[eccr] QuickLinks 233 - 4 May 2002 - index + 1/30

QuickLinks 233 - 4 May 2002
HTML version: http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/latest.htm
Home Page: http://www.qlinks.net
Legal and regulatory issues
Competition
1. EU / France - Commission authorises the purchase by TF1 of 25% of
the capital of TP
2. EU / France - Commission clears purchase by Vivendi of Liberty's
stake in Multith=E9matiques
3. USA - Microsoft outmanoeuvres opposing states' lawyers
Computer crime
4. Canada - Man Pleads Guilty to $60 Million Online Fraud
5. Factual and Legal Risks Regarding Wireless Computer Networks
6. UK - Tough penalties for mobile phone theft
7. UK - Charities urge leniency for teenage internet pornographers
8. USA - Another Go at Kid Porn Law
9. USA - Creator of 'Melissa' virus gets 20 months
10. USA - DrinkOrDie Software Pirate Goes To Prison
Consumer protection
11. Australia - Govt Seeks Rules Against 'Internet Dumping'
12. USA - E-Mail Opens New Door For Familiar Scam Tactic
13. USA - FTC, Canadian Firms Settle Over Bogus Domain Threats
Content regulation
14. Germany to review gun laws and video violence
15. Deutschland - Kanzler vereinbart mit Sendern und Internet-
Anbietern runden Tisch zu Gewaltdarstellung
16. China to get tough with 'harmful' Internet content
17. Deutschland - Bundesregierung will verbindliche Altersbegrenzung
f=FCr Computerspiele
18. Deutschland - EU-Kommissarin Reding will Jugendschutz in Medien
st=E4rken
19. USA - Video Games Ruling Will Be Overturned - Expert
Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology
20. UK - Culture, Media and Sport Committee warns on digital
switchover
21. UK - Media law shake-up set to block Murdoch
22. USA - Cable Companies Commit to Speed Digital TV
Copyright, trademarks and patents
23. Lawrence Lessig: The "Dinosaurs" Are Taking Over
24. Net pirates 'threaten software industry'
25. Top Ten New Copyright Crimes
26. USA - Porn-Password Net Ordered To Police Copyrights
27. USA - SonicBlue ordered to track ReplayTV users' viewing choices
Digital divide
28. EU - e-Government and development: bridging the gap
29. EU / Latin America - Action must be taken to reduce the 'digital
divide,' say ministers
Domain names
30. USA - Groups Decry Sale of '.us' Internet Domain Names
31. WIPO - Domain Is Signed, Sealed, Delivered ... To Peter Frampton
e-Government
32. USA - N.Y. Court Commission to Study Effects of Case Info Online
33. Balanced E-Government
34. EU - eGovernment - Electronic Government
35. France - Force that unites protesters
36. France - Watchdog Calls for Poll Web Site Freeze
37. UK - City begins smart card e-government plan
38. USA - Federal Trade Commission Runs Web Dragnet
Electronic commerce
39. Korea - Gambling is illegal also when online
Employment and social issues
40. USA - Six State Workers Fired Over Sexually Explicit E-Mail
41. USA - State Agency May Revoke E-Mail Privileges When Used for
Union Activity
Information society and Internet policy
42. Ethnographies of the Internet: grounding regulation in lived
experience
43. EU - Status of the Information Society in the European Union and
Future Challenges
44. France - Canal Plus: slaughtering a sacred cow
Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
45. EU - Commission launches consultation on the law applicable to
non-contractual obligations ("Rome II")
