- CA - Half-naked driver faces Net charge +/-
(London Free Press) A half-naked man found driving on a city street was arrested and charged with child porn offences in the first Canadian case involving wireless Internet signal piracy. The bizarre case began when a Toronto police officer spotted a motorist going the wrong way down a one-way street in a residential neighbourhood. After pulling the man over, Sgt. Don Woods discovered the man was naked from the waist down as he downloaded images on a laptop computer of a young girl involved in a sex act with an adult. Investigation showed the man had hooked into a wireless computer network at a nearby house to gain access to a resident's Internet connection and download images from child pornography websites. The scheme, known as 'war driving,' allows a computer with wireless Internet capability to tap into a wireless home network and access the World Wide Web, usually without fear of discovery.
- CoE - Cyber-Crime Convention, An Advocacy Handbook for the Non Governmental Organisations +/-
(Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK)) This advocacy handbook for the NGOs provides a policy analysis of the Cyber-Crime Convention 2001 and its first additional protocol from a human rights perspective for policy specialists, NGOs, and human rights activists within the 45 member states of the Council of Europe. Compatibility problems with the European Convention on Human Rights and implications for freedom of expression, privacy of communications and data protection will be the main focus of this critical analysis. The appendices include other useful information that could be relied upon while NGOs and policy activists lobby their individual governments in relation to the implementation of the Convention.
- DE - Experten kritisieren unklare Rechtslage bei Computer-Kriminalität +/-
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(Heise) Der Kampf gegen die Computer-Kriminalität in Deutschland wird nach Expertenansicht durch eine unklare und teils widersprüchliche Rechtslage behindert. Oberstaatsanwalt Ralf Günther aus Celle kritisierte, Gesetze und Verordnungen beispielsweise zur Erhebung, Speicherung und Weitergabe von Daten seien schlecht koordiniert. Die Regelungen weisen Lücken auf, manche Bestimmungen widersprächen sich. Immer wieder verweigerten Unternehmen ihre Mitwirkung bei der Fahndung nach Computer- Kriminellen und bei der Beweissicherung, weil sie für die Zusammenarbeit keine Rechtsgrundlage sähen. siehe auch Schily fordert mehr Hinweise über Computerkriminelle.
- NO - Hollywood: Norwegian hacker a burgler +/-
(Reuters) A Norwegian hacker who has angered Hollywood by cracking a DVD copy protection code is a cyberspace version of a burglar, plaintiffs told an Oslo appeals court.
- NZ - Email harassment left woman feeling 'emotionally raped' +/-
(Stuff) It all started innocently enough. A flirtatious email sent to her work computer suggesting they spark up a relationship over the internet. But after a barrage of emails over two weeks, a New Zealand man was arrested for criminal harassment, leaving his female victim drained and feeling 'emotionally raped'.
- UK - Ebay takes action over child porn complaints +/-
(The Register) Ebay has taken action following allegations that its online auction house was being used to trade in child pornography. One of its users - who has now been suspended from the service - bought and sold hundreds of items, many of which included pictures of naked children and babies. Although many of the items were old or "antique" photos, the sheer quantity and recurring nature of the "suspicious" images caused alarm among those who stumbled across the images and reported it to eBay. The incident was also reported to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) but officials there concluded that while some people might find the content distasteful, it was not illegal.
- UK - Internet fraudsters sentenced to 15 years +/-
(ZDNet UK) Six men were sentenced to a total of 15 and a half years in jail at Wood Green Crown Court, after pleading guilty to using the Internet to defraud UK banks to the tune of £350,000. The six men, aged between 21 and 39, obtained false identities over the Internet and used them to open bank accounts, arrange overdrafts and apply for credit cards.
