[eccr] QuickLinks 252 - 30 November 2002

QuickLinks 252 - 30 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. UK - Stonewall musters people power to tackle ad offenders

   Computer crime
2. Brazil exports Cyber-crime worldwide
3. DK - Child porn abuse
4. Israel - Rape of toddlers shown on porn site
5. US - Congress Fail to Pass Child Porn Laws

   Consumer protection
6. EU/US - Protecting Consumers From Fraud and Serious Deception
Across Borders
7. US - Bidder Beware: Toward a Fraud-Free Marketplace
8. US - California Firm to Settle Net Porn Scam

   Content regulation
9. Censorship of online media
10. China slammed for jailing Internet users
11. DE - Alterskontrolle durch Ausweisnummer reicht im Internet
nicht aus
12. DE - Bayern - Justizminister fordert strengere Regelungen
13. ES - Cyber-Rights Activists Log a Win
14. US - Indecent, but not Palpably Indecent

   Copyright, trademarks and patents
15. Copyright Contradictions in Scholarly Publishing
16. UK - Progress Report on Implementation of the Copyright Directive
17. US - Students Learning to Evade Moves to Protect Media Files
18. US - Students' Computers Seized at Annapolis

   Digital content
19. FR - Jeux vidéo et patrimoine : la BNF rappelle l'obligation du
dépôt légal aux acteurs du marché
20. Web site to give free access to children's books

   Domain names
21. UK - Nominet takes legal action against domain seller DRS

   e-Government
22. UK - Net activism offers lessons for ministers
23. US - E-Government Act Passes Congress

   Health
24. EU Commission Backs Standards for Health Sites

   Information society and Internet policy
25. EU - The challenges facing a future European regulatory system
for media and communications

   Interception
26. DE - Jedem Bundesland sein Lauschgesetz
27. EU - Council - Answers to questionnaire on traffic data retention

   Internet access and use
28. UK - Blair pledges to kick-start broadband
29. UK - Slow progress on broadband Britain

   Junk mail (spam)
30. CipherTrust wants your spam

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
31. FR - La responsabilité des hébergeurs de nouveau en question
32. UE - Vers une nouvelle harmonisation des règles de conservation
des données de connexion

   Protection of minors
33. DE - Expertin warnt vor Internetsucht bei Jugendlichen
34. UK - Cameras banned at school play over child porn fears

   Rating and filtering
35. The Censor and the Artist: A Murky Border

   Self-regulation / codes of conduct
36. DE - Gütesiegel soll Kinder vor Gewalt im Web schützen
37. US - Alternative Dispute Resolution report

   Terrorism
38. Cyberterrorism and Terrorist 'Use' of the Internet
39. US - Bush signs Homeland Security bill
40. US - Pentagon Defends Database Search Project
41. US - Report: ISPs must learn from Sept. 11

Market & Technology

   Electronic commerce
42. Internet Casinos Lose Allies

   Internet access and use
43. US - ISP download caps to slow swapping?

   Market
44. US - San Fernando Valley's Porn Business Booms Despite Poor
Economy

   Multilingual content and software
45. EU - Europäisches Informationsportal nun auch auf Deutsch

   Statistics
46. US - E-Commerce Hit All-Time Q3 High

1. UK - Stonewall musters people power to tackle ad offenders
(Guardian)
Gay rights group Stonewall has called on consumers to boycott
companies that make offensive advertising after a TV commercial for
Yahoo! had to be pulled off the air.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14896.htm

2. Brazil exports Cyber-crime worldwide (Xatrix)
Brazil is now both a laboratory for cyber-crime and also it's
largest exporter worldwide. Brazil is now both a laboratory for cyber-
crime and also it's largest exporter worldwide. Digital crime
originating from Brazil now includes identity theft, credit card
fraud, intellectually property violations and political protest.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14885.htm

3. DK - Child porn abuse (Copenhagen Post)
A 44-year-old man, who was arrested as part of the international
'Operation Hamlet' child paedophilia sting operation, pleaded guilty
in a Skjern courtroom to sexually abusing his 11-year-old daughter
and of distributing child-pornography, thereby avoiding a trial by
jury. The man and his wife were arrested after Swedish police,
monitoring child pornography on the Internet, traced a company logo
on his shirt to the man's workplace in Jutland. He has yet to decide
whether to appeal the eighteen-month jail sentence. see also Danish
hotline tip uncovers international paedophile ring (BBC).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14889.htm

