Legal and regulatory issues

Audiovisual

• EU - The new Television Without Frontiers Directive: the Commission proposal to boost Europe's audiovisual sector  +/-

  (RAPID) Speech by Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media. High Level Conference on the future of the Television Sector of the Association for Commercial Television (ACT). Brussels, 27 April 2006.

Competition

• EU - Commission clears acquisition of Austrian mobile phone operator by T-Mobile  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the Austrian mobile phone operator tele.ring by T-Mobile Austria, subject to conditions and obligations. The Commission's in-depth investigation showed that the concentration, as initially notified, would have led to a substantial impediment of effective competition on the Austrian market for the provision of mobile telephony services to final consumers. However, in the light of the commitment by the merging parties to divest UMTS frequencies and mobile telephony sites of tele.ring to operators with lower market shares than T-Mobile Austria, the Commission has now concluded that the proposed transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a significant part of it.

Computer crime

• UK - New agency to target net paedophiles  +/-

  (Guardian) Paedophiles who use the internet to groom their victims will be pursued by police posing as children as part of a new agency. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre, based in central London, brings together police experienced in tackling organised crime, technology experts and specialists from children's charities.

Content regulation

• Censorship and Online Filtering on the Internet  +/-

  (US Department of State) As Internet activity expands every month worldwide, the effects of Internet filtering in the United States and globally have become far-reaching. Most nations censor Internet communication in some fashion.

• CN - China and the internet: The party, the people and the power of cyber-talk  +/-

  (Economist) At present the party has the upper hand. It is starting to sweat, though. [Ed: Recommended]

• CN - Google's China Problem (and China's Google Problem)  +/-

  (New York Times) What the Chinese really want from the Internet. And what companies like Google can, and can't, do about it.

• Net censorship spreads worldwide  +/-

  (BBC) Repressive regimes are taking full advantage of the net's ability to censor and stifle reform and debate, reveals a report. Written by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) pressure group the report highlights the ways governments threaten the freedom of the press. The report has a section dedicated to the internet and the growing roster of nations censoring online life.

Copyright, trademarks and patents

• EU - Commission proposes criminal law provisions to combat intellectual property offences  +/-

  (RAPID) The Commission has adopted a proposal for a directive to combat intellectual property offences that amends the proposal approved by it on 12 July 2005. It is thus responding to the Court ruling of 13 September 2005 in Case C-176/03, according to which the criminal law provisions necessary for the effective implementation of Community law are a matter for Community law. Accordingly, the proposal for a Council framework decision to strengthen the criminal law framework to combat intellectual property offences[2] has been withdrawn and its provisions incorporated into the amended proposal for a directive.

• WIPO - US retreat opens way for treaty on broadcasting  +/-

  (FT) The US has opened the way for a treaty updating broadcaster' rights for the digital age by dropping its insistence that webcasting be covered by the agreement. The treaty, under negotiation by members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation since 1997, will now cover satellite, terrestrial and cable broadcasts.

• WIPO Carves Up the Internet (and the Broadcast Spectrum)  +/-

  (Huffington Post) by James Love. WIPO is debating whether or not to create a new intellectual property right in information that is distributed over television, radio, cable television, or through any wired or wireless computer network, including the Internet. This is something different from copyright. Indeed, it is designed to benefit people who cannot get a copyright, because a work belongs to someone else (the person or group that created it), or because the information is in the public domain. The new right is not a "copyright," but a "broadcaster" or "webcaster" right. It is a bad idea when applied to television or radio, but a disaster if applied to the Internet.

Data Protection (privacy)

• UK - ID Card database to be used as population register  +/-

  (out-law.com) The Government announced that data from the National Identity Register (NIR) will also be used as an adult population register for a range of novel data sharing functions. The Office of National Statistics had promoted a separate adult population register as part of the Citizen Information Project (CIP) for these functions, but the announcement states that the CIP project has been wound up and its functions incorporated into the wider use of NIR data. The announcement also changes many undertakings given to Parliament when it considered the ID Card legislation.

