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(ITC) There are now more children's programmes on television than at anytime over the last eleven years, according to What Children Watch, new research by the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Independent Television Commission.
(Guardian) The BBC will be left to fight a lone battle against Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB if the government does not intervene to prevent the collapse of ITV as a public service broadcaster, the corporation's director general Greg Dyke warned. Mr Dyke warned of BSkyB's dominance of the digital TV world, and said five years of management failure at ITV had allowed the satellite broadcaster to forge ahead, opposed only by the BBC. He expressed concern about Sky's position as simultaneously a provider of Britain's biggest satellite television system; provider of programmes on that system; and controller of the price paid by other broadcasters who want to use it.
(BBC) The Conservative party would switch off a swath of the BBC's digital services, including its website and the youth channel BBC3, if it won the next general election. The party's culture spokesman, John Whittingdale, told Guardian Unlimited Politics he was 'not persuaded' of the case for a public service website and that he was 'not convinced the BBC needs to do all the things it is doing at the present', including providing 'more and more channels'. see also BBC news site facing extinction? (The Register).
(EFA) This is a submission in response to the draft Cybercrime Code of Practice issued for public consultation by the Internet Industry Association of Australia ('IIA') on 21 July 2003. The Code fails to acknowledge the fundamental human right to privacy as a principle underlying the Code. The provisions of the Code are not, as claimed, "within the spirit and letter of relevant privacy legislation" nor the IIA draft Privacy Code. The Code seeks to establish a de facto extension of the interception of telecommunications regime currently governed by the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979.
(BBC) We need to think carefully before we overreact to reports of online child abuse, argues technology analyst Bill Thompson.
(Leeds Today) As part of Operation Ore, dozens of people have been either jailed or fined and put on the sex offenders' register after they admitted paying for and downloading child porn from the Internet. But now calls have made for the cases to be reviewed following the collapse of the case against Soham detective Brian Stevens, who was accused of possessing and distributing child porn. The case collapsed because of flawed evidence from one of the star witnesses, Brian Underhill. The traffic police officer turned computer crime expert has been involved in more than 600 of the 1,600 prosecutions brought by UK police as part of Operation Ore. In total his firm, Celt Limited, has dealt with 1,022 cases.
(Guardian) Crime gangs are contributing to a surge in internet child porn, according to the National Criminal Intelligence Service's (NCIS) annual assessment of serious and organised crime. The study says the number of websites showing child porn - often featuring images of what is believed to be actual abuse - rose by 64% last year. The NCIS report says most child sex offenders act alone or in secretive networks that distribute images freely. But the potential profits to be made from selling images of child abuse online have also attracted 'serious and organised criminals'. This has enabled a 'rapid growth in the publication of computer-based images of child abuse and their global distribution'. As a result, computer-based images of child abuse have now largely replaced printed material. see Sex offences against children, including online abuse (NCIS).
(BBC) Scotland Yard is putting a limit on the amount of time officers spend in its specialist paedophile unit amid fears over their mental health. Nine detectives from the unit are being transferred to other departments. The unit tracks down Britain's worst child sex offenders and their work involves looking at images of children being tortured, humiliated and sexually abused. Concerns have been raised about the welfare of officers who have to carry out these tasks routinely. In future, service will be limited to three years. However the move has come under attack from critics who say it will leave the unit lacking the experienced staff it desperately needs.
(Press Release) Oftel has confirmed new measures to protect consumers from the misuse of electronic communications networks or services that can result in the making of nuisance calls. Under the Communications Act, Oftel may now take action against any persons who misuse networks or services in a way that causes annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety, but falls short of being a criminal offence or breaking data protection legislation.
(Times of India) The Government of India has outlined an official procedure for blocking websites. Order No. GSR529(E) permits the blacking out of websites promoting hate content, slander or defamation of others, promoting gambling, promoting racism, violence and terrorism and other such material, in addition to promoting pornography, including child pornography and violent sex, and adds: "Blocking of such websites may be equated to balanced flow of information and not censorship." Various agencies can submit a complaint to the director of Cert-In, a new organisation which has been set up by the government to address IT security issues. A committee comprising bureaucrats from Cert-In, the department of information technology and the law or home ministry meet and take on the spot decision on whether the website is to be blocked or not. Neither the producers of the website nor those with a contrary point of view are to be given a hearing.
