[eccr] QuickLinks 249 - 10 November 2002

QuickLinks 249 - 10 November 2002

HTML version: http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/latest.htm
Forthcoming events: http://www.qlinks.net/quicklinks/events.htm
Home Page: http://www.qlinks.net

Legal and regulatory issues

   Audiovisual
1. EU - Television broadcasters increase proportion of European works
2. UK - 'BBC gets anything it wants' claims Murdoch

   Competition
3. US - Ruling may decide Microsoft's other cases

   Computer crime
4. ES - Terra suprime las páginas personales anónimas para combatir
la pederastia
5. AU - Queensland - Civil libertarians want police use of
entrapment on Net to be monitored
6. IT - Police Shut Internet Piracy Ring
7. UK - Governor in child porn shame

   Consumer protection
8. Can the Web Be Believed? Not Always, Study Find
9. EU - Distance marketing Directive

   Content regulation
10. China Launches Net Cafe ID System
11. China's Cyberwall Nearly Concrete

   Copyright, trademarks and patents
12. Another Reason to Dislike the Sonny Bono CTEA
13. US - Privacy group fights P2P crackdown

   Data Protection (privacy)
14. Bundesregierung plant Vereinheitlichung des Multimedia-
Datenschutzes
15. EU - Data protection at work: Commission proposes new EU
framework to European social partners
16. EU - Directive on privacy and electronic communications

   Domain names
17. GAC - Größere Rolle für EU im ICANN-Regierungsbeirat
18. ICANN - Internet turf war playing out
19. Key Internet server moved for security
20. Noms de domaine en .eu : les jeux sont faits !
21. US - Mattel loses cybersquatting challenge

   e-Government
22. EU - Commission welcomes adoption of Directive on public access
to environmental information
23. UK - Counting the cost of NHS email

   Information society and Internet policy
24. Life lessons for net users

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
25. Court rules against AOL on Net privacy
26. EU - Ecommerce taxation and the limitations of geolocation tools

   Mobile and wireless
27. FR - L'ART donne son feu vert au Wi-Fi

   Protection of minors
28. US - Bush Backs New Online Protections for Children

   Racism and xenophobia
29. CoE - The Council of Europe fights against racism and xenophobia
on the Internet

   Rating and filtering
30. Europe - New age rating system for games
31. AOL to Sell Message Monitoring to Firms
32. Internet filtering: preventing porn and pushing productivity
33. US - McAfee teams with Wal-mart on parental controls

   Safer Internet awareness
34. El proyecto SIFKal pretende identificar problemas que genere
Internet
35. Medienkompetenz hängt nicht allein vom Haushaltsgeld ab
36. Sur Internet, il n'y a aucun point de repère pour savoir qui est
l'émetteur d'un message

   Security and encryption
37. Survey: Digital security
38. US - Hacking Victims' ID to Stay Secret

   Self-regulation / codes of conduct
39. EU backs e-commerce "trustmark"
40. CoE - self-regulation and user protection against illegal or
harmful content
41. Presse en ligne : création du chapitre européen de l'OPA

   Telecommunications
42. EU - Commission welcomes inaugural meeting of European
Regulators' Group in Telecoms

   Voice over IP
43. Panama begins blocking IP ports

Market & Technology

   Electronic commerce
44. On a winning streak

   Market
45. Porn.com
46. Sex Sells - But It's No Longer Easy
47. The erotic industry, publishing, music on demand and VOD are key
areas for content billing
48. UK - Microsoft deal may give BT edge over broadband rivals

   Mobile and wireless
49. DE - "Mobile Sex" mittels Handy und PDA
50. It doesn't just ring, it snaps

   Statistics
51. E-government shows strong growth globally
52. Europe - SMS bigger than email
53. Ten million broadband subscribers in Korea

   Technology
54. Freenet keeps file-trading flame burning
55. Working the web: Filesharing

