- EU - Commission clears acquisition of Channel 5 by Bertelsmann +/-
(RAPID) he European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Channel 5 Television Group Limited (Channel 5) of the UK by the RTL Group S.A. (RTL) of Luxembourg, belonging to Bertelsmann AG of Germany. Channel 5 operates in the broadcasting and media sector, specialising in the broadcasting of free to air TV, the sale of advertising space and the commissioning and acquisition of TV broadcasting rights in the UK. It also operates an Internet portal with Internet services and sales of advertising space. RTL is a broadcasting and media group controlled by BAG. BAG is the parent company of a group whose activities include the publication of books and magazines, printing, book and music clubs, TV and radio broadcasting, content and rights and related services in the media sector. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
- EU - EC bid to break Premiership monopoly +/-
(Observer) The European Commission wants to limit the number of Premier League football matches shown by BSkyB so that other broadcasters can finally get a slice of the lucrative pay-TV soccer market. Sky, headed by James Murdoch, fears the move by Brussels' competition watchdog may prompt many of their 7.8 million subscribers to switch providers, while Premier League chiefs believe it could send their vital £1.6 billion TV income plummeting. Officials in the EC's competition directorate have told the league that, under their next broadcasting deal, starting in 2007, no one station should show more than half the live matches screened.
- FR - Les opérateurs de mobiles contestent les accusations d'entente +/-
(Libération) France Télécom, SFR et Bouygues Télécom se défendent d'avoir conclu un accord pour mieux verrouiller le marché fort juteux de la téléphonie mobile. Leur réaction fait suite à la publication ce matin dans «le Canard enchaîné» de larges extraits d'un rapport confidentiel de la Direction générale de la consommation de la concurrence et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) établi en mai 2004, à la demande du Conseil de la Concurrence. Celui-ci avait été saisi deux ans plus tôt par l'UFC-Que Choisir qui accusait les trois opérateurs d'entente illicite. Les documents saisis par les inspecteurs de la concurrence lors d'une perquisition au siège des trois opérateurs en 2003 sont édifiants. Comme ce cahier tenu par le patron d'Orange qui relatait par le menu les échanges entre les états-majors des trois réseaux, à propos du «Yalta des parts de marchés», comme l'entente avait été baptisée.
- UK - Key role for Ofcom in Premier League deal +/-
(Daily Telegraph) Ofcom, the Government quango who regulate broadcasting, have emerged as the new threat to the next Premier League television deal, which will replace the one ends in 2007. Ofcom want to cut Sky down to size and promote a satellite channel that could break the near monopoly enjoyed by Rupert Murdoch's channel. They believe that competition will be good for the viewers, that there should be a plethora of service providers and more competition will also bring more innovation.
- UK - Tribunal rejects OFT ruling on media rights to racecourses +/-
(Financial Times) A decision by the competition watchdog, which found that the Racecourse Association had breached competition rules when it sold audio-visual rights at dozens of racecourses to a consortium backed by British Sky Broadcasting and Channel 4, has been overturned on appeal. It is the first time that an infringement ruling by the Office of Fair Trading has been reversed by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, the body set up to scrutinise the regulator's decisions under the Enterprise Act.
- CA - Harry Potter and the Right to Read +/-
(Michael Geist) Dicussion of a Canadian court injunction prohibiting Canadians from reading or discussing any aspect of the latest Harry Potter tome and a high charge by the National Gallery of Canada for a copy of a photograph.
- EU - BUMA and SABAM commitments on licensing online music +/-
(RAPID) The European Commission has opened a public consultation on commitments submitted by BUMA and SABAM, the Dutch and Belgian collecting societies that manage music copyrights for authors. These companies have proposed commitments that aim to end the restrictions, as far as these two collecting societies are concerned, in the cross-licensing arrangements for online music that they have between themselves and with other societies. The Commission issued a Statement of Objections in 29 April 2004 raising concerns that these restrictions unjustifiably transposed into the Internet world the national monopolies that the societies have traditionally held in the offline world. The Commission sees modernising the licensing of music for online services as highly important and it will now consult third parties on the proposed commitments.