4. Israel - Rape of toddlers shown on porn site (Ha'aretz)
The child pornography allegedly distributed over the Internet by
four Israelis arrested for this crime, included films of three-year-
old children being raped. According to police, the suspects - the
first ever to be arrested for "online pedophilia" in Israel - earned
hefty profits by posting pedophile footage they either purchased or
made themselves in an Internet archive that required users to pay to
have access.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14907.htm

5. US - Congress Fail to Pass Child Porn Laws (Medill News Service)
Despite efforts by senior members of both the House and Senate to
crack down on Internet child pornography, two proposed bills failed
to become law this year. This failure is largely due to disputes over
the definition of virtual child pornography, which both bills
targeted. Virtual child porn is made with morphed computer images and
without real children.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14887.htm

6. EU/US - Protecting Consumers From Fraud and Serious Deception
Across Borders (TACD)
The Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue urges the governments of the
United States (US) and the European Union (EU) to support efforts by
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to
formulate guidelines that will encourage member countries to
governments fail to protect consumers from fraud and serious
deception or to assist victims in obtaining redress in the virtual
marketplace.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14877.htm

7. US - Bidder Beware: Toward a Fraud-Free Marketplace (Shidler
Center)
In 2001, the Shidler Center and the High Tech Unit of the Washington
Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division released
"BidderBeware: Towards a Fraud-Free Marketplace in Internet
Auctions".  A newreport provides updated data concerning Internet
auctions and includes interviews with the industry participants who
had recommended a menu ofbest practices for consumers and businesses.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14910.htm

8. US - California Firm to Settle Net Porn Scam (Reuters)
A California billing firm has agreed to give up $1.6 million to
settle charges that it improperly billed thousands for Internet
pornography, the Federal Trade Commission said.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14897.htm

9. Censorship of online media (Felipe Rodriguez)
Burning the village to roast the pig - A paper for the OSCE workshop
'Freedom of the Media and the Internet'. 30 November 2002.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14895.htm

10. China slammed for jailing Internet users (CNN)
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International says a growing number of
Chinese citizens are being arrested, tortured and could even face
execution for using the Internet as a tool of peaceful political
expression.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14890.htm

11. DE - Alterskontrolle durch Ausweisnummer reicht im Internet
nicht aus (Heise)
Wer das Zeigen von Internet-Inhalten, die Jugendlichen nicht
zugänglich gemacht werden dürfen, lediglich an eine automatische
Überprüfung von Ausweis- oder Kreditkartennummern knüpft, wird den
gesetzlichen Anforderungen des Jugendschutzes nicht gerecht. Das hat
das Amtsgericht Neuss entschieden.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14892.htm

12. DE - Bayern - Justizminister fordert strengere Regelungen
(Fränkischer Tag)
Der bayerische Justizminister Manfred Weiß hat die Forderungen des
Freistaats nach einer Verbesserung des Jugendschutzgesetzes
bekräftigt. Der CSU-Politiker forderte ein gewerbliches Vermietverbot
von schwer jugendgefährdenden Gewaltvideos, Video- und
Computerspielen, ein Verbot von Video- Verleihautomaten und ein
ausdrückliches Verbot so genannter Gotcha- oder Paintballspiele, bei
denen reale Tötungsszenen simuliert werden.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14884.htm

13. ES - Cyber-Rights Activists Log a Win (Wired)
A small group of Spanish cyberpunks may have saved their country's
Internet cafes from being branded as gambling dens. The cyberpunks,
who gather at the site Ciberpunk, organized protests after
discovering that the president of the Community of Madrid, had
proposed a law that would classify Madrid's cybercafes as casinos. If
the law had passed, minors would not have been allowed in cybercafes,
from which roughly 20 percent of Spain's young Internet users connect
to the Internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14880.htm

14. US - Indecent, but not Palpably Indecent (LawMeme)
Following CBS television show by Victoria's Secret Fashion [Ed: a
company selling women's underwear], Michael Copps, an FCC
commissioner, called for the FCC to expand its definition of
"indecent." Copps complained that currently, the FCC only acts
against material that is "palpably and demonstrably indecent." see
Commissioner Michael J. Copps Calls for Re-Examination of FCC's
Indecency Definition (FCC).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14922.htm

