84. 2002-10-10 ES - Valencia: I Congreso Internacional de Ética y Derecho de la Información
85. UK - ISPA Announces New Council and Chairperson
1. UK - BBC breaks independent programming quota
(Guardian)
Independent producers have urged the government to crack down on the BBC after the corporation admitted it had broken a key programming quota. The BBC must commission 25% of its programmes from the independent sector but revealed it expected to "just miss" the target for the period April 1 2000 to March 31 2001.
2. EU / FR - Commission approves privatisation and restructuring plan for Société Française de Production
(RAPID)
The European Commission today decided not to raise any objections to the privatisation and restructuring plan for Société Française de Production (SFP). The plan provides for state financing of social measures for the workers laid off. Such measures, which are designed to reduce the adverse effect of redundancies without relieving the undertaking of its usual costs, are part of the social policy of the Member States and do not constitute aid within the meaning of the EC Treaty. SFP, which is wholly owned by the State, is a public undertaking in the audiovisual production sector (sets and studios, machinery, vision and sound, special effects, etc.)
3. US - FTC Workshop to Explore Possible Anticompetitive Efforts to Restrict Competition on the Internet
(FTC)
On October 8-10, 2002, the Federal Trade Commission will host a three-day public workshop to explore how certain state regulations and private business practices may be having significantly anticompetitive effects on e-commerce. Some private estimates suggest that the potential costs to consumers of these anticompetitive restrictions "may exceed $15 billion annually." some states prohibit online sales of certain products or require that e-businesses maintain a physical office in their state. Industries in which significant restrictions on Internet commerce have been alleged include retailing, the sale of automobiles, cyber-charter schools, real estate and mortgages, health care, pharmaceuticals, telemedicine, the sale of wine, auction services, the sale of contact lenses, and the sale of caskets. All of these restrictions may contribute to sound public policy, or they may constitute attempts by existing industries to forestall the entry of Internet competitors and impede new forms of competition.
4. FR - Le traitement judiciaire de la cybercriminalité
(justice.gouv.fr)
Guide méthodologique du ministère de la Justice (au format PDF).
5. NZ - Calls to arrest porn principal
(vnunet.com)
A principal in New Zealand has caused a national storm after he was caught hoarding porn on his school's computer for more than 15 months. While Northcote Intermediate principal Michael Wilks's school network was protected by filtering software, his machine was not because of his status. The 66-year-old was dismissed by his board of trustees after an examination of pornographic material found on his computer during maintenance.
6. Teenage paedophiles are victims too
(Guardian)
Equating young people caught in possession of child pornography with adult paedophiles is just not helpful, writes Professor Max Taylor. see also Caught in the net.
7. UK - Man jailed over 'record' child porn haul
(BBC)
A former print worker has been jailed for seven years after he admitted distributing more than 300,000 indecent images of children. Detectives believe it is the biggest-ever case of its kind in the UK.
8. UK - Official sacked over porn at work
(BBC)
A civil servant from south Wales has been sacked for using official Patent Office paper to print off pornography. Gareth Roache, 31, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court for downloading the indecent images from the internet. Judge Elgan Edwards said he would have liked to have jailed him, but could not because of changes in the Court of Appeal rules.
9. UK - Porn photos found in freight
(Birmingham Evening Mail)
A Midland man who has campaigned to legalise child sex has been found guilty of smuggling indecent photographs. Thomas O'Carroll, 56, of Leamington Spa, was convicted of three charges of being knowingly concerned in the importation of indecent material by a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court. O'Carroll, a founding member and chairman of the Paedophile Information Exchange claimed the photographs were art and were "traditional street photography". The court heard how the pictures were discovered by Customs officers at Heathrow Airport last year in a random search of air freight.
10. UK at the forefront of the fight against online paedophiles
(Press Release)
The UK is taking a leading role in tackling the international problem of child abuse on the Internet, Home Office Minister Hilary Benn told a policing conference. In a speech to the Policing Child Abuse on the Internet conference at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Mr Benn praised the police for their response to the challenges posed by online paedophile activity and said recent operations had set a benchmark for other countries to follow.