- EU - EPO sets up software patents site +/-
(out-law) The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched a microsite to provide information on the law and practice relating to the patentability of computer-related inventions. It comes in the wake of a failed European Commission attempt to clarify the law in this area.
- Google pauses library project +/-
(CNET News.com) Google will temporarily stop scanning copyright-protected books from libraries into its database following discussions with 'publishers, publishing industry organizations and authors,', while it makes changes to its Google Print Publisher Program. The company's library project involves the scanning of out-of-print and copyright works so that their text can be found through the search engine's database. Google is working on the project with libraries at Stanford University, Harvard University and other schools. The plan has come under fire from several groups, including publishers, who object to what they claim are violations of their copyrights.
- UK - Publishers make last stand against open access +/-
(Guardian) Publishers and learned societies are fighting a last ditch action to stop the research findings of thousands of British academics being made freely available online. The UK research councils, which control billions of pounds worth of funding, have announced their intention to make free access on the internet a condition of grants in a bid to give British research more impact worldwide as it is taken up and cited by other.
- UM Library/Google Digitization Partnership FAQ +/-
(UMICH) The University of Michigan and Google, Inc. have entered into a partnership to digitize the entire print collection of the University Library. The digitized collection will be searchable by Google, and the University Library will receive and own a copy of all images to integrate into new and existing UM Library user services. This FAQ addresses questions in the following areas: The UM-Google Project (aka MDP), Michigan's decision to work with Google, Collections to be converted, and materials handling, Technology issues, Legal issues, Access to the content online, UM's Digital Archive, Impact on existing library services. [Ed: Interesting. The most detailed description so far published by a signatory of the Google Library project]. See also CORRECTIONS: Google Print Not All I Said It Was by Barbara Quint.
- US - Adult-site publisher takes action against Google +/-
(CNET News.com) Adult magazine publisher Perfect 10 is seeking a preliminary injunction against Google to stop the search giant from allegedly displaying copyright images of its models. Perfect 10 asked the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to immediately halt Google from allegedly copying, displaying and distributing more than 3,000 Perfect 10 photos. Perfect 10's lawsuit against Google is similar to one it filed against Amazon.com in July. In that suit, Perfect 10 makes similar allegations against Amazon's A9 search engine.
- AU - Web pic law canvassed +/-
(Australian IT) Posting unauthorised photos of children on the internet could be outlawed in Australia. It is one of the options raised in a discussion paper, released on behalf of all state and territory attorneys-general, which reviews the adequacy of existing laws around Australia. The Discussion Paper calls for submissions from interested parties by 14 October 2005.
- Identity theft - a PIP of progress +/-
(Economist) A company, MyPublicInfo, has officially launched its product, called the PIP, or public information profile. For $79.95, Americans can now go to the firm's website and see, within hours, all the public records about themselves from thousands of databases across the country.
- UK - Getting hot about cold calls +/-
(CommsWatch) Do you hate it when a company with which you've never done business telephones you to try and sell you something? Have you ever had a silent call when your phone rings but there's nobody there? Unsolicited telephone calls and most especially silent calls are hated by consumers. Around 9.5 million consumers and 500,000 businesses have registered under the Telephone Preference Scheme. A million customers have already signed up to BT's free service BT Privacy. Yet the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which operates the TPS scheme, and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which is responsible for combating unsolicited calls, apparently receive over 1,500 complaints a week and so far no company has yet been prosecuted.
- US - Court revives indictment in e-mail interception case +/-
(AP) A federal appeals court has revived the government's online eavesdropping prosecution against an executive of a company that offered e-mail service and surreptitiously tracked its subscribers' messages. The case, closely watched by Internet privacy groups, had been dismissed in 2003 by a judge who found it was acceptable for the company - an online literary clearinghouse - to make copies of the e-mails so it could peruse messages sent to its subscribers by rival Amazon.com. Decision.
- US - Ex-AOL man jailed for e-mail scam +/-
(BBC) A former AOL employee has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for selling members' details to spammers. Jason Smathers, 25, said he turned into a 'cyberspace outlaw' after selling the database of 92 million screen names and e-mail addresses. As a result of his actions in 2003, about seven billion unsolicited spam e-mails flooded inboxes of AOL members.
