Legal and regulatory issues

Computer crime

• UK - New papers on e-crime  +/-

  (CommsWatch) The organisations EURIM and IPPR have today published two new studies as part of their E-Crime Study programme. The paper on Reducing Opportunities for E-Crime focuses on the need for industry and law enforcement to work together to produce practical, plain English guidance for users on what to do to protect themselves and what to do when they suspect they have been victimised. The paper on The Reporting of Cybercrime (non-geographic e-crime where the agency responsible for action is not obvious) addresses the need to rationalise the current jungle of largely ad hoc reporting structures,

Data Protection (privacy)

• EU - Rush vote European Parliament on biometrics  +/-

  (EDRI) It is likely that the Council of European Justice and Home Affairs ministers will adopt a regulation on 3 December 2004, to fingerprint all EU citizens and residents, to take digital photographs of their faces and to store these data in a gigantic database of 450 million EU citizens. On 2 December the European Parliament adopted the proposal but introduced a large number of limitations. MEPs voted to limit the kinds of information to be stored on the passports, they voted against the storage of the data in a central database and in favour of giving Data Protection Authorities oversight over the process. But it is unlikely that the Council will take any of these amendments into consideration. Under the European Union's consultation procedure the Council can globally reject all of the Parliament's amendments. see also EU - biometrics in passports - EDRI Open Letter (EDRI) see also The Legality of the Regulation on EU Citizens' Passports (Statewatch) by Dr. Steve Peers, Professor of Law, University of Essex.

Junk mail (spam)

• Europe - Freeze on anti-spam campaign  +/-

  (BBC) A campaign by Lycos Europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold. Earlier this week the company released a screensaver that bombarded the sites with data to try to bump up the running costs of the websites. But the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words 'Stay tuned'. No one at Lycos was available for comment on latest developments in its controversial anti-spam campaign. Lycos Europe's 'Make love not spam' campaign was intended as a way for users to fight back against the mountain of junk mail flooding inboxes. People were encouraged to download the screensaver which, when their PC was idle, would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages.

• KR - Spam Becomes Gadfly for Mobile Phone Subscribers  +/-

  (Korea Times) Unwanted spam mail and calls have become a major irritant for mobile phone subscribers these days, with unsolicited messages or calls from numbers with the dialing prefixes of 060 or 030 exploding. The bulk messages cost cell phone users precious time and effort and most typically carry sexual content, fanning concerns about the influence on youth.

• US - Microsoft sues purveyors of lewd spam  +/-

  (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) Microsoft has filed seven lawsuits yesterday against purveyors of sexually explicit commercial e-mail, alleging that they violated federal restrictions on pornographic spam. The suits are believed to be the first under anti-spam rules established earlier this year to limit the exposure of children and others to unwanted sexual images and messages in their e-mail inboxes.

Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

• BE - Provider Tiscali in Belgium forced to disconnect P2P-users  +/-

  (EDRI) A Brussels court of first instance has ruled on 30 November 2004 that internet provider Tiscali should disconnect customers if they violate copyrights, and block the access for all customers to websites offering file-sharing programs. The case was instituted by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SABAM) with an appeal to consideration 59 of the European Copyright directive (2001/29/EC). The Court apparently followed this line of reasoning, but ordered technical research into the possibility of blocking access. The verdict is not public yet. It is completely unclear how Tiscali should detect possible unlawful behaviour from their customers. The verdict seems to contradict the provider liability provisions in the e-Commerce directive (2000/31/EC).

Mobile and wireless

• CH - Schweizer Carrier sperren unregistrierte Prepaid-Handys  +/- Translate

  (Heise) Mit Blick auf die Terroanschläge in den USA vom 11. September 2001 und am 11. März 2004 in Madrid hatte die Schweizer Bundesregierung eine Verordnung erlassen, die vorsah, dass sich Prepaid-Kunden bis Ende November 2004 nachträglich registrieren lassen müssen. Allein bei der Swisscom waren rund 500.000 Verträge betroffen - 370.000 Kunden hätten sich bis Ende November rechtzeitig identifiziert. Den übrigen wurde - so sah es die Verordnung vor - das Handy zum 1. Dezember deaktiviert.

Protection of minors

• UK - Game warnings 'should be clearer'  +/-

  (BBC) Violent video games should carry larger warnings so parents can understand what their children are playing, the trade and industry secretary has said. Patricia Hewitt is expected to call for the law banning the sale of 18-rated games to children to be enforced better at a games industry meeting. She is concerned too many children are playing games aimed at adults which include 'high levels of violence'. Her call was backed by Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Tessa Jowell who said: "You wouldn't let your child watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You wouldn't let them go to a strip club. So you shouldn't let them play an 18-rated game. It's the same principle - adults can make their own informed choices, but children can't always and need to be protected." Anyone convicted of selling an 18-rated game to a child can be jailed for six months and fined up to £5,000.

