- CA - Ontario steps up attack on Internet child porn +/-
(Globe and Mail) The Ontario government will provide $2-million to the Toronto Police Service to help address the problem of child pornography on the Internet.
- ES - Nigerian email scam broken up +/-
(Sydney Morning Herald) Spanish police have smashed a Nigerian-led scam that reaped up to €20 million ($A36.15 million) by duping Internet chat enthusiasts and other victims into paying seed money for access to safety deposit boxes supposedly full of dollars. police arrested five Nigerians, a British man, a Spanish woman and a minor whose nationality was not disclosed, the Civil Guard said.
- EU - Accord on child pornography +/-
(FT) European Union justice ministers agreed EU-wide rules to combat child pornography and the sexual exploitation of children, bringing protracted negotiations to an end. The agreement includes common definitions of sexual crimes against children and harmonises the range of penalties national courts can impose on offenders, to prevent the emergence of "safe haven" states where penalties are less severe. see Draft Council Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography Report.
- IRE - Child porn task force on verge of collapse +/-
(Irish Examiner) Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe (COPINE) a group set up to tackle child pornography on the Internet is on the verge of collapse because the Government is not providing enough funding, a conference heard.
- NZ - New computer lab will help trace child porn +/-
(New Zealand Herald) A new computer laboratory was opened to help the unit that tracks down illegal pornography on the internet.
- UK - Fake bank website cons victims +/-
(BBC) West African criminals have used a fake version of a British bank's online service to milk victims of cash, say police. The fake site was used to squeeze more money out of people they had already hooked.
- UK - Six Britons held in worldwide internet porn crackdown +/-
(Ananova) Six British men are being held as part of a worldwide police operation targeting a sophisticated Internet paedophile ring. The National Hi-Tech Crime Unit says the men are suspected of being involved in the Shadows Brotherhood ring. A total of 46 warrants were executed in the operation, including 31 searches in Germany, two in Holland, three in Belgium, one in Spain and two in Italy.
- US - Judge Vacates Child Porn Guilty Plea +/-
(New York Law Journal) A defendant's guilty plea to a charge of receiving child pornography has been vacated because he was not asked whether he knew the images he received were of actual children rather than simulated child pornography.
- World cybercrime experts see need for laws, ties +/-
(Reuters) Top international cyber-crimebusters wrapped up a three-day conference in South Korea, the world's most wired country with a call for greater global cooperation to fight online offences. Senior cyber-crime police officers from 37 countries agreed at a meeting in South Korea that worldwide investigations were needed to chase online criminals who operate with little regard for state frontiers.
- FI - Parliament to ponder supervision of internet +/-
(Helsingin Sanomat) The Finnish Parliament is debating changes to the legislation on freedom of speech. In future, the law is due to cover the internet in addition to traditional media. According to the bill, a court could order an online publication to remove messages or news items with illegal content from the page. The same rules could also be applied to the home pages of private individuals. All online publications would need to name an editor-in-chief, who would be responsible for the content published on the site.
- FR - French to clamp down on porn with 'full-frontal' tax +/-
(Guardian) The French centre-right government is to impose a 93% supertax on porn films as part of what opponents say is a repressive moral crusade aimed at cleaning up the country's longstanding image of cultural permissiveness. Porn film producers and distributors already pay a 33% special tax on top of France's standard corporate tax of 33%. Under the new law, the special tax is to be increased to 60%.
- UAE Minister Criticizes Internet Censorship +/-
(Reuters) A United Arab Emirates minister, in a rare criticism of government censorship in the Gulf, called on Saturday for unfettered access to the Internet in the UAE. "The government should not enforce censorship on the individual," said UAE Information and Culture Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zaid al-Nahayan, a son of the country's president. Sheikh Abdullah, who heads a ministry that censors books and other publications entering the Gulf Arab state, said the UAE's sole Internet Service Provider (ISP) should not block access to Web sites.
- UK - Government bans mobile porn +/-
(Sunday Telegraph) The Government has ordered mobile telephone operators to create systems for blocking the transmission of hardcore pornographic images to next generation or 3G mobile phones. Ministers have said they would create an official "content" regulator for the industry if this self-regulation does not work. The Home Office is concerned that the advent of picture messaging, which is becoming widely available, will encourage distribution of pornography and could pose a threat to the young and vulnerable. Mobile internet access is expected to be much more popular with so-called 2.5G and 3G services because of the speed and high-definition picture quality they provide. Many people believe porn will be a popular application and source of revenue.
- UK - Satirical paedophile website claims legal victory +/-
(Guardian) Satirical website thinkofthechildren.co.uk today claimed victory in a battle against the obscene publications unit of the Metropolitan police, which had previously forced the site's closure, despite the lack of a court order. Mr Carr has now received an assurance that Host Europe will continue to host Think of the Children as long as the content does not break UK law. see also Think of the censors (Spiked).
