[eccr] QuickLinks 229 - 23 March 2002

QuickLinks 229 - 23 March 2002

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

Legal and regulatory issues

   Computer crime
1. USA - Net Kid-Porn Sweep
2. Australia - National effort to log off child porn
3. Global Police Can't Cope With Cyber Crime
4. The fight against Cybercrime

   Content regulation
5. USA - Google revives Scientology Web page

   Convergence of telecommunications, media and information technology
6. UK - Murdoch steps up lobbying ahead of media reforms

   Copyright, trademarks and patents
7. Brazil on Piracy: Just Say No
8. Napster all over again?
9. Sen. Hollings Introduces Digital Piracy Bill

   Data Protection (privacy)
10. Morpheus Using New Address Intercept Tool

   Domain names
11. ICANN - Board Member Sues
12. WIPO - City That Won Heidelberg.net In Court, Loses In UDRP

   e-Government
13. USA - Senate Committee Approves E-Government Bill
14. USA - White House Orders Agencies To Purge Data From Web Sites

   Employment and social issues
15. Internet gambling breeds addiction
16. USA - Debate over Internet 'Addiction'

   Information society and Internet policy
17. EU plans online push and satellite launch
18. Espagne - La loi sur la société de l'information : «Payez et
vous verrez»

   Interception
19. New Zealand 'Interception' Laws To Cover ISPs

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
20. USA - ISPs must block content from users

   Racism and xenophobia
21. Deutschland - Inititiative erwirkte 2001 Sperrung von 249
rechtsextremen Web-Angeboten
22. USA - Anti-hate group updates Web filter

   Rating and filtering
23. UK - Internet industry leaders gather for launch of ICRAfilter
24. Australia - Local ISPs confront content regulation codes
25. France - Comparaison des logiciels de contrôle parental
26. France - Logiciel de contrôle parental gratuit sur le site du
ministère de la Famille
27. ICRA - Un filtre web créé en collaboration avec des sites
"volontaires"
28. USA - Anti-hate group updates Web filter
29. USA - Filters Block 'Sinful Six'
30. USA - Visa strikes deal to tackle e-porn

   Security and encryption
31. 'Social Engineering' Spreads New Plague of Web Chat Attacks

   Telecommunications
32. EU - Commission opens infringement proceedings against five
Member States

Market & Technology

   Statistics
33. Companies taking desperate steps against spam

   Editorial announcement

1. USA - Net Kid-Porn Sweep (Newsbytes)
The U.S. Customs Service served almost 40 search warrants on
suspected Internet child-pornography fencers, including a registered
nurse and a U.S. military pilot. The agency's action follows a sting
by the FBI on suspected online child-porn purveyors and customers as
part of its "Candyman" operation, which netted clergy members, police
officers, business-people and other "established members of the
community." see also see also 90 Are Arrested in Inquiry Into
Internet Child-Sex Ring (New York Times) .
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13333.htm

2. Australia - National effort to log off child porn (Australian IT)
A proposal to establish a database to monitor child pornography on
the internet is getting a mixed reaction from authorities. The idea
was raised last year by a working party into child pornography on the
web was set up by the nation's highest-ranked police and law
enforcement public servants, the Senior Officers' Group.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13343.htm

3. Global Police Can't Cope With Cyber Crime (Reuters)
Global law enforcement cannot cope with savvy cyber criminals, who
are quick to exploit technology to create havoc, top officials at the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13340.htm

4. The fight against Cybercrime (Euractiv)
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and Professor Jos Dumortier,
Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre of Law and Information
Technology, University of Leuven addressed a European Policy Centre
lunchtime briefing on the battle against cybercrime.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13347.htm

5. USA - Google revives Scientology Web page (Reuters)
Google restored a Web site critical of the Church of Scientology on
its Internet search engine while free speech advocates slammed the
company for removing the site in the first place.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13346.htm

6. UK - Murdoch steps up lobbying ahead of media reforms (FT)
With only six weeks to go until the government publishes a sweeping
shake-up of media laws, Rupert Murdoch has been making his presence
felt in Westminster. A favoured option being pored over by ministers
and officials would clear the way for big television and radio
mergers, but would limit newspaper expansion into broadcasting.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13362.htm

7. Brazil on Piracy: Just Say No (Wired)
Frustrated by a government that either can't or won't address
epidemic levels of commercial piracy, a broad coalition of Brazilian
industry created an advertising campaign it hopes will appeal to
Brazilians' sense of fair play and economic self-interest.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13341.htm

8. Napster all over again? (Economist)
The  file-swapping of recorded music on the Internet has already
sent the music industry into a spin. Now it is Hollywood's turn to
take fright. At its peak in February 2001, 2.8 billion music files
were downloaded each month through Napster alone. The sharing of
files containing pirated movies may still be in its infancy, but
300,000-500,000 feature films are already being downloaded daily,
according to Viant, a consultancy.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13339.htm

