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(Digital Fernsehen) Mit zahlreichen Vorschlägen für eine Optimierung der Richtlinie 'Fernsehen ohne Grenzen' (EG-Fernsehrichtlinie) hat sich in dem laufenden Überprüfungsverfahren jetzt die Direktorenkonferenz der Landesmedienanstalten (DLM) zu Wort gemeldet.
(FT) The BBC is trying to placate the concerns of Hollywood film studios at its decision to broadcast TV channels unencrypted. The concerns have stalled negotiations with the studios as the BBC seeks to secure broadcasting rights for Hollywood films.
(RAPID) The European Commission has given Microsoft a final opportunity to comment before it concludes its antitrust probe. The Commission has gathered additional evidence from a wide variety of consumers, suppliers and competitors. This evidence confirms the Commission's earlier finding that Microsoft is leveraging its dominant position from the PC into low-end servers and that Microsoft's tying of Windows Media Player to the Windows PC operating system weakens competition on the merits, stifles product innovation, and ultimately reduces consumer choice. The Commission also invites Microsoft to submit its comments on a series of remedies it intends to impose in order to bring the antitrust infringements it has identified to an end.
(FT) A pressure group lobbying for the roll out of high speed 'broadband' internet services across the UK has warned that £1bn of recently announced government spending for large broadband initiatives could breach European Union laws. Earlier this year the government announced that six companies, including BT Group and Telewest, were likely to be the main beneficiaries of £1bn earmarked for broadband projects following the publication of a shortlist of preferred suppliers. These companies were in a strong position to win the lion's share of the money to be distributed over the next five years."
(Guardian) Match of the Day, considered by many football fans to be one of the great institutions of the game, is set to return to television screens after the BBC won the right to show highlights of Premier League matches. The Premier League could however face opposition from the European Commission, which had stated it did not want one broadcaster to have the rights to all live matches. Four packages of live matches were available to broadcasters. The BBC did not bid for rights to any live games. See also New EC red card for Sky (Observer).
(Fraud Advisory Panel) A Guide for businesses and individuals. The Panel's role is to alert the nation to the immense social and economic damage caused by fraud and help both public and private sectors to fight back. Established in 1998 through a public spirited initiative by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Panel exists to challenge complacency and supply remedies. The Panel is an independent body of volunteers drawn from the law and accountancy, banking, insurance, commerce, regulators, the police, government departments and public agencies.
(AP) A federal judge sentenced a man to a year in prison for creating an anarchist Web site with links to sites on how to build bombs. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson sentenced Sherman Austin to more than the prosecutor had recommended under a plea bargain. Austin, 20, pleaded guilty in February to distributing information related to explosives. Austin admitted posting links about bombs to enable people to build and use them during demonstrations against interstate and foreign trade. He told FBI agents he wanted the Web site to teach people about police brutality. Austin must also pay a $2,000 fine and is barred for three years from using a computer without approval. Wilson said he also may not associate with anyone from a group that "espouses physical force as a means of change".
(out-law.com) The Communications Act 2003, a law that updates and simplifies the regulatory framework for the telecoms industry and reforms the rules for media ownership, was passed by Parliament. The passing of the Act ensures that the UK meets its responsibilities under a series of EU Directives, due to be implemented by Member States by 25th July. The Act's main provisions include the transferral of functions to a single powerful regulator - the Office of Communications (OFCOM) - replacing the existing five regulators (the Independent Television Commission, Radio Authority, Office of Telecommunications, Broadcasting Standards Commission, Radiocommunications Agency).
(Washington Post) Legal challenges to a Federal Communications Commission overhaul of media ownership rules emerged, with the regulations under fire both for allowing too few and too many mergers. The filings with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia were triggered by the publication of the FCC's final rules in the Federal Register. The regulations will go into effect on Sept. 4.
(Foundation for Information Policy Research) by Ross Anderson. The EU's draft IP Enforcement Directive - the `EuroDMCA' - sets out to make it dramatically easier to enforce copyrights, patents, and trademarks in Europe, and to punish people who tamper with technical mechanisms designed to prevent copying or counterfeiting. The directive has been welcomed by the music and film industries. But it divides the computer industry - Microsoft is for, while Sun is against - and the telecomms industry is strongly opposed. Supermarkets also stand to lose. Resistance is building, for example in the European press. Online liberties are also at risk, as well as commercial interests.