46. Denmark - Deep Links Return to Surface
47. France - Les h=E9bergeurs face =E0 leurs obligations
48. Japan - ISPs compile guidelines for information removal
49. Spain - Web Law Sparks Debate
50. USA - Site Barks About Deep Link
Mobile and wireless
51. UK - Government plans new broadband wireless auction
Protection of minors
52. Deutschland - Brutale Spiele(r)?
53. Online lifeline for children
Racism and xenophobia
54. Deutschland - Verfassungsschutz: Drastische Zunahme
extremistischer Websites
Safer Internet awareness
55. USA - No Quick Fix to Fighting Pornography on the Internet
Security and encryption
56. France - Court Backs Vivendi's Bid To Re-do Shareholder Vote
Self-regulation / codes of conduct
57. EU - eConfidence forum
58. EU - Green Paper on alternative dispute resolution in civil and
commercial law
59. UK - Junk mail tops ad complaints league
Telecommunications
60. Spain - Regulator orders Telefonica to cut local loop rates for
rivals
Market & Technology
Internet access and use
61. UK - BT faces internal war over Web fees
62. UK - Web surfing pioneers battle change in the tide
Market
63. UK - Final curtain comes down on ITV Digital
64. E-Publishing-Revolte in der Wissenschaft
65. France - Vivendi considers purge of internet activities
66. Korea - Govt Backs Net Gaming Industry
67. Nintendo to unveil GameCube online service
68. Porn 'dinosaurs' being killed off by the internet
69. UK - FT.com to charge users
Mobile and wireless
70. Italy - Sky is the limit for mobile services
Portals, browsers and search engines
71. Google to be AOL Time Warner search engine
72. Is Yahoo losing the plot?
73. UK - BBC Launches New Internet Search Engine
Security and encryption
74. Cracking the nest egg - breaches in bank security
Statistics
75. 'Peer to peer' users buy more music
76. Canada - Nearly Half Of Net Households Go Broadband
77. File-swapping sites multiply despite legal tangles
78. Japan - Youth Let Their Thumbs Do the Talking
79. Kazaa Shoots Past Morpheus In P2P Sweepstakes
80. UK - Broadband reaches more than 500,000
81. UK - Latest Internet Survey From Oftel
82. UK - Viewers turn away from digital TV
83. USA - a nation of 'cyberchondriacs'
Technology
84. Future of secure digital music initiative grim
1. EU / France - Commission authorises the purchase by TF1 of 25% of
the capital of TP (RAPID)
The European Commission has given the green light to the purchase by
the French television channel TF1 of the shares in the digital
package of satellite television channels T=E9l=E9vision Par Satellite
(TPS) held by France T=E9l=E9vision and France T=E9l=E9com.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13664.htm
2. EU / France - Commission clears purchase by Vivendi of Liberty's
stake in Multith=E9matiques (RAPID)
The European Commission has authorised the acquisition by French
company Vivendi-Universal of Liberty's stake in Multith=E9matiques, a
thematic channels group. This operation will increase Vivendi's
shareholding in Multith=E9matiques in which it will have joint control
with Lagard=E8re. The op=E9ration will not significantly change the
competitive situation of the market since Vivendi already held joint
control in Multith=E9matiques.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13634.htm
3. USA - Microsoft outmanoeuvres opposing states' lawyers (FT)
Lawyers for the nine litigating states in the Microsoft anti-trust
remedy hearings appeared to have been comprehensively outmanoeuvred
by their counterparts defending the software giant after Microsoft's
legal team decided to halve the number of defence witnesses they
would call.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13661.htm
4. Canada - Man Pleads Guilty to $60 Million Online Fraud (Reuters)
A Canadian man pleaded guilty to participating in an online Ponzi
scheme that bilked some 13,000 investors out of nearly $60 million in
what officials said was one of the largest Internet investment fraud
cases in the nation.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13697.htm
5. Factual and Legal Risks Regarding Wireless Computer Networks (M.
Dornseif, K. H. Schumann, C. Klein)
There has been much talk about the risks to radio networks. How
great is the actual danger and does criminal law protect against
assaults on radio networks? First published in German in Datenschutz
und Datensicherheit, April 2002.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13654.htm
6. UK - Tough penalties for mobile phone theft (BBC)
A Bill published by the Home Office will make it a criminal offence
to reprogram stolen phones to create a new number so they can be used
again.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13648.htm
7. UK - Charities urge leniency for teenage internet pornographers
(Guardian)
Teenage boys who download images of child abuse from the internet
should not always be prosecuted as sex offenders, according to
experts on the sexual exploitation of children. The Children's
Charities Coalition for Internet Safety (Chis), a taskforce set up
last year following a series of high profile cases involving online
paedophile rings, has called on the courts to distinguish between
adults and children arrested on child pornography offences in a
submission to the sentencing advisory panel.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13715.htm
8. USA - Another Go at Kid Porn Law (AP)
Lawmakers, angry at the Supreme Court for striking down parts of an
anti-child pornography law, are proposing legislation they hope will
pass constitutional muster while banning computer simulations and
other fool-the-eye depictions of teen-agers or children having sex.