- US - Fighting Net Censorship Abroad +/-
(Wired) Washington lawmakers are considering legislation that would allocate $100 million to thwart Internet censorship by authoritarian regimes. Rep. Chris Cox (R-Calif.) introduced a bill that would establish an Office of Global Internet Freedom to foster development of censorship-busting technology for users in countries including China and Saudi Arabia. The bill would allocate $50 million each for 2003 and 2004.
- Access to technical bottleneck facilities: the new European approach +/-
(IViR) by Natali Helberger. see also The Evolution of Access Bottlenecks in Europe: Re-Locating the Regulatory Issues (Communications & Strategies) by Martijn POEL & Richard HAWKINS TNO, Institute for Strategy, Technology and Policy, The Netherlands and Future Bottlenecks in the Information Society (IPTS) Report to the European Parliament, Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy (ITRE).
- Governments should not push flawed digital terrestrial TV - report +/-
(Europemedia.net) Europe's digital terrestrial TV (DTT) isn't quite dead, but it's barely surviving. Because its inherent limitations make it unprofitable, governments should give up their plans of forcing DTT rollouts and let market forces determine the analogue switch-off date, according to a new brief by Forrester Research.
- Italy proposes new media law +/-
(Zini & Associates) Italy’s Ministry Council approved the proposed new law which revamps the media structure in Italy. The main changes introduced by the new law are as follows: the cross-ownership of television, broadcast and print media is no longer prohibited; no single entity or individual can have more than 20% of the total revenue from the "integrated communications system", which comprises: TV and radio broadcasting, written publications, the film industry, photography and marketing, regardless of the communication channel used, with the exclusion of the voice telephony market and the three television channels owned by the state (RAI) will be progressively privatized starting in 2004. The state will maintain a controlling share and no private party will hold more than 1% of the company’s capital stock.
- Coming to terms with copyright +/-
(News.com) Anyone interested in the future direction of technology should pay attention to a case the U.S. Supreme Court will hear. Technically, the oral arguments are about the fate of a federal law called the Copyright Term Extension Act, which extends the duration of all U.S. copyrights for 20 years. But what the Supreme Court decides in this case, Eldred v. Ashcroft, could create ripple effects that spread throughout the technology industry and shape what kind of software and hardware products are legal to create and sell. See Eldred v. Ashcroft - Transcript of Supreme Court oral argument. see also Showdown between copyright, First Amendment turns into sideshow (freedomforum.org).
- DE - Bundesrat will Urheberrechtsnovelle ändern +/-
Translate
(Heise) Mit der Mehrheit der unionsgeführten Länder hat der Bundesrat zahlreiche Änderungen am Regierungsentwurf zur geplanten Novelle des Urheberrechts beschlossen. Die Empfehlungen des Bundesrates tragen dafür deutlich die Handschrift der Interessensverbände. So sollen die Urheber künftig gezwungen werden, sogenannte technische Schutzmaßnahmen (Digital Rights Management) einzusetzen. Kreative, die auf solche Kopierschutzmaßnahmen verzichten, sollen nach Vorstellung der IIT-Lobby und des Bundesrates künftig keine Pauschalvergütung mehr erhalten.
- FR - Les industries culturelles accusent France Telecom de piraterie +/-
Translate
(AFP) Le Comité de liaison des industries culturelles (CLIC) "dénonce avec la plus extrême vigueur le comportement scandaleux de certains fournisseurs d'accès qui n'hésitent pas à se faire le chantre du téléchargement illicite de musique et de video pour accroître leur trafic". Dans un communiqué publié samedi, le CLIC -qui regroupe une trentaine des principaux syndicats et sociétés civiles du secteur culturel- accuse notamment France Telecom/Wanadoo. Le comité épingle aussi le fournisseur Tiscali "qui vient de conclure un accord avec le service d'échange illicite de fichiers musicaux KaZaA".
- Hollywood chases down campus pirates +/-
(CNET News.com) Trade groups for the movie and recording industries are putting new pressure on universities to crack down on file-swapping by students using high-speed campus networks. In a letter sent to more than 2,000 university presidents, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and other copyright owner trade groups told university officials that large numbers of students were using college resources to violate federal law. see also Students' file sharing overloads college networks (AP).
- US - Copyright law open for comment +/-
(ZDNet) The United States Copyright Office is launching a rare round of public comment on rules that bar people from breaking through digital copy-protection technology on works such as music, movies, software or electronic books. Regulators aren't looking to change the law, but they are looking for public suggestions on what kinds of activity should be legalized in spite of the rules.