(CNET News.com) A Massachusetts court has blocked several recording industry subpoenas that are aimed at college song swappers, saying the universities involved are not immediately required to divulge the alleged file traders' identities, on the technical legal grounds that the RIAA had filed the subpoenas in the wrong court.
(Heise) Die langjährigen Pläne der Regierungskoalition, das Datenschutzrecht zu modernisieren und zu vereinfachen, sollen in dieser Legislaturperiode endlich konkretere Formen annehmen. Dass dies jedoch alles andere als leicht ist, zeigte sich auf einer Fachtagung der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Anfang der Woche in Berlin. Nicht nur das Telekommunikationsgesetz (TKG) und das Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG) müssen geändert werden, auch die Regelungen für die Neuen Medien, wie sie etwa im Teledienstegesetz und Mediendienste-Staatsvertrag getroffen wurden, stehen zur Debatte.
(The Register) According to a recently released report, US consumer privacy policies are better than those in EU - a notion that not everyone agrees with. see Enforced Standards Versus Evolution by General Acceptance - A Comparative Study of E-Commerce Privacy Disclosure and Practice in The U.S. and The U.K. (AEI-Brookings Joint Center).
(The Register) To little fanfare last month the UK's Office of National Statistics announced proposals for the creation of a central electronic database containing birth, death and marriage records. Announcing the publication of 'Civil Registration: Delivering Vital Change,' and a consultation process running through until 31st October, the ONS listed key changes as including the ability to register births and deaths online, in person and by telephone, greater choice as regards marriage ceremonies and 'new arrangements for access to registration information.' The creation of a centrally-held 'through life record' for everybody however appears not to have been deemed a key change of sufficient moment to make it to the press release. "
(CircleID) by Francis Hwang. A 2-part series article arguing that the decentralization of the Internet will allow the DNS to recede to its earlier, uncontroversial role, before all the lawsuits and screaming matches at ICANN board meetings.
(Heise) Wegen der desolaten Haushaltslage will sich das Land Niedersachen aus der Finanzierung des Projektes n-21 -- Schulen in Niedersachsen online zurückziehen. Kultusminister Bernd Busemann hofft daher auf größere Unterstützung privater Sponsoren für das Anfang 2000 noch unter der früheren Landesregierung gestartete Aktionsprogramm. Um die Schulen im Land auch künftig mit Internet oder Multimedia auszustatten und innovative Konzepte zu fördern, sei das Engagement von Handel und Handwerk, Unternehmen und Freiberuflern unerlässlich.
(droit-technologie.org) Une législation nationale peut-elle interdire la vente transfrontière via l?internet de produits pharmaceutiques. La Cour de justice européenne va trancher cette question importante. L'avocat général a rendu son avis que nous commentons ici. La Cour est amenée à se pencher sur la question suite à une question préjudicielle posée par le Landgericht Frankfurt am Main dans une affaire qui oppose les membres de l'Apothekerverband (fédérations et associations de pharmaciens des Länder) à la pharmacie néerlandaise 0800 DocMorris NV (« DocMorris »).
(Out-law) Most UK e-commerce sites do not comply with at least one basic legal requirement, 95% fail to provide a "reasonable" level of customer service, 72% fail data protection requirements, and 63% breach distance selling rules, according to research commissioned by on-line legal documents provider Clickdocs. The research was carried out among a random selection of web sites from 20 different market segments, all selling on-line to UK consumers.
(IRIS) Civil society members participating in PrepCom1 of the World Summit on the Information Society (Geneva, July 1-5) have decided to organize themselves in sub-committees, working groups and regional as well as thematic caucuses. One representative from each group participates in the Civil Society Coordination Group (CSCG). The Human rights caucus has been proposed by the French NGO IRIS, in order to ensure that this question is duly taken into account in the WSIS process, by governments as well as by NGOs. In French and English
(RAPID) The European Commission has adopted a draft decision to sign Convention 180 of the Council of Europe on behalf of the EU. This Convention establishes an international mechanism for the prior notification of national rules on online services, based on the EU system of legislative transparency in this area introduced by Directive 98/34/EC. The Convention's aim is to enhance the transparency and coherence of national rules on information society services as far as possible since these services are by definition often provided across borders.
