Legal and regulatory issues

Computer crime

• DE - Polizei darf auf Verbindungsdaten von Journalisten zugreifen  +/- Translate

  (Heise) Die Polizei darf auf die Verbindungsdaten der Telefonate von Journalisten zugreifen. Voraussetzung ist, dass sie aus beruflichen Gründen in Kontakt mit gesuchten Straftätern stehen, hat das Bundesverfassungsgericht in Karlsruhe heute entschieden. Ein solcher Eingriff in die Pressefreiheit und das Fernmeldegeheimnis ist zulässig, wenn die Erfassung der Verbindungsdaten von Festnetztelefonen und Handys zum Aufenthaltsort eines gesuchten Verbrechers führen kann.

• UK - Scottish law firm hit by malicious email hoax  +/-

  (silicon.com) A Scottish law firm is counting the cost of a damaging hoax email that someone has sent to thousands of addresses, purporting to be from a prominent partner at the firm who promises to be a "ruthless bastard" and "screw the opposition" on behalf of his clients in legal proceedings.

Consumer protection

• EU - Commissioner David Byrne launches Consumer Affairs web site  +/-

  (RAPID) David Byrne, the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, launched the European Commission's new multi-lingual Consumer Affairs web site to mark World Consumer Day, which takes place every year on 15 March. The "right to be informed" is one of the four fundamental consumer rights that World Consumer Day is designed to highlight. Commissioner Byrne emphasised the Commission's recognition of, and commitment to, this right.

Content regulation

• NZ - ISPs should be licensed says report  +/-

  (Computer World) The select committee reviewing the Films, Videos and Publications Act is calling for a licensing or registration of all ISPs "in order to control their behaviour". While most of the findings relate to the film and video industries, the report also looks at online publications and where the responsibility lies for obscene material. The report's recommendations include introducing a voluntary code of practice for ISPs that will be enforced should ISPs not comply and a licensing or registration of all ISPs "in order to control their behaviour". Inquiry into the operation of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 and related issues. see also Report a wake-up call for ISPs, says InternetNZ and ISPs shouldn't panic about report advice says MP.

Data Protection (privacy)

• EU - Airline passenger data transfers from the EU to the United States  +/-

  (RAPID) Intervention by Frits Bolkestein, Member of the European Commission in charge of the Internal Market and Taxation, European Parliament's plenary session, Strasbourg, 12th March 2003. Airline passenger data transfers from the EU to the United States (Passenger Name Record) see also European Commission / US Customs talk on Passenger Name Record (PNR) transmission, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (formerly known as the U.S. Customs Service) statement of 4 March 2003 and frequently asked questions.

Digital signatures

• UK - URU joins authentication service fray  +/-

  (ZDNet UK) A service is being developed that will help businesses check the identity of people they are dealing with - without increasing the number of places where personal data is stored. Unlike Microsoft's Passport and the Sun-led Liberty Alliance Project, where users create an online identity by providing personal details to the service, which then authenticates them, the new service, called URU, uses information already existing to verify an individual's identity.

e-Government

• FR - Le Forum des droits sur l'internet lance DroitDuNet.fr  +/- Translate

  (Communiqué de presse) Le Forum des droits sur l'internet annonce le lancement de www.DroitDuNet.fr. Ce site est conçu comme un service d'information et d'orientation à la disposition de tous et accessible gratuitement. Il a pour but d'apporter des réponses pratiques à l'ensemble des questions de nature juridique que peuvent se poser les internautes dans leur usage quotidien du réseau. • Plus de 100 fiches pratiques, accessibles gratuitement, pour informer et orienter les internautes sur les questions de droit et d'usage de l'internet ; Un accès simple et personnalisé à l'information, pour répondre à toutes les questions des internautes • Un service plébiscité par plus de 80% des internautes ; Protection de l'enfance (53%), sécurité des paiements en ligne (36%) et sécurité informatique (30%) arrivent en tête des préoccupations, selon un sondage Ipsos-SIG.

Human Rights

• Inauguration of the International Criminal Court  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission warmly welcomes the inauguration of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Information society and Internet policy

• EU - eEurope and the electronic communications sector - speech by Mr Liikanen  +/-

  (RAPID) Mr Erkki Liikanen, Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society, British Chamber of Commerce EU Committee, Brussels, 13 March 2003.

• EU - La diversité culturelle - discours de Mme Reding  +/- Translate

  (RAPID) Mme Viviane REDING, Membre de la Commission européenne responsable de l'Education et de la Culture, Parlement européen, Strasbourg, le 10 mars 2003

Interception

• UK - How to avoid the online snoopers  +/-

  (BBC) Where is the line to be drawn when it comes to protecting privacy and respected the law in the digital world, asks technology consultant Bill Thompson. There are in fact two consultations going on at the same time, and two separate laws being discussed. The first, RIPA, decides who gets to see what. The second, the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act, decides what data should be stored and for how long, on the sensible basis that access is only possible if the information is actually there to be looked at. Communication Data Consultation paper

Junk mail (spam)

• UK - New rules tackle text adverts  +/-

  (BBC) Companies sending text message or e-mail adverts will have to get the permission of users before they do so under new rules. Regulations on new media have now been included in the latest edition of the code of advertising practice, which has been updated by the the Advertising Standards Authority to include new media.

Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

• FR - Hyperliens : statut juridique  +/- Translate

  (Forum des droits sur l'internet) Cette recommandation sur le statut juridique des hyperliens identifie les problèmes soulevés en droit par l´acte même consistant à établir un ou plusieurs liens vers des contenus licites appartenant à des tiers et de définir un cadre juridique susceptible d´en permettre l´exercice. Conclusions: Le lien hypertexte est libre, sous réserve des droits des tiers : • Liberté a priori des liens simples et des liens profonds vers des pages web • Demande préalable d´une autorisation pour les liens conduisant à s´approprier des contenus protégés par la propriété intellectuelle • Identification de l´appartenance du contenu lié • Information auprès du propriétaire du contenu • Respect de la politique en matière de liens hypertextes établie par le titulaire du site

• FR - Loi numérique : l'Assemblée vote à haut débit un cadre juridique pour Internet  +/- Translate

  (Journal du Net) Adoptée en première lecture par l'Assemblée nationale, la loi sur l'économie numérique (LEN) transpose notamment une directive adoptée par le Parlement européen et le Conseil le 8 juin 2000. La LEN vise à préciser et durcir les sanctions encourues en cas de fraude dans le domaine du commerce électronique, du spam et de la cybercriminialité au sens large. La responsabilité des hébergeurs et des fournisseurs d'accès y est notamment clarifiée. Outre la simple transposition de la directive européenne, plusieurs amendements spécifiques ont été adoptés lors de la séance. L'un concerne la responsabilité des hébergeurs en matière de diffusion d'informations "manifestement illicites". Ils leur est demandé "un minimum de surveillance" sur les pages web qu'ils stockent afin de limiter la diffusion de contenus "faisant l'apologie des crimes de guerre ou des crimes contre l'humanité, incitant à la haine raciale, ou ayant un caractère pédophile." Par ailleurs, la LEN stipule la possibilité d'un filtrage de l'accès à Internet sur décision du juge. L'Association des Fournisseurs d´Accès et de services Internet (AFA) a vivement réagi à cette mesure. Dans un communiqué, elle a souligné le fait que "le filtrage de l´accès à Internet est un choix politique unique à ce jour dans le monde occidental. L'AFA évalue à plusieurs milliers le nombre de sites pouvant faire d'emblée l'objet d'une injonction de filtrage, sans compter les contenus musicaux piratés. Toutes les études existantes concluent qu'aucune des technologies disponibles aujourd'hui ne permet d'empêcher efficacement l'accès aux contenus prohibés".

Multilingual content and software

• EU - Multilinguisme et multiculturalisme : des défis pour l'éducation en Europe  +/- Translate

  (RAPID) Mme Viviane REDING, Membre de la Commission européenne responsable de l'Education et de la Culture, Colloque sur « Les défis pour l'Education en Europe », St-Germain-en-Laye, 14 mars 2003.

Protection of minors

• Talk to Your Kids About Cell Phone Use  +/-

  (PC Answer) by Larry Magid. There has been a lot of talk about mobile phone safety, but it has largely focused on distraction while driving as well as the possibility that cell phone use might cause health problems. But now there's another reason to be concerned. Mobile phones in Japan and Europe have been linked to harassment and sexual exploitation of both children and adults. Children, Mobile Phones and the Internet Experts' Meeting Tokyo, 6 - 7 March 2003. Internet Association Japan and Childnet International. Presentations and see see Larry Magid radio report.

• US - Children-TV Violence Link Has Effect  +/-

  (AP) Both boys and girls who watch a lot of violence on television have a heightened risk of aggressive adult behavior including spouse abuse and criminal offenses, no matter how they act in childhood, a new study says. While the results may not be surprising, experts say the study is important because it included hundreds of participants and showed the effect in females as well as males. The findings are presented in the March issue of the journal Developmental Psychology by psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann and colleagues at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.

• US - Congress cracks down on P2P porn  +/-

  (CNET News.com) The U.S. Congress is targeting peer-to-peer networks again - and this time politicians aren't fretting over music and software piracy. A pair of government reports scheduled to be released at a hearing warn that file-swapping networks are exploding with pornography--much of which is legal, and some of which is not. Searching for words such as "preteen," "underage" and "incest" on the Kazaa network resulted in a slew of images that qualify as child pornography, the General Accounting Office said in a 37-page report File-Sharing Programs Peer-to-Peer Networks Provide Ready Access to Child Pornography. The second report, prepared by staff from the House Government Reform Committee, concluded that current blocking technology has "no, or limited, ability to block access to pornography via file-sharing programs." see also US - File-sharing sites allow trading of porn (CNN) .