Forthcoming events

56. 2002-11-15 FR, Paris - La Liberté d'expression dans la société
de l'information
57. 2002-11-22 US, New Haven - Revenge of the Blog
58. 2002-12-06 BE, Brussels - Consumer Complaints Form for Online
Resolution Mechanisms

Useful addresses

59. Identity Theft

Editorial information

60. Status of EU initiatives

1. EU - Television broadcasters increase proportion of European
works (RAPID)
Television broadcasters are devoting an average of 62% of their
transmission time to European works, and steadily improving the
"quotas" provided for in the "television without frontiers"
Directive. The European Commission adopted a Communication on the
implementation in 1999 and 2000 of Articles 4 and 5 of the
"television without frontiers" Directive to promote the broadcasting
of European works, including those of independent producers. The
average broadcasting time for European works was 60.7% in 1999 and
62.2% in 2000 for the fifteen Member States. The average broadcasting
time for independent producers' works, especially recent ones, was
37.5% in 1999 and 40.5% in 2000, i.e. well above the threshold of 10%
laid down by the Directive. COM (2002) 612.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14712.htm

2. UK - 'BBC gets anything it wants' claims Murdoch (Guardian)
Rupert Murdoch has launched a scathing attack on the government,
accusing it of being too cosy with the BBC and of fostering anti-
competitive behaviour on the part of the corporation. The BSkyB
chairman has long objected to the BBC's expansion into multichannel
TV but was clearly enraged what he saw as the corporation's recent
empire building, which included the launch of two children's TV
stations, BBC3 and BBC4 plus a history channel in a joint venture
with a cable company.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14721.htm

3. US - Ruling may decide Microsoft's other cases (ZDNet News)
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly approved with few changes
a November 2001 settlement between Microsoft, the Justice Department
and nine states and then she issued the revised settlement as her
remedy in continued litigation brought by nine other states and the
District of Columbia. In the 344-page memorandum supporting her
decision, Kollar-Kotelly potentially set limits on the use of U.S.
District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's "findings of fact" in other
cases. see State of New York, et al v. Microsoft (FindLaw) and
Executive Summary see also Special Coverage: Microsoft (FindLaw).
Microsoft Coverage Around the Web (LawMeme).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14759.htm

4. ES - Terra suprime las páginas personales anónimas para combatir
la pederastia (ABC)
Terra España ha decidido eliminar el servicio de páginas personales
anónimas con la finalidad de luchar contra la pornografía infantil
que se aloja en la Red, tras producirse un espectacular aumento de
contenidos pederastas en los últimos meses. Los usuarios de las
300.000 web ya alojadas tendrán que facilitar a la empresa su
identidad y datos bancarios si quieren continuar utilizando el
servicio.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14765.htm

5. AU - Queensland - Civil libertarians want police use of
entrapment on Net to be monitored (Sydney Morning Herald)
A new offence is proposed to be added to the Queensland Criminal
Code making it illegal to use the Internet to either chase a child
for sex or send pornography to somebody under 16. The laws would
allow police to pose as a child on-line to track down paedophiles in
Internet chat rooms. Queensland police should put strict Internet
monitoring measures in place to prevent possible abuses of power in
catching paedophiles, a civil liberties group said. Queensland
Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL) said proposed new powers for
police were an Australian first and may lead to the entrapment of
innocent people.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14739.htm

6. IT - Police Shut Internet Piracy Ring (Reuters)
Italian finance police and a technology watchdog group have broken
up an online piracy ring that allegedly traded millions of euros
worth of bootlegged software, music and films. Guardia di Finanza and
the Business Software Alliance (BSA) have teamed up on a year-long
investigation, resulting in the arrest of one group member and the
seizure of more than 100,000 counterfeited software and entertainment
products.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14747.htm

7. UK - Governor in child porn shame (Birmingham Evening Mail)
A parent governor at a Birmingham primary school was jailed for
eight months after downloading "revolting" indecent images of
children using a school computer. The married father-of-three pleaded
guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to 12 charges of making indecent
images. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for ten
years.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14768.htm