9. Sen. Hollings Introduces Digital Piracy Bill (Newsbytes)
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Hollings, introduced a
controversial bill that would require the entertainment, electronics
and high-tech industries to craft standards for protecting digital
content against piracy. The "Consumer Broadband and Digital
Television Promotion Act" would give the content, electronics and
high-tech sectors one year to devise standards that could be used in
all digital media devices to prevent unauthorized copying of music or
movies
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13336.htm

10. Morpheus Using New Address Intercept Tool (Newsbytes)
Some users of the popular Morpheus music sharing program are angry
over a browser extension program distributed with the latest preview
version of the software. The program, developed by Wurld Media and
included with the Morpheus Preview Edition, silently intercepts
certain addresses typed by Morpheus users into Microsoft's Internet
Explorer (IE) browser before redirecting them to their final
destination, Newsbytes has confirmed.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13332.htm

11. ICANN - Board Member Sues (Reuters)
Karl Auerbach, a director of the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers, filed suit in Los Angeles to gain access to travel
records, payroll figures and other day-to-day details of the
organization. Staff members have sought to get Auerbach to sign a
confidentiality agreement before viewing the records, a move he has
resisted. see also Auerbach interview (Salon) and ICANN's director
inspection policy.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13359.htm

12. WIPO - City That Won Heidelberg.net In Court, Loses In UDRP
(Newsbytes)
An  arbitrator has   found that Heidelberg's city council failed to
show it controlled any trademark rights to the municipality's name,
meaning that the city had no standing to take the domain
Heidelberg.net from its U.S. holder, even though a German court
issued an order last year demanding that he relinquish the address.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13338.htm

13. USA - Senate Committee Approves E-Government Bill (Newsbytes)
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee today unanimously approved
legislation designed to improve the management of federal e-
government services. The committee passed the "E-Government Act of
2001" that seeks to make the federal government's online resources
more efficient and less costly.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13335.htm

14. USA - White House Orders Agencies To Purge Data From Web Sites
(Newsbytes)
The Bush administration has ordered federal agencies to reexamine
the availability of information on their Web sites that could be used
by terrorists, sparking concerns from some civil liberties advocates
who say the move could portend an erosion of government openness
online.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13337.htm

15. Internet gambling breeds addiction (BBC)
Internet gamblers may be more likely to have a serious gambling
problem than other gamblers, say researchers. It is thought that the
web may attract people who are trying to hide their gambling
addiction. The study warns that the explosive growth of the internet
will lead to more on-line betting opportunities - and thus increase
the risk of more people suffering from the health and emotional
difficulties associated with compulsive gambling.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13345.htm

16. USA - Debate over Internet 'Addiction' (ABC News)
Addiction or Compulsion? Experts Debate Why People Spend Too Much
Time Online
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13344.htm

17. EU plans online push and satellite launch (Total Telecom)
The European Commission has been told to draw up an eEurope 2005
Action Plan for the next heads of government meeting, set for June
2002 in Seville, Spain. EU leaders, meeting at their weekend summit
in Barcelona, agreed that the plan should focus on telecoms security,
the roll out of a new Ipv6 Internet protocol and on achieving the
"widespread availability and use of broadband networks by 2005." They
also told the EC to present an "analysis of the remaining barriers to
widespread access" to a number of electronic information services,
especially third generation mobile systems and open-platform digital
television. Meanwhile, the EU's ambitious Galileo satellite
navigation project was strongly backed by government leaders and a
decision to go ahead is now fairly certain to be taken by the EU
Council of Ministers (transport) on 26 March.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13356.htm

18. Espagne - La loi sur la société de l'information : «Payez et
vous verrez» (Droit et Nouvelles Technologies)
par Élise Debiès. À l'évidence, le débat suscité par le projet de
loi sur la Société de l'Information voté par le gouvernement Espagnol
le 8 Février ne s'est pas focalisé sur le commerce électronique,
objet de la directive à l'origine de cette loi, mais sur le fait de
savoir si les web à contenu informatif ou d'opinion vont tomber sous
son joug.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13365.htm

19. New Zealand 'Interception' Laws To Cover ISPs (Newsbytes)
New Zealand telecommunications network operators and Internet
service providers will be legally obligated to install a system that
will allow police or the secret service to eavesdrop on phone calls
or e-mail messages, the New Zealand government has confirmed.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13349.htm

20. USA - ISPs must block content from users (AP)
Internet service providers with customers in Pennsylvania will be
legally responsible for blocking access to child pornography under a
new act. Prosecutors would, after obtaining a court order, give ISPs
a list of Web sites and other items to block. see also Experts Doubt
Pennsylvania Kiddie Porn Law Will Work (Newsbytes).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13334.htm

