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(RAPID) The European Commission's proposed modernisation of the "TV without Frontiers" Directive can improve the means to safeguard European TV viewers against programmes inciting hatred, subject to scrupulous respect for media freedom and for free speech. This has been discussed by Europe's broadcasting regulators at a meeting in Brussels.
(RAPID) Following commitments to change the funding system of the Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP, the European Commission has closed the existing procedure under EC Treaty state aid rules (Article 88(1)). Portugal has agreed to implement measures to increase transparency and proportionality in its funding system, which will prevent cross-subsidies for commercial activities.
(RAPID) The Commission has approved the collection of French cinema and audiovisual support mechanisms on the basis of the EC State aid rules. The Commission considered that almost all of the numerous mechanisms notified constituted State aid. However, the Commission concluded that it can approve them on the basis that most of them encourage cultural development without affecting exchanges between Member States to an extent contrary to the common interest.
(FT) Microsoft was warned that its behaviour was leading inexorably towards large fines from the European Commission after the US software giant accused the competition body of colluding with the company's rivals. Neelie Kroes, European Union competition commissioner, said: "If we pursue the line we are following now, there will be fines and they won't be small fines." The Commission was accused by Microsoft of "secret collaboration" with the group's rivals and violating its rights of defence.
(BBC) The Commission has adopted a decision according to which the English Premier League football clubs can sell their media rights together. The decision, adopted on 22 March 2006, concerns TV, mobile phone and internet and stipulates that the live TV rights will be sold in six packages, no single buyer being able to buy more than five. An independent trustee will ensure that the rights are sold in an open and competitive bidding process.
(RAPID) The European Commission has published its Decision defining the role of the Trustee in the Microsoft case, the curriculum vitae of the Monitoring Trustee, as well as the curricula vitae of his advisors. The Trustee Decision is the formal document which sets the parameters for the Trustee's work in monitoring Microsoft's compliance with the March 2004 Decision (see IP/04/382) in order to advise the Commission on that compliance.
(Reuters) Google's Brazilian unit has been asked to appear before authorities to explain what the company was doing to curb crimes allegedly being committed through its Orkut chat rooms. The summons came after a complaint was filed with the ministry by the nongovernmental organization Safernet, which monitors crime on the Internet [Ed: Safernet is a member of the INHOPE association].
(BBC) Microsoft is launching legal action against 100 phishing gangs based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
(CNET News.com) Interpol has called on politicians to help law enforcement officers bring cybercriminals to justice by making it easier for evidence to be transferred between countries. The international police organization said that a new global legislative framework was needed to deal with cybercrime, which has evolved dramatically since the current legislation was passed.
(BBC) An international online child porn ring that used a chat room to transmit live shots of molestation has been cracked, the US federal authorities say. Twenty-seven people - from Australia, Britain, Canada and the US - have been charged with participating in two online chat rooms.
(BBC) Net and finance firms are joining up to stamp out commercial child pornography. The newly formed Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography brings together 18 organisations including Bank of America, American Express, Mastercard, AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft.
(Sydney Morning Herald) A spoof John Howard website that featured a soul searching 'apology' speech for the Iraq war has been shut down under orders from the Australian Government. Richard Neville was "mystified" to discover his satirical website johnhowardpm.org had been blocked. After two days of silence, a customer service representative from Melbourne IT informed him by telephone that the site had "been closed on the advice from the Australian Government". [Ed: Richard Neville was one of the defendants in the OZ Trial at the Old Bailey in 1971].
(ZDNet Australia) Internet service providers (ISPs) will be forced to block violent and pornographic material before it reaches home computers if Labor wins the next federal election. Under the policy, announced by Opposition Leader Kim Beazley today, international Web sites would be banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority if they contained graphic sexual or violent material, rated R or higher. see also IIA dismisses Labor's anti-porn plans.
(PC Magazine) Stung by recent criticism of the company's actions in recent months, Google CEO Eric Schmidt held a roundtable lunch with a number of journalists in which he talked a lot about the company, how it is perceived, and where it is headed. Schmidt was most animated in discussing the controversy over its deleting some content at the request of the Chinese government. He said the decision of how to act in China was "one of the most controversial decisions the company has ever made," and it took over a year of internal arguments before the company came out with its policies. "It is a hard call, but it is a clear call" to do business in China, he said, and do as the Chinese government requires it to.