8. Can the Web Be Believed? Not Always, Study Find (Reuters)
A  new study goes to painstaking lengths to show that consumers
should not believe everything they read on Web sites, even from sites
claiming to be authoritative sources. Consumers International, a
federation of consumer organizations across 115 countries,
investigated 460 Web sites dealing with health, financial services
and so-called "deal-finder" sites to test their credibility quotient.
In a separate study, commissioned by advocacy group Consumer
WebWatch, experts in the health and financial fields were asked to
comment on which Web sites they consider to be authoritative.  see
also the consumer-driven study How Do People Evaluate a Web Site's
Credibility? Results from a Large Study.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14752.htm

9. EU - Distance marketing Directive (Eur-Lex)
Directive 2002/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer
financial services and amending Council Directive 90/619/EEC and
Directives 97/7/EC and 98/27/EC OJ  L 271 09/10/2002 pp. 16 - 24
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14745.htm

10. China Launches Net Cafe ID System (AP)
A Chinese province has required Internet cafe users to buy access
cards that identify them to police, further tightening official
monitoring of who uses the Internet and what they do online.The
system was installed in all 3,200 Internet cafes in the central
province of Jiangxi last month.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14715.htm

11. China's Cyberwall Nearly Concrete (Wired)
At a panel discussion held by the Congressional-Executive Commission
on China, experts warned that China has recently improved its
censorship technology -- much of which is provided by U.S. companies.
The panel also claimed that China now employs some 30,000 "Internet
police" to monitor its citizens, and that is has increased arrests of
dissidents and journalists posting illegal content on the Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14714.htm

12. Another Reason to Dislike the Sonny Bono CTEA (LawMeme)
by Ernest Miller.The BBC reports that Disney is using a loophole in
the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act [PDF] to avoid over $1
Billion in liability for theft and piracy of Winnie-the-Pooh's
copyright (Disney claims victory in Pooh tussle). Disney is
contesting a lawsuit for systematically under reporting the royalties
they owe to the people who own Pooh's copyright - which has been
leased to Disney since 1961. The plaintiffs against Disney represent
those who purchased the Pooh copyrights from A.A. Milne back in the
1920s.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14722.htm

13. US - Privacy group fights P2P crackdown (CNET News.com)
In  a counterattack against Hollywood's efforts to crack down on
student file-swapping. the Electronic Privacy Information Center is
warning universities of the dangers of installing monitoring systems
on their networks. The privacy advocacy group is sending letters to
presidents of colleges across the country, asking them to think
before they install monitoring tools on university networks.
"Monitoring the content of communications is fundamentally
incompatible with the mission of educational institutions to foster
critical thinking and exploration," EPIC wrote. "Monitoring chills
behavior and can squelch creativity that must thrive in educational
settings."
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14725.htm

14. Bundesregierung plant Vereinheitlichung des Multimedia-
Datenschutzes (Heise)
Das Bundeswirtschaftsministerium will die Datenschutzbestimmungen
für Teledienste, Mediendienste und den Rundfunk künftig in einer
neuen Regelung des Bundesrechts zusammenfassen. Bisher müssen Surfer
und Website-Betreiber in zwei verschiedenen, größtenteils
wortgleichen Gesetzen nachschlagen, wenn es um Datenschutzfragen im
Internet geht.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14737.htm

15. EU - Data protection at work: Commission proposes new EU
framework to European social partners (RAPID)
The Commission has launched a second formal consultation of social
partners on an initiative to improve protection of workers' personal
data throughout the EU. The Commission proposes to the European-level
social partner organisations a set of principles and rules governing
treatment of personal data at work in order to provide clear and
comprehensive guidance to employers and workers about their rights
and obligations in this field. see Protection of personal data in the
employment context  - consultation (Europa).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14754.htm

