Legal and regulatory issues

Computer crime

• EU - Procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings  +/-

  (RAPID) The Commission has adopted a Green Paper on procedural safeguards for suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings throughout the European Union and has decided to transmit it to the Council, the Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee. This initiative is part of the work of the European Union to create a genuine European area of justice.

• US - Fighting Child Pornography  +/-

  (New York Times) The combination of digital photography and high-speed home Internet access has set off what the authorities say is an explosion of homemade child pornography. U.S. authorities have responded by compiling a federal catalog of all known child pornography photographs. Germany,Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Interpol already maintain similar databases, each with about a million photos and films depicting thousands of children worldwide. The database has two main goals: to help trace the children in the photos, and to aid in prosecution by establishing that the photos are of identified victims who were under 18 when the pictures were taken.

Consumer protection

• Consumers in the Online Marketplace: the OECD Guidelines Three Years Later  +/-

  (OECD) This report by the Committee on Consumer Policy on the "Guidelines for Consumer Protection in the Context of Electronic Commerce" summarises the results of implementation activities in OECD countries.

Content regulation

• GR - More Fallout Over Greek Game Ban  +/-

  (Wired) The Greek government is standing by its controversial law banning electronic games in public. Designed to stop illegal gambling, the law casts its net too wide, the EU says, ensnaring innocent Internet café owners and computer game companies. Greece ignored its first caution, an official letter sent in October. The EU will try to press its point again later this month.

Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology

• EU - Is Digital TV a priority for Europe?  +/-

  (RAPID) Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society PuntoIt Workshop European Parliament, Strasbourg, 11 February 2003

• U.S. backs merging Net, phone numbers  +/-

  (CNET News.com) In an internal letter,the Commerce Department recommended that the United States participate in an emerging electronic numbering system, known as ENUM, that will allow people to use one identifier for many different purposes, including mobile phones, e-mail, instant messaging and faxes. see FCC Chairman Powell's Letter.

Copyright, trademarks and patents

• UK - Copyright defender advises Number 10  +/-

  (BBC) Net freedom fighter Lawrence Lessig has urged the UK Government to ensure that laws designed to prevent digital piracy do not trample over the right of fair use. On his recent visit to the UK, the Stanford University law professor held a private meeting with government media policy advisers at Number 10 Downing Street.

• US - Bertelsmann sued over Napster  +/-

  (BBC) A group of songwriters, composers and music publishers has launched a $17bn lawsuit against German media giant Bertelsmann, alleging that it helped Napster deprive them of royalties. Bertelsmann, the complaint argues, prolonged the life of online song-swapping service Napster by investing more than $100m into it.

Data Protection (privacy)

• OECD - Privacy Online: Policy and Practical Guidance  +/-

  (OECD) This report includes policy and practical guidance for implementing privacy protection online. It is addressed to OECD member countries, business and other organisations, individual users and consumers.

• OECD - Report on Compliance with, and Enforcement of, Privacy Protection Online  +/-

  (OECD) This report has been prepared by Christopher Kuner, Attorney-at-Law, Hunton & Williams, in co-operation with the secretariat. It contains a summary and an analysis of the responses to a questionnaire issued to member countries in March 2002.

• US - eBay to Law Enforcement - We're Here to Help  +/-

  (LawMeme) eBay's policies for cooperating with government investigations were discussed at the recent CyberCrime 2003 conference. eBay has probably the most generous policy of any internet company when it comes to sharing information. They do not require a subpoena except for very limited circumstances.

• US - Judge Suspends Wash. State Phone Privacy  +/-

  (AP) Washington state regulations to protect the privacy of telephone customer account information, some of the toughest in the country, have been suspended by a federal judge. State regulations required phone companies to obtain customer approval before selling calling records or using them to market anything but telecommunications services. But Verizon sued the state, saying its Utilities and Transportation Commission overstepped its authority and infringed on the company's ability to speak to and serve customers. U.S. District Judge ruled that Verizon had raised "serious questions" about the constitutionality of Washington's privacy rules, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking their enforcement while the case is pending.

