[eccr] QuickLinks 232 - 28 April 2002 - 1-30

1. EU - Kulturgut Film, Wirtschaftsgut Film (RAPID)
was kann die Europ=E4ische Gemeinschaft f=FCr den europ=E4ischen Film tun?
Viviane Reding Mitglied der Europ=E4ischen Kommission, verantwortlich
f=FCr Bildung und Kultur, CINEROPA Berlin, 19 April 2002
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13548.htm

2. USA - Gates Tries Softer Voice In A Loud Court Battle (Washington
Post)
A controlled, polite and more mature chairman of the Microsoft was
animated and unequivocal as he told the judge that provisions sought
by a coalition of state prosecutors to rectify Microsoft's illegal
conduct would lead to its ruin.  see also Gates: Leave My Windows
Alone, Gates Testifies, Melinda Watches (AP), Written testimony .
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13631.htm

3. EU - Commission proposal to combat attacks against information
systems (RAPID)
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Council
Framework Decision on attacks against information systems COM (2002)
173(01). It addresses the new most significant forms of criminal
activity against information systems, such as hacking, viruses and
denial of service attacks. This Framework Decision seeks to
approximate criminal law across the EU to ensure that Europe's law
enforcement and judicial authorities can take action against this new
form of crime. It also aims to encourage and promote information
security. see Attacks against information systems Mr Erkki Liikanen,
Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society and Proposal
for a framework decision on attacks against information systems
Ant=F3nio Vitorino, Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13606.htm

4. Deutschland - Datenklau im Funknetz nicht strafbar? (Universit=E4t
Bonn)
Praktisch sind sie schon: Drahtlose Netzwerke erm=F6glichen die
Rechner-Kommunikation per Funk, ohne l=E4stige Kabel und unabh=E4ngig von
einem festen Standort. Riskant sind sie auch: Ein ungebetener
Lauscher kann die Daten=FCbertragung per Funk viel leichter abh=F6ren als
bei einem herk=F6mmlichen Netzwerk. Viele Nutzer verzichten zudem sogar
auf simpelste Sicherheitsma=DFnahmen, zeigt eine Studie von zwei
Juristen und einem Informatiker der Universit=E4t Bonn, die in der
aktuellen Ausgabe der Zeitschrift "Datenschutz und Datensicherheit"
(DuD 4/2002 S. 226 ff.) ver=F6ffentlicht wurde.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13601.htm

5. Italy - Cops Bust Child Porn Ring (AP)
Italian police investigating an Internet child pornography ring have
seized thousands of videotapes and computer disks in raids across the
country.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13598.htm

6. Japan sets sights on online child porn (BBC)
Japan is planning to tighten the laws on child pornography on the
internet. The government was hoping to put forward legislation to
criminalise the transmission of such material online in time for the
next ordinary session of parliament in January, said an official.
Although it is illegal to sell or distribute child pornography in
Japan, there are no laws to stop individuals who show pornographic
images of children on their websites. The proposed measures are
intended to bring Japan into line with other nations in order to
ratify a Council of Europe treaty on cyber-crime that it signed last
year.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13547.htm

7. =D6sterreich -  Cybercops auf der Pirsch (Heise)
Die Zahl der F=E4lle von Computer- und Internet-Kriminalit=E4t ist auch
in =D6sterreich stark angestiegen. Seit 1. August 1999 bestehe im
Innenministerium die Zentralstelle zur Bek=E4mpfung der
Internetkriminalit=E4t. In dieser Einheit arbeiteten derzeit neun
speziell ausgebildete Kriminalisten. Die Zahl der Hinweise an die
Meldestelle f=FCr Kinderpornografie im Internet habe sich von 1700
Hinweisen (2000) um auf =FCber 2300 im vergangenen Jahr erh=F6ht.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13609.htm

8. UK - Indecent net pictures (Times Law Report)
R v Smith, R v Jayson. Opening attachments to e-mails and
downloading images from the Internet to a computer screen were acts
of making an indecent photograph, provided that the requisite
intention was present. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so
stated when dismissing appeals against convictions for the offence of
making an indecent pseudo-photograph of a child contrary to section
1(1) of the Protection of Children Act 1978.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13625.htm

9. UK - More cybercrime laws will be counter-productive, says
thinktank (ZDNet)
More laws to fight cybercrime are likely to be counter-productive,
but existing laws must be urgently updated if cybercrime is to be
effectively tackled, according to a leading IT thinktank. Eurim, the
European Information Society Group, which counts more than 100 MPs
and MEPs among its members and a similar number of industry
representatives, delivered the warning in a briefing document called
E-Crime - a New Opportunity for Partnership. see EURIM Briefing No 34.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13590.htm