16. EU - Directive on privacy and electronic communications (Eur-Lex)
Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the
protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector OJ L
201  31/07/2002 p. 37
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14744.htm

17. GAC - Größere Rolle für EU im ICANN-Regierungsbeirat (Heise)
Die EU-Kommission stellt ab Ende November das Sekretariat für den
Regierungsbeirat (Government Advisory Committee, GAC) der Internet-
Verwaltung Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN). Christopher Wilkinson, lange Zeit GAC-Vizevorsitzender für
die Kommission, wird neuer Chef des Sekretariats.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14740.htm

18. ICANN - Internet turf war playing out (Globe and Mail)
by Michael Geist. In Shanghai, Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN), the agency responsible for administering the
Internet, conducted the most important meeting in its brief history.
Following months of debate on institutional reform, the ICANN board
approved the elimination of board positions reserved for the general
public, shelved plans for Internet user participation through on-line
elections and removed most of the mechanisms that hold ICANN
accountable.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14717.htm

19. Key Internet server moved for security (CNET News.com)
One of the 13 key servers that let people reach addresses on the
Internet has been moved due to security concerns, said VeriSign, the
company that runs the machine. The move comes just weeks after
hackers bombarded the "root" servers with a flood of data designed to
overwhelm them and shut them down, an attack that raised the spectre
of an all-out Internet collapse.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14724.htm

20. Noms de domaine en .eu : les jeux sont faits ! (Le Monde)
Depuis le 25 octobre, la Commission européenne a entre les mains
toutes les propositions pour gérer les futurs noms de domaine en .eu
; alternative ciblée et politique au .com "fourre-tout", l'extension
suscite des convoitises... Et pourrait révolutionner l'Europe de
l'Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14731.htm

21. US - Mattel loses cybersquatting challenge (CNET News.com)
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York found that the
Anti-cybersquatting Protection Act (ACPA) does not allow plaintiffs
to consolidate in a single venue cases affecting domain names
registered with services operating in different states.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14733.htm

22. EU - Commission welcomes adoption of Directive on public access
to environmental information (RAPID)
The Commission has welcomed the successful outcome of the
Conciliation procedure between the European Parliament and the
Council on the Commission's proposal for a Directive on public access
to environmental information, which is now finally agreed. The
Directive will replace the existing Directive 90/313/EC on the
freedom of access to information on the environment. see Legislative
history.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14713.htm

23. UK - Counting the cost of NHS email (Guardian)
The government is facing growing resentment from within the NHS over
its latest multimillion pound outsourcing deal with IT giant EDS. It
has emerged that the company is to be given £91m to provide a basic
email system for all NHS workers.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14718.htm

24. Life lessons for net users (BBC)
The internet is not over and done with despite the demise of many
dot.coms and collapsing confidence in technology firms and net
businesses. So said many speakers at a major conference in London
that debated the net's effect on society and how best to shape this
powerful force for change.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14735.htm

25. Court rules against AOL on Net privacy (Reuters)
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled against America Online in its
efforts to protect the identity of one of its 35 million subscribers
by asking the court to quash a subpoena calling for the member's name
in an issue that goes to the heart of the anonymity of the Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14750.htm

26. EU - Ecommerce taxation and the limitations of geolocation tools
(ITAA)
New European Union (EU) value added tax (VAT) rules that will go
into effect on July 1, 2003 will require non-EU vendors that sell
certain electronically supplied goods and services to EU consumers to
charge VAT based on where their customers are resident. Geolocation
technology, a fairly recent innovation, purports to be able to
address some, if not all, of the challenges associated with
identifying the physical location of a customer.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14766.htm