(BBC) Britain seems to be turning into a nation of electronic eavesdroppers. Research by security firm Symantec has shown that some people sneak a look at the text messages and e-mails of their partner if they suspect them of being unfaithful. They will also scour electronic address books for names they do not recognise or which look suspicious. Even at work many of those questioned would, given the opportunity, peek at confidential information about friends and colleagues they found on corporate networks.
(MSNBC) by Bob Sullivan. There wouldn't be spam if there wasn't money in spam. So to understand what primes the spam economy, MSNBC.com answered a single unsolicited commercial e-mail. The truth about spam is this: While the dirty work is done by secretive, faceless computer jockeys who are constantly evading authorities, lots of companies with names you know profit, at least tangentially, from their efforts. [Ed. Highly recommended]
(BBC) Microsoft has apologised to a British man it had accused of sending out huge amounts of junk email, or 'spam'. The software giant issued an 'unreserved apology' to Simon Grainger from Merseyside, whom it had served with a writ, accusing him of stealing e-mail addresses of its customers to send them spam."
(out-law.com) The German Federal Supreme Court ruled that deep links from a news search engine direct to articles in a publisher’s web site do not violate German copyright or competition law. see report in the German American Law Journal (in English) and Pressemitteilung (Bundesgerichtshof).
(donga.com) Setting up link to an adult Web site constitutes violation of the law, which bans indiscreet distribution of adult materials, the Korean Supreme Court ruled. Internet link can be viewed as an act of offering the content of other Web sites to users through a simple click, the court ruled. Setting up link on his own Web site is, therefore, equivalent to displaying adult content himself rather than merely introducing other sites.
(Cellular News) Details published about the tender for Iraq's new cellular licenses has shown that several of Europe's leading mobile phone companies will be barred for competing in the tender. The rules reveal a ban on any company that is more than 5% owned by a national government. This ban will block France's Orange and Germany's T-Mobile from entering bids. Adding this unusual shareholder limit effectively bans the two networks, both with substantial government ownership from bidding. Unfortunately, the ruling also blocks Spain's Telefonica from bidding - even though Spain's government was supportive of the Iraq war.
(BBC) A gadget that lets you send songs from Apple's iPod music player to an FM radio has fallen foul of UK laws. The UK distributor said use of the device was prohibited under the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949. The act forbids the use of radio equipment without a licence or an exemption. The iTrip transmits at very low power on an FM frequency and so in theory could interfere with broadcasts from a radio station. There are no restrictions on its use in the US, but in the UK FM broadcasts are allocated for the exclusive use of licensed broadcasters
(CNN) A quick-thinking 15-year-old boy used his Sprint cell phone camera to take pictures of a man who allegedly tried to lure him into his car, leading to the man's arrest, police said.
(Pressemitteilung) Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft vernetzter Kinderseiten 'Seitenstark' hat den Startschuss zu einer Veranstaltungsreihe zum Thema Jugendschutz im Internet gegeben. Die nun in Hamburg zu Ende gegangene erste Veranstaltung mit dem Titel 'Jugendschutz 2003: Filtern oder Vernetzen?' beschäftigte sich mit den Konsequenzen der Einführung des neuen Jugendmedienschutzgesetzes.
(RTE news) Irish Minister of State Brian Lenihan has expressed concern at the level of internet usage by children given the amount of paedophiles accessing the web. He says more awareness is needed but added there are no immediate plans to regulate the industry in Ireland. Mr Lenihan was speaking at the release of the Internet Advisory Board Report 2000-2002 and said surveys show that awareness of the dangers in Ireland is high compared to other countries. see also Protecting Children online - what parents can do to help.
(Frankfurter Rundschau) Jugendfreie Angebote sind in den USA künftig am Adressenende '.kids.us' zu erkennen - Experten sind skeptisch.
(Tagblatt) Schweizer Rechtsextreme nutzen das Internet für ihre Zwecke Auch die rund 1000 Schweizer Rechtsextremisten haben ihren Platz im Netz gefunden. Unter den wachsamen Augen einer neuen Internet-Polizei mobilisieren sie auf ihren Seiten zu Konzerten und Demonstrationen.
(Web Host Industry Review) The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced that its request to have an offensive Web site shut down was granted by the host of the domain, Baltimore-based Alabanza Corporation (alabanza.com). The ADL said the offending site, hoozajew.org, contained anti-semitic content.