11. UK's growing crimes - Guns, crack and child porn
(Reuters)
The growing use of guns, hi-tech crime and online child pornography are among the most significant criminal trends in Britain today, the National Crime Intelligence Service (NCIS) said unveiling the report UK Threat Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2002 . see Chapter 9 Paedophile crime, including online child abuse
12. AU - Net censorship laws in limbo
(Australian IT)
The NSW Government will consult with its interstate counterparts before deciding whether to repeal controversial internet censorship legislation.
13. FR - Le CSA lance une croisade anti-porno à l'issue incertaine
(AFP)
Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) a appelé à l'interdiction pure et simple des films pornos à la télévision, auxquels de plus en plus de mineurs ont accès, mais rien ne dit encore que le gouvernement le suivra sur ce terrain radical.
14. FR - Weitere Dachorganisation für den Datenschutz im Internet gegründet
(Heise)
In Frankreich hat sich erneut eine Dachorganisation für Bürgerrechte und den Datenschutz im Internet konstituiert. Die Federation Informatique et Libertes (La FIL) will sich künftig für den Schutz der Privatsphäre der Bürger einsetzen und gegen eine Zensur in der digitalen Welt kämpfen. Gegründet wurde La FIL von Vertretern der Bürgerrechtsorganisationen Reporter ohne Grenzen, Stop1984 und Privacy International.
15. Israel Blocks Palestinian ISP
(Wired)
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops took over the offices of Palnet, the leading Palestinian Internet service provider, shutting down the firm's operations. The move -- part of Israel's 3-week-old "Operation Determined Path," which has kept seven of the eight major Palestinian cities under strict curfew -- reduced Internet access to a trickle in the West Bank and Gaza.
16. TN - Pas de miracle pour le cyberdissident tunisien
(Yahoo FR)
Les avocats du militant tunisien, arrêté le 4 juin dernier puis condamné pour avoir édité un site internet critiquant le régime en place, n'ont obtenu qu'une réduction de peine de quatre mois en appel.
17. Why Countries Make Sites Unseen
(CNet news.com)
If you're reading this from Saudi Arabia, don't bother clicking here. Here. Or here. The Saudi government is keeping its subjects from viewing sites about drugs, women and rock and roll, according to a new Harvard Law School study.
18. UK - The forced break-up of BT is not on Oftel’s agenda
(Oftel)
Response to the Fourth Report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Session 2001-02, 17 July 2002.
19. A "music for free" mentality is challenging the future of the European recording industry
(IFPI)
Europe's recording industry, however, is facing one of the greatest challenges in its history. A "Music for Free" mentality is undermining the success of the European recording sector and having a serious impact on music sales across the continent. Music is being taken without the permission of artists. This situation is damaging the interests of songwriters, performers, record producers and everyone whose livelihood depends on music.
20. UK - Homer says hack your DVD player
(BBC)
Homer Simpson, cartoon character and a role model for millions, has been caught telling consumers to hack their DVD players. On the UK website of Simpsons' distributor Fox, Homer advises visitors to get around the copyright restrictions that limit where DVDs can be played.
21. US - Broadcast Flag - Frequently Asked Questions
(MPAA)
What is a broadcast flag? The broadcast flag is a sequence of digital bits embedded in a television program that signals that the program must be protected from unauthorized redistribution. see also Consensus at Lawyerpoint comments, Text of Hollings letter to Powell and Tauzin letter to Powell.
22. US - Hollywood heads up anti-piracy charge
(CNET News.com)
Hollywood's lobbyists are readying a new legislative push on Capitol Hill. On Monday, a lawyer for the Motion Picture Association of America said to expect new bills soon to assail illicit peer-to-peer file trading and curtail the piracy of digital TV broadcasts.
23. US - Remote control
(CNET News.com)
Far from Hollywood and Silicon Valley, a key battle over the future of digital entertainment is looming at a federal courthouse in Georgia. There, a judge will decide on a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Gemstar-TV Guide International against its rivals in the market for "interactive programming guides" used in TV set-top boxes that provide cable and satellite services. As obscure as the case may sound, its outcome could have profound consequences for the computer, television and entertainment industries.
24. US - Tinkerers' champion
(Economist)
It is not just libertarians who are concerned about the restrictions caused by America's latest copyright law. Edward Felten, a professor at Princeton University, argues that the "freedom to tinker" - the right to understand, repair and modify one's own equipment - is crucial to innovation, and as valuable to society as the freedom of speech.