Digital content

• FR - Chirac unveils his grand plan to restore French pride  +/-

  (Guardian) The French president, Jacques Chirac, has unveiled what he hopes will be his great legacy to France's struggle against the global dominance of the US: he will provide €2bn (£1.4bn) in funding for a series of innovative grands projets, including a Franco-German search engine to compete with Google and Yahoo!. Named Quaero - Latin for "I search" - the search engine aims to be the first to efficiently sort through audio, images and video.

• UK - The BBC 2.0  +/-

  (Economist) The BBC lays out ambitious plans for its future online. See also Rivals criticise BBC's strategy (BBC).

• US - Scholarly journals resist offering online versions  +/-

  (New York Times) Scholarly publishing could take a financial hit if a proposed federal law is enacted, opening taxpayer-financed research to the public, according to some critics in academic institutions. The Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006, proposed by Senators Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, and John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, would require 11 government agencies to publish online any articles that contained research financed with federal grants.

Digital divide

• UN - Global Alliance for ICT and Development launched  +/-

  (UN) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has approved the launch of a Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development. The mission of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development will be to facilitate and promote integration of information and communication technology into development activities by providing a platform for an open, inclusive, multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral policy dialogue on the role of information and communication technology in development.

Domain names

• The dot-xxx debacle  +/-

  (Lawrence Lessig) The dot xxx debate has been back in the news recently, and what I find unendingly puzzling is the sides taken. From first principles, you'd expect groups who want it to be harder to get pornography on the internet to want a .xxx domain followed by a law ordering ISPs to block porn sites that don't move to the porn zone. That would make it relatively easier to avoid randomly running into porn on the internet.

Hotlines

• INHOPE and Microsoft formalise cooperation to tackle illegal Internet Content  +/-

  (INHOPE) The International Association of Internet Hotlines (INHOPE) and Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have announced an agreement to secure Microsoft financial support for INHOPE's network of hotlines across the world over the next two years, as well as a commitment to provide expert technical training and software.

Information society and Internet policy

• EU - Diplomatie zum Informationsweltgipfel: Dichtung und Wahrheit  +/-

  (Heise) Den "Ausbau der Menschenrechte, insbesondere im Hinblick auf den freien Empfang von Informationen und den Zugang zu ihnen", hat die EU-Kommission zur ersten Priorität im Nachfolgeprozess zum Weltgipfel der Informationsgesellschaft (WSIS) erklärt.

• EU - Internet: Commission seeks global partnership  +/-

  (RAPID) To keep up the momentum of the successful World Summit on Information Society (Tunis, 16-18 November 2005), the European Commission has set out its priorities for implementing the international policy commitments made at the Summit. These priorities include safeguarding and strengthening human rights, in particular the freedom to receive and access information. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) should be used to contribute to open democratic societies and to economic and social progress worldwide. The Commission calls for continuing international talks to improve Internet governance through the two new processes created by the Summit: the multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Forum and the mechanism of enhanced cooperation that will involve all governments on an equal footing.

• The Future of the Internet - and How to Stop It  +/-

  (OII) Webcast of Inaugural Lecture by Jonathan Zittrain (Professor of Internet Governance and Regulation, Oxford Internet Institute & Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman Visiting Professor for Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School). The lecture proposes a theory about what lies around the corner for the Internet, how to avoid it, and how to study and affect the future of the internet using the distributed power of the network itself, using privacy as a signal example.