Domain names

• DE - German registrar bans Web site  +/-

  (CNET News.com) A domain name registrar in Germany has deleted the registration for a gruesome U.S.-based online photo gallery that featured stomach-wrenching images from autopsies and medical procedures. Computer Service Langenbach, which operates the Joker.com registrar in Dusseldorf, Germany, yanked the Ogrish.com domain name from its database in response to a request from a German prosecutor. see also DE - Staatsanwaltschaft stellt Verfahren zu Domain-Sperre im DNS ein

• DE - Staatsanwaltschaft stellt Verfahren zu Domain-Sperre im DNS ein  +/- Translate

  (Heise) Der niederländische Anbieter der Gewaltszenen-Site ogrish.com darf mit seiner Domain ins Ausland umziehen; die Sperre im DNS wird aufgehoben. Das bestätigte die zuständige Staatsanwältin. Joker.com-Chef Siegfried Langenbach sagte, er habe dem Umzug der Domain bereits zugestimmt. Das Strafverfahren nach Paragraph 131 StGB wird damit gegenstandslos. see also DE - German registrar bans Web site

• ICANN - Flak flies over ICANN contract renewal  +/-

  (ZDNet) The US Department of Commerce has come under fire for awarding, without a proper tender process, a contract for running the most basic and crucial functions of the Internet to ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN has now looks likely to run the functions of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for another three years.The most important functions of IANA include coordinating the root zone of the domain name system, and allocating IP address spaces. See also Nominet attacks ICANN (Register).

• UK - Net names' rallying cry  +/-

  (Guardian) Over two hundred delegates packed the debating chamber of the Oxford Union last week to hear internet luminaries Lawrence Lessig and Esther Dyson consider the future of the Internet and ways we can shape its future. see also Dyson ends support for ICANN 1.0 (ZDNet UK).

e-Government

• EU - Businesses reap rewards of e-government  +/-

  (silicon.com) Europe's citizens are still getting a raw deal when it comes to e-government - although businesses are now able to take advantage of anincreasingly sophisticated array of online services throughout the European Union (EU). Cap Gemini Ernst & Young released the latest results of its third survey on electronic Public Services in Europe, which is conducted on behalf of the European Commission (EC).

• EU - Council tells student that legal opinion on openness should stay secret  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman, has called on the Council to give a researcher access to an opinion from its Legal Service. The opinion is on the legislative proposal from the Commission for rules on access to documents and was requested by a student for his post-graduate dissertation on public access to Council documents. In his special report to the European Parliament, the Ombudsman states "the refusal to give access is particularly surprising since it concerns an opinion about rules on access to documents". He asks the Parliament to support this call for the Council to reconsider the student's application.

e-Learning

• EU - eLearning: Commission launches website for information and exchange  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has launched its website on eLearning.This portal will provide not only information on Community initiative in this field, such as the eLearning programme (2004-2006), but also links with national initiatives, both public and private, and contributions from experts on subjects ranging from "eLiteracy" to the situation in the candidate countries. see also Education policy in a globalized world and Is e-learning going mainstream? by Viviane REDING, Member of the European Commission responsible for Education and Culture. Combating digital illiteracy, promoting virtual campuses and virtual twinning ofschools: the e-learning programme's aims (2004-2006).

Information society and Internet policy

• EU - eEurope 2002 Action Plan has been a success in bringing Europe on-line  +/-

  (RAPID) The eEurope 2002 Action Plan, designed to bring Europe online as fast as possible, has been a major success, according to the Commission's eEurope 2002 Final Report.

Interception

• UK - Government wins net villain award  +/-

  (BBC) The UK Home Office has been awarded the title of Internet Villain for a second time in a row at the internet industry's annual ISPA award ceremony. The Home Office was regarded by the judges as a worthy winner because of its confused and often contradictory policies on internet snooping laws, including the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act and continued delays associated with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).

Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

• FR - Yahoo! cleared in Nazi case  +/-

  (Guardian) A Paris court cleared the internet giant Yahoo! and its former president of condoning war crimes and crimes against humanity when it allowed Nazi memorabilia to be sold on its auction sites. The court ruled that justifying war crimes meant "glorifying, praising, or at least presenting the crimes in question favourably", and that Yahoo! "manifestly did not fit that description".

