by which BT attempts to excuse the slow roll-out of broadband in the UK. The study demolishes the ideas that there is little demand for broadband, and that users are so happy with flat-rate dial access that do not want to move to broadband.

41. UK - Government accepts broadband recommendations (ZDNet UK)
The government has accepted the recommendations of the Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG), but says it will not set targets for the adoption of services. The government has also rejected the BSG's recommendation that it should provide tax breaks to encourage investors to supply the money needed to create broadband networks.

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

42. Big Stink Over a Simple Link (Wired)
KPMG, an international business consulting firm, prides itself on its "e-business" savvy, and it charges companies boatloads to improve their Web-based businesses. But this week several website owners were wondering whether KPMG's Internet acumen was really worth anything at all, as it announced a policy that seemed to breach the most basic freedom on the Web -- the freedom to link to any site you want to.

43. France - Europe 2 condamné pour un lien déplacé (Libération)
Le site de la radio comportait une rubrique renvoyant vers des sites «anti-NRJ». Un lien hypertexte peut coûter cher. La radio Europe 2 l'a récemment découvert à ses dépens: elle a été condamnée par la cour d'appel de Paris à payer 500 000 francs (76 224 euros) de dommages et intérêts à la station NRJ, pour dénigrement.

   Protection of minors

44. USA - Curbs on 'explicit material' under scrutiny (FT)
Film and video game makers were making "commendable progress" with efforts to avoid promoting explicit products to teenagers, but the music industry, retailers and cinemas were still dragging their feet, the Federal Trade Commission said. While record companies had improved the quality of "parental advisory labels", they continued to advertise recordings with violent or sexual lyrics in most sectors of the media seen, read or listened to by children. Monitoring of teenage "undercover shoppers" also found it was still easy for young people to gain access to grown-up films and products. see also FTC Releases Second Follow-Up Report on the Marketing of Violent Entertainment to Children (Press Release), Text of the Report [PDF 5.1MB].

45. USA - Online Porn Mars School Laptop Program (AP)
Pride over a deal to provide laptop computers to every high school student in a suburban district of Virginia has turned to embarrassment after dozens of youngsters were found to have downloaded hard-core pornography.

46. Deutschland - Scharfe Kritik an der geplanten Neufassung des Jugendschutzes (Heise)
Die von Telepolis veröffentlichten Pläne zum Jugendschutz in den elektronischen Medien stoßen auf heftigen Widerstand bei Wirtschaftsverbänden, Selbstkontroll-Gremien und Bundestagsabgeordneten. Die Länder, die in Zukunft beim Jugendmedienschutz das Sagen haben sollen, sehen sich angesichts ihres praxisfremden Vorstoßens mit dem Vorwurf der Bigotterie konfrontiert.

47. USA - Family Group Turns Up Heat On Yahoo (Newsbytes)
The American Family Association (AFA), a family and church group, is urging its supporters to post anti-Yahoo warnings in churches and workplaces after it failed to get the portal giant to delete an incest-related Web message board.

   Racism and xenophobia

48. USA - French groups appeal Yahoo's win in Nazi memorabilia case (AP)
Two French groups are appealing the recent federal court decision that held Yahoo! did not have to remove Nazi memorabilia from its site to comply with a ruling in France. Attorneys for the League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the Union of Jewish Students contended in their appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Yahoo should not be shielded from French law by the First Amendment.

   Safer Internet awareness

49. Deutschland - «Internet-ABC» soll Kompetenz vermitteln (dpa)
Das ABC ist von der Landesanstalt für Rundfunk Nordrhein-Westfalen (LfR), der Bertelsmann Stiftung und der Heinz Nixdorf Stiftung zur Förderung der Medienkompetenz entwickelt worden. Der Informationsdienst ist unabhängig, nichtkommerziell sowie werbefrei und soll Basiswissen rund ums Internet spielerisch für Kinder und informativ für Eltern vermitteln. Siehe auch Pinguin Eddie soll beim "Internet-ABC" helfen (Heise).

50. UK - Ad campaign warns of chat room dangers (Guardian)
The government launched a £1.5m advertising campaign to help parents explain the potential dangers of internet chat rooms to their children. see Wise up to the net.

   Security and encryption

51. UK - House Committee OKs Increase In Security Research Funds (Newsbytes)
The House Science Committee approved two bills designed to substantially boost federal spending on information technology and cyber-security research.

