Issue no. 389 - 22 June 2008

• FR - French to block porn, terror, hate web sites (Reuters)
  The French state and Internet service providers have struck a deal to block sites carrying child pornography or content linked to terrorism or racial hatred, Interior Minister Michel Alliot-Marie announced. The plan, part of a larger effort to fight cybercriminality, is to go into effect in September when a "black list" will be built up based on input from Internet users who signal sites dealing with the offensive material.

• FR - Les FAI devront filtrer les sites pédopornographiques (ZDNet.fr)
  La ministre de l'Intérieur Michèle Alliot-Marie veut accélérer la lutte contre la pédopornographie sur internet. Dans un discours prononcé dans le cadre des Assises du numérique, elle a indiqué avoir trouvé un terrain d'entente avec les opérateurs télécoms et les fournisseurs d'accès internet (FAI) : « Nous nous sommes mis d'accord, l'accès aux sites à caractère pédopornographique sera bloqué en France. » Voir Allocution de Michèle ALLIOT-MARIE, Ministre de l'Intérieur, de l'Outre-Mer et des Collectivités Territoriales, lors de l'ouverture des Assises du Numérique - Atelier Lutte contre la cybercriminalité, le mardi 10 juin 2008. voir aussi La France vise un verrouillage de l'accès aux sites pédophiles avant 2009 (Le Monde). La France devrait mettre en place un système de blocage de l'accès aux sites pédopornographiques sur internet avant la fin 2008, a annoncé la secrétaire d'Etat française à la Famille, Nadine Morano, lors d'une visite d'étude en Norvège, pays pionnier en la matière.

• FR- Nadine Morano préconise une norme Afnor pour les logiciels de contrôle parental (vnunet.fr)
  A l'Atelier "Protection de l'Enfant" organisé par la secrétaire d'Etat en charge de la Famille dans le cadre des Assises du Numérique, la ministre a déclaré qu'"Il n'y aurait pas de confiance dans l'économie numérique sans protection des enfants sur le Web" et que cette protection devait reposer, "comme une voie ferrée, sur deux rails parallèles : le filtrage des sitespédopornographiques et les logiciels de contrôle parental." Sur le premier point, un accord doit être trouvé entre les différents ministères concernés et les fournisseurs d'accès. Une étude de faisabilité technique a été confiée au Forum des droits sur l'Internet. Nadine Morano a d'ailleurs rappelé son engagement à ce que ces fameux logiciels de filtrage atteignent un meilleur taux de performance. Un dispositif plus lourd d'élaboration du cahier des charges de ces logiciels de contrôle - passant peut-être par une norme Afnor - et de contrôle de ces outils - le processus d'évaluation resterait à définir - devrait être prochainement étudié avec les FAI. Enfin, la ministre a promis pour la fin de l'année une grande campagne audiovisuelle et multimédia de sensibilisation des parents aux dangers d'internet pour les jeunes.

• US - Verizon offers free parental controls (CNET)
  Verizon Communications plans soon to offer online parental controls for free to all its broadband customers in an ongoing effort to keep kids safe on the Net. Specifically, Verizon plans to offer parents the ability to block their children from viewing selected content. The company is also offering application filters so parents can limit access to certain applications. And Verizon is giving parents the ability to designate specific time periods when the Internet or certain functions can and cannot be used.

Issue no. 388 - 1 June 2008

• JP - Government plans blocking of child porn sites (Yomiuri Shimbun)
  The ruling parties in Japan will introduce legislation for Internet service providers to block access to child pornography sites with major providers in favor of the move. Under the blocking system, Internet service providers would use special software to block access to Web sites included on a police list of child porn sites, including sites using overseas servers. Britain, Italy, Sweden and other countries have already implemented such a system, and it is claimed the approach has been effective in limiting child porn on the Web.

• UK - Net downloads to get age ratings (BBC)
  Age ratings for downloaded video content and video games are to be introduced in the UK. Overseen by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the scheme will see certificates appear on websites, via set-top boxes and portable players. Disney, Warners and Fox have signed up to the scheme with other "key industry figures... poised to join the scheme". see also Censors go online to clean up murky world of digital videos (Times).