(out-law.com) Premium-rate network and service provider 4D Telecom Ltd has been fined £50,000 and given a formal reprimand by premium-rate watchdog ICSTIS for narratives on three recorded adult entertainment services that seemed to imply child abuse.
(BBC) Apple has criticised a French law that could break the locks tying songs from the iTunes store to iPod players. In a statement Apple said that if the law were passed it would result in 'state-sponsored piracy'. On Tuesday French lawmakers voted 296 to 193 in support of a law that would stop Apple, plus any other firm selling music downloads, using proprietary software to limit what people can do with tracks they have bought. The draft law now goes to the Senate - the upper house of the French parliament - for final approval before it gets on to the statute books.
(EDRI) With its succession of coups de theatre, the pathetic show of the French EUCD transposition (DADVSI draft law) is going on. Given the current chaos and the unpredictability of any decision, this report only considers the discussion undertaken until 9 March 2006, included. Future edri-gram issues will report and analyse subsequent developments.
(Droit et Nouvelles Technologies) par Etienne Wery et Paul Van den Bulck. La cour de cassation a rendu un arrêt cassant la décision rendue le 22 avril 2005 par la cour d'appel de Paris, dans le débat extrêmement sensible opposant d'une part les mesures de protection technique, et d'autre part l'exception de copie privée (affaire Mulholland Drive). rtement la question de la copie privée', http://www.droit-technologie.org , 1 Mars 2006"
(out-law.com) The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and the Performing Right Society have launched a licensing scheme for music podcasters. The MCPS and PRS plan to assess the operation of the licence and update the scheme early next year.
(Cairns Blog) Duke Law School's Center for the Public Domain has released the new copyright comic book! Download the comic book. Listen to the radio story. Hurray for efforts to make the law more accessible and intelligible!
(RAPID) The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has issued an Opinion on the proposal for a framework decision on the exchange of information under the principle of availability. Introduced by the Hague program, the principle of availability means that information that is available to law enforcement authorities in one Member State should also be made accessible for equivalent authorities in other Member States. The principle raises a number of data protection issues, notably because of the sensitivity of the data and the reduced control of the use of the information.
(RAPID) Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, International CeBIT Summit, Hannover, 9 March 2006.
(out-law) The European Commission has launched a debate on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). It is seeking views on the opportunities, interoperability and compatibility issues as well as the privacy and security concerns raised by the new technology.
(ZDNet France) Les clients de l'opérateur Orange peuvent désormais localiser le mobile de leur enfant via un service proposé par Illico.net, une start-up parisienne. Un service de «géocontrôle parental» agrémenté par la Cnil. La société française Ilico.net lance, sur le réseau d'Orange, un service de géolocalisation des enfants via leur téléphone mobile. Ce système de «géocontrôle parental» repose sur un principe simple: l'adulte s'inscrit à un service en ligne, baptisé «ootay», et y enregistre les nom et coordonnées téléphoniques de son enfant.
(Register) The UK Government announces plans for a massive data, security and privacy own goal, in the shape of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill. The Bill, which is intended to widen and centralise the vetting of people working with children (approximately 8 million individuals), will allow employers, including parents hiring nannies and childminders, to check the records of potential employees online.
(01net) Les bibliothèques nationales de six pays ou régions francophones ont adopté le principe de la constitution d'une bibliothèque numérique en langue française. La Belgique, le Canada, la France, le Luxembourg, le Québec et la Suisse se sont engagés à ne pas donner d'exclusivité d'accès aux futures collections numériques à un moteur de recherche.
(BBC) A differnt mantra is replacing 'content is king' as the new slogan of the media industry, delegates at a London conference on new media have been told. As more media become increasingly available in digital formats, and traditional models of media packaging and distribution start to unravel, 'the customer is king' is fast becoming the industry's new catchphrase.
(RAPID) The European Commission's plan to promote digital access to Europe's heritage is rapidly taking shape. At least six million books, documents and other cultural works will be made available to anyone with a Web connection through the European Digital Library over the next five years. In order to boost European digitisation efforts, the Commission will co-fund the creation of a Europe-wide network of digitisation centres. The Commission will also address, in a series of policy documents, the issue of the appropriate framework for intellectual property rights protection in the context of digital libraries. By the end of 2006, the European Digital Library should encompass full collaboration among the national libraries in the EU. In the years thereafter, this collaboration is to be expanded to archives and museums. Two million books, films, photographs, manuscripts, and other cultural works will be accessible through the European Digital Library by 2008. see also The European Digital Library : Frequently Asked Questions.