- Uk - Scotland - Child porn images 'worst ever' +/-
(BBC) A bricklayer who had more than 400,000 images of 'unimaginable evil and depravity' on his computer has been warned he faces a lengthy jail term. Sheriff Norrie Stein told 37-year-old Steven Perrie that he faced prison after 403,000 indecent images of children and 16,000 video clips were found at his home in Forfar, Angus. Police who had to sift through the images described it as the worst material they had ever seen. Perrie's name was uncovered by FBI officers investigating a Texas company called Landslide Productions during the world-wide child porn crackdown. The depute fiscal told the court that Landslide Productions acted as brokers for webmasters in Russia and Indonesia that provided child porn pictures. Sentence was deferred until next month for the preparation of full reports. Perrie was remanded in custody.
- Prepare to be scanned +/-
(Economist) After years of false starts, security systems based on biometric - human characteristics such as faces, hand shapes and fingerprints - are finally taking off. Proponents have long argued that because biometrics cannot be forgotten, like a password, or lost or stolen, like a key or an identity card, they are an ideal way to control access to computer networks, airport service-areas and bank vaults. But biometrics have not yet spread beyond such niche markets, for two main reasons. The first is the unease they can inspire among users. Many people would prefer not to have to submit their eyes for scanning in order to withdraw money from a cash dispenser. The second reason is cost: biometric systems are expensive compared with other security measures, such as passwords and personal identification numbers. So while biometrics may provide extra security, the costs currently outweigh the benefits in most cases. [Ed: Recommended] see also Biometrics Hold Key to Next Hi-Tech Revolution.
- EU - e-Privacy - Commission launches infringement proceedings against nine Member States +/-
(RAPID) Following the expiry on 31 October 2003 of the deadline to transpose the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (e-Privacy Directive),, the Commission has opened infringement proceedings for failure to notify transposition measures against Belgium, Germany, Greece, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Finland and Sweden. The Directive was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in July 2002, and completes the new regulatory framework for electronic communications. It sets EU-wide rules for the protection of privacy and personal data in mobile and fixed communications, including the Internet. For instance, the Directive introduces a 'ban on spam' throughout the EU; it also determines specific conditions for using location data generated by mobile phones, or for installing so-called 'cookies' on users' personal computers.
- DE - Datenschutzbeauftragte kritisieren Entwurf des Telekommunikationsgesetzes +/-
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(Heise) Vor 'gravierenden Verschlechterungen des Datenschutzes' warnt die Konferenz der Datenschutzbeauftragten des Bundes und der Länder in einer Entschließung zu dem umstrittenen Entwurf eines neuen Telekommunikationsgesetzes. Den Entwurf hatte die Bundesregierung am 15. Oktober beschlossen. So gebe der Gesetzentwurf mit der Berechtigung für die Diensteanbieter, grundsätzlich alle entstehenden Verkehrsdaten (also auch alle Zielrufnummern) unverkürzt bis zu sechs Monate nach Versendung der Rechnung zu speichern, ohne Not und ohne überzeugende Begründung eine bewährte Regelung auf. Auch die mit der TKG-Novelle geplante Einführung einer Identifikationspflicht beim Kauf von Prepaid-Handys kritisierten die Datenschutzbeauftragten, da sie zu einer verdachtslosen Datenspeicherung auf Vorrat führen würde, ohne dass ein nennenswerter Erkenntnisgewinn der Sicherheitsbehörden erkennbar sei. Wer ein solches Handy kaufe, sei nicht automatisch identisch mit der Person, die das Handy nutzt.
- DE - Web crimes ignites German debate on privacy laws +/-
(Reuters) Germany is floating the idea of easing its cherished privacy laws, designed in part to banish its Nazi and Communist past, in order to combat rising Internet crime. The government and the police say new rules are needed so that online connection data - in other words, who is accessing which Web sites - is automatically stored in case it is eventually needed as evidence in criminal investigations. But that idea worries both telecommunications companies and officials charged with data protection, in a country which experienced Nazi and East German communist dictatorship and whose privacy laws were designed to prevent an all-knowing totalitarian state from ever emerging again.
