[eccr] QuickLinks 254 - 15 December 2002

QuickLinks 254 - 15 December 2002

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Legal and regulatory issues

   Audiovisual
1. UK - Government report blasts 'failing' BBC

   Computer crime
2. NO - Alleged DVD hacker pleads not guilty

   Content regulation
3. AU - NSW - Censor law put in deep freeze
4. FR - Le PS empêche l'adoption d'un texte contre la pornographie TV
5. UK - Challenges ahead for media watchdog

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology
6. EU - Commission launches Public Consultation on Open Platforms in
Digital TV and 3G

   Copyright, trademarks and patents
7. EU / UK - Judge ignores Arsenal ruling
8. US - Alleged big music piracy ring busted
9. US - The Progress of Science and Useful Arts: Why Copyright Today
Threatens Intellectual Freedom

   Domain names
10. US - Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002
11. US - Economics of Kid-Friendly Domain Questioned

   e-Government
12. FR - Guide pratique 'Téléprocédures et décideurs publics'
13. US  - Wanted posters pop up on portal - $1 mio reward

   Electronic commerce
14. DE - Bundesregierung will Internet-Apotheken

   Health
15. EU - Quality criteria for health related websites

   Interception
16. UK - ISPs spell out true cost of data retention

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
17. AU - Dow Jones v. Gutnick - a jurisdictional tangle
18. CH - Schweizer Richter verlangt Website-Sperrung von Providern
19. DE - NRW-Gericht ordnet sofortige Sperrung rechtsextremer
Website an
20. Europe's ISPs Overrun with Website Take-Down Orders
21. US - Should linking be immune from lawsuits?

   Mobile and wireless
22. US - FCC Considers Airwaves for Wireless Devices

   Protection of minors
23. FR - Pornographie sur l'internet: Quels enjeux ? Quelle
protection pour les mineurs ?

   Rating and filtering
24. US - Study: Web Filters Block Health Information
25. US - Video game ratings lend a hand to holiday shoppers

   Safer Internet awareness
26. DE - Software-Verband will besorgte Eltern aufklären
27. EU - eSafe Hearing on options & requirements

   Telecommunications
28. EU - Ambitions for Europe's Telecommunications Sector

Market & Technology

   Internet access and use
29. US - A high price for broadband
30. US - Satellite TV giant shuts broadband

   Market
31. EU - Convergence of Web Services
32. Video games - strong players

   Statistics
33. FR - L'Internet devient surfissime
34. Spam levels 'out of control'
35. UK - Businesses turn to texting
36. US workers spared junk e-mails

Useful addresses

37. CORDIS Web site

1. UK - Government report blasts 'failing' BBC (Guardian)
The BBC board of governors has come under fierce attack in a
government report that has accused them of failing to act
independently and inferring they have been unprofessional in the way
they handled the launch of the corporation's 24-hour rolling news
channel. Former Financial Times editor Richard Lambert's report
accuses the governors of acting as management poodles and says they
have paid "perfunctory" attention to the channel in the five years
since launch.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15008.htm

2. NO - Alleged DVD hacker pleads not guilty (Reuters)
A Norwegian teenager pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally
making software that copies movies, in a landmark case seen as a
battle between cyber-Davids and corporate Goliaths. Jon Johansen,
known in Norway as "DVD Jon," is charged with helping to crack a code
and develop and distribute a program--known as DeCSS--on the Internet
that enables users to make unauthorized copies of DVD movies.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15032.htm

3. AU - NSW - Censor law put in deep freeze (Australian IT)
The New South Wales Government has backed off repealing
controversial internet censorship laws, putting the legislation in
the deep freeze while it waits for a federal review. The NSW
Government will sit on the issue until it can consider the findings
of the Federal Government's review of the national online regulatory
regime, due in early 2003. But similar South Australia legislation
received assent last week.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15031.htm