Junk mail (spam)

• OECD - Task force on Spam Anti-Spam "Toolkit"  +/-

  (OECD) Spam, once a mere nuisance, has become a serious problem for individuals and businesses alike. To support the development of an inclusive and coherent answer to the spam issue, the OECD, through its ad hoc Spam Task Force, has launched an Anti-Spam "Toolkit" as the first step in a broader initiative to help policy makers, regulators and industry players orient their policies relating to spam solutions and restore trust in the Internet and e-mail. See also OECD Recommendation on Cross-Border Co-operation in the Enforcement of Laws against Spam;

Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law

• DE - First-instance district court of Hamburg says forum operators are liable for comments  +/-

  (Heise) The first-instance district court of Hamburg has handed down its written statement on its widely reported ruling on liability for forums. The statements refers to web forums as an 'especially dangerous feature.' Those who operate such a source of trouble, the court argued, must be held especially liable. The judges in Hamburg have not followed previous interpretation that forum providers were only liable for illegal content that they had knowledge of and were not obligated to actively search for it. Judgment in German

• US - Can Schools Punish Students for Posting Offensive Content on MySpace and Similar Sites?  +/-

  (FindLaw) by Anita Ramasastry. The past few years have seen the growth of popular social networking websites for students. About four million teens have created some sort of blog. Unfortunately, however, such sites and blogs - despite all the good they've done for some students - have also created serious problems for other students, educators and even law enforcement. No wonder, then, that many schools have blocked students from accessing such sites while on campus.

Mobile and wireless

• DE - Teenie-Mobilfunkverträge: Nicht günstig, aber sicher  +/-

  (Focus Online) Die Mobilfunk-Provider bieten spezielle Verträge für Jugendliche an, die zu hohe Rechnungen und Verschuldung verhindern sollen. Sie sind allerdings nicht unbedingt preiswert. Die Besonderheit an den Verträgen für jugendliche Mobiltelefonierer liegt in den verschiedenen Möglichkeiten, die Kosten unter Kontrolle zu halten.

• EU - Vodafone joins moves to cut cost of calls from abroad  +/-

  (Guardian) Vodafone has joined the race to reduce the cost of using a mobile phone abroad before the European commission introduces new regulations to force the industry to cut its charges. The company promised to cut the average cost of a roaming call for customers in 11 European markets, including Britain, by 40% by April next year.

• EU - Kommission arbeitet an Mobilfunk-Kodex für den Jugendschutz  +/-

  (Heise) Die EU-Kommission will ein Memorandum of Understanding mit Europas Mobilfunkbetreibern zum Schutz von Kindern und Jugendlichen schließen. Das berichtete Horst Forster, Direktor in der Generaldirektion Informationsgesellschaft und Medien der EU-Kommission bei der 3. Zukunftswerkstatt der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz, der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland und der Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung gestern in Berlin. Der Tausch von Gewaltvideos über Mobilfunktelefone, aber auch die Abzocke von Jugendlichen über Premium-SMS-Angebote wurde von verschiedenen Referenten bei der Jugendschutzveranstaltung als wachsendes Problem bezeichnet.

• Watch Out, Kids: With GPS Phones, Big Mother Is Watching  +/-

  (Washington Post) Sprint Nextel has introduced a new service called Family Locator that lets parents track their kids' whereabouts, using the GPS capabilities in each child's cellphone.

Protection of minors

• EU - Kinder im Netz: unterversorgt oder überbehütet?  +/-

  (Heise) Ein Masterplan für kindgerechte Online-Inhalte, ein Bekenntnis zur Notwendigkeit staatlicher Aufsicht im Jugendmedienschutz und die Warnung vor einem möglichen Verbot von Sperrverfügungen in den EU-Mitgliedsländern – das waren Themen bei der 3. Zukunftswerkstatt der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland und der Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung gestern in Berlin.

Rating and filtering

• FR - Les internautes ne peuvent plus échapper au contrôle parental  +/-

  (ZDNet France) Depuis quelques jours, la plupart des fournisseurs d´accès livrent à leurs nouveaux abonnés un logiciel de contrôle parental. Une campagne audiovisuelle d´information est également prévue pour responsabiliser les parents.

• Kids outsmart Web filters  +/-

  (CNET News.com) by Stefanie Olsen. As more schools place tight controls on PCs to stop kids from file-sharing, instant messaging, social networking or looking at undesirable material online, the kids are getting more clever, tech experts say.