25. US - Tough talk on Web radio copying
(CNet news.com)
The Recording Industry Association of America has begun pressing for anti-copying technology in future digital radio standards. The idea is straightforward: Future hardware and software would treat music differently if it were designated as broadcast-only, preventing users from saving it or uploading it.
26. EU - Ministerrat verabschiedet EU-Datenschutzrichtlinie
(Heise)
Der Ministerrat der EU hat die Richtlinie 2002/58/EG "über die Behandlung personenbezogener Daten und den Schutz der Privatsphäre im Bereich der elektronischen Kommunikation" angenommen. Diese Richtlinie ist damit das letzte in Kraft getretene Element des großen Telekommunikationspakets, das die EU-Kommission im Sommer 2000 auf den Weg gebracht hatte.
27. FR - 22ème rapport d'activité 2001 de la CNIL
(Documentation française)
Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés. Ce rapport, composé de 4 chapitres et d'une série d'annexes, fait le bilan de l'activité de la CNIL en matière de protection des données personnelles et de la vie privée pour l'année 2001. La CNIL examine tout d'abord la législation en matière de protection des libertés publiques et des données (chapitre 1), puis revient sur les grandes questions qu'elle a traitées au cours de l'année écoulée : cybersurveillance sur les lieux de travail, diffusion de données personnelles sur Internet, Internet et les mineurs... (chapitre 2). Les débats en cours, comme l'identité numérique et l'administration électronique sont présentés dans le chapitre 3. On trouvera enfin, dans le chapitre 4, une présentation de la protection des données en Europe et dans le monde. voir aussi Entretien avec Michel Gentot, président de la CNIL (Le Monde).
28. UK - Watchdog slams Paw Law for kids
(vnunet)
Privacy International today warned that tens of thousands of UK school children are having their prints digitally recorded without the knowledge or consent of their parents.
29. NTT DoCoMo 'hijacked' AT&T domain
(Demys)
In a decision by the World Intellectual Property Organization's Arbitration Center, Japanese telecoms giant NTT DoCoMo have been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, or bringing a formal domain name complaint in bad faith. Such findings are relatively rare under domain dispute policies and it is all the more surprising in this case where the registrant of the domain name was none other than another telecoms giant - AT&T.
30. Survey of Usage of the .BIZ TLD
(Harvard Law School)
by Jonathan Zittrain and Benjamin Edelman, Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The authors examined a variety of data about registrations in .BIZ. At least 74% of currently registered .BIZ domains provide no web content or provide only error messages or placeholders. Approximately 25% of .BIZ registrations are registered to the same organization that registered the corresponding .COM, and that such domains are about one-third less likely to provide substantive web content than domains registered by someone without a corresponding .COM registration. We document 4886 distinct .BIZ domains seemingly inconsistent with .BIZ registry anti-warehousing policies, suggesting that such policies are not being effectively enforced. Finally, we compare .BIZ registrar market shares with corresponding shares in .COM, .NET, and .ORG, and we summarize notable differences in registrar market share across TLDs.
31. UK - Charity websites 'hijacked by porn'
(BBC)
British charities claim they are being targeted by internet pornographers who re-route their web visitors to sex sites. Surfers trying to visit the British Heart Foundation and National Deaf Children's Society websites have found themselves suddenly connected to pages of sexual images.
32. CA - B.C. to shut family law Web site
(Globe and Mail)
After complaints from the public, Chief Justice Donald Brenner of the British Columbia Supreme Court has decided the practice of posting detailed family-court decisions on the Internet will end Sept. 1. B.C.'s move to withhold such decisions from the Internet follows a similar decision by Alberta judges that took effect June 5. Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island have stopped publishing family-court matters on-ine.
33. EU - Internal Market: Commission launches free advice and problem-solving services to help citizens and business
(RAPID)
Problems getting a diploma recognised or getting social security cover in another EU country? Need advice on your rights after being unable to travel because a flight is overbooked? Other difficulties making use of Internal Market rights? The European Commission's newly improved Citizens Signpost Service gives people the personalised help they need. It is quick, easy and free of charge. Users need simply to telephone an easy-to-remember number (the same everywhere in the EU) - or to submit their query by e-mail. Legal experts will, within three working days, and faster where possible, reply with informal advice and "signposting" to where the questioner can get further help. The Commission has also set up a new problem-solving network called SOLVIT.