27. FR - L'ART donne son feu vert au Wi-Fi (Le Monde)
L'usage expérimental de la technologie Wi-Fi est libéralisé sur une
partie du territoire français, a annoncé l'Autorité de régulation des
télécommunications. Les FAI (fournisseurs d'accès à Internet) et les
opérateurs pourront installer "sans autorisation" des bornes
"hotspots", c'est-à-dire dans des lieux de passage public, tels que
"les aéroports, gares et centres d'affaires. Les particuliers, eux,
pourront tester le Wi-Fi. Une licence gratuite leur sera délivrée
pour une durée de dix-huit mois et leur permettra d'utiliser le
réseau à l'intérieur comme à l'extérieur des bâtiments. Toutefois,
ces mesures ne sont prévues que pour trente-huit départements, dont
Paris, pour le moment. Pour les autres, l'accord du ministère de la
défense sera nécessaire, car les fréquences peuvent troubler les
appareils militaires.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14732.htm

28. US - Bush Backs New Online Protections for Children (Washington
Post)
President Bush called for an increase in federal funding and new
legislation to combat online predators who stalk children in
cyberspace in hopes of sexually molesting them. Bush listened to
experts speak at the White House about child pornography and its
spread on the Internet. He proposed increases in spending to combat
child molesters who find their victims online and urged the Senate to
join the House in passing legislation overturning a Supreme Court
decision that struck down a ban of computer simulations of child
pornography. see also  US - Increasing Online Safety for America's
Children (Press Release)  and Remarks by the President.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14771.htm

29. CoE - The Council of Europe fights against racism and xenophobia
on the Internet (Press Release)
On 7 November 2002, the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers
adopted the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime. The
Protocol requires States to criminalise the dissemination of racist
and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as racist
and xenophobic-motivated threat and insult including the denial,
gross minimisation, approval or justification of genocide or crimes
against humanity, particularly those that occurred during the period
1940-45. It also defines the notion of this category of material and
establishes the extent to which its dissemination violates the rights
of others and criminalises certain conduct accordingly. Voir aussi
L'Europe adopte un texte contre le racisme sur internet (Reuters) .
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14726.htm

30. Europe - New age rating system for games (GameSpot UK)
An age rating system has been put in place in Europe to ensure
children aren't exposed to unsuitable content The ISFE announces
plans for new voluntary age ratings and symbols for games across
Europe. The Interactive Software Federation of Europe (IFSE) has
today announced plans for a new pan-European system of age ratings
and warning symbols for games in Europe. The voluntary system will
include five age categories: aged three and over; seven and over; 12
and over; 16 and over, and 18 and over. The age ratings will not
relate to the complexity of the games in any way, but are designed to
ensure that children aren't exposed to content that might be
unsuitable. In addition to the age ratings, a series of six symbols
designed to warn parents about specific types of content will be
introduced. The six symbols, of which only a maximum of two will
appear on any one game, highlight game content that includes
violence, sex, drugs, fear, discrimination, and bad language.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14760.htm

31. AOL to Sell Message Monitoring to Firms (Washington Post)
America Online has begun charging companies a fee to monitor use of
instant-messaging software in the workplace. A new, more secure
version of AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM, will enable businesses to
read instant messages sent by employees, just as businesses can now
monitor their workers' e-mail. The version for business will cost
about $35 per person annually, sources said, although the consumer
version will remain free.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14749.htm

32. Internet filtering: preventing porn and pushing productivity
(Datamonitor)
Datamonitor's recent survey found that European enterprises rate URL
filtering and conditional access solutions as high priorities in
networking investment. Companies are starting to realize the
potential costs of Internet access, both in productivity and in
exposure to lawsuits over offensive materials - indeed, pornography
is the most heavily restricted content.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14769.htm

33. US - McAfee teams with Wal-mart on parental controls (IDG)
Antivirus software maker McAfee is teaming in an exclusive deal with
discount retailer Wal-Mart to offer a stand-alone product that will
help parents clamp down on their children's online adventures. The
software will work with any Internet service provider and sell for
about $20.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14756.htm

