Legal and regulatory issues

Audiovisual

• EU - De la télévision sans frontières à l'audiovisuel sans frontières  +/-

  (RAPID) Discours de Viviane Reding, Membre de la Commission européenne responsable pour la société de l'information et les médias. Rencontres cinématographiques de Beaune, 22 octobre 2005

• EU - Television Without Frontiers - a UK assessment  +/-

  (CommsWatch) Ofcom has published an independent report which it commissioned from Indepen, Ovum and fathom on the impact of changes to the Television Without Frontiers (TWF) Directive proposed by the European Commission. It assesses the costs and benefits of regulating content delivered over non-broadcast platforms. It concludes that the cost of an extension could outweigh the benefits unless aspects of an extension are limited. In particular: the net benefits of extending the regulations are likely to be negative if the detailed tier of regulation is applied to linear TV services (IPTV, Internet TV and mobile TV). There may be net benefits from applying the basic tier of regulation if it is done through co- regulation.

• EU - Television Without Frontiers - an up-date  +/-

  (CommsWatch) CommsWatch has had several postings on the important but controversial revision of the European Television Without Frontiers Directive. It is necessary that we all understand where we are after the Liverpool conference of 20-22 September 2005 and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) gave a helpful briefing to stakeholders on 27 October. The Department has agreed that the presentation can be posted on this blog but please note that it is Crown Copyright.

• EU - UK govt opposes extension of TVWF scope  +/-

  (OfcomWatch) In its key response to the European Commission the UK government has largely opposed the extension of 'TV-type' regulation to the whole sector of 'audio-visual content services'. The government argues that the proposed definitions of 'linear' and 'non-linear' services and of 'audio-visual content services' are unclear, would place some industries such as publishing in jeaopardy of double regulation, and would impose unnecessary regulatory burdens on the emerging 'convergence' services.

• EU - UK govt opposes product placement on TV  +/-

  (Ofcomwatch) The UK government has published its official responses to the EC's 'issues papers' on revision of the TV Without Frontiers Directive. Whereas Ofcom has showed sympathy with commercial broadcasters who want relaxation of the rules in order to tap new sources of revenue, the government states: 'In relation to the rules on the identification and separation of advertising, the UK view is that one of the core principles enshrined in the TVWF Directive is that people should know - and be put in a position to recognise - when they are being sold to. The rules in any successor to the TVWF Directive should reflect this. The UK would therefore urge caution in abandoning the principle of separation so as to allow product placement.

• Liverpool and the TWF Directive  +/-

  (CommsWatch) If you're interested in the debate on the reform of the Television Without Frontiers Directive, I can recommend a report on the Liverpool conference written by Don Redding of Public Voice as an excellent summary of the debates and views.

• UK - House of Lords Select Committee Blasts BBC Charter Review  +/-

  (OfcomWatch) The House of Lords Select Committee chaired by Lord Fowler has released a report that is severely critical of the DCMS Green Paper on BBC charter review. We're told that: The process is flawed. The Charter Review should be performed by statute (ie, vote in Parliament) not by royal charter. The current process is carried forth only by government and thus (valid) criticisms of the new BBC structure are simply being ignored; License fee settlements above the rate of inflation must be granted only in 'exceptional' cases; Ofcom should regulate the BBC; The 'BBC Trust' concept should be scrapped for a unitary board with a majority of non-executives.

Competition

• EU - Commission endorses public funding for broadband in Kärnten, Austria  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has authorised, under EC Treaty state aid rules, a broadband initiative by the Austrian Land of Kärnten. The scheme will enable citizens and businesses to have access to fast Internet connectivity in areas which do not currently have it. Although the scheme also supports advanced broadband services for professional users, the Commission concluded that the aid was not likely to distort competition significantly within the EU.

Computer crime

• DK - ISP activates child porn filter  +/-

  (DMeurope.com) Danish telco TDC has activated a nationwide filter to help fight child pornography on the internet. The filter, which covers TDC customers, has been developed in cooperation with the national police and Save the Children. [Ed: the Save the Children Denmark hotline is co-funded by the EU Safer Internet programme].