Racism and xenophobia

• DE - Bundespräsident fordert schärferes Vorgehen gegen rechtsextreme Webseiten  +/- Translate

  (Heise) Bundespräsident Johannes Rau hat ein schärferes Vorgehen gegen rechtsextreme Internetseiten gefordert. Die Aufsichtsbehörden der Länder sollten sich die Düsseldorfer Bezirksregierung zum Vorbild nehmen, sagte Rau laut dpa. Der Bundespräsident äußerte sich nach einem Gespräch mit dem Düsseldorfer Regierungspräsidenten Jürgen Büssow.

Rating and filtering

• US - Porn 'Filter' Uses Peer Pressure  +/-

  (Wired) Frustrated with the shortcomings of conventional software designed to block out pornographic websites, Brandon Cotter is urging moralistic Web surfers to take matters into their own hands. Instead of relying on filters, the approach, which his nonprofit monitoring service, NetAccountibility, has been pitching primarily to religious groups, calls for Web users to share records of their online activity. Users pick a friend, spouse or other confidant who receives a regular report showing which sites they visit, highlighting potentially objectionable material. The idea, according to Cotter, is that people will choose not to visit "sinful" websites if they know a close friend or family member will be aware of their actions.

Safer Internet awareness

• AU - Parents role vital in safe internet use  +/-

  (ABA) The Australian Broadcasting Authority stressed today the vital role of parents in ensuring their children are not exposed to unsuitable content on the Internet. The ABA's comments were prompted by the release of research report by the Australian Institute on Youth and Pornography in Australia. see also Families concerned about offensive sites should look for the ladybird (IIA). Australian families with concerns about offensive internet content should consider moving to an Internet Service Provider who is compliant with Codes of Practice developed by the Internet Industry Association (IIA). Most internet users in Australia are now serviced by Code compliant ISPs and are entitled to seek solutions from them if they are worried about inappropriate access of online content. Under the Code ISPs must abide by the request. Australia Institute's Parent Survey Results Misleading (EFA) The accuracy of claims by The Australia Institute that "93% of parents back tough Net porn laws" has been questioned by Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA). Censorship laws contribute to youth access to violent pornography (EFA).

Security and encryption

• UK - Cyber terrorism 'overhyped'  +/-

  (BBC) The threat posed by cyber-terrorism has been overhyped and the net is unlikely to become a launch pad for terror attacks. That was the conclusion of a panel of security and technology experts brought together at the CeBIT technology fair to consider the threat posed by net attacks on businesses and consumers.

Telecommunications

• UK - Frequently asked questions (FAQs) by service providers about the new regulatory framework  +/-

  (OFTEL) These FAQs are intended to answer the most common questions asked by service providers about the new regulatory framework that enters into force in July.

Market & Technology

Mobile and wireless

• UK - 3G arrives in Britain  +/-

  (Euractiv) On the special date of 03/03/03, the next generation mobile phone company 3 announced the phased launch of the first third generation mobile phone service in Britain. The UK arm of Hutchison 3G, majority owned by the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa and partly owned by Japan's NTT DoCoMo and KPN Telecom of Holland, said it expected the first 3G handsets to be available to customers within the next two weeks. The launch has been delayed since early 2001 by handset shortages and software glitches. Hutchison's 3 UK unit plans for a nine-country launch this year (including Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Ireland), and seems cautiously optimistic on demand for 3G services that include video calls, colour video clips, picture messaging and Internet browsing. The company hopes to sell around two million new phones in Europe by the end of 2003. In Britain, Hutchison will battle established rivals Vodafone Group, Orange, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and mmO2, who do not expect to launch 3G services until 2004. More than 65,000 Britons have already signed up for 3G mobile phones. see also UK - 3G phones hit the shops this weekend (Reuters).

Technology

• Scientists: Internet speed record smashed  +/-

  (CNN) Offering a glimpse of a faster digital future, researchers announced they have set a new Internet speed record. Scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center used fiber-optic cables to transfer 6.7 gigabytes of data -- the equivalent of two DVD movies -- across 6,800 miles in less than a minute.

Forthcoming events

• 2003-07-22 UK, Oxford - OII Summer Doctoral Programme  +/-

  (OII) The Oxford Internet Institute will be holding a Summer Programme for doctoral students in 2003. Running from 22nd July to the 9th August in Oxford, UK, this Programme is intended to bring together doctoral students in the field of Internet Studies from around the world to study with leading academics and to share and discuss their own research. The Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School are collaborating with the OII in the provision of this programme. All applications must be received by April 11th.

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