4. FR - Le PS empêche l'adoption d'un texte contre la pornographie
TV (Reuters)
L'obstruction menée par le groupe socialiste a empêché les députés
d'adopter en première lecture une proposition de loi d'Yves Bur (UMP)
visant à "protéger" les mineurs contre la diffusion de "programmes
comprenant des scènes de très grande violence ou de pornographie". La
proposition de loi vise notamment à instaurer un double cryptage afin
d'éviter aux mineurs l'accès aux images de violence et de
pornographie.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15011.htm

5. UK - Challenges ahead for media watchdog (BBC)
There is growing unease over how effective super-regulator Ofcom
will be as it gears up to begin its mammoth task of regulating the UK
broadcasting, telecoms and internet industries. Critics have pointed
out its wide-ranging broadcasting remit, which includes representing
the viewers and listeners, protecting them from harmful and offensive
material and making sure there is a wide variety of services, will
overshadow the telecoms and internet aspect of its work.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15036.htm

6. EU - Commission launches Public Consultation on Open Platforms in
Digital TV and 3G (RAPID)
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a
report on remaining barriers to the achievement of widespread access
to new services and applications of the Information Society through
open platforms in digital television and 3G mobile communications,
which was requested by the Barcelona Summit and the Seville Council.
The consultation will run until 15 February 2003. A public hearing is
currently scheduled for 4 February 2003.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15026.htm

7. EU / UK - Judge ignores Arsenal ruling (Guardian)
A high court judge defied the European court of justice by refusing
to enforce a legal ruling won by Arsenal Football Club in a trademark
action against a sportswear trader. Mr Justice Laddie had referred
the case to the Luxembourg court for guidance on issues of trademark
law. He said today that the court in its final judgment not only gave
rulings on the law, but also made fresh findings of fact - something
it had no power to do.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15014.htm

8. US - Alleged big music piracy ring busted (Reuters)
A New York operation accused of pirating music to the tune of
millions of dollars was raided by Secret Service agents and record
industry investigators in what they called the largest-ever seizure
of music piracy equipment in the United States.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15009.htm

9. US - The Progress of Science and Useful Arts: Why Copyright Today
Threatens Intellectual Freedom (FEPP)
Free Expression Policy Project, by Marjorie Heins. This 71-page
policy report demystifies such complex laws as the 1998 Sonny Bono
Copyright Term Extension Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
and deconstructs the underlying conflicts over "fair use," parody,
copying, and the public domain.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15017.htm

10. US - Dot Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 2002 (THOMAS)
An Act to facilitate the creation of a new, second-level Internet
domain within the United States country code domain that will be a
haven for material that promotes positive experiences for children
and families using the Internet, provides a safe online environment
for children, and helps to prevent children from being exposed to
harmful material on the Internet. Text as passed by both House and
Senate. Became Public Law No: 107-317 on 4 Dec 2002. see also .kids
page and Proposal for Guidelines and Requirements for the kids.us
(NeuStar).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15033.htm

11. US - Economics of Kid-Friendly Domain Questioned (Washington Post)
Authors of the Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act envisioned
the new "kids.us" domain as a sanctuary where children could explore
the Internet without being exposed to its dangers. The law is
designed to protect children - 13 years or younger - from
pornography, profanity and other content that it defines as
inappropriate by not allowing Web sites that end in kids.us
(www.washingtonpost.kids.us, for example) to link to locations
outside of the domain. The question remains, however, whether or not
there is an economic case for the new domain.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15020.htm

12. FR - Guide pratique 'Téléprocédures et décideurs publics' (Forum
des droits sur l'internet)
Ce guide pratique a été réalisé en partenariat avec les éditions
Berger Levrault. Il est destiné plus particulièrement aux décideurs
publics chargés de mettre en place des téléprocédures, a pour but
d'éclairer sur les enjeux juridiques et opérationnels liés à la mise
en place d'une téléprocédure en leur fournissant un véritable "kit
juridique". Version PDF.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15006.htm