(Europa) Empirical Study on the Practice of the Rating of Films Distributed in Cinemas, Television, DVD and Videocassettes in the EU and EEA Member States. Prepared on behalf of the European Commission by Olsberg|SPI and KEA European Affairs. Final Report May 2003.
(Boston Globe) Quick -- what does 14 DSL mean? How about FV? Which is higher, M or T? And can you define ''mild thematic elements''? If you're like most parents, these terms from the industry-sponsored rating systems for television, video games, and movies leave you in the dark. Common Sense Media is proposing is a single uniform system for rating movies, TV shows, games, music, and even books.
(ZDNet Australia) A plan to require identity checks for Australian email users has been branded 'ludicrous' by Electronic Frontiers Australia. The group also moved to debunk claims made by an ex-NCA agent, acting as a witness before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission, that such ID checks for Internet access are mandatory in France in a supplementary submission to the committee. "We advise that such a requirement has not been enacted in France, nor was such a requirement introduced into the French Parliament in 1999/2000 [nor has it been since then]," it said. See Parliamentary Inquiry into Cybercrime (Parliament of Australia)
Joint-Committee: Submissions List. see Electronic Frontiers Australia, Australian Broadcasting Authority and Australian Crime Commission.
(CNET News.com) Security researchers and black-hat hackers could face legal troubles if they publish detailed information about vulnerabilities and exploits. Jennifer Granick, director of Stanford University's Center for Internet and Society, warned the audience at the Black Hat security conference that they could run afoul of recent laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as well as centuries-old common law restrictions.
(FT) Mobile operators are looking to prevent minors from accessing adult content on their mobile phones in an attempt to avert a backlash from regulators and child protection groups over the increasing proliferation of pornography on mobile phones. With many of the latest handsets incorporating colour screens and internet access, the UK's leading mobile operators have drafted an industry code of practice. It will require mobile operators to provide access control tools on mobiles to prevent unauthorised users from viewing adult or other unsuitable material. Interested parties are being invited to submit consultations on the draft code by September 8.
(Australian IT) An indemnity program for internet service providers (ISPs) who are ordered to take down websites by music and movie industry investigators is still on ice, despite a resumption of talks on an online copyright code of conduct. The music industry had pulled out of talks but is now back at the table. It is opposing an indemnity and is only lukewarm on a proposal for a government-sponsored statutory immunity. (Notice and take-down)
(Verein Erfurter Netcode) Immer mehr junge Surfer entdecken das Internet. Doch auf welche Inhalte stoßen Kinder und Jugendliche beim Surfen durchs Netz? Die evangelische und katholische Rundfunkarbeit initiiert zusammen mit der Landeshauptstadt Erfurt und weiteren Partnern den Verein 'Erfurter Netcode e.V.' - eine Qualitätsinitiative für Internetangebote für Kinder. Eine entscheidende Vorarbeit wurde vom Kinderkanal sowie Internetredaktionen von ARD und ZDF geleistet. Dessen Anliegen als öffentlich-rechtlicher Fernsehsender ist es, Medienkompetenz zu vermitteln und zu fördern. Kernpunkt des 'Erfurter Netcodes' ist ein Codex, der Qualitätskriterien formuliert, die durch Forschung und ethischen Diskurs fortgeschrieben werden. Ziel ist es, mit neuen Qualitätsstandards kindgerechte Seiten zu fördern.
(AnchorDesk) by David Coursey. Over the next six weeks or so, we'll be seeing some new and improved tools for dealing with spam, from companies whose names you'd recognize but which I've promised not to reveal. I'm about to start testing this software and will have reports soon after its formal release. Meanwhile, there's a new version of Mailblocks available, a program I've already written about. Version 2.0 of the challenge-response system was released last week. As much as may be possible, it solves the problem I've had with using such systems to reduce spam.
(Guardian) High street electronics giant Dixons is poised to sign a £10m deal with AOL, terminating its five year relationship with rival Freeserve, the internet service provider it sold to France Telecom two years ago.
(CNET News.com) Merrill Lynch will ban access to outside e-mail services from popular sites such as America Online, Yahoo and MSN, in response to regulatory requirements and to protect its network from viruses, according to a company memo. The policy shift will affect the 48,000 Merrill Lynch employees worldwide who use the company's Internet network. A Merrill Lynch representative said the policy is an extension of existing bans in departments such as the trading desk. Other investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, have similar companywide policies.