- ICANN, WSIS and the Making of a Global Civil Society +/-
(CircleID) First part of a two-part series interview by Geert Lovink with Milton Mueller discussing ICANN, World Summit on the Information Society, and the escalating debates over Internet Governance. Second part of interview. see also ICANN - At the Moment, No One Governs the Internet (CircleID) by Susan Crawford. ICANN was designed to keep other governments at bay. ICANN has, however, no particular delegated power beyond that accorded to it by the contracts it has signed with registries and registrars. At the moment, no one governs the Internet. ICANN isn't about Internet governance (whatever that means). ICANN worries about registries and number allocation. That's it. If the world wants to make rules about content and identity and intellectual property and cybercrime, the world will have to find another vessel. ICANN cannot bear that burden. see also What is WSIS Getting At?.
- WSIS - Rifts mar digital divide summit +/-
(BBC) The aim of the World Summit on the Information Society is to come up with a global plan to ensure everyone has access to information and communications technologies. With the summit due to kick off on 10 December, last ditch efforts are continuing to reach agreement on key issues such as the role of the media in the digital age and who should run the internet. see also U.N. confab to see tussle over Net control (Reuters). A controversial plan to grant governments broad controls over the Internet has stolen the spotlight of a United Nations conference on IT, where China and Cuba will be among its strongest supporters.
- WSIS - Think Web's virtually government free? Think again +/-
(Toronto Star) by Michael Geist. Coverage of the results of a global study jointly conducted by the ITU and myself on the role of national governments and their national domains. The study, which covered 56 countries from every global region and a broad cross-section of developed and developing countries, finds that virtually every government that responded to the survey either manages, retains direct control, or is contemplating formalizing its relationship with its ccTLD. The column concludes that the debate at next week's World Summit on the Information Society is not whether governments should be involved in "Internet governance", but rather how they will be involved in the issue.
- WSIS / DE - Gipfel zur Informationsgesellschaft ohne Kanzler +/-
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(Heise) von Monika Ermert. Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder nimmt nicht am Weltgipfel der Informationsgesellschaft (WSIS ) im Dezember in Genf teil. Ein Regierungssprecher betonte gegenüber heise online, das sei keinesfalls als 'Absage an die Informationsgesellschaft' zu verstehen. Der Termindruck mache die Teilnahme des Kanzlers schlicht unmöglich.
- CN - Study of Internet use and its impact in China +/-
(Markle Foundation) A two-year study of Internet use and its impact in China, Surveying Internet Usage and Impact in Twelve Chinese Cities, reveals that the key drivers behind its growth are market forces, including people's increasing desire to go online and competition among service providers, and the government's view of the information technology sector as an engine for economic growth. The study also examines the demographics and attitudes of Internet users in China, finding that a majority of them expect the Internet will bring more freedom of speech and create more opportunities to express their political views.
- UK - Kids key to closing the digital divide +/-
(ZDNet UK) BT wants the younger generation to encourage their technology-fearing elders to embrace technology and the Web, so closing the digital divide and boosting e-commerce in the UK. The telco has started a campaign to encourage children to get their families onto the Web. The initiative, called Internet Rangers, gives advice and encouragement on how to get parents and grandparents to swallow the Net bug.
- US - Fiber to the People +/-
(Wired) by Lawrence Lessig. When customers own the network, everyone wins. Burlington, Vermont, like many municipalities across North America, it has decided to construct an advanced fiber network on its own. The AFN is being deployed first to support city services. Then, as part of the four-phase project, this municipality of just 40,000 will extend blazingly fast Internet service to businesses and residences. To many, this just looks like more socialism from Vermont. Why should government be in the business of providing high-speed networks? The answer, as Cornell economist Alan McAdams argues, has nothing to do with Karl Marx and everything to do with basic economics. AFNs are natural monopolies. Most economists would leap from the premise of a natural monopoly to the conclusion that such a monopoly must be regulated. But regulation is not the end that McAdams seeks. Ownership is.