34. EU - Ombudsman calls on Commission to reconsider refusal of access to Transatlantic Business Dialogue documents
(RAPID)
The European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman has called on the European Commission to reconsider its refusal to give access to the briefing notes of its delegations to two meetings of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD).
35. UK - E-votes will push out ballot box 'by 2006'
(Guardian)
Tony Blair has set 2006 for the first possible general election where the traditional ballot box will be consigned to the museum and millions of people will be voting online or by post. Under the proposals, which were put up for consultation yesterday, the system of ballot papers and ballot boxes would be scrapped and all voters would be offered four ways of voting: online from work or home; by post; by telephone; or at polling stations by online terminals. All votes would be counted electronically. see Government proposals, e-democracy Web site. see also commentary: E-democracy's eleventh hour (Guardian) and Why e-voting is a bad idea (BBC).
36. DE - Monopolkommission hält Internet-Apotheken für zulässig
(Heise)
Versandapotheken dürfen ihre Medikamente nach Auffassung der Monopolkommission der Bundesregierung bereits heute rechtmäßig in Deutschland übers Internet vertreiben. Nach einem Bericht des Spiegel verweist die Kommission in ihrem Gutachten auf die E-Commerce-Richtlinie der EU, der zufolge für den Internet-Handel die Vorschriften jenes Landes gelten, in dem der jeweilige Anbieter der Ware sitzt. siehe auch Apotheker: Internet-Handel mit Medikamenten verboten (Heise).
37. HP suspends staff in email scandal
(vnunet)
Hewlett Packard (HP) has suspended 150 employees over the misuse of its internal email system. The company confirmed this morning that it has suspended 60 permanent employees and 90 contractors. A few more staffers are thought to have been dismissed, and the contractors have been removed from HP's offices. The firm said that the action was taken after the staff were found to be "viewing and sharing unauthorised and inappropriate material".
38. US - Physicians turn to the Net
(NUA)
A new study released by the American Medical Association reveals that almost half of Physicians in the US feel that the Internet has had a major impact on the way they practice medicine.
39. UK - IWF calls for support to help fight rise in Web paedophiles
(NMA To Go)
The dramatic increase in online paedophile activity has stretched the resources of self regulated industry body The Internet Watch Foundation to near breaking point, according to its newly appointed chief executive. Peter Robbins told NMA that the industry-backed body, which monitors the Web for illegal content, is urgently on the look-out for new funding in order to cope with the surge in demand for its services.
40. ZA - Lawyers Ask Mbeki Not to Sign E-Bill
(allAfrica.com)
A last-minute petition to prevent the contentious Electronic Communications and Transactions Bill from being signed into law has been delivered to President Thabo Mbeki by a group of technology lawyers.
41. CH - Surveillance catches up with email
(Swissinfo)
A record of almost every email sent to and from Switzerland is to be logged and stored for at least six months, under a new Swiss surveillance law. Since the beginning of 2002, all Swiss Internet service providers (ISPs) have been legally obliged to record the time, date, sender ID and receiver ID of all emails.
42. FR - Le ministère de l'Intérieur souhaite ménager un accès direct et "à distance" aux données de connexion
(Forum des droits sur l'Internet)
Le projet de loi d'Orientation et de programmation de la sécurité intérieure (LOPSI), présenté le 10 juillet par le ministre de la Sécurité intérieure et des libertés locales et discuté les 16 et 17 juillet à l'Assemblée nationale, comporte une proposition de disposition devant faciliter l'accès direct et la consultation "à distance" par les autorités judiciaires des données de connexion conservées notamment par les opérateurs de télécommunications.
43. IT - Antipedofilia, la risposta nei log italiani?
(Punto informatico)
I provider conservino per cinque anni almeno i log del traffico che si svolge sulle proprie reti, e dunque i dati relativi ai movimenti online dei propri clienti. Questa è una delle misure che la Commissione Bicamerale per l'infanzia propone tra quelle necessarie ad arginare e reprimere il fenomeno pedofilia, dentro e fuori dalla rete.
44. UK - Police can intercept emails, high court rules
(Guardian)
Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, ruled that internet service providers can lawfully intercept emails at the request of the police once they have received notification that a special production order is being sought from the courts. The company said its system automatically destroyed emails once the user had accessed them. To prevent that from happening it would have to intercept the emails in a way that amounted to an offence.