• ES - Cae otra red internacional de pornografía infantil por Internet  +/-

  (Reuters) La Guardia Civil ha desmantelado una red internacional dedicada al intercambio de pornografía infantil a través de Internet en una operación desarrollada en Murcia, Asturias, Guadalajara, Madrid, La Coruña y Alicante, informó el viernes el Ministerio del Interior. Los integrantes en la red - 7 personas han sido detenidas y dos imputadas - se conectaban a Internet en diferentes cibercafés para evitar que se detectase la ubicación de sus ordenadores personales.

• HK - Film file-sharer sent to prison  +/-

  (BBC) A Hong Kong man has been jailed for three months for film piracy after he shared movie files over the internet. The authorities say he is the first person in the world to be prosecuted for passing on files using a popular file-sharing program called BitTorrent.

• UK - Denial of Service prosecution fails  +/-

  (out-law.com) A London court cleared a British teenager of charges under the Computer Misuse Act, reasoning that the law could not apply to an alleged denial of service attack in which five million emails were sent to a former employer.

• UK - Internet child porn block calls  +/-

  (BBC) Internet service providers have been urged to publicly declare whether they block the use of websites containing child pornography. Labour MP Margaret Moran says she has support from MPs of all parties for a law compelling such companies to publish their policies. But the Home Office has said it would prefer the industry to regulate itself.

Content regulation

• CN - Outspoken Chinese blog 'blocked'  +/-

  (BBC) A popular Chinese blog has been blocked by the Chinese authorities, according to Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders. Wang Yi's Microphone is run by a teacher in Sichuan province. Reporters Without Borders says the site deals with 'sensitive subjects' - including local officials' corruption.

• IR - Tehran seeking new ways to censor the Internet and track dissidents  +/-

  (Reporters Without Borders) The Iranian government isseeking to increase its control of the Internet in recent measures that have included contracting an Iranian company, Delta Global, to set up a new online censorship system. The head of Delta Global, Rahim Moazemi, told the local news agency ISNA that his company had won a government contract for the management of the Internet control and censorship system. He said he wanted to put an end to "the anarchy of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs)" by centralising the filtering system. He also claimed that Delta Global's technology was capable of blocking access to all the tools used to get round censorship.

• KZ - Kazakh websites under pressure ahead of poll  +/-

  (Reuters) A leading pro-opposition news website in Kazakhstan has been closed by court order and others have experienced technical problems in the run-up to a presidential election in the Central Asian state.

• UK - BBC censured for Pulp Fiction at 9.10pm  +/-

  (Guardian) The BBC has lost a 14-month tussle with the media regulator Ofcom over its decision to schedule Pulp Fiction 10 minutes after the 9pm watershed. Fans of the Quentin Tarantino film and others of its ilk will have to get used to staying up even later after the corporation was censured for showing the film in August last year at an hour when young people could still have been watching. Despite the widespread proliferation of DVDs, multichannel TV and the growing distribution of video over the internet, Ofcom remains determined to maintain the watershed as a 'signpost' to parents.

Copyright, trademarks and patents

• FR - Cinéma: l'industrie et les FAI s'accordent enfin sur la riposte graduée  +/-

  (ZDNet France) Il aura fallu quasiment un an d'âpres négociations aux fournisseurs d'accès et à l'industrie du cinéma pour s'entendre sur la façon adéquate de lutter contre le téléchargement sauvage de films. Les deux camps sont finalement parvenus à un accord. Le concept de «riposte graduée», cher à l'industrie du cinéma, et sur lequel désormais tous sont d'accord. Le principe: augmenter graduellement les avertissements et les sanctions pour les internautes pris en flagrant délit de téléchargement illégal de film. see also FR - La Cnil dit non à la police automatique de la musique

• FR - Les films français de plus en plus exposés au piratage  +/-

  (VNUnet.fr) A l'occasion des rencontres cinématographiques de Beaune (Côte-d'Or), le Centre national du cinéma (CNC) et l'Associaton de lutte contre la piraterie audiovisuelle (Alpa) ont dévoilé la deuxième édition de leur étude relative à l'offre illégale de films sur Internet. Ce rapport porte sur les fichiers de films en français distribués sur les réseaux peer-to-peer (P2P) dans la période du 1er août 2004 au 31 juillet 2005.