- US approves anti-spam legislation +/-
(BBC) Congress in the United States has approved legislation intended to stop the flow of unwanted e-mails, or spam. US Senators adopted the Can-Spam Act following a vote by the House of Representatives. The measures - including fines and jail terms for offenders - are seen as vital in the US, from where most spam comes. But activists warn the legislation does not go far enough and could even make matters worse by approving spam that follows key guidelines. The legislation brings in penalties for individuals and companies that send out junk e-mails to recipients who have said they wish to unsubscribe. But it will not stop mass e-mail sendings entirely. The bill now goes to President George W Bush for signing and the new law is expected to come into effect in January. see also US - Why the New Federal "CAN Spam" Law Probably Won't (FindLaw). U. Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry assesses the new Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, also referred to as the "CAN Spam Act." Ramasastry explains the Act's provisions, and also explains why she and others believe it may not be effective in actually eliminating spam.
- AT - Österreichs Provider gemeinsam gegen Spam +/-
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(Heise) Die österreichischen Internetprovider haben eine Vereinbarung über das Verhalten gegenüber Spam und Spammern geschlossen. Wie der Providerverband ISPA in Wien mitteilte, ist der "Spam Code of Conduct" sofort in Kraft getreten. Die Maßnahmen reichen von Änderungen in den AGB über Scans im eigenen Netz bis zu Whitelists. Spam wird dabei als "vom Empfänger unverlangte und unerwünschte, vom Verursacher massenweise oder zum Zwecke der Direktwerbung versandte E-Mail" definiert. Dies muss sich nicht notwendiger Weise mit der gesetzlichen Definition decken, die bei der letzten Novelle des TKG zum Missfallen der Provider stark aufgeweicht wurde.
- SG - Direct Marketing Association moves to curb spam with opt-out list +/-
(Business Times) In a fresh bid to curb spam - or the unwanted, unsolicited nuisance e-mail and SMS messages that clog computers and mobile phones - the Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS) is setting up an 'opt-out' list, much like the 'Do Not Call' list being adopted in the US.
- UNCTAD - US named as biggest spammer, spammee +/-
(Cyberatals) The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2003 e-commerce and development report identifies the U.S. as the top perpetrator, responsible for more than half of the spam received in the world. The majority of spam victims are in the U.S. as well, the report finds. The U.S. is the largest marketplace in the world, making it an attractive target.
- AU - Net helps children start sex attacks +/-
(Sydney Morning Herald) Internet pornography was helping to spawn a new generation of sexual predators as young as six, child protection experts warned. There had been an alarming increase in children under 10 sexually abusing other children over the past few years, most of whom had used the internet specifically to browse porn sites. Cassandra Tinning presented research on the issue of child protection and the internet on behalf of the the Child At Risk Assessment Unit based at Canberra Hospital, with Dr Janet Stanley and Katie Kovacs from the National Child Protection Clearing House, at the Ninth Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. Ms Kovacs said internet pornography was worse than X-rated videos, for example, because it was "a lot more deviant and extreme, violent and showing rape and other other non-consensual sex".
- DE - Jugendmedienschutz im Internet: Deutsche setzen zu sehr auf Verbote +/-
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(Heise) Der im April eingeführte Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrag (JMStV) widerspricht in Teilen dem Zensurverbot des Artikels 5 Grundgesetz: Diese harte Kritik an dem neuen Gesetzeswerk übte bei einer Veranstaltung der Saarländischen Landesmedienanstalt (LMS) und des Europäischen Instituts für Medienrecht (EMR) zu Pornografie im Pocketformat der Leipziger Juraprofessor Heribert Schumann.