52. USA - White House Cybersecurity Chief Unveils Plans (Government Computer News)
Presidential cybersecurity adviser Richard Clarke announced two federal initiatives for improving security of the nation's information infrastructure. He said the government expects to open a national center for infrastructure simulation and analysis, and soon will create a cyberwarning intelligence network linking major government and commercial network operations centers.

   Telecommunications

53. Deutschland - Regulierungsbehörde schimpft auf Telekom (Heise)
Die Wettbewerbssituation auf dem Telefonmarkt im Ortsnetz ist nach Ansicht der Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation und Post (RegTP) immer noch unbefriedigend. Die Deutsche Telekom verfüge nach wie vor über eine herausragende Stellung. 2. Tätigkeitsbericht der RegTP. siehe auch Monopolkommission wettert gegen Telekom-Monopol (Heise). Sondergutachten zur Wettbewerbsentwicklung bei Telekommunikation und Post 2001: Seit der Liberalisierung sei es weder zu Preiswettbewerb noch zu einer nennenswerten Verschiebung von Marktanteilen gekommen.

54. EU - EP Committees adopt telecoms package with great majorities (EurActiv.com)
Both the legal affairs (universal access) and the industry (other Directives except data protection) committee adopted the reports on the telecoms package with large majorities, albeit with some amendments.

   Terrorism

55. Italy blocks EU arrest warrant plans (EurActiv)
Italy blocked EU plans for a European arrest warrant at a meeting of interior and justice ministers on 6 December. Italy disagrees with a set of over 30 measures that would strengthen the Union's ability to fight terrorism and organised crime. All Member States except Italy agreed that the European arrest warrant should cover a list of 32 serious cross-border crimes. However, the Italian Justice Minister, Roberto Castelli, insisted that fast-track extradition procedures should only apply to a smaller list of six crimes.

56. Who EU Calling a Terrorist? (Wired)
European lawyers have denounced a European Union proposal to establish a definition of terrorism so broad that it could include workers' strikes or protests against globalization. More than 200 lawyers from nearly every country in the European Union (EU) have signed an appeal urging European Parliament and EU governments to reject a broad definition of terrorism.

57. UK - Anti-terror defeats for government (BBC)
The government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords over its proposed anti-terrorism legislation. In the latest pair of defeats, peers voted for amendments changing key aspects of the government's controversial proposal to detain terrorist suspects without trial. In five earlier votes peers backed moves to restrict police powers, involving the disclosure of personal financial information, to the pursuit of terrorists and defence of national security rather than criminal activity as wanted by the government. see also Guardian New powers to require internet service providers and businesses to retain data for use in potential criminal investigations by the police were also thrown out.

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

58. BBC offers documentaries on demand (Reuters)
BBC Worldwide Americas has licensed some of its TV series and documentaries to In Demand in its first video-on-demand deal. By the end of the year, about 1.3 million cable subscribers in the United States are expected to have video-on-demand availability, which enables them to call up shows as they want and to stop, pause or rewind them at their own convenience.

   Market

59. AOL's Problems Go Beyond Even Harry Potter's Magic (New York Times)
The long-term success or failure of the AOL Time Warner merger will rest on whether it can find ways to profit from its unrivaled combination of print and television content with cable and online distribution.

60. Broadband Britain lacks sex drive (vnunet)
Broadband isn't taking off in the UK because broadband content providers are unwilling to recognise that adult content is needed to drive adoption, leading telecoms executives have been told. An audience of 300 UK telecoms chiefs heard that they should consider partnering with providers of adult entertainment to drive broadband adoption.

61. Broadband Set To Squeeze Portals In Europe (Newsbytes)
A new report predicts tough times ahead for Europe's Web portals, as broadband users start to get picky about which sites they use. The Forrester Research study says that, as the broadband industry evolves, the current crop of portals will face heavy competition from a new generation of content providers. The study concludes that adult content sites will secure around 79 percent of paid broadband content in Europe this year. By 2005, however, the report predicts that adult content sites' share of the paid-for broadband market will drop to just 17 percent as streaming services take off.

62. Excite@Home to shut down; AT&T drops bid (CNET News.com)
Beleagured high-speed Internet service provider Excite@Home will cease operations in February, after suitor AT&T withdrew its $307 million bid for its cable assets.

63. Gates: Broadband woes hobble Net advertising (Reuters)
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said that the Internet's role as an important mass medium for advertisers was hobbled by the slow rollout of high-speed broadband service and was still years away.

