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(out-law.com) The European Commission has said that proposed regulations on European television will not destroy new media business models. The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) had said that extending the Television Without Frontiers (TVWF) Directive to new media broadcasting would be damaging. The move would 'risk dramatically reducing Europe's competitive edge and stifling innovation,' according to an MEF statement.
(Europa) The eContentplus Work Programme 2006 and the call for proposals are now online. The deadline for receipt of proposals will be 19 October 2006, 17:00 Luxembourg time.
(Europa) The eParticipation Workprogramme was adopted by the Commission and the Call for Proposals has been launched. The deadline for receipt of proposals by the Commission is 4 October 2006. An Info Day will be held on 31 August in Brussels. eParticipation is a Preparatory Action which aims at harnessing the benefits of the use of Information and Communications Technologies for better legislative processes and better legislation at all levels of governmental decision making, and for an enhanced public participation in such processes.
(Europa) The Safer Internet plus Work Programme 2006 and the call for proposals are now online. The deadline for receipt of proposals will be 29 September 2006, 17:00 Luxembourg time.
(Europa) Intellectual property and competition law: collective management rights in the online world. Speech by Torben Toft, Conrad Hotel, Brussels, 8 June 2006.
(RAPID) The European Commission has requested clarifications from Belgium concerning the public service mission and the financing of VRT, the public service broadcaster in the Flemish community of Belgium. Having examined allegations from several complainants, the Commission's preliminary view is that the current financing system is no longer in line with EC Treaty state aid rules requiring Member States not to grant subsidies liable to distort competition (Article 87).
(RAPID) The European Commission has imposed a penalty payment of €280.5 million on Microsoft for its continued non-compliance with some of its obligations under the Commission's March 2004 Decision. That Decision found that Microsoft had abused its dominant position under Article 82 EC, and required Microsoft to disclose complete and accurate interface documentation which would allow non-Microsoft work group servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs and servers. The Decision, adopted under Article 24(2) of Regulation 1/2003, finds that Microsoft has not fulfilled this obligation. Should Microsoft continue to fail to comply, the Decision also increases the amount of the daily penalty payment to which Microsoft could be subject to €3 million per day. Introductory remarks by Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition Policy, Press conference on imposing penalty payments on Microsoft. Brussels, 12th July 2006. The European Commission's Microsoft Case (Europa)The web-pages referred to provide information about the European Commission's March 2004 Microsoft Decision, the Court of First Instance proceedings relating to that Decision, and its ongoing implementation.
(RAPID) The European Commission has decided to refer France to the Court of Justice under EC Treaty state aid rules for failing to comply with a Commission decision of 2 August 2004 concerning France Télécom. This decision declared the preferential treatment of France Télécom under the French business tax regime incompatible with the Single Market and ordered France to recover the aid already granted from the beneficiary. However, the French authorities have not yet taken any concrete, effective steps to recover the aid.
(out-law.com) In overturning the Commission's decision to allow the Sony and BMG record labels merger in 2004 to merge, the Court of First instance has dealt a severe blow to the Commission in its role as Europe's competition regulator.
(Europa) EC Competition Law aspects: Sports Rights in a converging media technology environment, Speech by Torben Toft, London, Broadcasting & EC Competition Law, 30 March 2006.
(out-law.com) The US Senate has ratified the Convention on Cybercrime, the first international treaty on computer-related crime and the gathering of electronic evidence. The Convention was signed in November 2001 and came into force in July 2004. The UK has signed the Convention but has yet to formally ratify it [Ed: as is the case for most EU Member States. see status].
(out-law.com) Internet fraud accounts for eight percent of all fraud in the UK, according to the Attorney General's office, which says that fraud costs the UK billions of pounds every year. The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, has published the final report of his fraud review and has found that internet fraud can sometimes slip through current policing procedures and cost users and businesses dearly.
(BBC) The individual styles of hundreds of people's text messages will be analysed in a study that aims to help police with criminal investigations. Researchers will scrutinise volunteers' SMS messages to tease out patterns in the language and style of texts. The University of Leicester team hopes the work will yield tools that allow identification of a text author.
(BBC) Bank account details belonging to thousands of Britons are being sold in West Africa for less than £20 each. Fraudsters in Nigeria were able to find internet banking data stored on recycled PCs sent from the UK.
(BBC) More than 50% of online images of child abuse reported to an internet watchdog can be traced to the US. Investigations by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found nearly 2,500 US sites containing illegal images. The IWF study also said that some sites that contain the illegal content remain accessible for up to five years despite being reported to relevant authorities. US still the worst place for child abuse images.
(South China Morning Post) Looking at internet filtering practices in Vietnam, one could conclude that the government was more worried about politics than porn. OpenNet Initiative (ONI) university researchers said in a report that the practices ran counter to the government's own statements. see also Press Release.