(RAPID) A High Level Group on the European Digital Library will meet for the first time on 27 March 2006 and will be chaired by Commissioner Reding. It will bring together major stakeholders from industry and cultural institutions. The group's task is to advise the Commission on how to best address the organisational, legal and technical challenges of digital libraries at European level and also to contribute to a shared strategic vision for European digital libraries. The group will address issues such as public-private collaboration for digitisation and copyrights. The names of the 20 Members of the European Commission's High Level Group have now been been made public. see also EU-Kommission ruft Bibliotheksrat ins Leben (Heise).
(Heise) Die EU-Kommission will unter dem Aufhänger "Content Online" bis zur Mitte des Jahres Handlungsvorschläge und Empfehlungen für nationale Gesetzgeber in den Bereichen Musik, Film und digitale Bibliothek aufstellen. Ein Schwerpunkt dabei wird die weitere Harmonisierung des Urheberrechts sowie die bessere Bekämpfung illegaler Kopien sein. Dies kündigte Martin Selmayr, Sprecher der Kommission im Bereich Informationsgesellschaft, auf einer Diskussionsrunde der Gesellschaft zum Studium strukturpolitischer Fragen in Berlin an. Das Strategiepapier soll ihm zufolge eine effektivere Umsetzung des inzwischen "doch recht umfangreicheren Korpus" zum geistigen Eigentum auf EU-Ebene ermöglichen.
(Guardian) Rupert Murdoch has sounded the death knell for the era of the media baron, comparing today's internet pioneers with explorers such as Christopher Columbus and John Cabot and hailing the arrival of a 'second great age of discovery'.
(BBC) A study on the accuracy of the free online resource Wikipedia by the prestigious journal Nature has been described as 'fatally flawed'. Encyclopaedia Britannica has hit back at the findings, calling for the paper to be retracted.
(RAPID) The reluctant take-up of electronic signature tools is slowing down the growth of trade in goods and services via the internet, says the Commission in a progress report. However, growing use of electronic ID cards and the use of e-signatures in e-government services, such as on-line income tax returns, are expected to drive demand in the future. The report also confirms that the 1999 Directive on a Community framework for electronic signatures continues to provide, for the moment, a valid basis for electronic signatures in the internal market.
(IHT) Internet authorities in China have set up a new family of Chinese-language alternatives to .com and other popular Internet address domains. It is a move that bypasses ICANN, and some analysts fear that it could enhance China's ability to censor its citizens' access to the Internet.
(BBC) Chinese ideas about the setting up its own domain name system could change the global nature of the internet, argues internet law professor Michael Geist.
(BBC) ICANN has approved a controversial deal over the future of the .com domain. The deal gives US firm Verisign control of .com until 2012 and lets it raise prices in at least four of the next six years. The board of net overseer the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers was split over the agreement.
(out-law.com) Nineteen internet companies, including Network Solutions, have asked ICANN's Board of Directors to reconsider a controversial agreement giving VeriSign control of the .com top-level domain until 2012.
(Times) Nominet, the company that oversees the register of the .co.uk internet domains, has come under fire from members of its own policy board following a decision to radically change its status. The not-for-profit company has called an extraordinary general meeting on March 16, where it will seek members' approval for changes to its Memorandum and Articles of Association to enable it to compete in the rapidly changing internet market.
(out-law.com) Ofcom has published the results of a survey assessing the extent of media literacy in the UK. It finds that media platforms are seen mainly in 'traditional' terms, with little widespread recognition of their wider digital functions.
(Associated Press) Six young Japanese were found dead from asphyxiation in a car, charcoal stoves still smoking beside them - apparently the latest victims of a surge in suicide pacts arranged over the internet.
(AP) South Korean mobile phone companies are offering new calling plans after a teen committed suicide for racking up a large phone bill. A 16-year-old student killed himself after receiving a bill for about 3.7 million won (US$3,811; euro 3,212) in data charges for playing games on his mobile phone.