(BBC) Pakistan's cable TV operators say they will refuse to broadcast national channels in protest at being prevented from showing Indian programmes. The Cable Operators' Association of Pakistan's boycott will also include foreign news channels such as the BBC and CNN. Pakistan banned Indian channels in March 2002 during a period of tense ties with its neighbour.
(BBC) Scenes including nudity and sexual activity on terrestrial television have increased during the past four years, according to research by TV watchdogs. Sex scenes have more than doubled from 6% to 14% since 1999, says the survey by the Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC), the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the BBC. see also Press Release.
(ZDNet UK) More than 600 Web sites are to take part in an online protest against a proposed European law on software patents, timed to coincide with a real-life protest in Brussels on August 27. Those rallying against the proposal - including some of Europe's most prominent scientists and software businesses - believe its current draft would open the door to the patenting of software and business processes, effectively shutting out software competition from small and medium-sized developers.
(transfert.net) Les présidents des groupes politiques au Parlement européen ont décidé de reporter le vote du projet de directive sur la brevetabilité des logiciels. Programmé pour la séance plénière qui démarre le 1er septembre, l'examen du texte porté par la députée travailliste Arlene McCarthy n'aura donc pas lieu avant le 22 septembre. Déchirés en leur sein entre partisans et adversaires du brevet logiciel, plusieurs groupes politiques veulent mettre à profit ce report pour tenter de dégager des positions claires sur la question.
(AP) The recording industry is providing its most detailed glimpse into some of the detective-style techniques it has employed as part of its secretive campaign against online music swappers.
(CNET News.com) The Recording Industry Association of America leveled a full legal barrage at "Jane Doe", the sole Kazaa user fighting its attempts to identify file swappers, saying she was indisputably a major copyright infringer. 'It is now clear that her objections have been either previously rejected by this court or are totally irrelevant to a subpoena enforcement proceeding,' the RIAA wrote in its brief. She 'will be able to raise whatever arguments she wants in the copyright infringement action that is sure to follow.'
(CNet News.com) The California Supreme Court has ruled that a Web publisher could be barred from posting DVD-copying code online without infringing on his free speech rights. The state's high court overturned an earlier decision that said blocking Web publishers from posting the controversial piece of software called DeCSS, which can be used to help decrypt and copy DVDs, would violate their First Amendment rights. see also California Supreme Court Upholds Free Speech in DVD Case (EFF). DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. v. Andrew Bunner.
(Washington Post) Frustrated record executives who have watched industry profits tumble about 10 percent annually for the past few years, a decrease they blame on digital piracy rampant on college campuses. Accordingly, the recording industry has decided to put more pressure to curb illegal file-sharing on college administrators, many of whom have traditionally resisted industry pleas to monitor or restrict student Internet use.
(Eponymous) Government agencies and private companies are increasingly violating the privacy of people everywhere. Enormous amounts of personal data are being collected, stored and processed - often illegally - in the pursuit of more efficient marketing, greater social control, and more powerful mechanisms for monitoring of the citizen. Every year Privacy International and a growing number of affiliate human rights groups present the Big Brother Awards to government agencies, private companies and individuals who have excelled in the violation of our privacy.
(Heise) Das Landgericht Frankfurt am Main ordnete an, die Vollziehung des richterlichen Beschlusses gegen die AN.ON-Projektpartner auszusetzen. Sowohl das Unabhängige Landesdatenschutzzentrum (ULD) in Kiel als auch die TU Dresden schalteten nach dem Entscheid des Gerichts sofort die Protokollierungsfunktion wieder ab. Die Projektverantwortlichen sehen die Entscheidung als einen 'ersten Teilerfolg' in ihrer juristischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Bundeskriminalamt (BKA). Auf Antrag des BKA hatte das Amtsgericht Frankfurt verfügt, dass der Anonymisierungsdienst AN.ON den Zugriff auf eine bestimmte IP-Nummer protokollieren musste.
(Heise) Das schleswig-holsteinische Datenschutzzentrum will besonders gute Computer-Programme verstärkt mit einem Gütesiegel auszeichnen.