• FR - Vers une interdiction des logiciels peer-to-peer n'intégrant pas de DRM ?  +/-

  (ZDNet France) Selon nos informations, le CSPLA, à la demande du ministre de la Culture, prépare un amendement au projet de loi sur le droit d'auteur. Sa version actuelle élargirait les sanctions prévues aux fournisseurs des logiciels P2P qui n'intègrent pas de DRM.

• UK - BBC backs down over Bach  +/-

  (BBC) The BBC has backed down in a row with the music industry over free classical downloads. BBC Radio 3 will not offer complete classical music downloads for free during its forthcoming 10-day Bach extravaganza following complaints from the music industry after the surprise success of the station's Beethoven downloads.

• UK - Google drops Gmail address  +/-

  (BBC) Gmail, the free e-mail service run by internet search giant Google, will change its name for new UK users. Following a trademark dispute the mail account will be renamed Google Mail. London-based Independent International Investment Research says it started using the Gmail name for a web-mail application two years before Google. Current UK users of Google's service will be unaffected, but a separate trademark dispute forced Google to drop the Gmail name in Germany in May.

• UK - Mobile phones open new front in war on music piracy  +/-

  (Guardian) The spread of mobile phones capable of carrying hundreds of easily transferable songs has opened a new front in a war against piracy. Illegal downloading has already cost the British music industry £650m in the past two years. The chief executive of a company planning to sell mobile phone downloads said the piracy problem caused by mobiles could be worse than that caused by the internet. Martin Higginson, the chief executive of Monstermob, told Music Week: "If piracy on the internet was a tidal wave, this is going to be a tsunami.""

Data Protection (privacy)

• EU - Article 29 WP rejects data retention once more  +/-

  (EDRI-gram) EU privacy commissioners (the Article 29 Working Party) have criticised both the Council and the Commission policies on data retention. The Article 29 Working Party calls for restraint and safeguards that have to date not appeared in any national or EU policy. 'The Working Party questions whether the justification for an obligatory and general data retention coming from the competent authorities in Member States is grounded on crystal-clear evidence. The Working Party also doubts whether the proposed data retention periods in the draft Directive are convincing.' And when it comes to safeguards, the Working Party states: 'imposing the said data retention obligations on communication service providers without having first realised adequate, specific safeguards is not to be accepted within the existing European legal framework.'

• EU - Datenschützer: Tiefer Eingriff in Privatsphäre durch Vorratspeicherung von TK-Daten  +/-

  (Heise) Die Datenschutzbeauftragten der EU-Mitgliedsstaaten haben sich auf einer Sondersitzung in Brüssel entschieden gegen das Vorhaben der EU-Kommission und des EU-Rates gestellt, über eine Richtlinie die elektronischen Spuren der 450 Millionen EU-Bürger pauschal aufzuzeichnen und auf Vorrat zu speichern. Die Hüter der Privatsphäre, die in der EU in der so genannten Artikel-29-Gruppe organisiert sind, weisen in ihrer Stellungnahme zu dem Gesetzesentwurf der Kommission auf die "historischen Dimension" der Einführung der heftig umstrittenen pauschalen Überwachungsmaßnahme. "Die Anbieter von Telekommunikations- und Internetdiensten würden zum ersten Mal gezwungen, Milliarden von Telefon- und Internetdaten aller Bürger für Ermittlungszwecke zu speichern", gab der Bundesdatenschutzbeauftragte Peter Schaar als Vorsitzender der Datenschützergruppe zu bedenken.

• EU - European Data Protection Supervisor newsletter  +/-

  (EDRI-gram) The European Data Protection Supervisor has started an e-mail newsletter to inform a general public about his activities such as opinions, policy papers and publications. The October newsletter contains brief information and links to the EDPS's involvement in PNR and the Visa Information System. The newsletter also mentions a policy paper on the conflict between two fundamental rights: access to information and data protection.