- DE - Keine LAN-Partys mehr an bayerischen Schulen +/-
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(Heise) Bayerische Schulen sind angewiesen, ihre Räumlichkeiten, wie beispielsweise Turnhallen, nicht mehr für LAN-Partys zur Verfügung zu stellen. Staatsministerin Monika Hohlmeier hat alle bayerischen Schulleiterinnen und Schulleiter 'eindringlich darum gebeten', keine LAN-Parties in schulischen Räumen mehr durchführen zu lassen. Die Ministerin habe 'insbesondere darauf hingewiesen, dass es im Rahmen von LAN-Parties generell zu gesundheitlichen Beeinträchtigungen bei einem stundenlangen Verweilen vor Bildschirmen und permanenter Beschallung sowie zu anderen, den schulischen Bildungs- und Erziehungsauftrag negativ beeinflussenden Begleiterscheinungen' kommen könne. Ausdrücklich festgestellt habe die Ministerin zudem, dass 'Gewalt verherrlichende, aber auch die Menschenwürde verletzende oder das Geschlecht betonende Computerspiele in den Schulen oder bei schulischen Veranstaltungen innerhalb wie außerhalb der schulischen Räumlichkeiten' verboten seien.
- Kind of blue +/-
(Guardian) Can porn really be acceptable? A new website thinks it can.
- NL - Erotica to disappear from Dutch TV +/-
(Expatica) Following the lead of commercial television broadcaster SBS, competitor RTL 5 will also abandon its "erotica" programmes, signalling the end to the soft porn era on Dutch free-to-air TV.
- Porn In The U.S.A. +/-
(CBS) Selling sex is one of the oldest businesses in the world, and right now, business has never been better. One of the biggest cultural changes in the United States over the past 25 years has been the widespread acceptance of sexuality explicit material - pornography. In the space of a generation, a product that once was available in the back alleys of big cities has gone corporate, delivered now directly into homes and hotel rooms by some of the biggest companies in the U.S.
- UK - Hi-tech jukeboxes set to revolutionise pub music +/-
(Guardian) Internet terminals offering instant access to more than two million songs are to be installed in pubs across the country as part of a plan to stop jukeboxes becoming obsolete. Each year pubs scrap more than 1,000 jukeboxes as they become less popular with customers.
- Yahoo back in X-rated business +/-
(San Franciso Chronicle) Yahoo, which removed adult products and banner ads from its U.S. Web portal in 2001 after protests by conservative groups, is back in the pornography business. With the acquisition of Overture Services, Yahoo is now selling ads to a range of hard-core Web sites. Those ads appear on two search engines Yahoo acquired as part of the Overture deal - AltaVista and AlltheWeb.com.
- 2003-12-10 Ch, Geneva - WSIS - Side events +/-
(ITU) The First Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), hosted by the Government of Switzerland, will take place in Geneva from 10 to 12 December 2003. Some side events of interest which will be taking place alongside the Summit include Global Symposium for Regulators, The WSIS global challenge: making the information society a reality for all, The future evolution of ICTs, Monitoring the Information Society: Data, Measurements and Methods, ICT for Development Forum, Building Knowledge Societies - from vision to action, Ubiquitous information society workshop, Role of Science in the Information Society (RSIS) For a full list of all side events, visit the WSIS events website
- 2004-02-17 US - Gaithersburg, MD - NIST SPAM Forum +/-
(NIST) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold a spam technology workshop on February 17, 2004 to examine technical topics related to spam including filtering at the Internet/network and client sides (e.g., how to detect spam and how to reduce it), input from standards bodies on relevant current activities, Internet service providers' current and future plans to deal with spam, and technical issues regarding the efficacy of proposals to create "do not spam" lists. NIST is also interested in hearing about research challenges to developing and measuring improvements in spam control and reduction technology.
- 2004-03-26 US, Yale - Digital Cops in Virtual Environment +/-
(Yale Information Society Project) The Information Society Project at Yale Law School is pleased to announce its upcoming conference on Cybercrime and Digital Law Enforcement entitled: "Digital Cops in Virtual Environment," which will take place on March 26-28, 2004 at Yale Law School. The conference will question both the efficacy of fighting cybercrime and the civil liberties implications arising from innovations in law enforcement methods of operation. see also Writing Competition and Call for Papers. Deadlines for the writing competition: February 15th, 2004, for publication: May 1st, 2004.