• Analysts: Child Porn Hidden on Corporate Networks  +/-

  (internetnews) Child pornography is hidden on virtually every large corporate network -- be it corporate, academic or government, according to security experts. Security and law enforcement experts have differing opinions on whether or not a company is held liable for illegal content sitting on its network. Some say if company executives don't know it's there, they're not responsible for it. Others disagree. Most say IT managers need to go looking for it. And all of them agree that once it's found, it needs to be reported to police.

• DE - Neuer Gerichtsentscheid bestätigt Website-Sperrungen  +/- Translate

  (Heise) Zwei weitere Provider in Nordrhein-Westfalen müssen die zwei von der Bezirksregierung in Düsseldorf inkriminierten Naziseiten sofort sperren. Das Verwaltungsgericht Aachen entschied gegen den Widerspruch der Provider, die einen Aufschub der Sperrungen bis zur grundsätzlichen juristischen Entscheidung über die Sperrverfügungen verlangten. Bislang liegen Entscheidungen aus Gelsenkirchen, Arnsberg, Düsseldorf und Minden vor. Nur in Minden gaben die Richter der Forderung von Mediaways statt, die Sperrungen bis zur endgültigen Entscheidung auszusetzen.

• EU - More coherence for European contract law: Commission adopts Action plan  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has adopted an Action Plan setting out a road map for greater coherence of contract law in Europe. Measures being proposed include support for voluntary initiatives to develop standard Europe-wide contract terms, the improvement of existing and future EU law on contracts, and a research initiative to develop common contract law rules based on the best solutions found in the Member States' laws.

• EU - More coherence for European contract law: Commission adopts Action plan  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has adopted an Action Plan setting out a road map for greater coherence of contract law in Europe. Measures being proposed include support for voluntary initiatives to develop standard Europe-wide contract terms, the improvement of existing and future EU law on contracts, and a research initiative to develop common contract law rules based on the best solutions found in the Member States' laws.

• US - CDT Report Calls Pennsylvania Law Over Broad and Unconstitutional  +/-

  (Press Release) CDT has released a report criticizing a recently passed Pennsylvania law forcing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to numerous web sites without adequate court oversight. The report argues that the statute unconstitutionally restricts speech, blocks access to sites that are wholly innocent, and raises serious technical concerns. The report's release coincides with a request under Pennsylvania's right-to-know law seeking records of the Attorney General's requests to block web sites. CDT Report on Penn. ISP Liability Law [pdf] and Text of the Penn. ISP Liability Law [pdf].

• US - Net blocking threatens legitimate sites  +/-

  (CNET News.com) A study from Harvard University's Berkman Center, Web Sites Sharing IP Addresses: Prevalence and Significance, highlights how modern Web standards have permitted thousands of domain names to share one Internet address. It concludes that instead of precisely targeting only objectionable sites, attempts to restrict Internet addresses with pornographic, political or gambling-related content inevitably make legitimate sites unreachable too.

Protection of minors

• Avis n° 1 relatif à la protection des mineurs sur l'internet  +/-

  (Observatoire des Droits de l'Internet) Le présent avis porte sur la protection des mineurs sur l'internet. Il a été approuvé à l'unanimité des membres présents lors de la séance plénière de l'Observatoire des Droits de l'Internet qui s'est tenue à Bruxelles le mercredi 29 janvier 2003.

• FR - Groupe de travail 'Protéger l'enfance sur l'internet en France et en Europe'  +/- Translate

  (Forum des droits sur l'Internet) Le Forum des droits sur l'internet lance, avec le soutien du ministèredélégué à la Famille, un groupe de travail consacré à la protection de l'enfance face aux contenus et comportements illicites sur internet en France et en Europe. Ce groupe a pour mandat d'énoncer, à destination des acteurs économiques et des usagers comme des pouvoirs publics, des propositions concrètes relevant du droit, des techniques et de la pédagogie d'internet.