- EU - Captains of Europe's ICT and Media Industry Sign Up to Commission Roadmap +/-
(RAPID) Ten business leaders of Europe's major telecom, Internet, TV and music companies met in London with the European Commission, the UK Presidency and representatives of the forthcoming Austrian and Finish presidencies to discuss how to give a spur to Europe's emerging "Digital Economy". Technological and market developments are bringing about third generation mobile phones, digital TV broadcasts, online music, Voice over IP and interactive Internet services. At their summit in London, the ten European business leaders agreed to work together with Member States and the Commission on the basis of an "Agenda for Unlocking Europe's Digital Economy", in particular on the following points: * Promotion of media content markets through effective rights protection, licensing arrangements and encouraging legitimate use of content. For this, industry will seek to agree a European Charter Content Online & IPR by May 2006. * An appropriate and proportionate modernisation of single market rules on audio visual content. * Stimulation of investments in new broadband networks (fixed and mobile), advanced applications and content-rich services and promotion of competition through a full and effective implementation of the EU electronic communications regulatory framework. * Greater efficiency and policy coordination on the use of and trade with radio spectrum in Europe. * Easy access for users to content and services through secure and interoperable software and services. * Investing in private and prioritising public research and development on ICT.
- EU / UK - Here is the debate on Internet regulation +/-
(CommsWatch) At a seminar in Hong Kong on the theme "Regulation in a convergent environment". Richard Hooper, Deputy Chairman of Ofcom and Chairman of Ofcom's Content Board made a presentation entitled Content regulation in the multiplatform multichannel digital age. He provides is the nearest we have so far had to a coherent and credible alternative to Commissioner Viviane Reding's interventionist appoach and the straightforward, do nothing approach, although he understatingly calls his line "the modified do nothing strategy". He makes crucial distinctions between illegal, harmful and offensive content and, in essence, he proposes: "So the modified do nothing strategy would enforce the blocking of illegal material beyond just child abuse sites; would encourage a self-regulatory approach to material that was legal but harmful; would encourage classification/filtering systems for material that was legal but offensive; and would use the general law (as it stands, or with necessary revisions) to stop other problems such as phishing, hacking and other fraudulent uses of the technology. see also Where is the debate on Internet regulation?
- CN - China signs global anti-spam accord +/-
(OUT-LAW News) China is adopting the London Action Plan on Spam Enforcement Collaboration. The country is thought to generate 20% of the world's spam, making it the second biggest source of unsolicited emails after the US. The Plan calls for increased investigative training, the establishment of points of contact in each agency to respond quickly and effectively to enforcement inquiries, and the creation of an international working group on spam enforcement.
- Spam - opening Pandora's inbox +/-
(Economist) Microsoft has reached a settlement with Scott Richter one of the world's leading spammers. which includes a payment of $7m to the software giant. Despite legal and technological challenges, spamming is still a big problem. Internet users have been taking matters into their own hands using blocking technology, which is improving all the time. Around 90% of all spam is caught by filters these days. But spam still clogs servers, And a troubling development is the increased incidence of "phishing", a form of fraudulent spamming that can be extremely costly to victims. Phishers send out millions of e-mails in an attempt to steal personal and financial-account details from unsuspecting dupes. These e-mails purport to come from reputable businesses and contain links to websites where recipients are asked to divulge bank and credit-card details.
- Spam -Sender ID's fading message +/-
(CNET News.com) At the start of last year, Bill Gates told the world's elite at an annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, that the problem of spam would be solved in two years. But if the Microsoft chairman was betting on Sender ID to play a major role in achieving that goal, it looks like a losing bet. The Microsoft-backed protocol to identify e-mail senders aims to stem spam and phishing by making it harder for senders to forge their addresses and by improving filtering. So far, though, there's been a lack of adoption by legitimate businesses. Instead, it's been proving popular with a group it's meant to deter--spammers.