- US - MPAA sues online DVD seller +/-
(CNET News.com) The Motion Picture Association of America has sued a Minnesota-based Web site for allegedly selling pirated DVDs on the Internet. The MPAA alleged that online retailer eDiscountTech.com willfully sold illegal copies of DVDs on its Web site and through eBay. According to the suit, the DVDs were purchased by eDiscountTech from a seller in Malaysia.
- EU - Secrecy and openness in the European Union +/-
(freedominfo.org) The ongoing struggle for freedom of information by Tony Bunyan, Statewatch.
- EU - The misuse of data protection rules in the European Union +/-
(European Ombudsman) The European Ombudsman is concerned that data protection rules, especially Regulation 45/2001, are being diverted from their proper purpose of helping to ensure respect for the individual right to privacy as laid down by Article 8 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights: Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. Instead, they are being used to undermine the principle of openness in public activities.
- FI - Government Web portal for Information Society +/-
(eFinland) eFinland is built and maintained in co-operation with Ministry of transport and Communications, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, National Technology Agency (Tekes), Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra) and Finnish Information Society Development Centre. see also eBusiness | eGovernment | Education & Culture | Mobility | R&D.
- GPS: Keeping Cons Out of Jail +/-
(Wired) An electronic tracking system that follows suspects and criminals around their neighborhoods and compares the information to current crimes has received, of all things, the stamp of approval from the American Civil Liberties Union. The Global Positioning System's satellites track probationers and parolees and compare their whereabouts to the location of crimes committed in their vicinity.
- UK - Fears raised over e-voting +/-
(BBC) Rebecca Mercuri, one of the world's leading experts on electronic voting is warning the government that computer polls cannot be trusted.
- US - Net forces scrutiny of open records +/-
(CNN) Before the Internet, though, public records were essentially private because of their obscurity. Now governments are examining what information should be made public, or whether different rules should apply to electronic documents.
- China bars minors from Web cafes +/-
(Reuters) China barred minors from entering Internet cafes, issuing new rules to govern the shops the state accuses of poisoning the minds of urban youth. leaders. The cafes are hugely popular for video games and Web services. The new rules also prevent the construction of cybercafes within 650 feet of elementary and middle schools,
- DE - Bundesrat fordert Verbesserung des Kinder- und Jugendschutzes +/-
Translate
(Pressemitteilung) Auf Antrag des Freistaates Bayern hat der Bundesrat den Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Änderung des Jugendschutzgesetzes beim Deutschen Bundestag eingebracht. Vorgesehen ist im Einzelnen ein Vermietverbot schwer jugendgefährdender Bildträger (Videofilme, DVDs, Video- und Computerspiele), ein Verbot von Videoverleihautomaten und von Killerspielen wie Gotcha, Paintball und Laserdrome. Kindern und Jugendlichen unter 16 Jahren soll das Spielen an Bildschirmgeräten ohne Gewinnmöglichkeit in der Öffentlichkeit nicht gestattet sein
- DE - Koalitionsvertrag unterzeichnet: "Erneuerung, Gerechtigkeit, Nachhaltigkeit" +/-
Translate
(REGIERUNGonline) Die Regierungsparteien haben am 16. Oktober in Berlin den neuen Koalitionsvertrag unterzeichnet. siehe Kinder und Jugendlich stärken und schützen Wir werden uns für die Schaffung europa- und weltweiter Mindeststandards des Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutzes einsetzen und den UNESCO-Gipfel zur Informationsgesellschaft 2004 nutzen, um auf internationaler Ebene den Jugendschutz voran zu bringen. Zukünftig werden außerdem Maßnahmen zur Stärkung der Medienkompetenz sowohl für Eltern als auch für Kinder und Jugendliche im Vordergrund unserer Aktivitäten stehen. siehe auch Kultur- und Medienpolitik Es sind Instrumente der "regulierten Selbstregulierung" aufzubauen, die zu einer Reduktion der Gewaltdarstellungen in allen Medien führen, wobei die Besonderheiten der jeweiligen Medien berücksichtigt werden (z. B. Offlinemedien, Online-medien, Printmedien). Das Hauptaugenmerk beim Umgang mit Gewalt in den Medien sollte auf dem Ausbau der Medienerziehung von Kindern und Jugendlichen liegen, dessen Ziel der bewusste und verantwortliche Umgang mit den Medien ist.
- Die Landesmedienanstalten und der Jugendschutz im Internet +/-
Translate
(Hiese) Das eigentliche Problem der Jugendmedienschutzkommission (KJM), die im Frühjahr kommenden Jahres ihre Arbeit aufnehmen wird, sieht Wolf-Dieter Ring, Präsident der Bayerischen Landeszentrale für neue Medien ganz klar im Internet.