15. Copyright Contradictions in Scholarly Publishing (First Monday)
by John Willinsky. This paper examines contradictions in how
copyright works with the publishing of scholarly journals. These
contradictions have to do with the protection of the authors'
interest and have become apparent with the rise of open access
publishing as an alternative to the traditional commercial model of
selling journal subscriptions. Authors may well be better served, as
may the public which supports research, by open access journals
because of its wider readership and early indications of greater
scholarly impact.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14917.htm

16. UK - Progress Report on Implementation of the Copyright
Directive (Patent Office)
Formal consultation on draft amendments to UK law considered to be
necessary to comply with the Directive closed on 31 October. Almost
300 responses have been received. The Patent Office see no prospect
of meeting the Directive's transposition date of 22 December 2002,
but remain committed to the earliest possible implementation of this
important  Directive and will endeavour to implement the Directive by
31 March 2003 at the very latest.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14914.htm

17. US - Students Learning to Evade Moves to Protect Media Files
(New York Times)
As colleges across the country seek to stem the torrent of
unauthorized digital media files flowing across their campus computer
networks, students are devising increasingly sophisticated
countermeasures to protect their free supply of copyrighted
entertainment.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14899.htm

18. US - Students' Computers Seized at Annapolis (Washington Post)
The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis has seized nearly 100 student
computers suspected of containing illegally downloaded music and
movies, the toughest action yet in higher education's struggle
against the trading of copyrighted material over colleges' Internet
servers.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14881.htm

19. FR - Jeux vidéo et patrimoine : la BNF rappelle l'obligation du
dépôt légal aux acteurs du marché (Le Monde)
La Bibliothèque nationale de France qui dispose de la plus
importante collection française de jeux vidéo organise une rencontre
entre créateurs, éditeurs, universitaires et passionnés pour les
sensibiliser à sa mission de conservation d'un patrimoine à
l'histoire courte mais riche.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14891.htm

20. Web site to give free access to children's books (AP)
A new Web site will make thousands of children's books from 100
different cultures available for free to Internet-savvy kids around
the world. When it's completed in about five years, the International
Children's Digital Library will hold about 10,000 books targeted at
children ages 3 to 13.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14912.htm

21. UK - Nominet takes legal action against domain seller DRS (vnunet)
UK domain registrar Nominet has issued proceedings for an interim
injunction for trademark infringement and passing off against Domain
Registrar Services (DRS), Scott Denny of DRS, and UK-names.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14904.htm

22. UK - Net activism offers lessons for ministers (BBC)
The increasing use of the internet by political activists could
provide valuable lessons for the UK Government. At a summit of
ministers, business leaders and net experts in London this week,
officials acknowledged that the government needed to do more to get
citizens engaged in the political process online.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14921.htm

23. US - E-Government Act Passes Congress (CDT)
The E-Government Act, a bill intended to fundamentally change the
way the federal government uses information technology to interact
with citizens has been passed by Congress. The final version included
several new provisions, notably the Federal Information Security
Management Act (FISMA). President Bush is expected to sign the bill
into law. Text of S. 803.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14911.htm

24. EU Commission Backs Standards for Health Sites (Reuters)
The European Commission has endorsed plans to recommend minimum
quality standards for Web sites which provide advice on health
matters.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14878.htm

25. EU - The challenges facing a future European regulatory system
for media and communications (RAPID)
Viviane Reding Member of the European Commission responsible for
Education and Culture, Medientage Munich, 17 October 2002.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14894.htm

26. DE - Jedem Bundesland sein Lauschgesetz (Heise)
Amtliche Abhörer und Mitleser werden keine bundesweit einheitliche
gesetzliche Ausgestaltung für ihre Arbeit bekommen - und selbst die
technischen Anforderungen, die in puncto Überwachungsmaßnahmen an die
zur Zusammenarbeit mit den Behörden verpflichteten Zugangsvermittler
gestellt werden, könnten auf unbestimmte Zeit je nach Bundesland
divergieren
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14903.htm

27. EU - Council - Answers to questionnaire on traffic data
retention (EFFI)
Leaked but apparently authentic and extremely interesting.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14883.htm