- Spammer loses fight for right to spam +/-
(CNET News.com) by Declan McCullagh. An online dating service does not have the right to blast unsolicited email at thousands of University of Texas email addresses. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the university did not run afoul of federal law or the US Constitution when blocking a torrent of spam from White Buffalo Ventures' LonghornSingles.com site.
- UK failing to fight spam +/-
(silicon.com) Anti-spam campaigners have branded the UK's anti-spam laws 'a waste of time and public money' as the Information Commissioner admits it hasn't prosecuted anyone for sending junk emails. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has admitted it fails to take legal steps against UK spammers while 'successfully' enforcing regulations against 13 fax marketers.
- US - FTC: Top Retailers Comply With Can-Spam Opt-Out +/-
(ITU) In a survey to test whether top e-tailers are allowing consumers to opt out of receiving promotional or marketing messages, the FTC has determined that 89 percent of the online merchants it tested are honoring requests to halt future mailings. The study showed a high rate of compliance with the CAN-SPAM opt-out provisions.
- Web site gives e-mail senders a reputation +/-
(CNET News.com) A new Web site aims to help determine whether a specific computer has been sending legitimate e-mail or spam. The TrustedSource Web site uses data from reputation filters, which are billed as the next big thing in e-mail security. Makers of spam-fighting tools collect data on e-mail senders and use that to assign "reputations" to e-mail sending computers and Internet domains. Those who send a lot of spam get a negative rating and their messages are more likely to be filtered out.
- DE - Appeal court outlaws links to websites offering circumvention technology +/-
(immateriblog.de) A Munich court of appeal upheld a lower court ruling, demanding that German IT news service Heise Online remove a link to Slysoft.com, an Antigua based company selling software enabling users to make copies of copy-protected CDs and DVDs. Legal experts criticised the decision as endangering press freedom. Six major labels in January served a writ to Heise, preventing it from publishing links to Slysoft. In April, a lower court in Munich held that Heise was allowed to report on Slysoft's software but not to link to the company's web page, even though the link was referring to the homepage only, not the download page. By providing a link to the company's homepage, the court said, Heise intentionally provided 'assistance in the fulfilment of unlawful acts' and is therefore liable as 'an aider and abettor'. The case is based on article 95a of the German authors rights code which outlaws the manufacture, import, sale, renting, and promotion with regard to sale or renting of applications to circumvent copy protection measures. Also prohibited is the possession of these applications when they are used for commercial purposes, and to perform services in order to circumvent or promote circumvention.
- FR - Responsabilité de l'intermédiaire de paiement +/-
(Legalis.net) Pour la première fois, la responsabilité de l'intermédiaire de paiement a été mise en cause dans une affaire concernant l´accès à un site internet à contenu pornographique, par un mineur. Dans un jugement du 7 juin 2005, les juges de la 17e chambre correctionnelle du tribunal de grande instance de Paris ont rejeté cette demande en affirmant que cet intermédiaire n'était qu'un « simple prestataire de service de la société » et n'est pas responsable de l'accès par des mineurs à un site pornographique
- US - Will the adware industry beat Spitzer? +/-
(CNet News.com) by Eric Goldman. New York Attorney General Elliott Spitzer's recent enforcement action against adware vendor Intermix Media has opened up a new front in the battle against this type of software. Spitzer has repeatedly threatened advertisers who run ads with adware vendors. What legal doctrine holds advertisers liable for advertising via adware? We have yet to hear a coherent theory from Spitzer - or anyone else - explaining how this liability arises. Advertiser liability for adware vendors' actions would represent a novel and unprecedented application of current law.
- AU - Subsidies proposed for net porn filters +/-
(AAP) Australian Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has called for a subsidy on the cost of internet filtering so families can better protect their children from violent and pornographic websites.
- CA - Telus Breaks Net Providers Cardinal Rule +/-
(Michael Geist) Internet service providers always seem to get the first call when a problem arises on the Internet. Lawmakers want them to assist with investigations into cybercrime, parents want them to filter out harmful content, consumers want them to stop spam, and copyright holders want them to curtail infringement. Despite the urge to hold ISPs accountable for such activities, the ISP community has been remarkably successful in maintaining a position of neutrality. Given the importance of the neutrality principle, it came as a shock to learn last week that Telus, Canada's second largest telecommunications company, was actively blocking access to Voices for Change, a website supporting the Telecommunications Workers Union.