• US - Age verification not the 'killer app' (Net Family news)
  ConnectSafely.org was invited to join the Internet Safety Task Force that is part of MySpace's settlement with 49 state attorneys general. One of the Task Force's main goals is to see if age verification technology can be used to protect minors. The Task Force's first meeting - was attended by Internet companies including MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, AOL, Google, and Yahoo, age- and identity-verification companies, and online-safety organizations. Larry Magid wonders if such technology would be helpful even if it could be employed. See his commentary at CBSNEWS.com.

Issue no. 387 - 12 May 2008

• DE - Gutachten: Netzsperren greifen in Grundrechte ein (Heise)
  Sperrverfügungen für Inhalte im Internet "greifen in erheblichem Umfang in die Meinungsfreiheit der Inhaltsanbieter, die Informationsfreiheit der Nutzer sowie die Berufsfreiheit der Internetprovider ein." Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt das von der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM) vorgestellte Gutachten zu Sperrverfügungen im Internet. Wegen der Grundrechtseingriffe und der möglichen Beeinträchtigung der technischen Funktion des Netzes müssten "schwierige rechtliche Abwägungen und Verhältnismäßigkeitsprüfungen im Einzelfall" den Maßnahmen immer vorangehen, heißt es in dem Gutachten weiter. Der KJM-Vorsitzende Wolf-Dieter Ring sagte, die KJM habe bewusst in den vergangenen fünf Jahren keine Verfügung erlassen. Vielmehr setze man auf einen Dialog mit den Zugangsanbietern, damit diese selbst Verantwortung übernähmen und Inhalte auf freiwilliger Basis sperrten.

• Peer-to-Peer Filters: Ready for Internet Prime Time? (Internet Evolution)
  by Carsten Rossenhövel. Internet Evolution and SNEP (the Syndicat National de l?Édition Phonographique, an organization that represents the interests of the French music industry), commissioned an independent test lab, the European Advanced Networking Test Center AG (EANTC), to test the functionality and performance of P2P filters. EANTC invited 28 vendors of P2P filtering products to participate in the evaluation. 0nly five agreed to take part, and only two vendors were brave enough to agree with publication of the results.

Issue no. 386 - 20 April 2008

• Business on the Hotseat Over Net Censorship (Michael Geist)
  In the mid-1990s, John Gilmore, one of the founders of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, coined the phrase "the Internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." A growing number of countries seem determined to challenge Gilmore's maxim. China is the best known, having implemented both a massive content filtering system that exerts control over external content and demanded that foreign Internet firms establish Chinese-versions of their services that abide by the government's requirements. China's censorship system may be the most extensive, but it is not alone. The University of Toronto's OpenNet Initiative, a world leader in tracking state-sponsored Internet censorship, recently co-published Access Denied, a book that highlights its pervasive growth.

• CoE - Recommendation on Internet filters (Council of Europe)
  Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to promote the respect for freedom of expression and information with regard to Internet filters (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 26 March 2008 at the 1022nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies) .

• UK - Video games ratings face overhaul (BBC)
  Video game ratings need to be overhauled to make them easier for parents and children to understand, a UK government-backed review has said. Carried out by psychologist Dr Tanya Byron, it says more games need to be rated by official bodies. It calls for the creation of a UK body to draw up and oversee a national strategy to keep children safe online. It also recommends that new PCs be sold with software that will help prevent children seeing harmful online content. See also Government to create child internet safety council (OUT-LAW News).

• UK - Videogame retailers support Byron Review, says Byron (Register Hardware)
  Psychologist Dr Tanya Byron has told a meeting of videogame publishers that most retailers support the idea of giving the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) a bigger role over game classification.

• US - Safer surfing for the kids (FT)
  Start-up KidZui have come up with a radically different approach that combines elements of social networking and fun avatars to create a safe web surfing experience for children aged three to 12. Instead of blacklisting bad websites, the KidZui service, which is built on top of standard browser technology, effectively "whitelists" the good ones - which have been identified and vetted by real people.