• EU - European Parliament: no retention of internet data  +/-

  (EDRI-gram) Behind closed doors, the European Parliament is engaged in a monumentous battle with the Council of ministers of Justice over the plans for mandatory data retention. After a first meeting of the leading parliamentary committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on Monday 24 October, it looks like a majority of social-democrats, greens and some liberals is ready to delete internet data from the proposal all together, focus on a very limited set of telephony data and store them for only 3 months, while deleting the abhorred 'comitology procedure'.

• EU - Privacy watchdog warns of 'fuzzy' data sharing plans  +/-

  (Out-law) The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has called for better privacy protection in the European Commission's plans for revising a system that enables authorities to share information about the movement of people across the EU. The EDPS is Peter Hustinx, the person responsible for monitoring the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies. His opinion on three proposals related to the Second Generation Schengen Information System, known as SIS II.

• Experts call for global biometrics agency  +/-

  (ZDNet UK) Biometrics experts have called for an international standards agency to monitor usage of the technology to ensure that it is deployed as efficiently as possible across multiple countries.

• FR - La Cnil dit non à la police automatique de la musique  +/-

  (Libération) Non au repérage automatique des «pirates» sur les réseaux. La Commission nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) a rejeté la demande de quatre sociétés d'auteurs et de producteurs qui voulaient repérer automatiquement, par des dispositifs informatiques, les internautes qui mettent de la musique à disposition sur les sites de «peer to peer» (P2P). La Cnil leur a également refusé le droit d'envoyer à ces internautes, après détection, des messages de prévention par le biais de leurs fournisseurs d'accès à internet (FAI). Voir Echos des séances (CNIL). see also FR - Cinéma: l'industrie et les FAI s'accordent enfin sur la riposte graduée

• Swedish DPA: music industry may collect IP addresses  +/-

  (EDRI-gram) According to the Swedish e-zine The Local, the Swedish Data Inspection Board now allows the Swedish anti-piracy group Antipiratbyrån and the record industry group IFPI to collect the IP addresses of file-sharers.

• UK - Identity Cards Bill has inadequate safeguards, says Parliamentary Committee  +/-

  (out-law) The all-party House of Lords Constitution Committee has published a critical report which reiterates concerns about insufficient safeguards in the Identity Cards Bill. see also Further official criticism about ID Card database and the lack of privacy. The Information Commissioner, the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) and Law Society have added to the criticism of the ID Card Bill prior to its second reading in the House of Lords.

• Warcraft game maker in spying row  +/-

  (BBC) Game maker Blizzard has been accused of spying on the four million players of World of Warcraft. Net activists branded software used to spot cheats 'spyware' because it gathers information about the other programs running on players' PCs.

Digital content

• EU - Adoption of a Unesco Convention on Cultural Diversity  +/-

  (RAPID) On 20 October 2005 the Unesco General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which was negotiated jointly by the European Commission, on behalf of the Community, and the Council Presidency, on behalf of the Member States. The Convention is the first of its kind in international relations, as it enshrines a consensus that the international community has never before reached on a variety of guiding principles and concepts related to cultural diversity. This text forms the basis of a new pillar of world governance in cultural matters. see also UNESCO overwhelmingly approves cultural diversity treaty (ICSTD)

• Google restarts online books plan  +/-

  (BBC) Google is resuming its controversial project to digitise millions of books and make them searchable on the net. The search giant is pressing ahead with its plans despite growing legal pressure from publishers and authors. They object to what they say are violations of copyright. But in an apparent attempt to reassure critics, the search giant said on its blog that it would focus on books that were out of print or in the public domain.

• Media Literacy  +/-

  (CommsWatch) The Westminster Media Forum held an half-day seminar at Millbank Tower in London. Media literacy is defined by Ofcom as "the ability to access, understand and create communications in a variety of contexts".

• Microsoft joins book search plan  +/-

  (BBC) Microsoft has joined a Yahoo-backed effort to digitise the world's books and other works to make them searchable and accessible to anyone online. The software giant said it would work with the Open Content Alliance (OCA), set up by the Internet Archive, to initially put 150,000 works online.