34. El proyecto SIFKal pretende identificar problemas que genere
Internet (Yahoo ES)
El vicerrector de Investigación de la Universidad Internacional de
Andalucía (UNIA), Angel Pérez, afirmó que el Proyecto 'Safer Internet
for knowing and Living' (SIFKal) --Internet seguro para el
conocimiento y la vida--, promovido por esta institución
universitaria, pretende "diagnosticar e identificar los problemas
nuevos que aparecerán en la educación y formación de los ciudadanos
con el uso de Internet", informó la UNIA. La UNIA participa en el
proyecto SIFKal junto con las universidades españolas de Cádiz e
Islas Baleares y las europeas GMK de Alemania y la danesa Saarlandes,
así como el Centre for Applied Research in Education de la
universidad británica de East Anglia y Extreme Media Solutions de
Grecia. El proyecto europeo en España está orientado, principalmente,
a sugerir los modos más educativos para la utilización de Internet en
la escuela, en la familia y en los municipios, de modo que puedan
evitase las consecuencias no deseadas de la red de redes.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14736.htm

35. Medienkompetenz hängt nicht allein vom Haushaltsgeld ab (Heise)
Medienkompetenz von Schülern hängt nicht unbedingt vom sozialen
Hintergrund der Eltern ab -- so lautet die Kernaussage einer
internationalen Studie, die gemeinsam von der Bertelsmann Stiftung
und der Heinz Nixdorf Stiftung durchgeführt wurde. Gegenstand der
Untersuchung waren Regionen weltweit, in denen schon länger die
Integration neuer Medien in den Schulunterricht gefördert wird.
Darunter auch Gebiete mit hohen Arbeitslosenzahlen und geringen
Durchschnittseinkommen.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14762.htm

36. Sur Internet, il n'y a aucun point de repère pour savoir qui est
l'émetteur d'un message (Le Monde)
Educaunet est un programme d'éducation aux risques liés à l'usage
d'Internet. du programme, qui a pour objectif d'apprendre aux jeunes
de 8 à 18 ans à naviguer en toute responsabilité sur Internet, en les
mettant en garde contre les sites pédophiles, les virus ou les
fausses nouvelles. Educaunet a créé un ensemble d'outils éducatifs
qui ont été testés avec des jeunes en Belgique et en France.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14743.htm

37. Survey: Digital security (Economist)
Digital security, once the province of geeks, is now everyone's
concern. But there is much more to the problem - or the solution -
than mere technology.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14772.htm

38. US - Hacking Victims' ID to Stay Secret (AP)
Senior law enforcement officials assured technology executives  that
government will increasingly work to keep secret the names of
companies that become victims to major hacking crimes, along with any
sensitive corporate disclosures that could prove embarrassing. The
effort is designed to encourage businesses to report such attacks and
build public confidence in Internet security.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14711.htm

39. EU backs e-commerce "trustmark" (Reuters)
Seeking to encourage Europeans to shop on the Internet, the European
Commission is planning a single trustmark scheme to ensure minimum
standards of online consumer protection. By displaying an easily
recognizible icon - the trustmark - on a Web Site, registered
merchants would be able to show consumers they meet certain
protection standards, such as data privacy requirements, commitment
to price and information transparency and information about how to
deal with complaints. voir aussi La CE planche sur des "labels de
confiance" pour l'e-commerce (Reuters).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14758.htm

40. CoE - self-regulation and user protection against illegal or
harmful content (Council of Europe)
Replies to a questionnaire on self-regulation and user protection
against illegal or harmful content on the new communications and
information services. Those replies reflect the general policy, as
well as the initiatives, taken or to be taken, of member States in
the field of regulation of illegal and harmful cybercontent. see also
Questionnaire, Summary and analysis and National Initiatives.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14738.htm

41. Presse en ligne : création du chapitre européen de l'OPA (Le
Monde)
Les principaux sites de presse européens s'associent pour fonder le
chapitre européen de l'Online Publishers Associations américaine.
L'objectif : soutenir les intérêts des éditeurs en ligne auprès des
annonceurs, de la presse, des institutions et du grand public.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14730.htm