- DE - SCHUFA weitet Altersüberprüfung im Internet aus +/-
(Heise) Um Jugendliche vom Besuch ihrer Internetseiten abzuhalten, hat die Reemtsma-Zigarettenfabrik, Hamburg, in dieser Woche ein Altersverifizierungsverfahren der SCHUFA eingesetzt. Die deutschen Internetseiten der Zigarettenmarken West, Davidoff, Drum, Cabinet und John Player Special (JPS) stehen Nutzern seitdem nur nach einer Identitätsüberprüfung offen, bei der Name, Adresse und Alter anhand der bei der SCHUFA gespeicherten Daten überprüft werden. Reemtsma, Teil der Imperial Tobacco Group, teilt mit, man habe dieses Verfahren auf Grund der brancheneigenen Bestimmungen zum Jugendschutz eingeführt. Die Überprüfungsmöglichkeit nutzen schon jetzt verschiedene Freemail-Anbieter, Online-Auktionshäuser wie azubo und die Firstgate AG, ein Anbieter von Zahlungssystemen im Internet.
- DE/US - IP carrier Level3 blocks website on router level +/-
(Heise) The US IP carrier Level3 has blocked access by German customers to a website and the IP address that goes with it. The website in question is a commercial "Snuff Site" that without effective age limitation of any kind offers against payment videos of, for example, genuine executions or of people killed as a result of natural disasters (such as, for instance, of victims of the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean). According to its own statements the German branch of Level3 was made aware of the site by the German organization dedicated to the protection of children and adolescents jugendschutz.net. The child protection organization had called on the company to remove the content from the Net.
- SG - Internet Filtering in Singapore +/-
(Berkman Center for Internet & Society) The university-based OpenNet Initiative (ONI)has released Internet Filtering in Singapore in 2004-2005, a report that documents the degree and extent to which the Republic of Singapore controls the information environment in which its citizens live, including websites, blogs, email, and online discussion forums. Compared to other countries with mandatory filtering regimes that ONI has closely studied, such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, Singapore's technical filtering system is among the most limited.
- UK - Nanny software 'fails to protect' children +/-
(Guardian) "Nanny" computer software, intended to shield children from offensive internet content, often fails to protect them from viewing pornographic and racist websites, according to a new survey. The consumer magazine Computing Which? gave two programs, Norton Internet Security 2005 and Microsoft's MSN Premium, scores of below 35% across a series of testsa series of tests.
- US - ESRB rescinds San Andreas' rating over Hot Coffee +/-
(GamesIndustry.biz) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has been re-rated as AO (Adults Only) in the USA as the result of an investigation by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board into a sexually explicit mini-game that could be by following instructions online. The title was originally rated M (Mature), which is normally the highest rating granted by the ESRB to mainstream games and means that the title is suitable for over 17s. The far less common AO badge is seen as hugely commercially damaging, as the vast majority of US retailers have a policy of not carrying AO-rated titles.Rockstar now plans to remaster the game without the offending content, which will allow it to continue to see the title as M-rated; however, until those copies can be shipped out to replace existing stock, that stock will either have to be removed from shelves or re-stickered with an AO rating. GTA: San Andreas is unlikely to be re-rated in the UK where it has been given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), meaning that it is illegal for retailers to sell it to anybody under that age. see also Video gaming - Chasing the dream (Economist).
- DE - Commission helps to secure improved competitive conditions for line sharing +/-
(RAPID) Following action by the European Commission`s Competition Directorate-General, Deutsche Telekom (DT) has recently changed an application to the German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur for the approval of wholesale fees it charges its competitors for shared access to the local loop (line sharing). The action ensured that DT complies with commitments it had given the Commission to terminate a presumed abuse of dominant position in form of a margin squeeze.