10. UK - Paedophile net raids across country (BBC)
The biggest ever operation against internet paedophiles in the
United Kingdom has been carried out by 34 police forces. Officers
simultaneously raided 75 addresses across the country, with large
amounts of computer equipment seized for examination. see also
SurfControl software used by police (BBC).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13603.htm

11. UK - Plumber gets life for pornographic act (Daily Post)
A plumber was jailed for life yesterday after filming himself trying
to rape a baby girl. Chester Crown Court heard Contento became
addicted to Internet child pornography, which the judge branded
"dirty, filthy and terrible."
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13613.htm

12. UK - Security systems help internet paedophiles hide abuse
(Independent)
A new generation of "cyber" paedophiles is using sophisticated
computer security systems to hide the abuse of children, Britain's
High-Tech Crime Unit has discovered.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13546.htm

13. USA - FTC shuts down spam scam (MSNBC)
The U.S. government has shut down an e-mail scam that promised free
video-game consoles but instead delivered a connection to a
pornographic Web site that charged $3.99 per minute. The case is one
of the most egregious examples yet of the deceptive junk e-mail known
as spam, the Federal Trade Commission said. Internet users received
an e-mail message telling them they had won a Sony PlayStation 2 in a
promotion sponsored by Web portal Yahoo. Those who responded to the
message were directed to a bogus Yahoo! page that instructed them to
download a program that would allow them to claim the prize. The
program connected them to a pornographic Web page that secretly
charged them $3.99 per minute. see also FTC Shuts Down Multimillion-
Dollar Porn Spam Scam (Newsbytes) and Spam Scam Targeted Kids and
Their Parents (FTC Press Release).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13628.htm

14. USA - Penalty Upheld For Man Who Scammed Ebay Bidders (Newsbytes)
Using special software to harvest the contact information of Ebay
shoppers amounts to mass marketing, a U.S. appeals court had ruled in
upholding hefty fines and jail time for a man who used the technique
in swindling dozens of the online auction site's subscribers. The
decision by a three-member panel of the Appeals Court for the 3rd
Circuit supported a lower court's ruling that Frank Richard Nickens'
conviction on 67 counts of wire fraud was worthy of greater penalties
under federal law that takes a dimmer view of "mass-marketing"
scamsters.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13629.htm

15. France - Les sites pornographiques doivent filtrer leurs
visiteurs (Forum des droits sur l'internet)
La Cour d'appel de Paris a condamn=E9 le responsable de sites
pornographiques =E0 30 000 =80 d'amende pour ne pas avoir utilis=E9 un
syst=E8me efficace d'interdiction d'acc=E8s aux mineurs.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13617.htm

16. USA - Judge: County can limit access to video games (AP)
A federal judge said local governments should be able to limit
children's access to violent or sexually explicit video games, saying
they're not constitutionally protected forms of speech.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13595.htm

17. USA - Supreme Court Overturns Ban on 'Virtual' Child Porn
(American Lawyer Media)
The government's effort to restrict "virtual" child pornography,
which only appears to depict minors, was swept aside by the U.S.
Supreme Court as a First Amendment violation. Ashcroft v. Free Speech
Coalition . The contested provisions of the Child Pornography
Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA)  are overbroad and unconstitutional.
Generally, pornography can be banned only if it is obscene under
Miller v. California, but pornography depicting actual children can
be proscribed whether or not the images are obscene because of the
State's interest in protecting the children exploited by the
production process, New York v. Ferber, and in prosecuting those who
promote such sexual exploitation. see also The Future of Virtual
Kiddie Pr0n and Other Notes on Ashcroft v. Free Speech (LawMeme) by
Ernest Miller, Implications of the Supreme Court Decision in Ashcroft
v. Free Speech Coalition (NCMEC), Ashcroft Calls For New Laws,
Resources To Fight Child Porn (Newsbytes) and Feds Ease Rules on
Child Porn Charges
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13619.htm

18. USA - Vermont Child-Porn Monitoring Law Struck Down (Newsbytes)
Free-speech advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU), have convinced a federal judge to hobble a Vermont law that
prohibits the online transmission to children of certain sexually
oriented images and text.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13597.htm

19. Vietnam - Group asks for freedom for Web Critics (Wired)
A free speech advocacy group is calling for the release of three
Vietnamese dissidents who were recently arrested after they
criticized the communist regime on the Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13622.htm