13. US  - Wanted posters pop up on portal - $1 mio reward (CNET
News.com)
The FBI plans to launch an online manhunt for an alleged Boston mob
boss, in a novel crime-fighting experiment in partnership with Web
portal Terra Lycos. As part of the effort, Terra Lycos has agreed to
donate advertising space on its network carrying a likeness of James
"Whitey" Bulger and messages alerting people to the $1 million reward
for his capture. Bulger is on the FBI's list of the 10 most wanted
fugitives FBI to cast Net over fugitive.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15022.htm

14. DE - Bundesregierung will Internet-Apotheken (Heise)
Die Bundesregierung hat erneut ihre Absicht bekräftigt, das in
Deutschland bestehende Versandhandelsverbot für apothekenpflichtige
Arzneimittel abschaffen zu wollen. Im Rahmen der mündlichen
Verhandlung vor dem Europäischen Gerichtshof im Streit um die
niederländische Internetapotheke DocMorris.  Der Rechtsstreit um eine
Klage des Deutschen Apotheker-Verbandes gegen die niederländische
Internet-Apotheke DocMorris hatte das Landgericht bis zur
Entscheidung des Europäischen Gerichtshofes ausgesetzt.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15029.htm

15. EU - Quality criteria for health related websites (Europa)
A set of quality criteria for health related websites has been
adopted in a Communication of the European Commission on the basis of
a workshop held in June 2001 and comments received on this site.
COM(2002) 667.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15034.htm

16. UK - ISPs spell out true cost of data retention (ZDNet UK)
ISPs say the true cost of storing individuals' communications data
as required by the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCS) that
was rushed through parliament in 2001, will cost far in excess of the
£20m estimated by the Government. Giving evidence at the All Party
Parliamentary Group (APIG) public inquiry on Wednesday, AOL's
director of public policy Camille de Stempel, said it would cost
about £30m just to set up the systems for AOL alone, and the same
again in running costs. Clive Feather, an Internet expert at ISP Thus
who also gave evidence, said AOL's figure of 36,000 CDs was if
anything an underestimate of the scale of the problem.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15021.htm

17. AU - Dow Jones v. Gutnick - a jurisdictional tangle (Economist)
A ruling by Australia's high court has further complicated the
question of which laws and whose courts have jurisdiction over the
Internet. In a libel case, the court has confirmed a lower-court
ruling that Dow Jones can be sued in the Australian state of Victoria
over an article that appeared on its website. The court rejected the
American company's claims that any libel action should be heard in
New Jersey, where its web servers reside. A range of media groups and
Internet firms - including CNN, Yahoo!, the New York Times, the
Washington Post, Britain's Guardian, Reuters and Amazon - had joined
the case on Dow Jones's side, fearing that a ruling against the firm
would set an important precedent which could make all Internet
publishers open to lawsuits in any of the 190 countries where the
Internet can be accessed and so curb free speech everywhere. Dow
Jones v. Gutnick  (High Court of Australia) see also Australian court
to hear Net case (Reuters) and US website 'can be sued in Australia'
(BBC).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15039.htm

18. CH - Schweizer Richter verlangt Website-Sperrung von Providern
(Heise)
Eine Anordnung eines Schweizer Untersuchungsrichters löste heute
große Verunsicherung und mitunter auch Empörung bei den IP-Providern
im Alpenstaat aus: Die Netz-Betreiber sollen demnach binnen fünf
Tagen den Zugang zu einer inkriminierten Website blockieren.
Ansonsten drohe ihnen nach Schweizer Recht Geldstrafe und
Freiheitsentzug. Empfänger der Anordnung waren viele große Schweizer
Access-Provider, wie zum Beispiel Bluewin und Swisscom.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15024.htm