(ITU) The Italian data-protection authority has introduced a set of guidelines governing how MMS services and camera phones can be used. The guidelines have been issued to ensure that camera phones do not infringe individuals' rights to privacy. The regulations state that it is prohibited to disseminate a photo captured on a phone to a wide audience - for example, by uploading it to a web site - without the prior permission of the person in the photo. The ruling would nip in the bud the nascent market for moblogging - posting photos directly from a handset to a web site.
(Seattle Times) In a case that pits privacy against free speech, a Seattle federal judge has permanently blocked state regulators from enforcing rules intended to safeguard call-detail information for more than 700,000 Verizon customers in Washington. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein agreed there is a substantial state interest 'in protecting against the unconsented use' of sensitive 'call-detail' information, which includes when, where and to whom a call is placed, and how long calls last.
(silicon.com) Businesses are being warned to steer clear of firms offering pre-registration for the new .eu domain names. The .eu top-level domains are set to be introduced by the end of this year and the European Commission has appointed a non-profit European Registry for Internet Domains (EURID) to establish registration and dispute resolution processes. It is expected that a phased launch will include a 'sunrise' period to allow trademark holders and public bodies to register their names ahead of the general public. But some domain name resellers are already offering pre-registration to buy a .eu domain, even though they cannot guarantee securing it or whether the customer will even qualify.
(Wired) Spooked by a new law authorizing harsh penalties for deceptive online porn publishers, adult webmasters are reconsidering a proposal for a top-level domain of their own. The plan calls for adding a new dot-xxx suffix to the Internet's root directory, to be used exclusively by adult-oriented websites. Although it is not a new idea in porn circles, backers say the proposal is beginning to generate more support as the adult entertainment industry toys with the possibility of greater self-regulation.
(Europa) The Cancún Ministerial Conference, 10-14 September, represents the half way point in our work on the Doha Development Agenda, and is a key staging post towards completion of this multilateral trade round by the end of 2004. Cancún has to be a success. If all countries are to benefit fully from global trade, we need improved market access for agricultural products, industrial goods and services. Trade must expand not just between the developed and developing world but also between developing countries ("south-south trade"). We all know the task set before us in Cancún. We must now make sure that we deliver: let's make trade work for all! Tell us what YOU think about these important issues. Join EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy in an on-line chat September 4 2003 from 18H00 to 20H00. Your views are important to us. Questions may be sent in all 11 languages in advance to: chat-lamy@cec.eu.int. Questions should be as short as possible, 256 characters maximum.
(Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly) by Clive Walker and Yaman Akdeniz. The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 signals a determined response to the attacks of September 11th. One aspect involves the facilitation of the use of electronic surveillance in order to prevent, detect or prosecute the perpetrators of terrorism. The role of Part XI of the 2001 Act is to augment existing surveillance powers in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. This papers plots the relationships between those two statutes and also their relationship to data protection laws. Delays and difficulties in enforcement are noted and are related to a process of return to greater normality after an initial period of panic.
(Heise) Der Heise Zeitschriften Verlag hat beim Landeskriminalamt Hannover Strafanzeige gegen einen Versender von Spam-Mails gestellt, der massenhaft unerwünschte E-Mail-Werbung mit der gefälschten Absenderangabe heise.de verschickt hatte. Er warb darin für einen nach Schneeballprinzip organisierten Vertrieb von Prospekten über 'erfolgreiches Internet-Marketing' und versprach ein Einkommen von 'mehr als 250.000 Euro in den ersten sechs Monaten'.
(Korea Herald) The number of spam messages in Korea dropped for the first time in three years, thanks to the government's stepped-up efforts to stem unsolicited commercial e-mail. Online marketers must ensure that their e-mail advertisements are identified and set up a free hotline for recipients who wish to block them. A non-profit organization dubbed "National Movement for Clean Internet" has started distributing CD-ROMs containing software that would block spam e-mail and automatically filter Web pages with pornographic content.
(BBC) Vodafone is looking at new ways to help its customers cut out annoying mobile spam. It has launched a trial service called VSpam which it hopes will make it easier for people in the UK to report unsolicited text messages. When a Vodafone customer receives any text spam, they simply forward it for free to a short code number or by typing VSpam into their phones. An automated report is then created and kept as a record by both Vodafone and Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS), the premium rate services watchdog. The trial has been welcomed by ICSTIS, who have been working with mobile operators to find ways of stopping spammers who advertise services on premium rate numbers.
