Legal and regulatory issues

Computer crime

• Interpol turns to technology to fight child porn  +/-

  (Reuters) Interpol will launch a big push to identify child sex victims and prosecute abusers with the help of special software that can minutely analyse pornographic images, many from the internet, and spot vital background clues. Hamish McCulloch, a British investigator at Interpol who specialises in child porn, said police around the world will get access to the technology via a 3.2 million euro (US$3.91 million) image database to be funded by the Group of Eight (G8) leading nations.

• UK - Police and charity join forces to hunt internet paedophiles  +/-

  (Press Association) Children's charity NSPCC has joined Greater Manchester police internet investigators in an effort to find internet child abuse victims and hunt paedophiles. The NSPCC has worked with police before on specific cases, but the "E-spy" project places them full-time with investigators. The NSPCC's director of service for children and young people, Wes Cuell, said he hoped the initiative would bring child abusers to justice and save exploited children from further victimisation.

Consumer protection

• AT - SMS blocking service  +/-

  (Saferinternet.at) Premium-rate SMS services have attracted a number of complaints and a lot of media attention in Austria. Saferinternet.at [the Austrian node of the INSAFE European awareness network co-funded by the Safer Internet programme] has worked with partners to develop a service to block unsolicited commercial messages.

Content regulation

• Blog censorship handbook released  +/-

  (BBC) A handbook that offers advice to bloggers who want to protect themselves from recrimination and censors has been released by Reporters Without Borders. The media watchdog said it gives people who want to set up a blog tips on how to do so, how to publicise it, as well as how to establish credibility. It also offers advice about writing blogs from countries with tough media restrictions, such as Iran and China. Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents.

• CN - China sentences online journalist to 7 years  +/-

  (AP) A Chinese court has convicted an online journalist, Zheng Yichun, on subversion charges and sentenced him to seven years in prison - the third such case this year. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Zheng was given a seven-year jail term for "inciting subversion" through his writings published by overseas-based online news sites that are blocked within China. see Reporters sans frontières and CPJ.

• UK - Crazy Frog punished by advertising watchdog  +/-

  (out-law.com) The company behind the Crazy Frog ringtone can only advertise its service in the UK after the 9pm watershed, following a ruling that the ads appeal to children but fail to make clear that customers are signing up to a subscription service.

Copyright, trademarks and patents

• US - Writers sue Google Print over copyright  +/-

  (Guardian) A writers' group representing more than 8,000 authors is suing Google for 'massive copyright infringement' over its fledgling programme of digitising library books. The Authors Guild has issued legal proceedings in a New York court claiming damages and demanding the search engine stops uploading the contents of library books. Google Print launched last October, enables people to search the contents of books online and, according to Google, makes it easier to find relevant books.

Data Protection (privacy)

• Data Protection Commissioners Conference in Montreux  +/-

  (EDRI) The 27th international conference of data protection commissioners took place in Montreux/Switzerland from 13 to 15 September 2005. The commissioners in their closed session on 16 September adopted the Montreux Declaration. It calls for the spread of universal privacy principles around the world, including through the U.N.; cooperation with NGOs around the world; and for intergovernmental organisations (like ICAO, creator of the biometric/RFID passport standard) to comply with such principles and to appoint privacy officers. The conference also passed resolutions on biometric identity documents and on the use of personal data for political communications.

• EU - Commission proposes rules on communication data retention  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive on the retention of communications traffic data. The proposal provides for an EU-wide harmonisation of the obligations on providers of publicly available electronic communications, or a public telecommunications network, to retain data related to mobile and fixed telephony for a period of one year, and internet communication data for six months. The proposed Directive would not be applicable to the actual content of the communications. It also includes a provision ensuring that the service or network providers will be reimbursed for the demonstrated additional costs they will have. see also Memo on Data Retention Directive and EDRI reaction.

Digital content

• EU - Consultation on challenges for the publishing industry in the digital age  +/-

  (RAPID) A public consultation on how to enhance the competitiveness of the publishing sector in the EU's increasingly digital economy was launched by the European Commission. Replies to this consultation, which are expected by mid-November 2005, should help EU policy makers to better understand the needs and challenges of Europe's publishing industry. On 23 September chief editors from eight European newspapers and magazines from Austria, Denmark, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK will meet in Brussels at the invitation of Commissioner Reding to brainstorm how the written press in Europe is addressing the challenges and opportunities arising from online publishing, digitisation and increased competition in the advertising markets. The results of the consultation will be presented at a publishers'summit on 6 December in Brussels.