see background on the bill (Justice Department) and Summary of
Ashcroft "morphed" child porn bill by Larry Sutter
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13636.htm
9. USA - Creator of 'Melissa' virus gets 20 months (AP)
The creator of the "Melissa" computer virus was sentenced to 20
months in federal prison for causing millions of dollars of damage by
disrupting e-mail systems worldwide in 1999. see also Melissa Creator
Sentenced On State Charges (Newsbytes).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13673.htm
10. USA - DrinkOrDie Software Pirate Goes To Prison (Newsbytes)
A figure in the software pirating group DrinkOrDie has been sent to
prison for nearly three years, the first of many members of the
"warez" organization that will be sentenced for their roles in an
operation that caused millions of dollars in damages.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13641.htm
11. Australia - Govt Seeks Rules Against 'Internet Dumping'
(Newsbytes)
The Australian government has proposed powers for the nation's
telecommunications regulator that would allow it to tackle the
practice of "Internet dumping." Internet dumping occurs when a Net
user's modem is disconnected from the local call to an ISP and
reconnected, usually secretly, to an international or premium-rate
phone number.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13650.htm
12. USA - E-Mail Opens New Door For Familiar Scam Tactic (Washington
Post)
The get-rich-quick con, dubbed the "Nigerian Letter Scam" is now
arriving with increasing frequency in e-mails, many sent from Nigeria
or neighboring West African nations. Last year, they constituted the
third biggest consumer fraud on the Internet, trailing auctions and
the sale of merchandise, according to the National Consumer League
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13691.htm
13. USA - FTC, Canadian Firms Settle Over Bogus Domain Threats
(Newsbytes)
Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, several
Canadian domain-name registrars and their operator will pay $375,000
to consumers who were duped into unnecessarily buying variations of
their existing domain names.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13710.htm
14. Germany to review gun laws and video violence (FT)
German politicians from across the party spectrum demanded urgent
reviews of gun controls and laws covering access to violent videos
and computer games to prevent a recurrence of last week's school
shooting that left 17 dead. They also called for a broader political
debate on the events and violent influences on young people, amid
nationwide scenes of mourning and soul searching. Chancellor Gerhard
Schr=F6der said he would soon meet heads of the main television
channels, and premiers of the 16 federal states, constitutionally
responsible for broadcasting, to discuss violent material. Otto
Schily, interior minister, promised a review of Germany's relatively
strict gun laws to see if further amendments were necessary.
Separately, officials from the youth and family ministry said they
would review draft legislation, due to be presented shortly, to see
if further steps were necessary to limit access by young people to
violent videos and computer games.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13657.htm
15. Deutschland - Kanzler vereinbart mit Sendern und Internet-
Anbietern runden Tisch zu Gewaltdarstellung (Heise)
Als Konsequenz aus der Bluttat von Erfurt beruft die Bundesregierung
einen Runden Tisch zur Darstellung von Gewalt im Fernsehen und
Internet ein. Dies vereinbarte Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schr=F6der (SPD)
am Donnerstagabend bei einem Treffen mit Intendanten privater und
=F6ffentlich-rechtlicher Fernsehsender in Berlin. Die TV-Sender wollen
zudem Aufkl=E4rungs-Spots senden, in denen Gewalt als
Konfliktl=F6sungsmittel ge=E4chtet wird. siehe auch Jugendschutz und
Medien im Internet und Medienpolitik: Wie blutig darf ein "Tatort"
sein? (Spiegel), IT-Verband setzt bei "illegalen Inhalten" auf
Selbstregulierung, Diskussion um Wirkung von Gewaltdarstellungen
geht weiter und Stoiber will Gewalt in Computerspielen verbieten
(Heise) und Deutschland - Ministerpr=E4sident Beck f=FCr Forum gegen
Gewalt in den Medien (dpa).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13658.htm
16. China to get tough with 'harmful' Internet content (Agence
France-Presse)
Chinese officials have vowed to crack down on "harmful" content on
the Internet, saying they want to protect youth from being corrupted.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13663.htm
17. Deutschland - Bundesregierung will verbindliche Altersbegrenzung
f=FCr Computerspiele (Heise)
Die Bundesregierung will noch in dieser Legislaturperiode die
Novelle zum Jugendschutzgesetz verabschieden, die unter anderem
rechtlich verbindliche Alterseinstufungen f=FCr Computerspiele
vorsieht. Mit der Novelle soll auch f=FCr Computerspiele eine
altersgerechte Kennzeichnung verbindlich gemacht werden, wie sie
jetzt schon f=FCr Filme und Videos gilt. siehe auch Bundespr=FCfstelle
indiziert zwei Ego-Shooter (Heise)
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13671.htm
18. Deutschland - EU-Kommissarin Reding will Jugendschutz in Medien
st=E4rken (Heise)
Der Jugendschutz im Fernsehen und im Internet muss nach Ansicht der
EU-Kommissarin Viviane Reding dringend verbessert werden. Die EU-
Kommissarin sagte, die Jugendschutzregelungen auf EU-Ebene seien in
einer Zeit geschaffen worden, als das Hauptaugenmerk darauf gerichtet
wurde, die Verbreitung der Pornografie einzud=E4mmen. Nun gehe es
darum, schlimmste Darstellungen von Rassismus und brutaler Gewalt aus
dem Fernsehen oder aus dem Internet zu verbannen. So m=FCsse die
Zusammenarbeit mit der Industrie und den Internetanbietern verbessert
werden. Eltern sollten die technische M=F6glichkeit bekommen, bestimmte
Fernsehprogramme zum Schutz ihrer Kinder zu sperren. Au=DFerdem m=FCssten
die Schulen Kinder und Jugendliche auf den Umgang mit den modernen
Medien vorbereiten.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13660.htm
19. USA - Video Games Ruling Will Be Overturned - Expert (Newsbytes)