(Slashdot) America Online has been sued by CI Host, a Texas-based hosting company which says the Internet provider has unfairly labeled the company as a spammer. The suit alleges that AOL has blocked CI Host customers' IP addresses CI Host has been awarded a temporary restraining order, though AOL has apparently not complied.
(FTC) The Federal Trade Commission hosted a public forum in Washington, DC on April 30 - May 2, 2003 to explore the issues regarding the proliferation of and potential solutions to unsolicited commercial email ('UCE' or 'spam'). The forum also looked at how the unique qualities of spam contribute to and hinder both fraud and its prosecution. Transcripts are now online.
(CNET News.com) Internet service providers and Web site operators are breathing a collective sigh of relief following a court decision that preserves a key aspect of their immunity under the Communications Decency Act. The ruling Carafano v. Metrosplash by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, overturns a decision by the U.S. District Court. That ruling alarmed ISPs and Web site operators, because it delineated the first significant exceptions to the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which absolves those businesses from responsibility for their customers' actions. Section 230 of the CDA carved out significant immunity for 'interactive computer services' for the behavior of their customers. But the district court ruled that dating site Matchmaker could be held liable for information a user posted because of the interactive nature of the questionnaire that generated the posting. The court of appeals disagreed. 'So long as a third party willingly provides the essential published content, the interactive computer service receives full immunity regardless of the specific editing or selection process,' the decision read. At issue was a fabricated Matchmaker profile of an actress Christianne Carafano. The posting mixed accurate information, including Carafano's name and address, with alleged falsehoods.
(CNET News.com) Hollywood studios and record labels are getting allies in their quest to overturn a court ruling that said file-swapping software companies aren't responsible for the copyright infringement of their users. Several groups, including a list of legal scholars, international copyright organizations, legal music services and other copyright holder groups filed 'friend of the court' briefs, asking that an April ruling upholding the legality of file-swapping services such as Grokster and StreamCast's Morpheus be overturned.
(Toronto Star) by Michael Geist. The issue of Internet regulation has long been tied to the question of Internet service-provider liability. ISPs were quickly identified as a 'choke point' that could be used to regulate Internet activity. Regulators have been busy searching for alternative choke points that can be used to regulate online activity. For example, financial institutions - the payment intermediary in most online gambling transactions - have been identified as a potential choke point and some have agreed to stop accrediting online gambling merchant accounts. Similarly, Google is regularly asked to remove links to controversial content. The true scope of intermediaries in the Internet context is only now being realized. In a global, interconnected network, the question is no longer who is an intermediary, but rather who isn't.
(Guardian) Mobile phone users will soon be able to view video clips of football, news, comedy and 'adult' content without upgrading to a third generation handset. Flix, a new mobile content company, plans to launch a mobile video portal later this month that will work on existing mobile networks and use technology developed by Finnish company Oplayo. News clips will be provided by Reuters and GMTV, sports action will be supplied by NTL-owned Premium TV and adult content by Soho Original.
(Net Family News) Well, the name 'Google' doesn't say 'search engine' at first glance either! DibDabDoo.com (aka 'Dib Dab Doo and Dilly too') is the newest child-friendly Web directory. About three months old and based in the UK, the resource already has about 1 million links in its database, according to dad and Dib Dab Doo creator Irving Graham. Already, pages in the site are viewed by visitors about 10,000 times a day (one visitor often views multiple pages), and DibDabDoo does not advertise. see also Child-friendly Web searching.
(The Age) A maker of internet software called for legislation to regulate the use of internet filtering and spying programs in the workplace. SurfControl provides tools to businesses which allow them to keep out unwanted content from the internet.
(BBC) Millions of inboxes and networks have been brought to their knees by a triple whammy of computer viruses. So who are the people behind these creations that can wreak havoc on the net? The kind of person who creates such disruption differs in age, income, location, social/peer interaction, educational level, likes, dislikes and communication style, according to Sarah Gordon, renowned expert in computer viruses and security technology.