Domain names

• ICANN - VeriSign strikes .com deal  +/-

  (out-law) ICANN and domain registry VeriSign have agreed to end all litigation between them in a deal that will also allow VeriSign to keep control of the .com top-level domain until 2012. The agreements, which are still subject to the final approval of the ICANN board, provide for the settlement of all existing disputes between ICANN and VeriSign, coordination of planning where appropriate, and a commitment to binding international arbitration to prevent any future disagreements from resulting in costly and disruptive litigation. Under the proposals, VeriSign will recognise the authority of ICANN and agree to a clearly defined process for the introduction of new registry services ? including the prior approval of ICANN. The registry will also be granted control of the .com domain until 2012, and allowed to raise prices by 7% a year from 2007.

Information society and Internet policy

• WSIS / US / EU - Bush challenges EC over Internet governance  +/-

  (CNET News.com) George W Bush personally raised the arguments over Internet governance with the EC president in a meeting this week. In a sign that traditionally obscure discussions about Internet control have taken on new prominence, President Bush broached the topic in a meeting this week with European Commission President José Barroso.

• WSIS: Der Kampf um die Macht im Netz  +/-

  (Heise) Auf dem zweiten UN-Weltgipfel der Informationsgesellschaft steht nach fünf Jahren der Diskussion das Thema internationale Netzverwaltung ganz oben auf der Agenda und verdrängt andere Themen – angesichts des Streits um die Macht im Internet scheint ein Scheitern des WSIS möglich. Am 13. November startet der zweite UN-Weltgipfel zur Informationsgesellschaft in Tunis (WSIS) mit der Wiederaufnahme der Vorbereitungskonferenz 3, um dann nahtlos in die eigentliche WSIS-Tagung ab Mittwoch, den 16. November überzugehen.

Market

• iPorn: Adult sites offer iPod 'featurettes'  +/-

  (Silicon.com) Independently produced content made for Apple's new video iPod is beginning to appear online - and as with any new technology, it may be sex that sells first. Pinup site Suicide Girls has launched a new, free feature: downloadable videos of interviews and photo shots with its models, all configured for the video-capable iPod. At least one unambiguously adult site, Povpod.com, has also released content for the device. Apple unveiled the video-enabled iPod last week, along with a new version of the iTunes music store that sells music videos, some short films and episodes from five TV shows, for $1.99 each.

Portals, browsers and search engines

• The battle of the portals  +/-

  (Economist) As more and more of the world's business is conducted online, a battle royal is taking shape. The struggle is to decide which company will become the primary gateway to the internet. Three firms, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo!, are aiming to establish the world's leading internet portal - the site that most internet users rely on for everything from searching the web to sending e-mail and catching up on the news. All three firms are hoping to strike some sort of deal with AOL - the fourth player in the battle of the portals. See also Yahoo backs off bidding for AOL stake (Reuters).

Protection of minors

• DE - Jugendschützer fordert von Internetanbietern mehr Engagement  +/-

  (Heise) Internetanbieter müssen beim Jugendschutz im Internet noch mehr Flagge zeigen, forderte der Vorsitzende der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM) Wolf-Dieter Ring bei der Jugendschutzdiskussionsrunde auf den Münchner Medientagen. Der Leiter der länderübergreifenden Stelle Jugendmedienschutz.net, Friedemann Schindler, forderte außerdem eine verstärkte Diskussion über Sperrverfügungen gegen Access-Provider. Auch in Norwegen, England und Dänemark werde intensiv über Sperrungen nachgedacht.

• ES - Los escolares sometidos a acoso podrán denunciar por la Red  +/-

  (El País) Diez psicólogos están atentos desde ayer a las denuncias que los escolares sometidos a acoso hagan a través del correo electrónico conectándose a la web www.acosoescolar.info. Es una iniciativa de Protégeles (asociación que vela por la seguridad de los pequeños en la Red) y del Defensor del Menor de la Comunidad de Madrid y pretende enrolar a todas las comunidades (ya participan Madrid y La Rioja).