(BBC) Many organisations are now having to consider how they deal with employees who blog about their work, and one of the most recent to take up the challenge is the Metropolitan Police. But new guidelines issued by the Met have caused some bloggers to wonder if their weblogs could cost them their jobs.
(OECD) The OECD ICCP workshop "The Future of the Internet" brought together policy-makers, leading academics, private sector organisations, and civil society organisations to discuss the trends shaping the future of the Internet, explore the various approaches - technical, regulatory, and economic - that are being taken or can be taken to create new functionality for and increased trust in the Internet, to promote its sustained growth and adoption, and to identify opportunities for increased international cooperation on pressing issues.
(New York Times) By some estimates, there are more than 30,000 people patrolling the Web in China, helping form one of the world's most sophisticated Internet filtering systems. But while China's huge Internet police force is busy deleting annoying phrases like 'free speech' and 'human rights,' experts say that Wild West capitalism, crime, piracy, pornography and other scourges of the real economy in China have moved into the virtual one.
(RAPID) The Commission considers wide broadband coverage in Europe as crucial for fostering growth and jobs in Europe. This is why EU telecoms legislation, structural and rural policy instruments need to be mobilised in full respect of state aid rules in a joint drive to bring high-speed "broadband" internet access to all Europeans, in particular to the EU's less-developed areas. This is the conclusion of "Bridging the Broadband Gap", a European Commission Communication presented jointly by the European Commissioners for Information Society and Media, Competition, Regional Policy and Agriculture and Rural Development.
(OfcomWatch) Interview with John Whittingdale, MP, (Conservative), Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee. February 16, 2006. One area of likely consensus we uncovered in the interview between the Conservatives and New Labour is the issue of the European Commission's proposed revisions to the Television Without Frontiers Directive. Whittingdale indicates that he supports the government's opposition to the EC's proposals, calling them 'bonkers'.
(ITU) In light of the consultations on the convening of the IGF, the United Nations Secretary-General will set up a multi-stakeholder Advisory Group to assist him in this task. The Group will consist of about forty members, representing governments, private sector and civil society and include members of the academic and technical communities. The members of the group will be chosen in their personal capacity. All stakeholders are invited to submit recommendations for members of the Advisory Group to the IGF secretariat by 18 April. A new round of consultations on the convening of the IGF will be held at the United Nations in Geneva on 19 May 2006. They will be open to all stakeholders and will focus on the substantive preparation of the inaugural meeting of the IGF.
(ITU) The UN Secretary-General has decided to establish a small Secretariat in Geneva to assist in the convening of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The Secretary-General was asked by the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Tunis in November, to convene such a Forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue. see also Global net tussle reaches uneasy truce and IGF: success, great success or useful sideshow? (The Register).
(Schneier on Security) Earlier this month I blogged about a wiretapping scandal in Greece. More details are emerging. It turns out that the 'malicious code' was actually code designed into the system. It's eavesdropping code put into the system for the police.
(Wired) America Online's controversial plan to charge mass e-mailers a fee to bypass their anti-spam system highlights the other, lesser-known, horn of the junk-e-mail problem: Filters that allegedly work too well. At issue is the problem of 'false positives,' industry-speak for legitimate messages mistakenly filtered out by anti-spam software.
(out-law.com) The UK, Malta and Portugal are the most spineless European states when it comes to penalties for getting email marketing wrong, according to new research by a European law firm. There has been no enforcement action to date in these countries.
(FT) Efforts by governments to counter internet spam by tracking down and prosecuting spammers have had limited impact and require far more resources than most countries can muster, the United Nations telecoms agency warned. It says in a report that while all countries need anti-spam legislation so that spammers have nowhere to hide, a more effective approach would be to require the establishment of enforceable codes of conduct by internet service providers (ISPs).
(ITU) Efforts by governments to counter internet spam by tracking down and prosecuting spammers have had limited impact and require far more resources than most countries can muster, the United Nations telecoms agency (ITU) warned. It says in a report that while all countries need anti-spam legislation so that spammers have nowhere to hide, a more effective approach would be to require the establishment of enforceable codes of conduct by internet service providers (ISPs).
(EDRI) The Maritime and Commercial Court in Copenhagen has decided that so-called deep linking is legal in Denmark. The decision is expected to have a major impact on many Danish online-services and search engines.
