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(RAPID) The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Telindus by the Belgacom Group. Belgacom, the Belgian incumbent operator, provides telecommunications services, including wholesale and retail services, fixed and mobile telecommunications and voice, data and TV services. Telindus is an international provider of network solutions, based in Belgium.
(BBC) Three of France's leading mobile phone firms have been fined a total of 534m euros (£364m; $630m) after being deemed guilty of market collusion. France's Competition Council concluded that Orange, SFR and Bouygues Telecom shared commercial information between themselves, distorting competition. Orange France has been fined 256m euros while SFR and Bouygues have been handed 220m and 58m fines respectively.
(dpa) Wenn die Jugendschutzpläne der großen Koalition umgesetzt werden, könnten einige Computerspiele bald vom Markt verschwinden. Unter dem Punkt "Aufwachsen ohne Gewalt" haben Union und SPD im Koalitionsvertrag festgelegt, den Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen im Bereich der neuen Medien zu verbessern - unter anderem durch ein "Verbot von "Killerspielen"". Mit diesen Spielen werde Gewalt eingeübt und das Töten simuliert, lautet die Begründung. Doch viele Medienexperten halten Verbote für überflüssig und unwirksam.
(OfcomWatch) Andrew Gowers, former Editor of the Financial Times, will lead an independent review into intellectual property rights in the UK. The review will provide an analysis of the performance of the UK IP system, including: the way in which Government administers the awarding of IP and their support to consumers and business; how well businesses are able to negotiate the complexity and expense of the copyright and patent system, including copyright and patent licensing arrangements, litigation and enforcement; whether the current technical and legal IP infringement framework reflects the digital environment, and whether provisions for 'fair use' by citizens are reasonable; whether the current term of copyright protection on sound recordings and performers' rights is appropriate.
(RAPID) With a view to achieving a higher level of EU internal security the European Commission today adopted a package of measures consisting of: (a) a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the access for consultation to the Visa Information System (VIS) to authorities of Member States responsible for internal security and to Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences, and (b) a communication on the medium- and long-term development of the three common European databases in the field of justice and home affairs: the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and EURODAC, the database containing fingerprints of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.
(RAPID) The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) sends a paper to the heads of the EU administration, in which he addresses the Data Protection Officer's (DPOs) role as a strategic partner in ensuring compliance with the data protection regulation (45/2001) without delay. One of the key messages is that also all EU bodies need to appoint a DPO, although the appointment in itself does not automatically mean full compliance with the regulation. A second key message is that the DPOs must be notified more adequately of personal data processing within their entity and that they must notify the EDPS of any processing which entails specific risks for the people concerned and therefore need a prior check.
(out-law) The Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform has concluded that Parliamentary scrutiny of the ID Card Bill needs to be enhanced. It described powers being sought in the Bill by the Home Secretary as 'inappropriate.' Unlike three other Parliamentary Committees which have criticised the substance of the Government's ID Card proposals, this Committee was established in the 1990s to counter 'the considerable disquiet over the problem of wide and sometimes ill-defined order-making powers which give Ministers unlimited discretion'. In other words, the Committee looks at whether the executive arm of Government is seeking excessive powers or whether the powers being sought are subject to sufficient scrutiny by Parliament.
(FTC) The Commission has approved an application submitted by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) asking that it be allowed to revise its safe harbor program in accordance with the Children?s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Under COPPA and the FTC?s COPPA Rule, the Commission may approve self-regulatory guidelines that are substantially similar to those in the Rule and that ensure adequate monitoring and enforcement. An organization that is in compliance with such an FTC-approved "safe harbor" program is considered to be in compliance with the Rule.
(RAPID) The ".eu" top-level domain, which enables businesses, public bodies and citizens to choose a pan-European Internet name for their web sites and e-mail addresses, opens for business on 7 December 2005. A sunrise period of 4 months will allow holders of prior rights - including businesses - to apply for the registration of domain names provided they are settled in the European Union. From 7 April 2006, the Registry will open its doors for applications from the general public.
(BBC) EU companies and public bodies are expected to rush to register addresses for the new .eu domain when it is launched next week, the EU says. Information society and media commissioner Viviane Reading said she expected hundreds of thousands of bodies to apply in the first few days.
(RAPID) The Commission has adopted a strategic framework, the e-Commission 2006-2010, renewing its commitment to an optimal use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to continuously improve its performance and transparency. While promoting externally the use of ICT in the whole society through the i-2010 strategy, the Commission intends to lead by example by applying to its own administration the European society policy in the e-government field. It aims in particular at offering better, more cost-effective, transparent and secure services to staff, national administrations, business and citizens.
(RAPID) Speech by Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Fraud. Ministerial e-government conference 2005. Manchester, 24 November 2005.
(Radio Free Europe) A controversial draft law aimed at tightening state control over NGOs in Russia sailed through its first reading at the State Duma on 23 November. The bill particularly targets foreign-funded NGOs, which would become barred from operating directly in Russia. NGO leaders fear the bill may be used to curb, or even shut down, organizations that the authorities disapprove of, and have appealed to parliament to reject it. Most affected by the restrictions are foreign-funded NGOs. Under the new legislation, they would be barred from working in Russia through representative offices, as most of them currently do. They would be required to re-register as a financially independent structure - a status many NGOs fear they might struggle to obtain. The proposed legislation would also severely limit the ability of Russian organizations to receive foreign funding or employ non-Russian workers.