45. UK - Switch on for state snooping
(BBC)
From August net service providers in the UK will be obliged to carry out surveillance of some customers' web habits on behalf of the police. Controversial laws passed in 2000 oblige large communications companies to install technology that allows one in 10,000 of their customers to be watched. The information gathered about what people look at on the web, the content of e-mail messages and their phone conversations will be passed to the police or a government monitoring station.
46. CN - Beijing Internet cafes reopen
(AP)
Thirty Beijing Internet cafes closed as part of a citywide crackdown are reopening after passing safety tests, state media reported. They are the first of the city's 2,400 Net bars given government approval to resume business after a fire killed 25 customers at an Internet cafe in Beijing's university district last month.
47. Myanmar makes unlicensed WAN computer links illegal
(AP)
Myanmar's military government has made it illegal for companies to operate unlicensed private computer networks linked to their overseas offices.
48. UK - BT told to cut wholesale internet costs
(vnunet)
Telecoms watchdog Oftel has ordered BT to make wholesale unmetered internet cheaper. Oftel has mandated an 8.5 per cent price cut to the charges BT levies on rival telcos such as Energis, Colt and Thus to buy internet capacity on its network. The capacity is then resold to internet service providers (ISPs) so they can offer consumers unmetered internet access packages.
49. DE - Widersprüche gegen Internet-Sperrverfügungen zurückgewiesen
(Heise)
Die Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf hat die ersten Widersprüche von 38 nordrhein-westfälischen Internet-Zugangsprovidern gegen die Sperrungsverfügung vom Februar abgelehnt. Am 6. Februar hatte die Bezirksregierung in ihrer Funktion als Aufsichtsbehörde für Mediendienste insgesamt 76 Provider in Nordrhein-Westfalen dazu aufgefordert, den Zugang zu zwei in den USA gehosteten Websites mit Nazipropaganda zu sperren. Die eine Hälfte der Anbieter folgte der Verfügung, die andere legte Widerspruch ein.
50. DE - Beleidigungen auch im Netz rechtswidrig
(Heise)
Eine Entscheidung des Landgerichts Köln (AZ: 28 T 8/01) sorgt für Furore: Danach sei es "keine Beleidigung", einen anderen in einem Internetforum als "Arschloch" oder als "Hanswurschtschwuchtel" zu bezeichnen. Ein Blick in die Verfahrensakte zeigt allerdings, dass diese Darstellung stark verkürzt und irreführend ist. Grundsätzlich gilt auch im Netz, dass Beleidigungen Unterlassungsansprüche nach sich ziehen und strafbar sein können.
51. DE - Holtzbrinck-Tochter verklagt News-Suchmaschine
(Heise)
Newsclub.de - Metanachrichtendienst und News-Suchmaschine - befindet sich derzeit im Rechtsstreit mit der Verlagsgruppe Mainpost, einem Tochterunternehmen der Verlagsruppe Holtzbrinck. Der Verlag hat den Dienst wegen Verletzung von Urheberrechten durch "Deep Linking" gemäß §87b UrhG verklagt. Newsclub verweist auf die aktuellen Nachrichten von über 100 Quellen, sortiert nach Nachrichtenquellen. Der Nutzer kann Schlagworte anklicken, der Link führt ihn auf die Hompage der Nachrichtenquelle -- das heißt Inhalte werden nicht aus ihrem Kontext gezogen und in der Originalumgebung gezeigt.
52. UK - Scotland - Jurisdiction over website
(Times Law Reports)
Court of Session, Outer House. Bonnier Media Ltd v Greg Lloyd Smith and Another. before Lord Drummond Young. Where a threatened wrong complained of related to the infringement of a trade mark by use of a domain name on the internet, it was sufficient to establish jurisdiction if it could be demonstrated that the infringer’s website was intended to be of significant interest in the country in which jurisdiction was claimed. Full text of opinion.
53. UK - Mobile phone operators told to cut charges
(Guardian)
Mobile phone operators are to be forced to slash their charges by 4p a minute in a move that could save consumers £800m over four years. The competition commission ruled that companies such as Vodafone and Orange charge too much for calls from land lines and from rival networks.