• EU will auf "deutsches Modell" beim Internet-Jugendschutz setzen  +/-

  (Heise) Deutschland soll während seiner EU-Präsidentschaft etwas für das Modell der Koregulierung im Jugendmedienschutz tun. Dies zumindest ist der Wunsch der EU-Kommission, berichtet Hans Ernst Hanten, Ministerialdirigent beim Büro der Beauftragten für Medien und Kultur in Berlin. Hanten erläuterte auf den Münchner Medientagen, dass die EU-Kommission ihre deutschen Vertreter eingeladen habe, ein Präsidentschaftsseminar zu dieser Thematik zu veranstalten. Wird die Koregulierung, also das Modell eines Mixes von staatlicher Aufsicht und Selbstregulierung durch die Anbieter, ein Exportschlager "Made in Germany"? Exportiert werden soll erst einmal der aktuelle Werbespot der Initiative Klicksafe, der vor Rechtsextremismus, Pornographie, Gewaltdarstellung und Pädophilie im Internet warnt. Der Spot mit Schocker-Effekt hat laut Vertretern von Klicksafe gute Chancen, europaweit gesendet zu werden. Verschiedene Partnerprojekte von Klicksafe innerhalb des EU-Programms "Safer Internet" sollen schon angeklopft haben.

Racism and xenophobia

• EU - No agreement on the framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia  +/-

  (Luxembourg Presidency) European ministers of Justice and Home Affairs did not reach an agreement on the framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia during their meeting in Luxembourg on 2 June. Luc Frieden, President in office of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, underlined the importance the Luxembourg Presidency has attached to this issue. "Because of internal political discussions in some Member States, and in the absence of provisions regarding mutual legal assistance in the proposed framework decision, we could not find unanimous agreement. Personally I regret that because I wanted to find an agreement. It is now up to the Commission to see how we take this forward. I think I can say on behalf of the British Presidency, that in view of the discussions today, they are not going to continue these discussions in the near future."

Safer Internet awareness

• BE - Lutte contre la pédopornographie sur le Net  +/-

  (Child Focus) Pour sensibiliser les adultes, en particulier les internautes, à la problématique de la pédopornographie sur le Net et les encourager à signaler tout matériel pédopornographique, Child Focus a lancé la campagne : "Une photo pédopornographique n'est pas une image. C'est un enfant." Développée pro bono par l'agence Grey, la campagne a démarré avec des affiches, annonces et cartes postales. En juillet, un banner a été créé. C'est à présent le tour de "HELP ME", un spot TV.

• DE - TV-Spot für EU-Projekt „klicksafe.de“  +/-

  (klicksafe.de) Mit einem aufwändig produzierten TV-Spot startet klicksafe.de im Auftrag der Europäischen Union seine Marketing-Kampagne im Fernsehen. Der Spot hat Premiere am Donnerstagabend im Rahmen des Spielfilms ab 20.15 Uhr zur Prime Time auf ProSieben. Auch auf den anderen Sendern der ProSiebenSat.1 -Gruppe, Sat.1, kabel eins und N24, wird der Spot im Nachmittags- und Abendprogramm zu sehen sein. Die vier Sender strahlen den Socialspot exklusiv und pro bono in ihren Programmen aus. www.klicksafe.de ist das deutschlandweite Portal des EU-Projekts zur Verbesserung der Sicherheit im Internet durch Medienkompetenz.

• EuroISPA launches user-friendly anti-phishing website  +/-

  (EuroISPA) The aim of this website is to provide useful information about the important issue of phishing. Phishing seeks to exploit users' trust of reputable online services: it harms successful online service providers' efforts to build confidence in new and exciting uses of the Internet.

• UK - Get safe online, urges campaign  +/-

  (out-law) Over three quarters of people in the UK do not know how to properly protect themselves online, putting themselves at risk of attack from internet criminals, according to the Get Safe Online campaign. An ICM poll of 1,000 internet users, commissioned to support the campaign, reveals that millions of UK internet users do not understand threats to their computer or how to protect against them, while 42% rely solely on friends and family for online safety advice rather than seeking advice from experts.