(vnunet) La loi sur le droit d'auteur et droits voisins dans la société de l'information (DADVSI) a été officiellement promulguée jeudi 3 août 2006. Sa publication au Journal Officiel met fin au long et tumultueux processus législatif qui a accompagné son émergence. voir décision du Conseil constutionnel. Voir aussi Futura-Sciences.com.
(BBC) Internet law professor Michael Geist says a patent row between educators and the maker of educational software tools holds lessons for all net users. This is because Blackboard, an American maker of these systems, took the academic community by surprise late last month when it announced it had been granted a broad patent in the US covering 44 claims related to learning management systems.
(Heise) von Monika Ermert. Bei der World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) liegt ein neuer Entwurf für den umstrittenen Vertrag über die Rechte der Rundfunksender (Broadcasting Treaty) vor. Der WIPO Broadcasting Treaty soll Rundfunkunternehmen Rechte an ihren Sendungen geben, die in dieser Form noch nicht vom Urheberrecht abgedeckt sind. Kritiker, zu denen sich kürzlich auch die UNESCO mit einer Studie gesellte, warnen vor einer mangelnden Ausbalancierung der Rechte der Sender einerseits und des Anspruchs der Öffentlichkeit auf den Zugang zu Information andererseits. siehe auch Was für Broadcasting recht ist, soll für Netcasting billig sein.
(CNET News.com) AOL has apologized for releasing search log data on subscribers that had been intended for use with the company's newly launched research site. The randomly selected data, which focused on 658,000 subscribers, was among the tools intended for use on the recently launched AOL Research site. But the Internet giant has since removed the search logs from public view. see also AOL's disturbing glimpse into users' lives. EFF complaint to FTC.
(Silicon Republic) Lobby group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) has instructed its solicitors to prepare legal action if the Government does not discontinue its alleged breach of the constitutional rights of Irish citizens. DRI has alleged that the Irish police are engaging in collecting, storing and accessing the personal private information of every Irish citizen with a mobile phone.
(Guardian) Former Daily Mirror journalist James Hipwell says voicemail hacking has long been widespread at tabloid newspapers. This technique, long a dirty secret of tabloid newspaper journalism, has come to light this week after the News of the World royal editor, Clive Goodman, and another man were charged with intercepting phone messages.
(RAPID) A public consultation on ways to stimulate the growth of a true EU single market for online digital content, such as films, music and games, has been launched by the European Commission. The Commission intends to encourage the development of innovative business models and to promote the cross-border delivery of diverse online content services. It is also keen to ascertain how European technologies and devices can be successful in the creative online content markets. Input to this consultation will help shape a Commission Communication on Content Online, due to be adopted at the end of the year. The deadline for replies is 13 October 2006. The deadline for replies to the content online consultation - which is open to industry, in particular content and internet service providers, consumer organisations, in particular from the Internet community, regulators and all interested parties - is 13 October 2006.
(BBC) Thousands of website names ending in the .eu suffix have been suspended by the body that administers the domain. Brussels-based EURid froze 74,000 domain names which it believes have been stockpiled by a syndicate of registrars who intend to sell them on. The process, known as 'warehousing', is not permitted by EURid which is suing 400 registrars for breach of contract.
(Golem.de) Nachdem das private Wettangebot von Betandwin alias Bwin verboten wurde, werden nun Stimmen laut, die Internet-Sperren gegen Wettanbieter ohne Konzession fordern. Schwarze Listen für Internet-Provider werden in die Diskussion gebracht.
(BBC) A British secretary allegedly sacked from her job in Paris over an internet diary is the latest in a growing line to pay a heavy price for blogging. Catherine - who blogged anonymously under the pseudonym 'Petite Anglaise' about life, love and work - has now launched a test case under French employment law.
(BBC) People who buy medicines over the internet could be unwittingly putting their health at risk, warn UK doctors. Some drugs are fake and contain ingredients bearing little resemblance to the medicine named on the bottle, the Sunderland team told the Lancet. Even if patients get the right drug, there is a risk of unchecked side effects and dangerous interactions.
(CNET News.com) A rights group accused Western Internet companies of complicity with censorship in China and called on Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to resist Beijing's demands. New York-based Human Rights Watch called the blocking of politically sensitive Web sites and search terms 'arbitrary, opaque and unaccountable' and urged the publicly traded firms to be upfront with their users about censorship. see "Race to the Bottom": Corporate Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship.
(out-law.com) The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to establish a code of conduct governing the online censorship of dissidents. It wants companies such as Google and Telecom Italia to pledge not to help governments censor their citizens. The Parliament has adopted a text denouncing the governments of China, North Korea and Saudi Arabia for persecuting political opponents for views expressed online. It also name-checks Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft as companies that help those governments censor their citizens.