- EU - Comments on universal service +/-
(Europa) 76 contributions were received to the public consultation on Communication COM(2005)203 of 24 May 2005 on the Review on the Scope of Universal Service in electronic communications. Contributors include ministries, regulatory authorities, consumer and user associations, individuals, operators, service providers, manufacturers and other businesses and organizations.
- EU - Commission authorises for one year “broadband” regulation in France as step towards more competition +/-
(RAPID) France Télécom will be required to provide, for a transitional period, market players with wholesale nationwide high-speed access to France´s telecoms network. This regulatory measure, proposed by the French national regulatory authority for electronic communications, ARCEP, was authorised today by the European Commission. The measure will apply until competing network operators have built a sufficiently wide backbone network and a large enough customer base to enable them to invest further in regional high-speed (“broadband”) services, such as access to the web and services connecting subscribers´ premises to the network (“local loops”). The Commission asked ARCEP to review this market again within a year to fully take account of new market developments which could enhance competition in the wholesale nationwide broadband market in France.
- UK - Ofcom deregulates RFID +/-
(out-law.com) Communications watchdog Ofcom will be making radio spectrum available for use by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) equipment, and that those using the new technology would not need a wireless telegraphy licence. The country's privacy watchdog - the Information Commissioner - has also clarified data protection implications of using RFID.
- A no-no to google Google +/-
(Guardian) Google has banned its staff from talking to any CNet reporters for a year following a story written by reporter Elinor Mills. She had the temerity to employ Google's own search technology to dig out details of Google CEO Eric Schmidt's business and personal life, including how much he made from selling Google shares and the town where he lives.
- FR - France pushes for European books online +/-
(EurActiv) While Google has announced a break in its project to scan 15 million books, France is speeding up its rival venture for a European Digital Library. At its second meeting on 30 August 2005, the Library's Advisory Council set up a number of working groups, which are to deal with issues such as financing, editorial choices, private sector co-operation and choice of a search engine.
- Rewriting the rules of publishing +/-
(BBC) Canadian entrepreneur Bob Young successfully launching the Lulu site - which allows readers to download single copies of books stored on Lulu without the need of huge print runs - in North America. Mr Young is unveiling his UK-based site on 2 August. His Lulu site offers budding writers, photographers and musicians - who might normally be rejected by the mainstream outlets - the chance to get their works published.
- Video gaming - Chasing the dream +/-
(Economist) Gaming has gone from a minority activity a few years ago to mass entertainment. Games consoles are the most powerful mass-produced computers in the world and the new machines will offer unprecedented levels of performance. But it will also make depictions of violence even more lifelike, to the dismay of critics. This summer there has been a huge fuss about the inclusion of hidden sex scenes in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", a highly popular, but controversial, game in which the player assumes the role of a street gangster. Senator Hillary Clinton and a chorus of other American politicians have called for federal prosecutors to investigate the game and examine whether the industry's system of self-regulation, which applies age ratings to games, is working properly. In America, half of the population plays computer or video games. However most players are under 40, while most critics of gaming are over 40. An entire generation that began gaming as children has kept playing. The average age of American gamers is 30. Amid all the arguments about the minutiae of rating systems, the unlocking of hidden content, and the stealing of children's innocence, three important factors are generally overlooked: that attitudes to gaming are marked by a generational divide; that there is no convincing evidence that games make people violent; and that games have great potential in education. see also A study of the effects on players of violent fantasy-world game Asheron's Call 2.
- DE - Studie: TV wird vom Internet nicht verdrängt +/-
(Heise) Laut einer aktuellen Studie, die der Verband der deutschen Internetwirtschaft, eco, nun vor der Internationalen Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin vorgestellt hat, wird das Fernsehen auch in Zukunft nicht durch das Internet verdrängt werden. Nach Einschätzung einer Expertenbefragung im Rahmen des Studienprojekts "Internet-Agenda 2015" sind 81 Prozent der Fachleute fest davon überzeugt, dass die meisten Bundesbürger auch in zehn Jahren Fernsehprogramme noch per Satellit oder Kabel beziehen werden und nicht etwa über das Internet.