28. UK - Blair pledges to kick-start broadband (BBC)
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has promised to give every school,
university, hospital and doctors' surgery a high-speed link to the
internet. At present many public services connect to the web through
a telephone line, but the government wants more access to the
broadband connections. see UK - Prime Minister's keynote speech to e-
Summit  (Number 10) In a keynote speech at the e-Summit the Prime
Minister, Tony Blair, said that Britain has the potential to match
the 19th Century industrial revolution with 'a 21st Century
information revolution'.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14919.htm

29. UK - Slow progress on broadband Britain (BBC)
The government should do more to extend the range of high-speed
internet services in the UK, a major report into the progress of
broadband Britain has found. In its second annual report the
Broadband Stakeholders Group found there had been progress in wiring
the nation. But it also saw plenty of room for improvement,
especially if the government is to achieve its target of making the
UK the best place for e-commerce by 2005. see also E-envoy left in
the slow lane (BBC)
The man in charge of getting government services online and
persuading Britons to connect the internet has admitted that he
cannot get broadband.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14920.htm

30. CipherTrust wants your spam (CNET News.com)
E-mail security company CipherTrust wants your spam. The company is
calling on surfers of all stripes to help it wage a fight against
spam by sending their unsolicited mass e-mail to its new Web site,
Spamarchive.org. The idea is to create a vast public repository of
spam, so makers of antispam tools can test their algorithms on the
latest mass-messaging trends.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14913.htm

31. FR - La responsabilité des hébergeurs de nouveau en question
(Yahoo! FR)
Le gouvernement Raffarin a finalisé la semaine dernière son «avant-
projet de loi relative à l'économie numérique».  Il introduit une
modification de taille de l'article concernant la responsabilité des
hébergeurs. «Tout d'abord, il sépare le régime de responsabilité
civile de celui de responsabilité pénale», selon IRIS. Le texte du
gouvernement dégage l'hébergeur de toute responsabilité civile dès
lors qu'ils n'ont «pas eu connaissance de faits ou de circonstances
selon lesquelles l'information ou l'activité illicite est apparente».
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14900.htm

32. UE - Vers une nouvelle harmonisation des règles de conservation
des données de connexion (Forum des droits sur l'internet)
Suite à un questionnaire adressé aux délégations des quinze Etats
membres de l'Union européenne, le Conseil vient de réaliser une
synthèse des législations et disparités existantes. La majorité des
Etats marquent leur intérêt pour l'adoption d'une décision-cadre au
niveau communautaire sur ces questions.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14882.htm

33. DE - Expertin warnt vor Internetsucht bei Jugendlichen (Heise)
Das zunehmend von Jugendlichen genutzte Internet kann nach Meinung
der Expertin Professor Karla Misek-Schneider von der Fachhochschule
Köln süchtig machen. Anzeichen für eine solche Abhängigkeit seien
Müdigkeit, Veränderungen von Schlafgewohnheiten, Leugnen und Lügen,
wenn es um die am Computer verbrachte Zeit geht. Hinzu kämen
Leistungsprobleme und ein Rückzug von Freunden und Hobbys.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14906.htm

34. UK - Cameras banned at school play over child porn fears
(Guardian)
A primary school has banned parents from taking pictures of their
children's nativity play to prevent images ending up in the hands of
paedophiles. The decision was condemned by the child protection
charity Kidscape as an over-reaction which "demeans" the issue of
child sex abuse. The head teacher wrote to parents instructing them
not to bring cameras or videos to the play after governors expressed
concern that pictures could find their way on to the internet.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14888.htm

35. The Censor and the Artist: A Murky Border (New York Times)
Does using software to remove potentially offensive language, sex
and violence from R-rated movies constitute censorship? Or, by
allowing viewers to tailor films to their tastes, is it a reasonable
concession to consumer choice?
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14898.htm

36. DE - Gütesiegel soll Kinder vor Gewalt im Web schützen (Heise)
Auf dem 7. Thüringer Mediensymposium wurde der Erfurter Netcode
präsentiert, ein Qualitätssiegel für junge Surfer im Internet.
Gegründet wurde er von der evangelischen und katholischen Kirche, dem
ARD/ZDF-Kinderkanal und der Stadt. Der Kinderkanal hat seinen Sitz in
Erfurt.  Das neue Qualitätssiegel soll junge Netzbesucher künftig vor
Gewalt im Internet schützen.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14893.htm

37. US - Alternative Dispute Resolution report (Shidler Center)
The ABA Task Force for E-commerce and Alternative Dispute
Resolution, in cooperation with the Shidler Center, has released its
final report and a set of recommended best practices for ODR Service
Providers. see also comprehensive bibliography.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14909.htm