19. DE - NRW-Gericht ordnet sofortige Sperrung rechtsextremer
Website an (Heise)
Nach einem Erfolg nun die erste Schlappe für die Provider, die sich
gegen die umstrittene Website-Sperrungsverfügung des Düsseldorfer
Regierungspräsidenten Jürgen Büssow wehren: Erstmals hat ein
deutsches Gericht die sofortige Sperrung rechtsextremer Internet-
Angebote durch einen Zugangsanbieter angeordnet. Das
Verwaltungsgericht in Arnsberg (Nordrhein-Westfalen) sei damit der
Rechtsauffassung der nordrhein-westfälischen Aufsichtsbehörde gefolgt.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15012.htm

20. Europe's ISPs Overrun with Website Take-Down Orders (Reuters)
Europe's Internet service providers (ISPs) say they are overwhelmed
by a barrage of requests to take from their networks Web sites that
violate copyright or contain defamatory statements. The ISPs want
legal protections in case they remove a site that turns out to be law-
abiding. ISPA's UK body has begun collecting data from its UK members
about take-down requests.  To date, the group found that 54 percent
of take-down notices pertain to copyright infringement claims, while
27 percent were related to defamation complaints.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15018.htm

21. US - Should linking be immune from lawsuits? (FindLaw)
by Julie Hilden. In this column, I'll discuss the current legal
risks of linking. I'll also argue in favor of Congress's granting a
broad statutory immunity for linking, as it has done for web hosting.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15027.htm

22. US - FCC Considers Airwaves for Wireless Devices (Reuters)
The Federal Communications Commission has begun the process of
finding more wavelength space to accommodate the explosion of new
wireless technologies.The agency sought comment on whether unlicensed
devices, like wireless home networks for Internet service, could
operate on television broadcast airwaves in areas where they are not
being used or at times when the spectrum lay fallow.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15019.htm

23. FR - Pornographie sur l'internet: Quels enjeux ? Quelle
protection pour les mineurs ? (Forum des droits de l'Internet)
Le 10 Décembre 2002, à Paris, le Forum des droits sur l'internet a
réuni pour une première discussion publique sur la diffusion de la
pornographie sur le réseau: Christian JACOB, ministre délégué à la
famille; Eric BARBRY, avocat - cabinet Alain Bensoussan; Patrice
BLANC, institution du Défenseur des enfants, Secrétaire général;
Monique DAGNAUD, sociologue  EHESS, ancien membre du CSA;  Eric
LARCHEVÊQUE, Carpe Diem (Société gestionnaire de sites web pour
adultes)  PDG; Jean-Christophe LE TOQUIN , AFA (Association des
Fournisseurs d'Accès et de services internet) Délégué général; Jean-
Pierre QUIGNAUX, UNAF (Union Nationale des Associations Familiales)
chargé de mission.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15005.htm

24. US - Study: Web Filters Block Health Information (Washington Post)
Software meant to protect young people from the seamier side of the
Internet may also be blocking important health information on issues
ranging from diabetes and sexually transmitted diseases to depression
and suicide. According to a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation study
See No Evil: How Internet Filters Affect the Search for Online Health
Information, Internet filters most frequently used by schools and
libraries can effectively block pornography without significantly
impeding access to online health information - but only if they
aren't set at their most restrictive levels. As filters are set at
higher levels they block access to a substantial amount of health
information, with only a minimal increase in blocked pornographic
content. see also SmartFilter stupidity - health sites as SEX (Seth
Finkelstein).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15025.htm

25. US - Video game ratings lend a hand to holiday shoppers (CNN)
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB)  is the self-
regulatory arm of the Interactive Digital Software Association, the
industry's trade group. Since 1994, the ESRB has rated games
according to their levels of violence and other adult content. The
ESRB released a study by Peter Hart Research Associates showing that
parents overwhelmingly approve of the ratings assigned to computer
and video games.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15023.htm