(Progress & Freedom Foundation) by Adam Thierer. Not since 1996 has online freedom of speech been under such intense attack in Washington. Proposals are pending or being considered that would impose: Extensive data retention mandates requiring companies to collect information about all of their customers for many months or even years; Mandatory age verification of minors before they're allowed to go online; Potential regulation of voluntary industry ratings or labeling systems (such as the video game industry's ratings system); A mandatory new top-level Internet domain designation (.xxx) for adult-oriented websites; A ban on social networking sites in schools and libraries; Mandatory labeling for "sexually explicit" websites; Other filtering / labeling requirements. All companies doing business online must show policymakers and the general public that they are serious about addressing these concerns. What is needed is a voluntary code of conduct for companies doing business online.
(Register) Babycare expert Gina Ford is threatening to sue UK parenting site Mumsnet and its ISP after allegedly defamatory comments were posted about her on the site. The postings have been removed, but Ford's lawyers are demanding that Mumsnet's ISP take the whole site offline.
(RAPID) An EU regulation that would cut the cost of using mobile phones abroad by up to 70% was tabled by the Commission. The Commission wants to ensure that prices paid by consumers for roaming services within the EU are not unjustifiably higher than those they pay for calling within their own country (European Home Market Approach).
(RAPID) The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the potential risks for children of using mobile phones. Input is invited from any stakeholder, including child safety, parent and consumer organisations, mobile network operators, content providers, handset and network manufacturers, and regulators. The consultation will run until 16 October 2006.
(Heise) Besitzen Kinder zu früh ein eigenes Handy, kann das ihre Entwicklung verzögern. Das Mobiltelefon erschwere die notwendige Ablösung von den Eltern, sagte Christa Schaff, Fachärztin für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Vorsitzende des Berufsverbandes für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (BKJPP) in Neuss. "Für Kinder unter zehn Jahren ist ein Handy nicht sinnvoll", sagte die Expertin dem dpa/gms-Themendienst.
(RAPID) The European Commission has endorsed the findings by the French national regulatory authority, ARCEP ('‘l´Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques'), to regulate the wholesale prices charged by mobile phone operators for incoming short text (SMS) messages on mobile phones. ARCEP is the first EU Member State regulator to propose such a move.
(Vodaphone) Mobile phones offer a wide range of features including picture messaging, downloadable pictures and video clips, games and internet access. These technologies bring significant benefits to our business and personal lives, but can also raise concerns about misuse. We care about our customers and have developed tools to combat spam and enable parents to protect their children from inappropriate content, contact and commercialism. The implementation of our content standards varies between markets reflecting local cultures and specific areas of concern. see also Privacy.
(vnunet) Search engines are not biased towards popular websites, and may even be egalitarian in the way they direct traffic, computer scientists claimed. An Indiana University (IU) School of Informatics study, entitled 'Topical Interests and the Mitigation of Search Engine Bias', challenges the view of a web-dominating 'Googlearchy' in which search engines are accused of pushing all internet traffic to established, mainstream websites.
(out-law;com) A man who ranted and shouted in telephone calls to his MP should have been convicted for using racist terms that were 'grossly offensive'. The offence is a necessary limitation on everyone's right to freedom of expression, the House of Lords has ruled.
(vnunet) A virtual ID card designed to keep children safe while they're surfing the net has been launched in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. The Net-ID-me is a secure electronic identity card that displays the user's first name, age, gender, and general location. It can be swapped by children online when using chatrooms, instant messaging and social networks.
(CDT) The Center for Democracy and Technology has urged lawmakers to reject legislation that would force Internet speakers to place government-sanctioned warning labels on a broad range of online content. The language has been attached to a major telecommunications bill and more recently to an appropriations package. As written, the provision would apply to a broad range of Internet content, and could force online publishers to tag legal, and often socially valuable, material with a 'digital scarlet letter.' CDT supports voluntary labeling efforts and has long endorsed the use of voluntary parental control tools such as filters.
(Agence France-Presse) "Un pseudo peut cacher n'importe qui - Soyez vigilants sur Internet", avertit le slogan de la campagne "Le Masque", lancée en France par l'association Action Innocence pour sensibiliser parents, enfants et adolescents aux dangers de la navigation sur les sites dédiés aux 10-17 ans. Jusqu'au 31 août, 6.000 emplacements dans les abribus de France accueillent les placards de la campagne.
(out-law.com) The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, a wing of the newly formed Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), will ask children, parents, teachers and industry figures to a series of meetings to help the agency to formulate policies to combat child abuse via social networking sites.