54. DE - Polizei warnt erneut vor illegalen Spielen in Internet-Cafés
(Heise)
Polizei und Aufsichtsämter in Berlin wollen Betreibern von Internet-Cafés, die illegal Computerspiele vor allem Kindern und Jugendlichen zugänglich machen, das Handwerk legen. Den Behörden in Berlin ist seit geraumer Zeit bekannt, dass in etlichen solcher Internet-Treffs zum Teil auch indizierte Computerspiele angeboten werden.
55. DE - Jugendschutz bei digitalen Medien aus der Blackbox
(Heise)
Eine Neufassung des umstrittenen Dokuments, das für einheitlichen Jugendschutz über alle Medien einschließlich des Internet sorgen soll, wird derzeit von einer Arbeitsgruppe unter Federführung des Rundfunkreferenten in Rheinland-Pfalz hinter verschlossenen Türen für das Treffen der Staatskanzleichefs am 8. August vorbereitet.
56. UK - Archbishop fires opening shot at Disney
(Times)
Dr Rowan Williams, the next Archbishop of Canterbury, launched a blistering attack in The Times on the corruption and premature sexualisation of children by a consumer society, singling out the Disney Corporation, talent shows and computer games for particular criticism. see also We believe in optimism and decency, says Disney.
57. France to scrutinize extremist Web sites following assassination attempt
(Agence France-Presse)
French Justice Minister Dominique Perben said he would ensure racist Web sites such as those run by groups close to President Jacques Chirac's would-be assassin feel the full weight of the law.
58. Le réseau Indymedia en proie à des dérives antisémites
(Le Monde)
L'agence alternative sur Internet répugne à contrôler des contenus qui s'enflamment. Ses sites, dans de nombreux pays, sont en butte à la difficulté de faire la part entre antisionisme et antisémitisme.
59. Can the Internet survive filtering?
(CNET news.com)
The Net is increasingly getting broken into cantons. The digital chain connecting one's laptop to a Web site thousands of miles away can be traversed by a single click--so long as no link within the chain refuses to carry the signal. Such refusals, though still rare, are on the rise.
60. Saudi Arabia - Documentation of Internet Filtering
(Harvard Law School)
by Jonathan Zittrain and Benjamin Edelman, Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The authors connected to the Internet through proxy servers in Saudi Arabia and attempted to access approximately 60,000 Web pages as a means of empirically determining the scope and pervasiveness of Internet filtering there. Saudi-installed filtering systems prevented access to certain requested Web pages; the authors tracked 2,038 blocked pages. Such pages contained information about religion, health, education, reference, humor, and entertainment. The authors conclude (1) that the Saudi government maintains an active interest in filtering non-sexually explicit Web content for users within the Kingdom; (2) that substantial amounts of non-sexually explicit Web content is in fact effectively inaccessible to most Saudi Arabians; and (3) that much of this content consists of sites that are popular elsewhere in the world. see also Documentation of Internet Filtering Worldwide.
61. Yahoo filters coffee by e-mail
(CNET News.com)
What does Yahoo Mail have against mocha? That's what users of the company's free e-mail service may be wondering if they try to send a message using the word "mocha" and discover that while in transit, "mocha" mysteriously changes to "espresso." To protect users from malicious code, Yahoo uses an automated filter to swap out a handful of words such as "mocha" that pertain to Web code known as JavaScript. The reason is that e-mail sent in a form known as "Web enhanced" can contain JavaScript instructions that can run programs on the recipient's PC. JavaScript is a Web language that can issue commands such as telling the browser to open up other windows or to prompt a service to change a password, for example.
62. EU - Young children find pornography on the Net
(NUA)
The preliminary findings of an EU study on Internet safety in Ireland, Belgium, the UK and Greece, suggests that 24 percent of children between the ages of eight and 17 have accidentally encountered pornography while online. see Minister Launches EU Funded Internet Safety Initiative. see also Kids exposed to internet porn - study (u.tv) .
63. UK - Paedophiles' honeypot
(Preston Online)
A Preston businessman with links to the porn industry has launched an Internet chatroom for children - offering safety from online perverts. But the operation has sparked concerns with Lancashire Constabulary's computer crime unit, warning the website could be a "honeypot" for paedophiles.