(out-law.com) A former parliamentary candidate for the UK Independence Party has been awarded £10,000 in damages after winning a defamation case. Michael Keith Smith had sued over postings in an internet chat room.
(CDT) (CDT) In the dispute over the federal government's demand that Google turn over millions of search terms to assist the government in its defense of an Internet censorship law, CDT filed a brief arguing that, in its search function, Google is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which prohibits certain online service providers from disclosing customer records under the kind of subpoena the government is using in this case. see also Department of Justice brief, Law Professors' brief, Google brief.
(New York Times) After the Justice Department drastically reduced its request for information from Google, a federal judge has said that he intended to approve at least part of that request. The government is requesting a sample of 50,000 Web site addresses in Google's index, instead of the one million it had demanded. And it is asking for just 5,000 search queries, compared with its earlier demand for an entire week of queries.
(RAPID) Sppech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media. International CeBIT Summit, Hannover, Germany, 8 March 2006.
(Independent) EU leaders suggested scrapping all mobile phone roaming charges yesterday in a move to crack down on excessive charges levied on consumers who use foreign networks. At a summit in Brussels, the EU leaders promised to investigate the possibility of eliminating all charges. The pledge from the Austrian presidency of the EU provoked a sharp response from operators, who described it as unnecessary interference. See Further Roaming Regulation is Unnecessary and Potentially Damaging (GSM Association).
(Heise) In einem Streitgespräch auf der CeBIT hat der Kriminologe und Jugendforscher Christian Pfeiffer ein rigides Vorgehen gegen Computerspiele im Kinderzimmer gefordert. Der frühere Justizminister Niedersachsens empfiehlt, den Medienkonsum von Jugendlichen mit Hilfe von Verordnungen und dem Schulgesetz einzudämmen. Generelle Verbote von so genannten Killerspielen, wie in der Koalitionsvereinbarung der Bundesregierung angeführt, brächten dagegen gar nichts: "Das ist Quatsch." Statt dessen sollte über Änderungen der Schulgesetze "jungen Leuten die Gelegenheit zum Spielen" genommen werden, sagte er.
(Reuters) Microsoft plans to include a free service to help parents control and monitor what their children are doing online in its upcoming Windows Live offering of Web services.
(NetAlert) Research into the use of filters in the broadband environment confirms that accessing the Internet through a content filter at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level leads to a significant reduction in network performance. Network performance was reduced by 18 per cent for the best performing filter and almost 78 per cent on the worst performing filter. The research also demonstrated variable filter performance across the different categories of restricted content. Even the most effective filter in terms of accuracy, only blocked 76 per cent of the selected list of potentially offensive URLs used in the testing.
(BoingBoing) Boing Boing is blocked by entire countries including the United Arab Emirates, and by many library systems, schools, US government and military sites, and corporations. Internet Qatar, the sole ISP in the State of Qatar, has also banned BoingBoing. At fault in most of these cases is a US-based censorware company called Secure Computing, which makes a web-rating product called SmartFilter.
(CNET News.com) Microsoft is inviting testers to try an early version of new parental control software for Windows XP called Windows Live Family Safety Settings. The parental controls software lets people filter online content, Microsoft said in an e-mail invitation to testers. It is designed to help keep Web content that parents deem inappropriate from reaching their children--such as items on alcohol, pornography, gambling and tobacco.
(01net) L'association e-enfance a testé l'efficacité des logiciels de tous les fournisseurs d'accès à Internet. AOL sort nettement du lot.
(OII) The Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford has joined the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), a programme established in 2003 to study state-sponsored filtering of the Internet. This worldwide initiative is a joint project undertaken by the University of Toronto, Cambridge University, and the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, in addition to Oxford.
(EDRI) The Council of Europe Group of Specialists on Human Rights in the Information Society (MC-S-IS) held its 4th meeting on 9-10 March in Strasbourg. Te draft CoE instrument prepared by the group will mainly focus on "Responsible use, education, well-being and empowerment of children and young people using the Internet and related communication services and technologies", rather than on attempting to define "harmful content". see also Internet Literacy Handbook, 2nd edition.
(washingtonpost.com) A browser add-on called SiteAdvisor offers users a fair amount of information about the relative safety and security of sites that show up in Internet searches.