26. DE - Software-Verband will besorgte Eltern aufklären (Heise)
Die Business Software Alliance (BSA) sorgt sich um den richtigen
Umgang von Kindern mit dem Internet. Daher hat die die
Interessenvertretung der Softwarebranche eine Liste mit sechs
Handlungsempfehlungen ins Netz gestellt, die Eltern dabei
unterstützen sollen, das Surfverhalten ihrer Schützlinge
kontrollieren und wenn nötig auch einschränken zu können.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15030.htm

27. EU - eSafe Hearing on options & requirements (Safer Internet)
A hearing was held on Luxembourg on 27-28 November 2002 to discuss
the background paper eSafe Directions for 2003-2004 - Discussion
Paper. Presentations made at the hearing, together with the
conclusions of 4 working groups and the list of attendees are now
online. It is possible to submit online comments until 7 January 2003.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15035.htm

28. EU - Ambitions for Europe's Telecommunications Sector (RAPID)
Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission, responsible for
Enterprise and the Information Society, European Competitive
Telecommunications Association (ECTA) Brussels, 11th December 2002.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15016.htm

29. US - A high price for broadband (CNet News.com)
by Declan McCullagh.  Why doesn't everyone in the United States have
a high-speed Internet connection at home? The most obvious answer--
that broadband connections remain unavailable--is not the correct
one. The truth is that at least three-quarters of American homes have
cable modems or DSL service available to them. The real answer is
that most people still choose not to subscribe. They feel that $40 or
$50 a month is too high for the benefits they receive, and they're
happy to sip bandwidth through a straw or forgo Internet access at
home completely.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15028.htm

30. US - Satellite TV giant shuts broadband (BBC)
US satellite TV operator Hughes Electronics is to shut down its high-
speed internet service. The loss-making internet service, DirecTV
Broadband, has 160,000 subscribers and is linked to the DirecTV
satellite broadcaster.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15007.htm

31. EU - Convergence of Web Services (RAPID)
Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission, responsible for
Enterprise and the Information Society, Diffuse Final Conference,
Brussels, 12th December 2002
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15015.htm

32. Video games - strong players (Economist)
The video-games industry is booming, but how long will the good
times last? Figures suggest that 2002 was the peak of the cycle, and
that the market will shrink next year.  Things will then cool off
until the next generation of consoles appears in 2005. But the
industry has two new tricks up its sleeve, in the form of online and
mobile gaming.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15040.htm

33. FR - L'Internet devient surfissime (Libération)
Avec la baisse des prix et les possibilités qu'offre sa vitesse, le
haut débit entre dans l'usage commun - 1,3 million d'abonnés à l'ADSL
à la fin de l'année
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15010.htm

34. Spam levels 'out of control' (Guardian)
The scourge of modern communications - the unwanted email promising
dramatic weight loss, financial gain or hardcore pornography - has
reached epidemic proportions. According to  research, carried out by
email filtering company Brightmail, four in 10 emails received by
computer users are junk mail.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15013.htm

35. UK - Businesses turn to texting (BBC)
Text messaging is no longer the preserve of teenagers as businesses
also embrace the technology. Text messaging is fast becoming a
fundamental business tool, with 60% of firms using it on a daily
basis, according to a survey by the Mobile Data Association (MDA).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15037.htm

36. US workers spared junk e-mails (BBC)
Spam is not overwhelming the inboxes of US workers, despite the
growing number of junk e-mails promoting get-rich-quick scams or
pornographic websites, says a report. Researchers at the US-based Pew
Internet think-tank found that the majority of Americans enjoy a spam-
free inbox at work.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15038.htm

37. CORDIS Web site (European Commission)
CORDIS is a free service of the European Commission. CORDIS is the
official EU Service for Research & Development and Innovation related
activities. see CORDIS Express, a weekly briefing on what's new in
European research and innovation. CORDIS news, e-mail news alert and
CORDIS focus. CORDIS language versions:  DE, EN, ES, FR, IT. CORDIS
also hosts the eContent programme Web site.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15042.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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