(Washington Post) In an attempt to minimize the damage caused by computer viruses, some of the world's largest Internet service providers are planning to scan all e-mail attachments before they reach their customers' inboxes. Comprehensive scanning could cost ISPs millions of dollars, but after repeated e-mail attacks capped by the latest version of the "Sobig" virus, customers are beginning to expect it, industry experts said.
(CNET News.com) Federal law enforcement officials have arrested a suspect in the MSBlast worm attack that compromised hundreds of thousands of computers earlier this month. 18-year-old Jeffrey Lee Parson of Minneapolis was arrested and charged with one count of intentionally damaging a protected computer. Parson allegedly created MSBlast.B, a variation that differed from the original worm mainly in that two files had been renamed--one with Parson's screen name, 'teekid'--and a couple of profane messages aimed at Microsoft and Bill Gates had been added. The B variant achieved only modest distribution in comparison to the original worm and the recent D variant.
(Press Release) Oftel has notified the European Commission of its proposals for regulation in several key telecoms markets. Oftel published initial conclusions of a number of market reviews, which set out Oftel's proposals for replacing existing regulation with new measures under the new EC Directives on electronic communications.
(Washington Post) The nation's largest telephone companies asked a federal court to throw out new Federal Communications Commission regulations that they say unfairly allow competitors to lease parts of their networks at deep discounts.
(CNET News.com) America Online has launched a new feature called AOL Journals in an effort to piggyback on the grassroots popularity of Web logs, or 'blogs.' The service lets people publish their own daily musings and complement their text with photos and picture albums. Users can also arrange their journals by topics, such as sports, relationships or books. AOL will offer the new feature as part of its proprietary online service, but users will be able to update their blogs through the AOL Web site, AOL Instant Messenger and their cell phones.
(BBC) Game makers have been offered a glimpse of the latest in games for mobile phones, with insights into the sort of things keeping Japanese thumbs busy. They include virtual pets which are fed by photos, pronunciation puzzles and games that are the quality of PlayStation One titles.
(BBC) People are going to spend millions of pounds to play games on their mobiles by next year, say experts. Mobile gaming is seen by many as the next big thing, as phones become more powerful and come with colour screens.
(BBC) Greg Dyke, director general of the BBC, has announced plans to give the public full access to all the corporation's programme archives. Mr Dyke said that everyone would in future be able to download BBC radio and TV programmes from the internet. The service, the BBC Creative Archive, would be free and available to everyone, as long as they were not intending to use the material for commercial purposes, Mr Dyke added.
(BBC) Your TV and mobile are coming closer together, with game shows played by text message set to grow, say experts. Voting via SMS is already immensely popular in programmes such as Pop Idol, Fame Academy and Big Brother. But soon you could be shooting, kicking or punching other people on screen over a mobile handset.
(CyberAtlas) Spain is enjoying an Internet penetration surge, with Nielsen//NetRatings reporting that usage has risen from roughly 25 percent in 2002 to 33 percent, and nearly half of the estimated 14 million surfers access the Web every month.
(CyberAtlas) Research from an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) survey, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, found that a range of age groups are getting in on the action, and the activity is becoming quite popular with women. The ESA, formerly the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), found an increase in the number of 50+ game players at 17 percent - up from 13 percent in 2000 - with the average gaming age at 29. The average age of the gamer in 2000 was 28. see also Girl Gamers Go Online (CyberAtlas) and Let the games begin (Pew Internet Project) Gaming technology and entertainment among college students.
(EEVL) This document is aimed at publishers and content providers with the intention of introducing & explaining the concepts behind RSS and addressing some commonly expressed concerns. It is primarily intended for a non-technical audience who require an overview of RSS in order to allow them to make decisions regarding the possible use of the technology. However, the guidelines do provide recommendations for good practice, case studies on RSS production and links to tools and specifications which will provide useful starting points for those tasked with actually producing RSS feeds.
(Editor and Publisher) Who'd have thought that things could get this bad? E-mail - long touted as the 'killer app' of the Internet and the best online channel for publishers - is rapidly being decimated by spammers and virus writers. Yes, 'decimated' is an accurate word. The evidence is quickly mounting that e-mail is no longer an efficient means for ethical publishers to reach subscribers.
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