(BBC) Bullies are increasingly using the internet to terrorise teenagers outside of school, a survey suggests. More than 10% of UK teenagers said they had been bullied online, while 24% knew a victim, the MSN/YouGov survey found. The increasing popularity of instant messaging services and e-mail among children means bullies can now reach their targets at all hours.
(World Dialogue on Regulation) This project has focused on developing a better understanding of affordability as key to understanding telecom demand which, in turn, is central to sound business cases for investment and the achievement of network development in developing countries. The series of papers includes the main report by Claire Milne, a paper by Sebastian Ureta on variations in expenditure on communications, a case study by Sangeeth Varghese of Reliance Infocomm, and a paper by Jeffery Wheatley on price elasticity of demand.
(BBC) BT is targeting customers who it says are regularly breaking their monthly broadband download limits, downloading between 100 and 200 gigabytes per month.. They will be given the choice to pay for their high use or risk losing their connection altogether.
(BBC) Deutsche Telekom is teaming up with Microsoft to offer an interactive TV service through high-speed, broadband connections in Germany. The tie-up will exploit the growth of the next-generation VDSL network, which with bandwidth of up to 50 megabits per second can carry far more content.
(International Herald Tribune) Hollywood studios, seeking a way to foil piracy and looking toward life beyond the DVD, are turning Europe into a proving ground for new methods of digital movie distribution. The new services from Warner and Universal will allow consumers to download to "own" the movie files for unlimited viewing, potentially creating a replacement for DVDs, and at the same time as the DVD retail-store release
(BBC) In the 13 months since it launched, Bebo has racked up more than 22 million members. It is aimed at those aged 13-30 but has proved particularly popular with school and college students.
(CNET News.com) Microsoft has added more than a dozen new products under the ever-growing Windows Live umbrella. Microsoft's goal is to continuously update and launch products in a "rolling thunder" approach, as opposed to Microsoft's usual strategy of formal unified product launches. On the business side, Microsoft's new ad-serving engine, AdCenter, is at the heart of the effort. The engine, aimed at helping the company increase its ad sales and rates, draws on user demographic information to help drive more targeted marketing pitches. See also Windows Live services online and on tap
(BBC) Increasing use of 3G mobile phones can change the way people communicate and create new social trends and tribes, a behavioural study has suggested. The study said the combination of still and video cameras on modern phones, and the advent of high speed data transfer, can inspire a generation of users.
(BBC) The UK has the world's highest level of digital TV viewers at nearly 70%, says a report by regulator Ofcom. The study says 17.5m homes received digital channels by the end of 2005, with Ofcom expecting the 70% mark to be passed early this year.
(Pew Internet & American Life Project Report) While online dating is becoming more commonplace, there are strong concerns in the wider public about the dangers of posting personal information on dating sites and about the honesty of those who pursue online dating, according to the Online Dating report.
(Economist) The design of computer networks is constrained by the need to be compatible with the internet and other systems that have grown up over the past four decades. What if network designers could start again with a clean slate, unencumbered by today's messy reality?
(Europa) The Information Society and Media Directorate General of the European Commission is planning to hold a plenary session of the Safer Internet Forum, open to all those interested, on Wednesday 21 June 2006. The meeting will focus on two topics: "Children's use of new media" and "Blocking access to illegal content: child sexual abuse images". The half-day devoted to Children's use of new media will analyse the results of the Eurobarometer survey and the Mediappro project. Discussion will focus on awareness raising tools and ideas on how to exploit research results for practical awareness raising work. During the other half-day, the problematic of notice and take'down of illegal content blocking access to child sexual abuse images and server-level filtering of illegal content will be addressed. Participants will include representatives of industry, law enforcement authorities, child welfare organisations and policy makers.
(Leipzig University) Preparations for an international conference on digital gatekeepers and search engines are almost complete. A scientific workshop on June 26 (with English as working language) and a broader conference for decision makers in media policy on June 27 (with English and German as working languages) will take place place in Berlin, Germany. There is a limited number of places for the scientific workshop on June 26 for which travel costs would be sponsored by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation (see detailed information under "call for papers"). Experts who want to apply should hand in an extended abstract no later than April 30, 2006. The scientific workshop also has the objective to establish an international network of researchers focussing on various aspects of digital gatekeepers.
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