Self-regulation / codes of conduct

• DE - Verhaltenskodex der Mobilfunkanbieter in Deutschland zum Jugendschutz  +/-

  (Vodafone) Die Mobilfunkunternehmen stehen zu ihrer besonderen Verantwortung für junge Kunden: In einem gemeinsamen Verhaltenskodex der Mobilfunkanbieter in Deutschland zum Jugendschutz im Mobilfunk bekennen sie sich nachdrücklich zum Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen vor entwicklungsgefährdenden und -beeinträchtigenden mobilen Informations- und Kommunikationsangeboten. Der Verhaltenskodex beschreibt gemeinsame Standards, mit denen die Mobilfunkanbieter dafür Sorge tragen, dass solche Inhalte von Kindern und Jugendlichen üblicherweise nicht wahrgenommen werden. Er regelt außerdem die mobile Nutzung von Chatrooms und den Download von Filmen und Spielen im Hinblick auf den Jugendschutz sowie die Einsetzung von Jugendschutzbeauftragten.

• US - Mobile porn access guidelines issued  +/-

  (Reuters) With internet and video more readily available on wireless phones, the major US carriers have unveiled guidelines aimed at limiting children's access to adult content and services. Those under the age of 18 would need parental or a guardian's permission to receive content that carriers offer that may be sexually explicit, excessively violent, or involve gambling, according to voluntary guidelines issued by the wireless industry's biggest trade group, CTIA. Carriers also plan to make filters and other tools available to restrict internet access on wireless devices."

Market & Technology

Market

• 02 agrees Telefonica takeover  +/-

  (Guardian) Mobile phone group O2 has agreed to a takeover by the Spanish telecoms company Telefonica. Telefonica, the parent company of Big Brother producer Endemol, is paying £17.7bn for O2. The deal will give Telefonica a foothold in the UK and Germany, two of Europe's largest mobile phone markets.

Statistics

• BE - Belgian Internet Users: Broadband or Offline  +/-

  (ClickZ) A digital divide separates broadband users from those who don't own PCs in Belgium. A survey released by the Internet Service Providers Association Belgium (ISPA) says the country's online population is just over two million (2.09M) connections. Belgium's population is 10.36 million. The ISPA cites a low household PC penetration for the relatively low number of users.

• E-government in the EU25 - statistics  +/-

  (RAPID) In the EU25, 45% of individuals who used the internet obtained information from public authorities? websites during the first quarter of 2004. At the beginning of 2004, 51% of enterprises with internet access obtained information from public authorities? websites. This information comes from Statistics in Focus on e-Government 2004: internet based interaction with European businesses and citizens - Issue number 35/2005, released by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

• ES - Un 63% de españoles no utiliza Internet por falta de interés o motivos económicos  +/-

  (El País) El 37% de los españoles es usuario de Internet, frente a un 63% que no lo utiliza. La "brecha digital" está determinada por diferencias generacionales y sociales. El internauta promedio es un hombre (55% de las veces), menor de 36 años, con estudios de bachillerato o superiores y con nivel económico medio o alto. En España la Red se usa principalmente como fuente de información y medio de comunicación, según el estudio Internet en España de la Fundación BBVA.

• Firefox fanbase reaches new high  +/-

  (BBC) More than 10% of net users are going online with the Firefox browser, show figures from analysis firm One Stat. The global average of 11.5% is the highest percentage of users that the open source browser has ever reached. The research also reveals that Americans are the biggest fans of Firefox with 14.1% using it. In the UK 4.9% use it to get around online.

• FR - Les Français accros au téléphone mobile  +/-

  (ZDNet France) Selon la Sofres, 72% des Français possèdent un mobile. Si l'écrasante majorité considère l´avènement de cette technologie comme positive, leur jugement n´est pas sans nuance. Les notions de dépendance, de surveillance et d´incivilité y sont associées. «Le mobile apparaît comme un véritable phénomène de société, sans égal». C'est la conclusion du dernier sondage effectué par TNS Sofres, pour le compte de l'Association française des opérateurs mobiles. Petit rappel des chiffres: 72% des Français possèdent un téléphone mobile personnel et/ou professionnel. Soit un taux d'équipement moyen qui se rapproche du taux d'équipement moyen en téléphone fixe (83 %). Confirmation, les jeunes sont les plus fervents utilisateurs: 94% des 15-17 ans, et 95% des 18-25 ans sont équipés.