• Gaming 'is good for you'  +/-

  (BBC) Computer games are good for you, say researchers who studied the complex social interactions in the popular shoot-em-up Counter-Strike.

Safer Internet awareness

• NZ - Online safety conference "largest in the world"  +/-

  (IDGNet) The Internet Safety Group will hold its second annual conference in July and will address security issues ranging from white-collar crime online to child pornography to wireless network security. NetSafe II: Society, Safety & the Internetis expected to attract over 500 delegates, making it the largest conference of its kind in the world. Keynote speakers include Ruben Rodriquez, director at the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US and Rachel O'Connell, who is director of research at the Cyberspace Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire.Professor Bill Caelli rounds out the keynote speaker list. Caelli has a long history of work in the computer security field.

Security and encryption

• EU - European Commission proposes creation of Network Security Agency to boost Cyber Security in Europe  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission is proposing a Regulation setting up a European Network and Information Security Agency. The objective of the Agency will be to serve as a centre of competence where both Member States and EU Institutions can seek advice on matters relating to cyber security.The Agency will play a key role for the security of Europe's digital economy and the development of the information society in general. The Agency will also provide assistance to Member States' authorities notably their Computer Emergency Response Teams. This assistance will for example be to help in ensuring interoperability of information security functions in networks and information systems. Creation of a European Network and Information Security Agency - Frequent Questions and Answers.

• OECD - Implementation Plan for the OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks  +/-

  (OECD) This implementation plan sets out the OECD and ts member governments' roles in implementing the OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks. The plan aims to promote a global "Culture of Security".

• US - Perspective: Ashcroft's worrisome spy plans  +/-

  (News.com) Attorney General John Ashcroft wants even more power to snoop on theInternet, spy on private conversations and install secret microphones,spyware and keystroke loggers.

Self-regulation / codes of conduct

• EU - Progress towards ensuring an Information Society for All  +/-

  (RAPID) Mr Erkki Liikanen, Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society, European Voice conference on security, trust and convenience, Brussels, 18 February 2003. Includes a comprehensive list of eConfidence measures: the promotion of high standards of good business practices (e.g. codes of conduct, trust-marks, complaint settlement procedures), and affordable access to third-party alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems.

• KR - Portals to Regulate Music Services  +/-

  (Chosunilbo) The Korea Record Industry Association (KRIA) has announced that it hadreached an agreement on 'Guidelines on the Role of Online Service Providers for Copyright Protection' with four portal site companies. The guidelines read that portal sites should immediately delete, or block access to posted illegal musical data that is reported by record companies, singers, and composers.

• The kids are alright  +/-

  (Guardian) Outstanding websites built by children are being honoured in this year's Childnet Awards. The awards, organised by the charity Childnet International, aim to reward children and those working with them who are developing outstanding internet projects that benefit other children worldwide.

• UK - Editors back PCC code  +/-

  (Guardian) Self-regulation has proved to be an effective way of controlling the press and should not be replaced by legislation, the Society of Editors has argued. And it said the Commons select committee on culture, media and sport's inquiry would demonstrate that the PCC's code of conduct was effective.

Telecommunications

• EU - Recommendation on Relevant Product and Service Markets  +/-

  (Europa) Commission Recommendation on Relevant Product and Service Markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex ante regulation in accordance with Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on a common regulatory framework for electronic communication networks and services. C(2003)497. see also Explanatory memorandum and Mr. Erkki Liikanen press briefing (RAPID).

• EU - Commission urges Europe to move to Broadband  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Union must accelerate the changeover to broadband services and third generation mobile communications, according to a new European Commission Communication on the state of the electronic communications sector. The report identifies broadband and "3G" as the main drivers of the sector. Electronic Communications: the Road to Knowledge Economy.

• US - Few Cheers for New FCC Rules  +/-

  (Wired) A Federal Communications Commission decision to let states regulate competition among the regional Bell telephone companies drew sharp criticism from lawmakers, some members of the telecom industry and consumer advocacy groups. The FCC asked each state to decide for itself how to regulate competition in local telephone markets. The FCC did excuse the Bell companies from having to share their broadband pipelines with competitors at a fixed rate, which could spell trouble for smaller competitors. It could also result in fewer choices for consumers seeking high-speed Internet access.