38. Cyberterrorism and Terrorist 'Use' of the Internet (First Monday)
by Maura Conway. This paper examines the concept of cyberterrorism.
Fringe activity on the Internet ranges from non-violent 'Use' at one
end to 'Cyberterrorism' at the other. Rejecting the idea that
cyberterrorism is widespread, the focus here is on terrorist groups'
'use' of the Internet, in particular the content of their Web sites,
and their 'misuse' of the medium, as in hacking wars, for example.
Terrorist groups' use of the Internet for the purpose of inter-group
communication is also surveyed
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14918.htm

39. US - Bush signs Homeland Security bill (CNET News.com)
When President Bush signed a bill creating the Department of
Homeland Security, he started a process that will reshuffle
bureaucracies, permit greater Internet surveillance and refocus the
government's computer security efforts. The authors of the massive
law, which totals about 500 pages, envision a far greater role for
the government when it comes to making sure operating systems,
hardware and the Internet are secure. The law allocates $500 million
for research into new technologies. It also classifies certain
activities as new computer crimes, stiffens penalties and permits
Internet providers to hand more information about subscribers to
police.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14901.htm

40. US - Pentagon Defends Database Search Project (AP)
The Pentagon defended an anti-terrorism technology experiment that
critics have likened to domestic spying on the financial transactions
of ordinary citizens.  Pete Aldridge, the chief of technology for the
Defense Department, told reporters that the project is intended to
test whether new computer tools can comb through masses of
information - such as credit card and bank transactions, car rentals
and gun purchases - and spot clues to the planning of terrorist acts.
see also Pentagon defends 'Big Brother' plans (MSNBC) 11/20/2002,
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14915.htm

41. US - Report: ISPs must learn from Sept. 11 (CNET News.com)
The Internet sustained relatively little damage during the terrorist
attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, when the collapsing World Trade Center
destroyed lower Manhattan's communications networks, according to a
new report. The National Research Council's report, however, warns
that Internet service providers must prepare for future emergencies.
see The Internet Under Crisis Conditions: Learning from September 11
(CSTB).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14916.htm

42. Internet Casinos Lose Allies (Wall Street Journal)
Internet casinos are now losing a number of allies that had
supported and promoted their growth. PayPal,  one of the most popular
ways for gamblers to bet online, halted its gambling payment service.
Last month, Yahoo stopped carrying ads for Internet casinos. In
another sign of the times, Akamai Technologies says it won't carry
ads from gambling clients anymore on its "content servers," whose
technology for providing high-quality video and graphics is among the
Web's best.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14879.htm

43. US - ISP download caps to slow swapping? (CNET News.com)
A small proportion of dedicated file swappers, known as "bandwidth
hogs" within the industry, account for a hugely disproportionate
amount of network traffic. Now many of the biggest high-speed ISPs
are considering capping the amount of bandwidth that their
subscribers can use per month, a move that could undermine
subscribers' free swapping ways.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14886.htm

44. US - San Fernando Valley's Porn Business Booms Despite Poor
Economy (FOXNews)
The San Fernando Valley is home to most of America's pornography
industry - videos, Web sites, phone sex businesses, adult toys and
even the old-fashioned dirty magazine. While many parts of the
nation's economy have suffered, the past five years have been good
for the adult industry, as new video and computer technology opened
the doors to hundreds of millions of potential customers around the
world.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14908.htm

45. EU - Europäisches Informationsportal nun auch auf Deutsch (Heise)
Das Internetportal zur Europapolitik EurActiv hat seine englische
und französische Sprachversion um eine deutsche Version ergänzt.
Geboten werden dort unter anderem Nachrichten, Dossiers,
Informationen über Länder und Wahlen sowie Rubriken zu den Themen
Zukunft Europas, Erweiterung der EU und Umwelt. Die Informationen
sind für Industrieverbände, Nichtregierungsorganisationen und andere
Gruppen gedacht, die an den Entscheidungsprozessen der EU teilnehmen,
aber auch für die Bürger.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14905.htm

46. US - E-Commerce Hit All-Time Q3 High (E-Commerce Times)
Compared with a year earlier, e-commerce retail sales in this year's
third quarter skyrocketed to their highest dollar value since
reporting began in 1999, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce
survey.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem14902.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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