(BBC) Google has started warning users if they are about to visit a webpage that could harm their computer. The warning will pop up if users click on a link to a page known to host spyware or other malicious programs. The initiative comes out of a larger project cataloguing programs that plague people with unwanted ads, spy on web habits or steal personal data.
(UK Parliament) The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has appointed a Sub-Committee to investigate personal Internet security. The inquiry invites evidence on security issues affecting private individuals when using communicating computer-based devices, either connecting directly to the Internet, or employing other forms of inter-connectivity. Areas the Committee will consider include: What is the nature of the security threat to private individuals and what is the scale of the problem? How well do the public understand the nature of the threat they face? What can be done to provide greater personal internet security? How much does this depend on software and hardware manufacturers? Is the regulatory framework for internet services adequate? How well equipped is Government to combat cyber crime? Is the legislative framework in UK criminal law adequate to meet this growing challenge?
(BBC) HSBC is to review its online security after researchers at Cardiff University found a loophole which could allow access to customers online accounts. A bank spokesman said the loophole had not been used by fraudsters and was not a viable way for a hacker to steal.
(ZDNet UK) Hundreds of computers belonging to suspected terrorists or paedophiles are gathering dust as investigators are unable to decrypt the data on their hard drives, claim police.
(BBC) BT has signed a deal with Universal Pictures that will enable broadband users to download movies on the same day as their DVD release. The deal is similar to deals Universal already has in place with DVD rental company Lovefilm and UK website Wippit.
(Reuters) Some 5,000 AOL employees, or about 26 percent of the company's 19,000-person work force, will lose their jobs. Time Warner has announced that the long-struggling AOL plans to make e-mail, instant messaging and other services available at no cost to users with broadband Internet access. AOL is in the process of selling its European Internet access business.
(BBC) AOL, the internet arm of Time Warner, is to give away e-mail, instant messaging, software and other services for free to high-speed internet users.
(CNET News.com) Fox Entertainment Group is planning to distribute movies and TV shows to consumers from the company's network of Internet sites, including MySpace.com.
(Economist) Google announced two new conquests. It struck a deal with Viacom under which it will syndicate video clips from Viacom brands such as MTV and Nickelodeon to other websites, and integrate advertisements into them. This makes Google the clear leader in the fledgling but promising market for web-video advertising. It also announced a deal with News Corporation, under which it will provide all the search and text-advertising technology on News Corporation's websites, including MySpace, an enormously popular social-networking site.
(BBC) Video website YouTube and social networking site MySpace are among the 50 'coolest websites' of the year as chosen by US magazine Time. The magazine breaks its choices down into categories including entertainment, shopping and news.
(Guardian) One in four British internet users keeps a blog and more than half of that number share their online musings with the public, according to a report. The research suggests that, with 27 million internet users across the UK, the country now holds nearly 7 million bloggers - equivalent to nearly one in nine of the population.
(BBC) The 'networked generation' is driving a radical shift in media consumption, says UK telecoms regulator Ofcom. Sixteen to 24 year olds are spurning television, radio and newspapers in favour of online services, says the regulator's study. The 2006 Ofcom report also found that increasingly households are turning to broadband and digital TV. see also Ofcom Press release.
(Pew Internet) A national phone survey of bloggers finds that most are focused on describing their personal experiences to a relatively small audience of readers and that only a small proportion focus their coverage on politics, media, government, or technology.
(CNET News.com) The majority of parents say they've taken some action to ensure their child's safety online, but at least some will admit they're clueless about how to protect kids. According to a new study from research firm Harris Interactive, roughly a third of parents said they don't feel confident about teaching kids how to use the Internet safely and responsibly. Nevertheless, as many as 94 percent of parents have turned to Web content filters, monitoring software or advice from an adult friend to help shield their kids from harm on the Net. See Cable in the Classroom Press Release and Internet Safety page.
(Net Family News) Several surveys about online teens have just been released, but the biggest news in Net safety this week was the much-anticipated 'Second Youth Internet Safety Survey' (the first, much-quoted, study came out back in 2000) from the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, sponsored by the US government-funded National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. see also For kids, more online porn, less solicitations (CNET News.com) Fewer American children are being targeted by sexual predators on the Internet today than five years ago, according to a new study - an improvement researchers attribute to a growing awareness of the problem among young people. The findings come from a survey entitled Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later.
(BBC) Few users know the details of the world wide web's growth . One key date is 6 August 1991 - the day on which links to the fledgling computer code for the www were put on the alt.hypertext discussion group so others could download it and play with it. On that day the web went world wide.
(Europa) Joint conference of the European Commission and the Finnish Presidency of the EU in collaboration with SAP and Capgemini. The objective of the conference is to track the process towards visible impact of the eGovernment Action Plan and check the status of national and regional impact frameworks and explore partnership with industry.
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