Market & Technology

Internet access and use

• Europe - More ISPs 'to impose download limits'  +/-

  (ZDNet) Jupiter Research warned that file sharing is growing "at a phenomenal rate", and that the sheer volume of music and movie filesbeing transferred between users is putting a huge burden on broadband service providers. According to Jupiter, some broadband ISPs in Europe are finding that over 50 percent of the traffic on their networks is caused by P2P file-sharing.

• OECD - Broadband Access for Business  +/-

  (OECD) With over 50 million subscribers in the OECD, broadband access is key for economic growth and development. This report examines broadband access development for businesses. It focuses on short distance leased lines and new forms of broadband access.

Junk mail (spam)

• Tangled Up in Spam  +/-

  (New York Times) I know what your in-box looks like, and it isn't pretty. It looks like mine: a babble of come-ons and lies from hucksters and con artists. Tofind your real e-mail, you must wade through the torrent of fraud and obscenity known politely as ''unsolicited bulk e-mail'' and colloquially as spam. In a perverse tribute to the power of the online revolution, we are all suddenly getting the same mail.

Market

• Google Buys Pyra: Blogging Goes Big-Time  +/-

  (Silicon Valley) Google, which runs the Web's premier search site, has purchased Pyra Labs, a San Francisco company that created some of the earliest technology for writing weblogs, the increasingly popular personal and opinion journals. The buyout is a huge boost to an enormously diverse genre of online publishing that has begun to change the equations of online news and information. Weblogs are frequently updated. Typically they include links to other pages on the Internet, and the topics range from technology to politics to just about anything you can name.

Statistics

• Europe - Online gaming growing rapidly  +/-

  (BBC) Nearly six million Europeans visited an online games site during January - more than double the figure from the same time in 2002, according to net measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings. Germany and France are leading the pack when it comes to online gaming. Even third-placed Holland is outstripping the US.

• OECD - Measuring the Information Economy 2002  +/-

  (OECD) With over 80 indicators based on the most up-to-date official statistics, this publication provides a comprehensive internationalcomparison of OECD Member countries' performance in the information economy. Excel files with figures, underlying charts and other data can be downloaded for free.

• UK - BT hits half-million broadband mark  +/-

  (Reuters) BT says around 100,000 more broadband Internet users had hooked up to its network in January, giving it over 500,000 in total and putting it on target for one million by mid-year.

Technology

• Estonians key to writing Kazaa code  +/-

  (CNN) When a Swedish software developer cast about for help in writing the Kazaa file-sharing software, colleagues raised eyebrows when he chose three unheralded youths from little-known Estonia. And jaws dropped when the program quickly became the leading software download on the Internet.

• Tracking tag for Net music unveiled  +/-

  (Reuters) The International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) launched electronic identity tags to keep tabs on Internet music sales in a bid to compensate musicians and song writers as more of their works become available online. The Global Release Identifier, or GRid, is a code akin to the Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code found on a CD or cassette tape in stores. Digital Rights Management DRM.

Forthcoming events

• 2003-02-26 EU, Brüssel - Die Umsetzung des neuen TK-Rechtsrahmens  +/- Translate

  (ZEI) Zwischen europäischer Integration und mitgliedstaatlichen Besonderheiten. In Zusammenarbeit mit der Landesvertretung Nordrhein-Westfalens bei der Europäischen Union in Brüssel wird das Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung (ZEI) der Universität Bonn am 26. Februar 2003 in Brüssel eine Konferenz zum Thema "veranstalten.

QuickLinks consists of

• a free newsletter appearing approximately once a week. The newsletter is distributed by electronic mail through an "announcement only" mailing list. To be included on the mailing list, send a blank email to quicklinkshtml-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (HTML) or quicklinks-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (Text)
• a Web site with frequent updates, an events page, news items organised by category as well as chronologically by issue and full text search.