• Scientific publishing - The paperless library  +/-

  (Economist) The internet - and pressure from funding agencies, who are questioning why commercial publishers are making money from government-funded research by restricting access to it - is making free access to scientific results a reality. This week, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a report describing the far-reaching consequences of this. See also OECD Press Release

e-Government

• UK - Ofcom's FOI response on Premier League football research  +/-

  (OfcomWatch) Ofcom has refused a Freedom of Information Act request related to research which Ofcom conducted for the European Commission with respect to the FA Premier League's contracts for audiovisual carriage of its football matches (football on television). Ofcom understands that the European Commission will shortly be publishing the requested documentation at the same time that the Commission sets out any analysis into the sale of FA Premier League media rights. Ofcom does not intend to release the requested documentation in advance of the Commission setting out such analysis. Ofcom therefore considers that the advanced release of the requested information would be against the public interest because it may prejudice the Commission's consideration of the issues. Ofcom therefore considers that the information requested falls under the exemption contained in section 22 of the FOI, namely that the information is intended for future publication and that it would be against the public interest to release the information at this time.

Information society and Internet policy

• EU - Better regulation for Europe's media industry: the Commission's approach  +/-

  (RAPID) Speech by Mrs Reding. Audiovisual Conference - Between Culture and Commerce, Liverpool, 22 September 2005. I am determined to find the best possible, future-proof balance between a light burden on industry, in order to boost Europe's competitiveness and to encourage successful cross border services on the one hand, and on the other hand the pursuit of undisputed public policy objectives, such as protection of minors or the fight against racial hatred. I have heard and read here and there, that Brussels intends to regulate the Internet, to introduce new red tape. Frankly, this is nonsense! Never ever has the Commission had such a foolish idea! But let me ask you some questions: who in this room is in favour of child-pornography on the new media? Who stands for the freedom to spread incitement to racial hatred on the new media? If one of the service providers present here in this room considers that these abuses are just business-as-usual, he should stand up and take the floor. It is the duty of the Commission to propose a framework under which these shared European values are protected. But I have no intention to "regulate the Internet"! On the scope of the future legal framework for audiovisual services, nearly everyone agrees that ensuring a level playing field among platforms delivering similar audiovisual content falls into the remit of the European lawmaker. In any case, technological change and convergence lead to a multiplication of services. It is necessary to have a technologically neutral regulatory approach, taking into account the degree of choice and control of the consumer. That is why we make a clear distinction between linear and non-linear services.

• CoE - Human rights in the information society on agenda  +/-

  (EDRI) On 12 and 13 September the Council of Europe convened a Pan-European Forum on 'Human Rights in the Information Society: Responsible Behaviour by Key Actors' with representatives from state, industry and civil society. The Forum was a follow-up to the recent Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Information Society, plus general Council of Europe priorities regarding the protection of children and internet content. The Forum aimed at identifying and discussing 'responsible' and 'irresponsible' behaviour by key actors and how states, industry and civil society can work together (inter alia through partnerships, policy making, greater awareness and education) to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in the Information Society.

• EU - ITV boss calls for relaxation of product placement rules  +/-

  (Guardian) ITV chief executive Charles Allen has called for a 'radical rethink' of European media regulation, including the sweeping away of rules preventing product placement. Talking to broadcasters and policy makers at the i2010 European Broadcast convention in Liverpool, Mr Allen said commercial broadcasters had to be given the freedom to look beyond traditional advertising revenues, and his call was backed by the European Union's commissioner for media, Viviane Reding.

• EU - Hi-tech firms fear EU regulation  +/-

  (Guardian) New European Union proposals to further deregulate the television market could have a negative impact on the internet industry, lobbying groups for UK hi-tech companies warned. As the EU commission met politicians and industry groups at the i2010 European Broadcast convention in Liverpool, trade groups warned that plans to update the TV Without Frontiers directive could usher in regulation of the internet 'via the back door'. See also EC regulation 'could stifle' net BBC.

• EU - Murdoch calls for 'bonfire' of media regulations  +/-

  (Guardian) BSkyB chief executive James Murdoch has called for the scrapping of European media regulations in a 'bonfire of controls'. 'This is not a plea for freedom without restraint. I take as my starting point the requirement that broadcasters, like anyone else, should be bound by laws on decency, the protection of minors, human dignity and so on,' he told broadcasters and politicians at the European Broadcast convention. 'Beyond that, however, broadcasting should no longer be regarded as a special case. The purpose of broadcasting regulation should be to ensure competition through freedom in pricing, through secure and transferable property rights, and through the removal of genuine barriers to market entry. Full stop. In broadcasting, it is clear that the great advances that have been made have all occurred, sometimes alongside, sometimes in spite of, but never because of regulation. They are the result of technological progress, allied with free enterprise and open markets.' He said attempts to preserve a distinction between broadcasting and new media, and on-demand services and traditional TV channels, were 'doomed to failure'. see also Rein in the BBC, says Murdoch. See also Speech by Tessa Jowell, UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Speech by Mark Thompson, Director General BBC, Speech by James Purnell, UK Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism.