• Internet phone calls on the rise  +/-

  (BBC) A third of people in the US and Europe will abandon phone lines in favour of wireless and broadband telephony come 2009, say analysts Gartner. Broadband telephony is gaining ground among consumers as people become more confident users of their high-speed net connections.

• OECD Broadband Statistics, June 2005  +/-

  (OECD) Broadband penetration in the OECD grew by 15% in the first half of the year to 11.8 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Korea maintains its lead with 25.5 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. The Netherlands has the second-highest penetration at 22.5 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland complete the top five countries for broadband penetration. The strongest per-capita growth over the past 12 months has been in Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. DSL is now the leading broadband platform in 28 OECD countries. Canada and the United States are the two countries with more cable modem than DSL subscribers.

• UK - TV on mobiles proves a turn-off  +/-

  (Guardian) Most people have no desire to watch television on mobile phones, preferring to use home computers to watch TV while on the internet, according to new research. The findings of a survey of 1,500 entertainment consumers in Britain by Entertainment Media Research (EMR) deflates some of the hype about mobile-television alliances, such as Vodafone's deal with Sky last week.

• US - Teen Content Creators and Consumers  +/-

  (Pew Internet & American Life) More than half of online teens have created content for the internet; and most teen downloaders think that getting free music files is easy to do.

Technology

• Customizing Google maps at drop of a pin  +/-

  (New York Times) A Google map is no longer just a Google map. You can still search Google Maps to figure out how to get from here to there, but why would you, when you can use it to pinpoint kosher restaurants in Cincinnati, traffic cameras in Dublin, or hot spring spas anywhere in the United States? An army of programmers, most of them doing it just for fun, has grabbed the software code that generates the distinctive maps with their drop-shadowed virtual pushpins, and combined it with other data like the locations of potholes, taco trucks and UFO sightings, and even the sites of murders and muggings.

• No Porn for You, Video IPod!  +/-

  (Wired) There's a widespread notion that pornographers eagerly jump on new technology long before it goes mainstream, but with Apple Computer's new video-playing iPod, the adult industry is largely staying away. With a couple of exceptions, porno producers are in no hurry to provide stag movies for the iPod, thanks to fears of a public outcry and a government crackdown. The industry will likely follow three guidelines regarding porn for the iPod: Customers will be age-verified through a credit card, no content will be offered for free and the material will be copy-protected so it can't be shared.

• Usenet search engine preps porn for video iPod  +/-

  (Reuters) An online search engine called Guba is set to offer vast amounts of pornography and other video files, specifically tailored for Apple's new iPods. Guba is a subscription-only search engine that culls video files from the Usenet newsgroups, a huge repository of online content - much of it adult, pirated, or both.

Forthcoming events

• 2005-11-15 UK, Swansea - Teen Works 2005: Young People and the Internet  +/-

  (WISE KIDS) WISE KIDS and IT Wales are co-organising a conference on 15 November 2005. The conference aims to explore young people's awareness and use of the Internet and mobile phones, and look at current and upcoming trends in this area. It also aims to look at current research and guidelines in this area, and provide relevant examples and strategies that young people and adults can use to take advantage of the Internet and mobile phone technologies, whilst ensuring their personal safety. The speakers for the event will include Rhian Davies, Assistant Children's Commissioner for Wales, Josh Dhaliwal, Director of Mobile Youth, Angus Cormie, Director of The Digital Business, Bill Westhead from the Cyberspace Research Unit, University of Central Lancashire and Tamara Littleton, CEO of eModeration. Young people will also be invited to attend and participate in the event.

Editorial information

• QuickLinks tops quarter of a million page views  +/-

  (Usage Statistics for qlinks.net) In October 2005, the number of page views recorded for the QuickLinks Web site exceeded 250,000 in a month for the first time.

QuickLinks consists of

• a free newsletter appearing approximately once a week. The newsletter is distributed by electronic mail through an "announcement only" mailing list.
• a Web site with frequent updates, an events page, news items organised by category as well as chronologically by issue and full text search.