64. UK - Researchers call on schools to teach dangers of internet
(Guardian)
Researchers behind a study into internet paedophilia are calling on schools to take more responsibility for teaching children how to stay safe in cyberspace. The research, from the cyberspace research unit at the University of Central Lancashire, found that not only did paedophiles use chat rooms to contact children, but the children most likely to meet up with online acquaintances were those least likely to understand the dangers. see also Children unaware of internet dangers (Guardian).
65. China signs Net access pact
(news.com.au)
Internet portals in China, including Yahoo!'s Chinese-language site, have signed a voluntary pledge to purge the Web of content that China's communist government deems subversive, organisers of the drive say. The "Public Pledge on Self-discipline for China Internet Industry" has attracted more than 300 signatories since its launch March 16, said a spokeswoman for the Internet Society of China, who identified herself only as Miss Sun.
66. DE - Bundesrat stoppt Call-by-Call im Ortsnetz
(Heise)
Wer sich auf die vermeintliche freie Wahl im Ortsnetz freute, muss sich wohl noch ein bisschen länger gedulden: Der Bundesrat hat heute die vom Bundestag beschlossene Einführung von Call-by-Call-Verbindungen im Ortsnetz ab Dezember 2002 abgelehnt.
67. US - FCC delays number transfer for cell users
(AP)
Cell phone users will have to wait longer to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers, federal regulators decided. The Federal Communications Commission for the third time extended the deadline requiring carriers to allow consumers to keep their numbers. The new date is November 24, 2003, one year later than the previous deadline.
68. Canning spam: Latest resources
(Net Family Newsletter)
If you sense it's getting worse - all those unsolicited emails about viagra, body-enhancing products, low-interest mortgages, and even porn on the Web - you have good instincts: "The quantity of e-mailed advertising pitches for these and other fabulous opportunities is about to increase dramatically," reports Wired News in a piece about how marketers get our email addresses. The numbers are daunting. "Unsolicited email from adult-orientated Websites has increased 450% since June 2001," reports Nua Internet Surveys, citing CyberAtlas research. Even though research out this week shows that spamming is a complete waste of advertisers' time. see also Why SpamNet is the only anti-spam app on my PC (AnchorDesk).
69. US - WorldCom files for bankruptcy protection
(Reuters)
WorldCom on Sunday filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest U.S. insolvency after the long-distance telephone and data services company buckled under a $3.85 billion accounting scandal and a mountain of "junk-rated" debt. see also WorldCom’s bankruptcy mess (Economist)
70. AOL Absorbed by the Media Giant It Took Over
(TechNews.com)
AOL Time Warner Inc. is being genetically reverse-engineered to bear Time Warner markers. It is a remarkable arc for AOL. In a little over a decade, the company has gone from just another Internet service provider to a chest-beating goliath with a stock price lofty enough to fuel the takeover of a massive media company, back to an Internet service provider with declining advertising revenue and slowing growth in subscriptions.
71. FR - Vivendi to break up Canal Plus pay TV
(Guardian)
Vivendi Universal is dumping the loss-making overseas operations of its Canal Plus pay TV subsidiary as it bids to stave off a multibillion pound credit crunch. The French-American media giant is to sell off the foreign units of Canal Plus, including the underperforming Telepiu in Italy and TV services in Spain and Poland.
72. Liberty Alliance offers Internet technical specs
(Reuters)
The Liberty Alliance, backed by Sun Microsystems, announced technical specifications to allow Web surfers to move easily between different Internet merchants without having to sign in each time. It is possible the specification could be submitted either to the OASIS or W3C standards bodies. It would be up to the 16 members of the Liberty Alliance management board to decide.
73. DE - Approximately half of internet users bank online
(Europemedia)
45 per cent of German internet users conduct their banking online, according to a telephone survey of close to 3,900 people above 18 carried out by the agency Wahlen.
74. DE - IT-Krise: "Arbeitsamt" überholt "Sex" bei Suchmaschinen
(ZDNet DE)
Die IT-Krise treibt immer seltsamere Blüten: Nun ist das Stichwort "Arbeitsamt" noch vor "Sex" der am häufigsten verwendete Suchbegriff beim Online-Dienst Freenet.de geworden.
75. Experts: Personal e-mail gets best reply
(Reuters)
When it comes to sending e-mails, the personal touch is best because the more people the message is copied to, the less likely the recipients will reply. E-mailing individuals separately, instead of in groups, is much more effective, according to scientists at the Technion technology institute in Haifa, Israel.