- FR - Une nouvelle signalétique à la télévision +/-
Translate
(Le Monde) Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) a présenté la nouvelle signalétique destinée à alerter les parents des jeunes téléspectateurs sur le contenu des émissions. Au plus tard le 18 novembre, sur l'ensemble des chaînes hertziennes, du câble et du satellite, les oeuvres cinématographiques et certains programmes devront être classés en cinq catégories en fonction de leur capacité à « nuire à l'épanouissement physique, mental ou moral » ou à heurter les mineurs par leur caractère violent, érotique ou obscène. voir La protection des mineurs à l'écran et la nouvelle signalétique jeunesse (CSA).
- UK - McDonald's red-faced over restaurant porn blunder +/-
(Silicon) A Scottish branch of fast food chain McDonald's has been forced to close down an internet service after customers used the in-store screens to view porn while they ate. Although many of the customers in the fast food restaurant were children, it was still possible to view images of a decidedly adult nature with no restrictions. The branch in Kilmarnock was offering customers 15 minutes of free internet access with every £1.99 breakfast they bought, while others were charged 50p for 15 minutes.
- US - AOL to deliver abducted-children alerts +/-
(AP) America Online, will begin transmitting Amber Alerts about abducted children onto the screens of computers, pagers and cell phones of subscribers in dozens of states and cities. Warnings issued across the patchwork of communities that use the system will go to AOL users in those areas who request to receive them.
- US - Retailers shun new 'XXX' video game +/-
(Reuters) Major retailers Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and KB Toys have refused to carry a new video game "BMX XXX" by video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment, billed as the first major release to feature full-action nudity and with prostitutes and pimps as major characters. Acclaim's Chief Executive said the critics were being unfair and missing the point of the game, which he said was intended as a kind of spoof along the lines of movie comedies such as "Austin Powers" and "Airplane."
- 2002-10-23 EU, Brussels - eGovernment: Paving the way to 2010 +/-
(Press Release) The Forum for European e-Public Services, e-Forum for short, an international association promoting eGovernment excellence together with support from a Community research programme, will present its first report on 23 October. A Press Briefing will take place at DG INFSO, 24 Avenue de Beaulieu, 1160 Brussels at 10.30 am. For more info, contact baudouin.de-sonis@eu-forum.org To register for the press briefing, email infso-newsroom@cec.eu.int.
- 2002-10-31 DE, Düsseldorf - Workshop Rassistische und fremdenfeindliche Inhalte im Internet +/-
Translate
(ITM Münster) Probeleme und Lösungsansätze. Workshop des Instituts für Informations-, Telekommunikations- und Medienrecht (ITM; öffentlich-rechtliche Abteilung) der Universität Münster in Kooperation mit der Landesanstalt für Medien NRW (LfM). am 31. Oktober 2002 in Düsseldorf. In den letzten Wochen ist intensiv über den richtigen Weg im Umgang mit rassistischen und fremdenfeindlichen Inhalten im Internet gestritten worden. Insbesondere in Nordrhein-Westfalen wurde, manchmal gar unerbittlich, über das Für und Wider von Sperrverfügungen debattiert.
- 2002-12-12 EU, Brussels - Convergence of Web Services, Grid Services and the Semantic Web for delivering e-Services? +/-
(IST Diffuse Project) Commissioner Erkki Liikanen will provide the Opening Keynote Address at the IST Diffuse Project Final Conference to be held on 12th December 2002 in the Centre Borschette, Brussels. The conference will review, explore and discuss the strategic issues concerning and surrounding the three interrelated technologies of Web Services, Grid Services and the Semantic Web from a broad perspective. The conference programme includes Keynotes from Carl Kesselman (a Founder of the Grid), Bruce Perens (Primary Author of the Open Source Definition), Guus Schreiber (Co-Chair, W3C Web Ontology WG) and the European Commission. The programme also includes senior speakers from ABN AMRO Trust, BEA, Berkom, IBM, Sun, TIEKE and Universities of Heidelberg & Toronto.
- 2003-04-01 US, New York - 13th Annual Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy +/-
(CFP) Call for proposals. CFP2003: Freedom to Move Think and Speak! New York, NY April 1-4, 2003. CA. CFP2003 will explore the most important issues facing the Internet and freedom, including: consumer privacy, broadband issues, wireless privacy and security, digital divide, critical infrastructure issues, public records, filtering, ICANN, disabilities access and much more. The Program Committee of the Thirteenth Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy (CFP2003) seeks your proposals for innovative conference sessions and speakers.
- 2003-07-09 NZ - NetSafe II: Society, Safety & the Internet +/-
(Internet Safety Group) The New Zealand Police, the University of Auckland and the Internet Safety Group have announced the upcoming NetSafe II: Society, Safety & the Internet on July 9-12, 2003 in Auckland, New Zealand. They have issued an international Call for Papers, with submissions due January 31st, 2003.