• US - Online safety for kids a thriving business  +/-

  (Reuters) Keeping kids safe on the Internet is not only a big concern, it's big business.

Safer Internet awareness

• FR - Le gouvernement fait la pub du contrôle parental sur le petit écran  +/-

  (01net) Du 15 mai au 2 juin, les pouvoirs publics vont lancer une campagne de spots télévisés pour alerter les familles et les enfants des risques potentiels liés à la navigation sur Internet.

• UK - Ofcom publishes report on children's media literacy in the UK  +/-

  (Press Release) Ofcom has published the results of detailed research to assess the extent of children's media literacy in the UK. Ofcom defines media literacy as the ability to access, understand and create communications in a variety of contexts. The audit focuses on the four main digital media platforms - digital television, digital radio, the internet and mobile phones. Over 1,500 children aged 8 to 15 plus their parents were interviewed for the research.

Security and encryption

• EU - European Court of Justice confirms legality of ENISA  +/-

  (RAPID) The European Court of Justice confirmed that the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), established in 2004 with its seat now in Heraklion (Greece), was correctly established on the basis of the single market clause in Article 95 of the EC Treaty. The Court thereby rejected a legal challenge made by the United Kingdom.

Self-regulation / codes of conduct

• CN - China Web portals pledge stronger self-policing  +/-

  (Reuters) China's top Web portals, including Sina and Tom Online, have agreed to rid their sites of 'unhealthy' content, amid a broader Beijing campaign to clean up the Internet. Other major players in the self-policing drive include Sohu.com, NetEase.com, Baidu.com and Yahoo's China Web portal, according to the text of a pledge by 14 companies posted on Sina's Web site.

• FR - Le Forum des droits sur l'Internet recommande sa "marque de confiance"  +/-

  (NetEconomie) Le Forum des droits sur l'Internet a remis aux ministres Sarkozy et Bas sa recommandation en faveur de la création d'une "marque de confiance" en ligne. Cette "marque de confiance" identifiera par un logo les prestataires qui s'engagent à sécuriser les usages, protéger les mineurs, lutter contre les spams, virus et fraudes.

Market & Technology

Internet access and use

• Among the audience  +/-

  (Economist) The era of mass media is giving way to one of personal and participatory media, says Andreas Kluth. That will profoundly change both the media industry and society as a whole.

Portals, browsers and search engines

• Microsoft expands browser testing  +/-

  (BBC) Microsoft has moved a step closer to finishing a new version of its popular Internet Explorer browser. The software giant has released a revised test version of Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7). It is offering free telephone support to consumers in the US, Germany and Japan who decide to try it out.

Statistics

• Sophos report reveals latest 'dirty dozen' spam relaying countries  +/-

  (Press Release) Sophos has published its latest report on the top twelve spam relaying countries over the first quarter of 2006. While the United States has continued to make good progress in its efforts to reduce spam-relaying statistics, there is still more spam sent from US computers than any other nation. China is second. Europe is in danger of overtaking North America as the second worst spam-relaying part of the world.

Technology

• Beginners Guide to Podcasting  +/-

  (Download.com) You've probably been hearing a lot about podcasting, a kind of mix of RSS technology, pirate-radio sensibilities, and iPod portability. Apple has even included support for podcasting in the current version of iTunes. But what the heck is podcasting, and how can you get in on the action?

Forthcoming events

• 2006-06-21 EU, Luxembourg - Safer Internet Forum / update  +/-

  (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. Detailed agenda.

Useful addresses

• Benkler's book is out  +/-

  (Lawrence Lessig) Yochai Benkler's book, The Wealth of Networks, is out. This is - by far - the most important and powerful book written in the fields that matter most to me in the last ten years. If there is one book you read this year, it should be this. The book has a wiki; it can be downloaded as a pdf for free under a Creative Commons license; or it can be bought at places like Amazon. Read it. Understand it. You are not serious about these issues - on either side of these debates - unless you have read this book.

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