(Silicon.com) Anybody still unconvinced about the scale of the spam epidemic should consider this fact: MessageLabs intercepted more spam in the last month than in the whole of 2002. While this is in part proof that filtering is more widely used, it is also an indication as to just how much spam is being sent and received each day. According to MessageLabs spam accounted for 50 per cent of all e-mail again during July. MessageLabs' anti-spam service scanned more than 156.6 million e-mails during July. Of those 79.7 million were identified as spam and intercepted.
(CNN) In number, cell phones are creeping up on landline phones. They already comprise about 43 percent of all U.S. phones, according to the International Telecommunication Union, up from 37 percent in 2000. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. landline phones has dropped by more than 5 million, or nearly 3 percent, since 2000, the Federal Communications Commission reported in June. The United States hasn't been the quickest to adapt. Already, more than half the phones in the world are cellular. Cell phones overtook landlines earliest in some developing countries that hadn't laid ground lines by the time cellular technology arrived. In Cambodia, for instance, nearly 90 percent of phones are cellular. Cell phones started outnumbering traditional phones in European countries in the late 1990s, partly because phone pricing systems favored wireless. Typically, Europeans don't have unlimited local calls on their home phones - one big advantage of landline service in America.
(MSNBC) Two-thirds of Internet users who download music don't care whether they're violating copyright laws, according to a new survey that highlights the uphill enforcement battle facing the recording industry. The survey by the nonprofit Pew Internet and American Life Project estimated that roughly 35 million American adults use file-sharing software, about 29 percent of Internet users. see Music Downloading, File-sharing and Copyright: A Pew Internet Project Data Memo
(CNET News.com) The latest report from the Business Software Alliance concludes that software piracy declined in the United States during 2002. The special interest group, an antipiracy organization that's comprised of members such as Apple Computer, Cisco Systems and Microsoft, released results of its state-by-state analysis of software piracy across the United States on Tuesday. According to BSA's report, the nation's piracy rate dropped 2 percentage points in 2002 compared with 2001, to 23 percent. The International Planning and Research (IPR) conducted the study for BSA."
(WIK) The new European regulatory framework for telecommunications aims at harmonising regulation across the EU based on flexible rules. Covering all electronic networks and services, it takes into account the convergence of platforms. The relevant directives should be implemented in the Member States by July 2003. The WIK-conference will refer to the most relevant questions in the ongoing discussion regarding the changing European regulatory framework in telecommunications. The conference will give an overview on the progress of implementing the European framework in the member countries. The implementation process will be evaluated from different players in the telecommunications market.
(Educaunet Newsletter) On 8 November 2003, all the actors of the educational world will be brought together in Rome to debate about youths and the Internet: parents, head teachers, teachers, pupils, but also political decision makers and media education professionals. The international conference organised in Rome, on November 8th, by the European Parents Association EPA and the Italian parents association A.Ge., focuses on two directions: to stimulate the interest of the general public and to create a synergy between the various adult actors who surround and accompany the child. The programme of the conference and a registration form will be available on the site www.educaunet.org at the end of September.
(AustLII) 5th Conference on Computerisation of Law via the Internet. The Australasian Legal Information Institute, one of the largest free access law sites on the web, will host the fifth Law via the Internet conference on 26-28 November 2003. Call for Papers deadline 22 August 2003.
(CyberJournalist.net) Google has invented another great tool: Google News Alerts, which are e-mailed to you when news articles appear online that match the topics you specify. What makes Google's so powerful is that Google News trolls 4,500 news sources continuously throughout the day.
(notling.com) The following free web sites can take a long URL and give you back a shorter URL without requiring registration. Any of these services will do a good job, but if you want to study them before you pick one, here is an informal survey of the competitive landscape.
(QuickLinks) QuickLinks is now available as an RSS feed.
. see also Awasu a free Windows news-reader recommended by PC Magazine, News Readers (Google Directory) and list of aggregators and newsreaders (Harvard Law School). Using these is quite straightforward. Available documentation tends to be written for publishers or programmers rather than the non-technical user and so makes it sound much more difficult than it is. For the technically minded, see What is RSS? and RSS Tutorial for Content Publishers and Webmasters.
QuickLinks consists of