(EUobserver.com) EU justice and interior ministers have adopted a watered-down decision on data-retention in the fight against terror and organised crime. The stored data would detail the caller and the receiver's numbers - but not the actual conversations themselves. Member states will have to store the data for six to 24 months, but the deal does not state a maximum time period, cooling anger among member states with legislation on longer storage. The Polish justice minister was reassured that the Polish scheme for 15-year storage would be uncontested by the EU law. Justice ministers also agreed to disagree on possible compensation to the telecommunication industry for increased costs, leaving it up to each member state to conclude deals with their national telecommunication providers, as well as on what to with unanswered calls. See Council common position - Outcome of JHA Council (full text not available on Council Register site - draft published by Statewatch). see also EU - Vorratsspeicherung von TK-Daten: Die großen Fraktionen knicken ein (Heise).
(FTC) According to a new study by the Federal Trade Commission, spammers continue to harvest email addresses from public areas of the Internet, but Internet Service Providers' anti-spam technologies can block the vast majority of spam sent to these email addresses. The FTC staff report also found that consumers who must post their e-mail addresses on the Internet can prevent them from being harvested by using a technique known as "masking".
(ACMA) The Australian Communications and Media Authority has released a draft guide to measures that may be implemented by providers of chat room services to enhance the safety of children in chat rooms accessed via mobile phones. The guide is known as the safety measures notice.
(DPA) Some 1,200 Internet users in Denmark try to access child pornography websites each day, but a month-old blocking filter, so far only available to customers of telecommunications group TDC, has has thwarted most attempts. Danish police, Internet service provider TDC and child advocacy group Save the Children Denmark have developed the filter to block access to child pornography sites. Similar filters are in use in neighbouring Norway and Sweden. Norway introduced the system a year ago, Sweden put its system online in May. When a customer attempts to access a website known to contain child pornography, a blocking site automatically pops up, containing information about the filter, as well as a link to the police. About two thirds of the Danish surfers who are blocked give up quickly, while a third spend more than five minutes trying to access the material before giving up, police said. Danish police have listed some 1,300 sites containing illegal child pornography. All are based outside Denmark.
(CNET News.com) A technology glitch temporarily turned Google's new personal listings service, Google Base, into a vast, virtual red-light district. Google Base is the search company's foray into free classified listings and other user-generated content. Anyone can use the service to classify and post all kinds of information, from business services and used cars for sale to recipes and photos. Google Base allows adult content but should filter most of it if visitors use the company's SafeSearch feature, which blocks pornographic material from appearing in search results. That wasn't the case earlier this week, however, due to a technical glitch that allowed porn to leak into Google Base search results.
(Australian IT) The number of Swedes seeking out sexual images involving children on the internet is on the rise, the Swedish chapter of the anti-child pornography group Ecpat said. Ecpat, which stands for End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, has joined forces with Swedish police and 12 internet operators to block access across Sweden to sites containing child pornography.
(News.com) Parents concerned about the kind of material their children are exposed to should be resting a little easier today. Sony has decided to implement parental controls on its next-generation video game console, PlayStation 3.
(Action Innocence) Le projet Filtra a pour but de tester les logiciels de contrôle parental. Publication des tests septembre 2005 ! Notre nouvelle session de tests est terminée. Nous avons publié les résultats qui sont très satisfaisants dans l'ensemble. Il n'y a vraiment aucune raison de ne pas installer un logiciel de contrôle parental sur l'ordinateur familiale. Une protection incontournable ! Le top 5 1. eye.KIDZ V2.4.2 2. Zenbow-Internet Protection Key 3. Optenet PCFilter 9.4 4. Enologic NetFilter 3.0.0.2 5. Trend Micro Internet Security 12
(Heise) Mit einem 'Medienkoffer' sollen Kinder lernen, wie sie mit den Gefahren des Internet umgehen können. Der Koffer für Kinder der 3. bis 6. Klasse enthält vier Unterrichtseinheiten. Die Materialien werden kostenlos an Grundschulen, Horte und Bildungseinrichtungen abgegeben; sie sollen über die Website internauten.de bestellt werden können. Das Portal internauten soll für höhere Medienkompetenz von Kindern sorgen.
(Europa) Call for input on the forthcoming review of the EU regulatory framework for electronic communications and services, including review of the Recommendation on relevant markets. Deadline 31 January 2006. The Commission Services invite interested parties to give their views on possible changes to the five EP and Council directives that constitute the current EU framework for electronic communications, and to the Recommendation on relevant markets. See consultation document. A public workshop is provisionally planned for Tuesday 24 January 2006 in Brussels. The workshop will be open to all interested parties, but prior registration is required.
(BBC) Europeans are signing up for broadband faster than ever research reveals. The report by analysts Datamonitor said high-speed net services were popular because intense competition was driving awareness to new highs and prices to new lows. Datamonitor said it expected the dash for broadband to peter out in two years time when European user numbers topped out at 60% of households. It predicted that up to 8 million UK households will have broadband by 2008.
(BBC) The music industry could be facing a crisis because of the number of young people still illegally downloading from the internet, a report has warned. The report by Jupiter Research suggests European consumers who download music from illegal file-sharing websites outnumber those using legal services. It says illegal networks are used three times as much as legal ones.
(David Goldstein) Internet News list is back up and running! David Goldstein is restarting posting to the list on topics such as domain names, WSIS, governance, censorship, legal, security, government regulation, file sharing and new developments. Previous subscribers should resubscribe.
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