Issue no. 385 - 21 March 2008

• AU - Australian net filter at test phase (Australian IT)
  The federal Government's plan to have internet service providers filter pornography and other internet content deemed inappropriate for children is going full-steam ahead. 26 February was the deadline for expressions of interest to Enex TestLab, the Melbourne company evaluating internet service provider content filters on behalf of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The trial will evaluate ISP-level internet content filters in a controlled environment while filtering content inappropriate for children, and will be followed by live field trials.

• CN - "The Connection Has Been Reset? (The Atlantic)
  by James Fallows. China's Great Firewall is crude, slapdash, and surprisingly easy to breach. Here's why it's so effective anyway.

• CN - China blocks media due to Tibet unrest (Guardian)
  The Chinese government has cracked down on international media coverage of the unrest in Tibet, blocking websites and censoring the local feeds of broadcasters including BBC World and CNN. China's internet clampdown came over the weekend, following the outbreak of widespread unrest and violence in Tibet last week, and has hit websites including Yahoo, YouTube and Guardian.co.uk.

• FR - Dailymotion : la technologie de filtrage Signature entre en scène (ZDNet.fr)
  Dailymotion annonce le déploiement généralisé de la technologie Signature sur tous ses sites dans le monde. En octobre dernier, le site français de partage de vidéos a passé un accord avec l'Institut national de l'Audiovisuel (Ina), créateur de ce système de protection des contenus audiovisuels. Fonctionnant à partir d'une base d'empreintes numériques, il a été développé en interne par l'organisme public. Signature reconnaît et bloque la mise en ligne de vidéos piratées sur les sites de diffusion tels que Dailymotion.

• ISP "Voluntary" / Mandatory Filtering (libertus.net)
  by Irene Graham. This page contains information about ISP-level filtering systems implemented, by various ISPs in various countries, to prevent accidental access to child sexual abuse material on web pages/sites. It has been researched and produced in the context of the Australian Federal Labor Government's 2008 "plan" to mandate that Australian ISPs block access to a vastly larger type and quantity of web pages.

• Online games and the pre-teen killers (Times)
  Blog by David Hutchinson. I have been playing online with my Xbox. The game I've been playing the most is Call Of Duty 4, which has a 16+ rating. I wonder about the whole age rating thing. The Xbox has a plug-in headphone/microphone set. Many of the players appear to be boys who can't even be into their teenage years who shout insults in their pre-adolescent high pitches. I want parents to enforce game restriction ages, so I can enjoy an evening gaming and even if I still come last, at least it will be last among my peers.

• PK - Details emerge on YouTube block (BBC)
  Pakistan has rejected claims that it was responsible for blocking global access to the YouTube video clip site. YouTube was hard to reach this week following action by Pakistan to block access inside its borders for its hosting of a "blasphemous" video clip. Analysis suggests the block was taken up by net hardware that routes data effectively cutting off the site.But a spokeswoman for Pakistan's telecoms authority said the problem was caused by a "malfunction" elsewhere. See also Blocked YouTube (Economist).

• UK - MPs get web filter 'dark ages' warning (Guardian)
  A Microsoft executive told MPs that forcing software companies to install internet content filtering technology with high-security settings as standard to all computers would send the UK back to the "dark ages". The idea of forcing companies such as Microsoft to pre-install high security content filters was raised at a Commons culture, media and sport select committee hearing on protecting children from harmful content on the internet and in video games.

• US - CDT skeptical participants in Internet Safety Technical Task Force (CDT)
  The Center for Democracy & Technology announced its participation in the newly formed Internet Safety Technical Task Force, created to examine technologies that might be used to protect children from inappropriate material or contacts on the Internet. Said CDT President Leslie Harris. "CDT is pleased to take its place at this important table. However, while we look forward to a thorough and rigorous study of the issues, our participation comes with a healthy dose of skepticism." CDT believes that technology tools in the hands of parents are a key part of the online safety landscape; however, technologies, such as age verification, that put Internet companies in the role of gatekeeper, raise a host of legal and policy questions.

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