• WSIS - Prepcom-3 Documents  +/-

  (WSIS) The third meeting of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom-3 of the Tunis phase) takes place in Palais des Nations, Geneva (Switzerland) from 19-30 September 2005. Recent documents include Sub-Committee A Chair releases Chair's Draft on Internet Governance and Highlights: 19-21 September 2005.

Junk mail (spam)

• DE - Verbraucherzentrale richtet Spam-Beschwerdestelle ein  +/-

  (Heise) Computernutzer können unerwünschte E-Mails aus ihrem Postfach künftig an eine neue Beschwerdestelle der Verbraucherzentralen weiterleiten. Nach Prüfung sollen dann rechtliche Schritte gegen die Versender und Auftraggeber unternommen werden, teilt der Bundesverband der Verbraucherzentralen (vzbv) mit. Ziel sei eine abschreckende Wirkung.

• Europäische Spambox soll Spammersünden speichern  +/-

  (Heise) Versendern unerwünschter E-Mails soll es mit einer europäischen Spambox-Initiative nun juristisch stärker an den Kragen gehen. Der Internet-Verband Eco und Microsoft rechnen laut ihrer Aussagen beim 3. deutschen Anti-Spam-Kongress heute in Köln damit, dass die EU-Kommission in den nächsten Tagen das Projekt "Selfregulatory Plan on Tackling Spam", kurz "SpotSpam" bewilligt. Unter dem Internet Safer Action Plan erhält SpotSpam dann rund 200.000 Euro für zwei Jahre.

Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

• CA - Washington Post cannot be sued in Ontario over stories  +/-

  (ou-law.com) The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled that Ontario courts do not have jurisdiction to hear a $10 million damages claim by a Guinean national, resident in Ontario, over articles published by The Washington Post in 1997, but still available online. The court distinguished the circumstances from those of Joseph Gutnick whose claim in Australia over a US publication became a landmark for internet defamation.

• CN - Baidu to appeal ruling on music downloads  +/-

  (FT) Baidu.com, the leading Chinese internet search company, is to "vigorously appeal" a Beijing court's ruling requiring it to pay compensation to a unit of the music group EMI over downloads of pirated pop music. Baidu's China counsel said that the court ruling was based on a "misunderstanding of the search engine technology" used by the company in its "MP3" digital music search service.

Mobile and wireless

• UK - Major mobile TV trial starts  +/-

  (BBC) A full-scale UK trial of the technology that will let people watch TV directly on their mobiles has been launched. The Arqiva and O2 trial with 400 people in Oxford will test the technology that lets mobiles receive direct TV signals, and people's desire to watch mobile TV. Sixteen channels will be available to the triallists, including BBC One and Two, ITV 1 and 2, and Channel 4. Although 3G networks are currently used to watch some TV content on mobiles, the Oxford trial will test out the more complicated technology, called DVB-H, which stands for digital video broadcasting - handheld. It is one of two formats or standards with which global broadcasters and the mobile industry have been experimenting across US, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden and other countries.

Protection of minors

• NO - Telenor and Save the Children in new partnership  +/-

  (Norway Post) Telenor and Save the Children have entered into a three-year partnership agreement. The purpose of the agreement is to prevent abuse of children over the Internet, and to make the Internet and mobile phones safe for children and young users. This partnership involves a joint effort from Telenor and Save the Children in the struggle against the distribution of images and films depicting sexual exploitation of children. As part of the agreement, Telenor will give an annual amount of NOK 1 million to Save the Children, as a contribution to its efforts to prevent sexual exploitation of children.

Rating and filtering

• FR - Label « Famille ».  +/-

  (Forum des droits sur l'internet) Dans le cadre de la Conférence de la famille qui s'est tenue le 22 septembre 2005, le Premier ministre, Dominique de Villepin, a confié au Forum des droits sur l'internet la mission d'établir le cahier des charges d'un label « Famille ». Ce label permettra d'indiquer aux parents les services, outils et informations présentant les meilleures garanties quant à la protection de leurs enfants. Il incitera les professionnels à se doter de bonnes pratiques en matière d'information du public, de fournitures d'outils techniques de protection et de coopération avec les autorités de police. Par ailleurs, le Forum se réjouit tout particulièrement de l´annonce d´une campagne nationale de sensibilisation des familles aux moyens de maîtriser les usages de l´internet.