42. EU - Commission welcomes inaugural meeting of European
Regulators' Group in Telecoms (RAPID)
The inaugural meeting of the European Regulators' Group for
electronic communications networks and services was held in Brussels
on 25th October 2002. The Group will constitute the interface between
National Regulatory Authorities and the Commission. It will
contribute to the development of the Internal Market, and to the
consistent application of the regulatory framework for electronic
communications networks and services in all Member States
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14761.htm

43. Panama begins blocking IP ports (Linux and Main)
In an apparent attempt to stem telephone company revenue losses due
to Internet telephony, the government of Panama has decreed that 24
UDP ports be blocked by all Internet service providers. The ports
include ones that are commonly used for voice over IP as well as some
that are used for other purposes, apparently with the idea that
these, too, could be used to circumvent the POTS (plain old telephone
system) in making telephone calls.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14755.htm

44. On a winning streak (Guardian)
Online gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry. Players, lured
by big pots, just can't get enough.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14719.htm

45. Porn.com (Observer)
Images that would once have sparked an obscenity trial are now only
a mouse-click away, making hardcore routine and forcing mainstream
magazines to adapt or die. As for the new breed of DIY net
pornographers, all you need is a camera and a few happy 'swingers'
and you're in business.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14770.htm

46. Sex Sells - But It's No Longer Easy (Emarketer)
Revenues are down, paying customers are few and far between and many
operators have gone under. The industry is experiencing a classic
case of market saturation - with too many operators vying for a
revenue pool that is not expanding at the same rate. According to
industry watch groups, this is the sentiment being felt in the online
porn sector.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14767.htm

47. The erotic industry, publishing, music on demand and VOD are key
areas for content billing (Europemedia)
There is a market for paid content. This year's Content Billing
Europe organised by Van Dusseldorp and Partners, opened with a
presentation from keynote speaker Uwe Schnepf, Head of New Media for
Tiscali (Germany). Discussing the challenges and opportunities in
today's premium content market, Mr. Schnepf asserted " there is a
market for paid content". He highlighted that users are willing to
pay for exclusive content with a high degree of entertainment and
information, content that has an attractive price, content that is
easy to handle and content that has some advantage for users e.g.
archiving, personalisation. The key areas of premium content,
according to Schnepf are the erotic industry, publishing, music on
demand, and video on demand
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14757.htm

48. UK - Microsoft deal may give BT edge over broadband rivals
(ZDNet UK)
Experts believe that teaming up with Microsoft is a winning strategy
for BT's 'no-frills' broadband service BT's alliance with Microsoft
will help the telco to achieve market domination with its "no-frills"
broadband product, an industry expert has predicted. The pact between
the two companies will see BT and Microsoft working together on a
range of broadband applications to complement BT Broadband, the high-
speed Internet access package sold by BT Retail.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14723.htm

49. DE - "Mobile Sex" mittels Handy und PDA (Heise)
Die großen Erotikfirmen haben den Mobilsektor als neuen
Umsatzgenerator fest ins Visier genommen. Auf der Messe Venus 2002 in
Berlin stellten Branchenführer wie das an der Technologiebörse Nasdaq
gelistete spanische Unternehmen Private und der Flensburger Anbieter
Beate Uhse ihre Lösungen für Erotik auf dem Handy und dem
Taschencomputer vor, die sie unter dem Stichwort "Mobile Sex" zu
vermarkten suchen.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14763.htm

50. It doesn't just ring, it snaps (Guardian)
What happens when phones become cameras? Take a look at your mobile
phone. Right now you just use it to make phone calls and send text
messages, but within a few years, there's a pretty good chance it
will have a digital camera built into it, and that you'll be using
your mobile phone to take photos and record video clips.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14720.htm