64. How the music industry blew it (Salon)
How the music industry blew it. John Alderman's "Sonic Boom" recounts the history of Napster - and the unstoppable rise of file trading.

65. RealNetworks First To Connect Consumers To MusicNet (Newsbytes)
After much anticipation, major record labels are about to find out if consumers are willing to pay $9.95 a month to buy music they can't keep. RealNetworks made good on its promise to launch the first subscription-music service to deliver tunes made available by the MusicNet platform it created and which is now backed by some of the world's largest record companies. RealNetworks said its RealOne service - launched just one week later than originally anticipated - connects subscribers with some 75,000 songs from such MusiNet co-owners as AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, EMI, and independent record company Zomb

66. VeriSign to play domain-name watchdog (CNET News.com)
VeriSign is to start selling a suite of services to domain-name customers that includes guarding a company's brand name in cyberspace and protecting it from intellectual-property thieves.

   Mobile and wireless

67. DoCoMo aims to widen 3G network coverage (FT)
NTT DoCoMo, the leading Japanese mobile phones group, will soon offer subscribers the option to have the same number for two phones - a second generation model and a third generation handset - in an effort to overcome the limited coverage of its new 3G network.

68. European 3G costs are unlikely to be recouped (FT)
When European governments sold their 3G licences last year, the technology looked like the key to a new world of lucrative possibilities. Today the vast amounts paid by the succesful bidders, particularly in Germany and the UK, seem unlikely ever to be recouped.

69. Handset shortage delays MMO2's 3G service (FT)
The third generation UK mobile service from MMO2 will not be widely available until early 2003 - six months later than expected. A shortage of handsets that could use both the new and old technologies is to blame for the setback.

   Security and encryption

70. AOL joins safe Net standard (CNET News.com)
AOL Time Warner has joined the Liberty Alliance Project, a coalition of technology companies creating a common online registration and identity system to counter Microsoft's ambitions with its Passport service.

71. Computer Security Advisory Site Suffers Attack (Newsbytes)
The Web site of the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) is undergoing a distributed denial of service attack, officials at the federally funded computer security clearinghouse confirmed.

72. Hard-Coded Into E-Mail Hell By BadTrans (Newsbytes)
The latest widespread infectious code to hit the Internet, BadTrans.B has been particularly unkind to 15 people whose e-mail addresses were programmed into the worm by its unidentified author.

73. New Internet worm makes some files a 'goner' (CNN)
Antivirus companies warned people about a rapidly spreading new e-mail worm that is capable of deleting certain computer programs. The mass-mailing Internet worm goes by the name "Goner" and is distinguishable by its subject line (Hi) and the body of the message, which promises a screensaver. The attachment is called "Goner.scr." see also 'Goner' Today, and Forgotten (Wired) and Chat Volunteers Block Worm's Channel Of Attack (Newsbytes) .

74. Study: Security fixes overwhelming IT managers (IDG)
The number of required security patches and updates to security products during the past 12 months has so overwhelmed IT managers at most companies that the process now places network security at greater risk, a new study concludes.

   Statistics

75. E-Voter Institute Study Shows the Emergence of E-Politics (Gartner)
An E-Voter Institute survey indicates the Internet will play an increasingly important role in political campaigning. For example, results show that 80 percent of political leaders recommend collecting e-mail addresses.

76. Mobiles outstrip landline usage in Sweden (NUA)
There are now more active mobile-phone users than landline telephone users in Sweden. The total number of mobile phone subscriptions now stands at 6.4 million, an increase of 24 per cent over the last year. the number of fixed-lines operating in Sweden number 5.8 million,

77. Research: Sharp rise in number of e-billing users (IDG)
Two studies show that the use of electronic bill presentment and payment services has taken off during the past year, with some industry experts saying the most recent growth is connected to the threat of anthrax in the U.S. mail.

78. Spam, Porn Costing U.K. Firms $4.6 Billion A Year - ISP (Newsbytes)
Spam and pornographic e-mail costs British firms 3.2 billion pounds ($4.6 billion) a year, according to figures compiled by business Internet service provider (ISP) Star Internet.


QuickLinks

Links to news items about legal and regulatory aspects of Internet and the information society, particularly those relating to information content, and market and technology.

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QuickLinks is edited by Richard Swetenham richard.swetenham@cec.eu.int - Main Sources and Contributors: Michael Geist BNA - ILN, David Goldstein, Gerhard Heine