- FR - Haut débit: le nombre d'abonnés a progressé de 61% en un an +/-
(ZDNet France) L'internet haut débit poursuit sa croissance en France: au second trimestre 2005, l'Arcep (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes) a recensé 7,9 millions d'abonnés. Les différents fournisseurs du secteur ont gagné environ 600.000 clients en trois mois, soit une hausse de 8,3% par rapport au premier trimestre 2005. Le nombre d'abonnés a augmenté de 61% sur une année, par rapport à la même époque en 2004.
- FR - Première étude sur les sanctions pécuniaires en matière d'Internet +/-
(Legalis.net) Une analyse statistique de la jurisprudence relative au droit de l'Internet vient d'être réalisée par à partir des 568 décisions publiées. Ces décisions concernent le droit des nouvelles technologies. Elles sont réparties en 9 catégories qui feront l'objet d'une étude spécifique pour chacune d'entre elles. Il s'agit de litiges en matière de: Vie privée, Responsabilité, Diffamation, E-commerce, Contenus illicites, Bases de données, Logiciel, Droit d'auteur, Nom de domaine.
- KR - Life in the fast lane +/-
(Guardian) Of the 16m Korean households, at least 78% have an active broadband connection - more than twice that of the UK. More than 12m individual broadband lines feed a country of 48 million people, pumping data between four and 100 times faster than typical broadband connections in the UK. According to recent reports, Koreans spend more than 20 hours a week surfing the internet - more than twice as long as Britons - and online shopping accounts for 12% of retail sales.
- Mobile downloads to overtake the net +/-
(Guardian) The mobile phone could overtake the internet as the most popular medium for music downloads before the year is out, the global record industry lobby group has predicted. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said 3G technology would drive the growth of digital music downloads to mobiles. UK mobile phone companies are predicting 3G sales to boom this Christmas, as handsets become more affordable. Digital Music Report 2005.
- OECD: Broadband internet to reshape entire communication sector +/-
(Euractiv) A new OECD study predicts stiff competition for traditional fixed-line telephony from internet-based solutions. The OECD's 2005 Communication Outlook comes just as traditional telephony carriers are recovering from a period of non-profitability, but, the authors say, they may soon be plunging back into the red. The main threat comes from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony, which poses a series of challenges - especially to the profitable market in long-distance foreign calls. Using programmes such as the popular Skype VoIP application, users can cut 80% of their phone costs.
- P2P file-sharers shun music for software and games +/-
(Silicon) Peer-to-peer networks are no longer dominated by pirated music files - now, it's cracked software, games and films that are doing the rounds on P2P. According to research from CacheLogic, video content now makes up almost 62 per cent of all traffic on the four largest P2P networks - BitTorrent, eDonkey, Gnutella and Fastrack, the network used by Kazaa. Audio formats are now just some 11 per cent of all P2P traffic, with the remaining 27 per cent being dedicated to 'other' content, such as games and software. see also graph.
- P2P users traveling by eDonkey +/-
(CNET News.com) A new study by ISP network service CacheLogic suggests that file swappers around the world are converging on a new favorite technology, possibly in response to pressure by Hollywood studios. Last year, British company CacheLogic said BitTorrent - a peer-to-peer technology optimized for downloading large files - was accounting for more than half of all the file-swapping traffic on Internet service provider networks around the world. A year later, peer-to-peer traffic in general continues to account for the majority of data traffic on ISP networks, usually between 50 percent and 70 percent of the total, the company said. But BitTorrent has been overtaken by usage of eDonkey, a rival with more power to search for content, but with similar speedy download features.
- UK - Tease not sleaze on mobile phones +/-
(Guardian) At the height of the dotcom boom, as mobile phone companies began looking for revenues from non-voice services, adult content was lauded as a money-spinner based on its success in the online world. Since then, all the UK operators have dabbled in the provision of erotic content, either directly or by allowing customers to access content provided by third parties. But the figures do not match the hype. In its report into the mobile entertainment industry, Informa's prediction for the entire mobile phone content market, including music and gaming, is $43bn by 2010. Adult services will account for just 5% of the market.