20. Europe - Does the Existing Regulatory Framework for Television
Apply to the New Media? (European Audiovisual Observatory)
by Tarlach McGonagle, Instituut voor Informatierecht (Amsterdam).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13586.htm

21. Europe - Media Supervision on the Threshold of the 21st Century
(European Audiovisual Observatory)
Alexander Scheuer, Peter Strothmann, Institut f=FCr Europ=E4isches
Medienrecht.  What are the Requirements of Broadcasting,
Telecommunications and Concentration Regulation?
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13588.htm

22. USA - Feuding Industries Reach DTV Piracy Accord (Washtech)
Entertainment and consumer electronics industry leaders have struck
an agreement on standards for protecting digital TV broadcasts from
piracy, industry representatives told Congress. Executives from AOL
Time Warner, News Corp., and Panasonic/Matsushita Electric asked
receptive House lawmakers for legislation to codify their agreement,
expected to be finalized by an industry working group as early as May
17. The standards would prevent the unauthorized redistribution of
digital TV programming, and would move broadcasters a step closer to
meeting Congress' deadline for shifting to digital programming by
2006.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13599.htm

23. Deutschland - Datensch=FCtzer will Stasikartei aus dem Internet
entfernen (Heise)
Der Berliner Beauftragte f=FCr Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit
hat aufgefordert, die Stasikartei mit den Namen hauptamtlicher MfS-
Mitarbeiter aus dem Netz zu entfernen. Denn die Ver=F6ffentlichung im
Netz ohne Begrenzung auf einen geschlossenen Benutzerkreis sei nach
dem Datenschutzgesetz vom 23.05.2001 unzul=E4ssig.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13564.htm

24. EU - CEN delivers report on data protection (Press Release)
CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, has approved the
report on Data Protection by the EU mandated Initiative for Privacy
Standardization in Europe (IPSE). Based on the report's
recommendations CEN's Information Society Standardization System
(CEN/ISSS) will begin organizing its implementation, including the
setting up of a CEN Workshop - an open platform involving all the
stakeholders, including the public interest.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13608.htm

25. USA - Etch-A-Sketch Maker Draws FTC's Ire (internet.com)
The FTC marked the second anniversary of the Children's Online
Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by cracking down on the Etch-A-Sketch
Web site. The site was collecting information from children before
obtaining parental or guardian consent. The FTC has also sent letters
to more than 50 other operators of children's Web sites. see FTC v
Ohio Art Company Complaint, Consent Decree and Reasons for
Settlement, You, Your Privacy Policy and COPPA and FTC Coppa
Compliance Tool Kit.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13627.htm

26. USA - FTC Extends Kids' Privacy 'Sliding Scale' (Newsbytes)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has extended a rule that allows
children's Web sites to adjust their parental consent practices based
on a federally approved "sliding scale."
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13607.htm

27. USA - Senators Urge Companies To Relax Their Privacy Bill
Protests (Washtech.com)
Several U.S. senators warned high-tech industry leaders that their
efforts to block federal privacy legislation, the  Online Privacy
Protection Act, could backfire as state legislators move to fill the
void with their own strict and potentially conflicting Internet
privacy laws. The Senate Commerce Committee heard from industry
representatives and privacy advocates at a hearing to discuss
legislation that would establish uniform privacy rules for companies
that collect personal information via the Internet. see also Senate
Considers Internet Privacy Legislation (EPIC Alert 9.08) and USA - A
law to protect spyware (Salon).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13575.htm

28. W3C - Web consortium backs P3P privacy standard (IDG)
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has given its official blessing
to the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) 1.0 specification,
despite criticism from some privacy advocates who said the standard
does little to protect consumer privacy. see also Privacy Standard
Moves Forward (CDT) http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13553.htm

29. Developing countries - E-readiness Assessment (bridges.org)
Who is Doing What and Where. There are a number of different
organizations conducting e-readiness assessments in developing
countries using a variety of tools.  In its Comparison of E-readiness
Assessment Tools, bridges.org evaluated major assessment models in
terms of topics covered, level of detail, methodology and results.
This paper builds on the comparison by looking at where e-readiness
assessments have been carried out, and by whom.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13566.htm

30. Mexico - Fears About Microsoft Return (New York Times)
Microsoft is supplying  thousands of discounted copies of its
software in a deal with the Government of Mexico to help support the
e-Mexico initiative. It is being criticized by legislators who fear
that the deal will create a Microsoft monopoly in the country, and
opponents are pushing for open-source alternatives.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13630.htm

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