A U.S. District Court judge recently ruled that video games are not
a protected form of speech under the First Amendment, and upheld a
St. Louis County ordinance restricting the use of "violent" video
games by minors. A media law specialist considers that the finding
that video games are not protected speech will not survive on appeal.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13649.htm
20. UK - Culture, Media and Sport Committee warns on digital
switchover (Guardian)
The collapse of ITV Digital has "dealt a body blow" to the
government's plans for digital switchover. In its Fourth Report the
House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee said the
government will have to seriously consider giving away digital set-
top boxes to achieve its goal of switching off the analogue TV signal
by 2010. On cross-media ownership, the media select committee agreed
with BSkyB's argument that all special rules governing the media
sector were "out of date". see also MPs call on regulator to split
BT (vnunet) and BT faces pressure to sell fixed-line network (FT).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13642.htm
21. UK - Media law shake-up set to block Murdoch (FT)
Rupert Murdoch is to be barred from expanding into free-to-air
television stations in Britain under a shake-up of media law in the
communications bill, which is to be published after this week's local
elections. Currently, media organisations such as Mr Murdoch's News
Corporation that control more than 20 per cent of the national
newspaper market are prevented from buying more than 20 per cent of
ITV, Channel 5 or a national or local radio service. Most of these
cross-media restrictions are set to remain.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13703.htm
22. USA - Cable Companies Commit to Speed Digital TV (Reuters)
The top ten U.S. cable operators committed to take steps to
accelerate the transition to digital television, including carrying
several high-definition digital channels by January 2003.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13662.htm
23. Lawrence Lessig: The "Dinosaurs" Are Taking Over (Business Week)
If the media giants have their way, the Net freedom fighter says,
content will be rigidly controlled and innovation stifled.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13646.htm
24. Net pirates 'threaten software industry' (BBC)
Tech industry leaders gathered in Brussels have reiterated the
growing threat of piracy to the software industry in Europe. The
warning was issued at a conference, organised by the Business
Software Alliance (BSA), which attracted delegates from firms such as
Microsoft, Apple, Adobe and Symantec.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13712.htm
25. Top Ten New Copyright Crimes (LawMeme)
by Ernest Miller. Jamie Kellner, chairman and CEO of Turner
Broadcasting (an AOL Time Warner company), was recently interviewed
on the future of television. He said :"[Ad skips are] theft. Your
contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to
watch the spots. Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-
supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button
you're actually stealing the programming." Interviewer: "What if you
have to go to the bathroom or get up to get a Coke?" JK: "I guess
there's a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom".
LawMeme offers the top ten new copyright crimes, as well as further
choice quotes and commentary from Mr. Kellner's interview. see also
Kellner's Contract Named.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13655.htm
26. USA - Porn-Password Net Ordered To Police Copyrights (Newsbytes)
A federal court judge has ordered the operator of a members-only
network for access to adult Web sites to crack down on copyright
infringement on Web sites run by many of its nearly 300,000 affiliates
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13690.htm
27. USA - SonicBlue ordered to track ReplayTV users' viewing choices
(Mercury News)
A federal magistrate in Los Angeles has ordered SonicBlue to spy on
thousands of digital video recorder users -- monitoring every show
they record, every commercial they skip and every program they send
electronically to a friend. Four separate lawsuits focus on a pair of
features on the ReplayTV 4000: an "AutoSkip'' function that allows
the device to bypass commercials while recording a program and a high-
speed Internet port that allows users to download programs from the
Internet or send them to other ReplayTV 4000 users. The suits allege
these features effectively deprive networks of the means of paying
for their programs -- advertising revenue. see also SonicBlue
Protests Court Order To Monitor ReplayTV Users (Newsbytes).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13644.htm
28. EU - e-Government and development: bridging the gap (RAPID)
Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission, responsible for
Enterprise and the Information Society, International Conference on e-
Government for Development, Palermo, 11 April 2002.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13666.htm
29. EU / Latin America - Action must be taken to reduce the 'digital
divide,' say ministers (CORDIS)
Government, the private sector and civil society must cooperate in
the development and implementation of e-strategies in order to reduce
the threat of a 'digital divide' opening up between technology
'haves' and 'have-nots', concluded participants at an EU, Latin
America and Caribbean ministerial meeting on the information society
in Seville, Spain, from 26 to 27 April. see Co-operation Programme
ALliance for the Information Society with Latin America" (@LIS).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13676.htm
30. USA - Groups Decry Sale of '.us' Internet Domain Names (Reuters)
Thousands of names in the United States' ".us" Internet domain have
been sold off with little consideration for the public good, several
public interest groups charged.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13695.htm

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