Self-regulation / codes of conduct

• GTA - Global Trustmark Alliance  +/-

  (GTA) The Global Trustmark Alliance is a new membership organization created to encourage cross border e-commerce by fostering consumer trust, encouraging good online business practices, and discouraging the development of burdensome disparate governmental regulation. Members are local trustmark organizations worldwide and other organizations supporting the development of online trustmarks. Once fully operational, participating businesses in these member trustmark organizations will agree to abide by an international code of conduct for cross-border transactions, to participate in out-of-court dispute resolution procedures based on code standards, and to display an international seal on their website signaling their participation in the GTA.

Telecommunications

• EU - Spectrum Trading and Switchover: Two Speeds?  +/-

  (ofcomwatch) The Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG) consists of representatives of Member States and the European Commission, along with representatives of EEA and candidate countries that act as observers. It was established in 2003 to assist and advise the Commission on radio spectrum policy issues. The Group has recently delivered two opinions on the spectrum implications of switchover to digital broadcasting and on spectrum trading .The Group underlines that a more efficient use of the frequencies through digital transmission offers the potential for a considerable "spectrum dividend" that could be used to deliver enhanced broadcasting and other electronic communications services.

• NZ - Failure of telecoms experiment  +/-

  (CommsWatch) New Zealand went its own way with telecoms deregulation, deciding not to have a telecoms regulator and relying simply on competition law. For its part, Telecom New Zealand decided on a massive outsourcing programme. Did it work? A recent survey that was conducted by the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development shows that the liberalisation and outsourcing of telecoms work has failed to provide quality services (and certainly failed to provide quality jobs).

Market & Technology

Market

• IN - Mobile gaming takes off in India  +/-

  (BBC) Gaming on the move is one of the fastest-growing activities among the tech-savvy in India, says a report. In October, mobile phone users grew by 1.4 million to 44.9 million, overtaking the number of landlines, said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Analysts say cheap rates and a huge youth market is driving the market.

Mobile and wireless

• UK - Consumer Association - 3G phones not Best Buy  +/-

  (Which?) New 3G handsets are being launched in the run-up to Christmas. These phones allow you to view film clips and make video phone calls to other 3G users. But because 3G network coverage is limited you are likely to experience problems accessing 3G services successfully and consistently, particularly outside big towns and cities. The 3G network issues combined with the bulky handsets means Which? didn?t select any of the third generation phones as Best Buys. Only 2G phones met the Best Buy criteria, which includes tests of sound quality, ease of use, battery life, and reception.

Statistics

• Broadband challenges TV viewing  +/-

  (BBC) The number of Europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months, with the web eating into TV viewing habits, research suggests. Just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband, up from 34 million a year ago, according to market analysts Nielsen/NetRatings. The total number of people online in Europe has broken the 100 million mark. The popularity of the net has meant that many are turning away from TV, say analysts Jupiter Research. It found that a quarter of web users said they spent less time watching TV in favour of the net.

• OECD - Information Technology Outlook 2004  +/-

  (OECD) Information technology (IT) is a major driver of economic change, restructuring businesses, affecting skills and employment, and contributing to growth. The 2004 edition of the OECD Information Technology Outlook, the eighth in a biennial series, describes recent market dynamics and gives a detailed overview of the globalisation of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and the rise of ICT-enabled international sourcing. It analyses the development and impacts of electronic business processes and describes trends in industries supplying IT goods and services. A highlights brochure summarizing the main findings of the publication is available for download.

Forthcoming events

• 2005-01-20 UK, Oxford - Media Convention 2005  +/-

  (Guardian) Organised by ippr in association with MediaGuardian and PCMLP, Oxford University. Thursday January 20 2005. Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford University. Keynote speakers: Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of state for culture, media and sport; Michael Grade, Chairman, BBC board of governors; Ed Richards, Senior partner, strategy and market developments, Ofcom. The decisions taken over the next 12 months will set the agenda for the next 5 years. Ofcom's Public Service Television Broadcasting Review has set out key challenges and options for maintaining and strengthening Public Service Broadcasting in the UK. The telecoms review promises to do much the same for the wider communications industry. The road map to digital switchover will be published and the next twelve months will bring into sharp relief the debate around BBC Charter Review. The third Oxford Media Convention will consider and debate the challenges for media policy in 2005 and look ahead to the key strategic challenges that lie beyond.

Editorial information

• QuickLinks - Status of EU initiatives  +/-

  (QuickLinks) An unofficial compilation from publicly available sources - updated.

• QuickLinks a new spam victim  +/-

  (QuickLinks) The majority of recent e-mail messages asking to subscribe to QuickLinks seem not to be genuine - they are sent by someone other than the owner of the e-mail address, or "spoofed". All membership requests now therefore need to be approved by the moderator. New subscribers will receive a confirmation email when their membership has been approved. The preferred method of signing up is Web-based. To be included on the mailing list, click on HTML or text and fill in your email address.

QuickLinks consists of

• a free newsletter appearing approximately once a week. The newsletter is distributed by electronic mail through an "announcement only" mailing list. To be included on the mailing list, click on HTML or text and fill in your email address.
• a Web site with frequent updates, an events page, news items organised by category as well as chronologically by issue and full text search.