• FR - Protection des mineurs: le gouvernement met la pression sur les FAI  +/-

  (ZDNet France) Le gouvernement veut que les logiciels de filtrage et de contrôle parental deviennent une fonction standard de l'accès internet pour protéger les mineurs de «contenus choquants, voire traumatisants», a indiqué Dominique de Villepin. «Je souhaite renforcer l'obligation qui pèse sur les fournisseurs d'accès afin que ces logiciels soient disponibles automatiquement et pour tous», a déclaré le Premier Ministre à l'occasion de la Conférence nationale de la famille 2005. Le directeur de la Délégation aux usages de l'internet (DUI), Benoît Sillard, a rappelé qu'il n'est pas question d'imposer aux FAI de "contrôler les sites", mais bien de fournir aux parents un outil leur permettant d´exercer ce contrôle. Une partie du prochain Baromètre des usages de l'internet que la DUI fait réaliser par Médiamétrie porte sur la protection des mineurs : elle révèle que 83 % des parents n'ont pas de logiciel de protection en service. Voir le Communiqué de presse. voir aussi Intervention du Premier ministre lors de la Conférence de la famille. voir aussi Les parents peinent à encadrer leurs enfants sur le Net (Libération).

• NO - Telenor and KRIPOS introduce Internet child pornography filter  +/-

  (Press Release) Telenor and KRIPOS, the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service, have introduced a new filter against child pornography on the Internet. The filter, which is one of the first of its kind, will prevent access to web sites containing sexual abuse of children. The filter will be placed centrally at Telenor, and no installation at customers' computers will be required. KRIPOS will provide lists of web sites containing child pornography, and Telenor will handle the technical management of the filter. Should any of Telenor's customers attempt to open a web site containing child pornography, a blocking site will automatically pop up, containing information about the filter, as well as a link to KRIPOS.

• UK - Supervise your kids online as software is not enough  +/-

  (out-law.com) Most parental control software aimed at protecting children online is far from foolproof and human supervision is recommended, according to Computing Which? The consumer magazine tested six popular parental control packages. Which? found that most were too difficult for parents to understand and manage. Only Apple's Tiger operating system scored top marks for ease, said the magazine.

Terrorism

• EU - Brussels calls for media code to avoid aiding terrorists  +/-

  (Guardian) Europe's media should draw up a code of conduct to ensure that newspapers, television stations and the internet do not act as propagandists for terrorists, according the European commission. In a move which is likely to provoke a debate on state controls of the media, the commission warns that journalists pose 'specific risks' in the fight against 'violent radicalisation'. The paper - Violent Radicalisation and Terrorism Recruitment - warns that the media are taking an over-simplified view of the world, which plays into terrorist hands.

• EU - Court of First Instance gives judgment on acts against terrorism  +/-

  (RAPID) Judgments of the Court of First Instance in Case T-306/01 and Case T-315/01. Ahmed Ali Yusuf and Al Barakaat International Foundation and Yassin Abdullah Kadi v Council of the European Union and Commission of the European Communities. The European Community is competent to order the freezing of individuals? funds in connection with the fight against international terrorism. In so far as they are required by the Security Council of the United Nations, these measures fall for the most part outside the scope of judicial review. They do not infringe the universally recognised fundamental human rights.

Market & Technology

Market

• UK - Users take charge of BBC News site  +/-

  (BBC) BBC News Online is to allow unedited reader comments to be posted live for the first time in a raft of major developments to its website. The BBC says it receives more than 6,000 reader comments on a typical day but only around one in 10 is published. The new system, which is basically a talkboard, will launch on October 10. The most contentious subjects will still be moderated, but otherwise the BBC will rely upon other users to report problems such as unacceptable comments. Users will also vote on the most interesting comments posted and these will be given greater prominence.

Forthcoming events

• 2005-11-15 UK, Belfast - Protecting Children Online  +/-

  (Morrow Communications) This joint EU Presidency and Virtual Global Taskforce event will bring together representatives from law enforcement, government, industry, and NGOs from around the world. The conference will: raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities in combating on-line child abuse at political, law enforcement and industry level internationally; identify and share good practice across all sectors; develop national and international partnerships and strategies to reduce on-line child abuse; and deliver an agreed and measurable programme of action for the future.

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