76. FR - 10 % of active internet subscriptions high-speed
(Europemedia)
The number of high-speed internet subscriptions has increased from 200,000 to 600,000 in one year. Thus, 10 per cent of the active internet subscriptions are now high-speed connections according to the 2001 annual report of the French telecom regulator ART.
77. Korea reaching Internet saturation point
(NUA)
Korea Times reports that 25.65 million South Koreans regularly access the Internet, up by 1.27 million on December 2001. Around 58 percent of the entire population goes online on a regular basis, according to the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication. However, the Ministry now warns that domestic Internet penetration is now reaching saturation. 93 percent of those aged between six and 19 years of age are online
78. UK - Broadband take-up doubles in six months
(ZDNEt UK)
Broadband take-up in the UK has more than doubled since the start of 2002, leading to optimism that the vision of Broadband Britain is finally becoming a reality. Figures released by Oftel show that at the end of June 2002 a total of 709,000 consumers and small and medium-sized businesses had signed up for a broadband connection. This is an increase of some 113 percent compared to the start of the year, when there were only 332,000 broadband subscribers. see Oftel's Internet and Broadband Brief - July 2002 (OFTEL). see also Local Loop Unbundling Fact Sheet - July 2002 and ADSL Factsheet - July 2002
79. UK - Net becomes British way of life
(BBC)
The internet has become a part of everyday life for most Britons, says a report. Just over 70% of people questioned for the survey for consumer magazine Which? Online said the net had become essential. The survey provides some insights into what people get up on the internet, with the favourite activity being e-mail. It found people spent an average of seven hours online a week, visiting 13 different websites in seven days.
80. Hacker group targets Net censorship
(Reuters)
An international hacker group calling itself Hacktivismo has released a program called Camera/Shy that allows Internet users to conceal messages inside photos posted on the Web, bypassing most known police monitoring methods. In addition, "Mixter," an internationally known German hacker, said Hacktivismo was preparing in coming weeks to launch technology, which if adopted widely could allow anyone to create grassroots, anonymous networks where Internet users worldwide could access and share information without a trace. Mixter's software--known as a "protocol" in technical terms--would allow ordinary computer users to set up a decentralized version of virtual private networks (VPNs). Hacktivismo, or hacker activism, is just one of several grassroots software projects--including Peekabooty and Privaterra--launched recently by computer activists that seek to enable human rights workers to access censored Web sites or communicate securely.
81. Mit Peekabooty gegen Zensur
(Heise)
Nachdem im Frühjahr bereits Falschmeldungen über eine Veröffentlichung von Peekabooty kursierten, steht es jetzt tatsächlich zum Download bereit. Das Tool richtet sich gegen die Zensur des Internet in Ländern, "in denen Meinungs- und Pressefreiheit nicht als Menschenrechte geachtet werden".
82. The War For Your TV
(MSNBC)
Digital video recorders like TiVo let you watch shows when you want to rather than when the programmers decide. The new Replay DVR even lets you automatically skip ads and allows you to trade shows online. Now the nets are striking back.
83. US - AOL not sold on IM sharing
(ZDNet)
America Online is backing away from opening its instant messaging servers to let them communicate with rival networks, according to a government regulatory filing.
84. 2002-10-10 ES - Valencia: I Congreso Internacional de Ética y Derecho de la Información
(Fundación COSO)
10-11 Octubre 2002. Veracidad y objetividad. Desafíos éticos en la sociedad dela información. Valencia será sede del I Congreso Internacional de Ética y Derecho de la Información, un encuentro de especialistas europeos y americanos para debatir sobre los temas más candentes que afectan a la comunicación en sus aspectos jurídicos y éticos. Papers-Comunicaciones (abierto el plazo hasta-deadline): 31 de julio. Programa.
85. UK - ISPA Announces New Council and Chairperson
(Press Release)
Jessica Hendrie-Liaño is newly elected Chair of the Council of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) 2002-2003.
QuickLinks consists of
QuickLinks is edited by Richard Swetenham richard.swetenham@cec.eu.int. Main Sources and Contributors: Michael Geist BNA - ILN, cybertelecom.org, jugendschutz.net, Melanie Buescher, David Goldstein, Gerhard Heine