51. E-government shows strong growth globally (Europemedia.net)
The proportion of adults worldwide using the internet to access
government services or products during the past 12 months has
increased by around 15 per cent, according to the findings of the
second government online study by Taylor Nelson Sofres. Three out of
ten citizens (30 per cent) globally said that they had accessed
government services online compared with only a quarter (26 per cent)
questioned a year ago.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14727.htm

52. Europe - SMS bigger than email (NUA)
More Europeans use short messaging service (SMS) than email,
according to new research from Gartner G2. Around 62 percent of all
adults across the major European countries now use a mobile phone,
according to the research.Currently, 41 percent of European adults
use SMS, compared to 30 percent that use the Internet/email
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14742.htm

53. Ten million broadband subscribers in Korea (NUA)
The number of broadband subscribers in Korea passed the 10 million
mark by the end of October, reports The Korea Herald. This figure is
equivalent to 21 percent of the total population and makes South
Korea the leading broadband nation in the world.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14741.htm

54. Freenet keeps file-trading flame burning (CNET News.com)
A new version of the Freenet software, a program based around wholly
anonymous Net publishing and distribution, is due out after long
silence from its mostly volunteer developer community.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14764.htm

55. Working the web: Filesharing (Guardian)
Despite the death of Napster, file-sharing is not impossible. Just
proceed with caution, advises Jack Schofield
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14734.htm

56. 2002-11-15 FR, Paris - La Liberté d'expression dans la société
de l'information (UNESCO)
Paris, France - 15-16/11/2002. La liberté d'expression sur internet
sera le thème d'un colloque international qui s'inscrit dans le cadre
de la préparation du Sommet mondial sur la société de l'information
(WSIS) qui se tiendra à Genève et à Tunis respectivement en 2003 et
2005. Le colloque, « Liberté d'expression dans la société de
l'information » sera le seul événement - d'une série de réunions
destinées à préparer le WSIS - qui traitera de questions urgentes
concernant la liberté d'expression sur Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14753.htm

57. 2002-11-22 US, New Haven - Revenge of the Blog (Yale Law School)
Friday, November 22, 2002 New Haven, Connecticut. Presented by
Information Society Project.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14751.htm

58. 2002-12-06 BE, Brussels - Consumer Complaints Form for Online
Resolution Mechanisms (CCform Project)
CCform aims to dramatically improve the standards of complaint
management to the benefit of consumers and business customers, as
well as product and service suppliers. Thanks to support from the
European Commission, we will create a recommended business process,
supported by an extensible online multi-lingual complaint form, and
accompanied by a well-researched international legal commentary.
CCform will work with about 60 participating organisations to develop
a consensus between business, consumers, academics and regulators.
Participating organisations will choose from 6 topic Panels to
address their inputs to the consensus building process. Topic panels
are proposed for Law, Consumer Affairs, SME's, Multi-lingual
Technologies, Regulators and Dispute Resolution, and Technical
Integration and Extensibility. The process will begin with a public
plenary meeting on December 6, 2002, develop through 4 meetings for
each topic panel, and complete with a public adoption meeting in 2003.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14748.htm

59. Identity Theft (UNESCO)
Identity theft occurs when someone appropriates your personal
information without your knowledge to commit fraud, theft or other
crimes. An identity-thief may for example obtain someone's name,
address, credit card number, calling card number or social security
number, and then uses this data to make purchases, open new charge,
phone and credit card accounts, or even borrow money unbeknownst to
the victim.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14728.htm

60. Status of EU initiatives (QuickLinks)
Updated.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14746.htm

Main Sources and Contributors:
Baker & McKenzie E-Law Alert, Michael Geist BNA - ILN,
cybertelecom.org, jugendschutz.net, Gerhard Heine.

QuickLinks
Links to news items about legal and regulatory aspects of Internet
and the information society, particularly those relating to
information content, and market and technology.



QuickLinks is edited by Richard Swetenham
(richard.swetenham /at/ cec.eu.int)


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