21. Deutschland - Inititiative erwirkte 2001 Sperrung von 249
rechtsextremen Web-Angeboten (Heise)
Die Initiative Zusammen gegen Rechts im Internet (ZgR) hat nach
eigenen Angaben im vergangenen Jahr die Sperrung von 249
deutschsprachigen rechtsextremen Internet-Adressen erwirkt.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13348.htm

22. USA - Anti-hate group updates Web filter (CNET News.com)

http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13367.htm

23. UK - Internet industry leaders gather for launch of ICRAfilter
(ICRA Press Release)
ICRAfilter marks a significant development in international efforts
towards empowering parents to protect their children on the Internet
without infringing on content providers' freedom of expression.
ICRAfilter is the second phase of the Internet Content Rating
Association (ICRA) global labelling system. The initial phase was the
creation of the first truly international syntax to describe content
on the Internet. Content providers can voluntarily and objectively
label their own sites by completing a questionnaire which generates a
descriptive html tag or label following the PICS standard. ICRA's new
filtering tool 'reads' the labels ensuring that parents world-wide
will now be able to filter content according to their values and what
they feel is appropriate for their own children. see also New web
controls to protect children (BBC) and New internet filtering
software released (Guardian).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13352.htm

24. Australia - Local ISPs confront content regulation codes (ZDNet
Australia)
The Internet Industry Association's (IIA) is asking its members to
commit to a revised version of the industry's online content
regulation code that will remove their discretion to set prices for
content filtering software.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13354.htm

25. France - Comparaison des logiciels de contrôle parental
(Ministère délégué à la famille)
En partenariat avec l'INC (Institut National de la Consommation),
douze logiciels de contrôle parental ont été testé. Les résultats de
cette étude fournissent aux parents choisissant cette solution
technique, une information la plus objective possible sur
l'efficacité et la commodité d'emploi de ces logiciels.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13363.htm

26. France - Logiciel de contrôle parental gratuit sur le site du
ministère de la Famille (AFP)
A la fin du mois de mars, les parents pourront télécharger un
logiciel de contrôle parental gratuit sur le site du ministère
délégué à la Famille. La ministre, Ségolène Royal, devait annoncer
cette mesure, en ouvrant Les rencontres du Net: Internet, jeunes et
familles, organisées en préambule de la 5ème Fête de l'internet (22
au 24 mars). Entretien avec Ségolène Royal ministre déléguée à la
famille, à l'enfance et aux personnes handicapées (Le Monde).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13364.htm

27. ICRA - Un filtre web créé en collaboration avec des sites
"volontaires" (Reuters)
Un organisme de protection des enfants sur internet a présenté un
filtre informatique empêchant l'accès aux sites à caractère insidieux
ou incitant entre autres à l'usage des drogues et à la haine raciale.
L'Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA)  mis en place le premier
système de classification à grande échelle basé sur une déclaration
volontaire des sites concernés. voir aussi Icra Filter : le chaperon
du Net (Vnunet.fr)
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13351.htm

28. USA - Anti-hate group updates Web filter (CNET News.com)
The Anti-Defamation League has updated its Web filter with free
software in an effort to combat sites that the group claims promote
hate. With the ADL HateFilter 2.0, the league has dropped software
provider Cyber Patrol and turned to technology from the Internet
Content Rating Association (ICRA), an international nonprofit group
composed of industry leaders such as Microsoft, AOL Time Warner, IBM
and VeriSign. The ICRA is not charging the ADL for the new
technology; previously, the filter cost $29.95 a year. Like the
previous version, the new software lets people block access to a list
of sites that the group says espouse hatred, including those run by
neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Holocaust deniers. The new filter
lets people add to the list pornographic, violent and other online
content that parents or other organizations consider unsuitable for
children.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13353.htm

29. USA - Filters Block 'Sinful Six' (Wired)
Wasting time on the Internet -- perhaps the favorite pastime of
corporate America -- is increasingly coming under assault. In the
interests of creating a more efficient workplace (or simply
preventing employees from spending the day looking online for better
jobs), Internet filtering firms say that a growing number of
companies have begun restricting access to non-work-related websites.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13360.htm

30. USA - Visa strikes deal to tackle e-porn (Marketing Weekly -
registration required)
Visa has turned to an online brand protection company to prevent the
use of its services by illegal pornography websites. The company is
working with an unnamed US specialist with links to UK-based IBNet.
IBNet uses a mixture of software and manpower to scan the Internet
for key words and phrases. When it spots offending material, it
reports it to the client. Visa is believed to be particularly
uncomfortable about the use of its service by some of the so-called
"Lolita" websites, which feature under-age sex.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13361.htm

31. 'Social Engineering' Spreads New Plague of Web Chat Attacks
(NewsFactor)
The enticements of pornography, free software and security -
otherwise known as "social engineering" - that have been common among
e-mail-borne computer viruses now have spread to instant messaging
(IM) and Internet Relay Chat (IRC), according to CERT, a federally
funded security center based at the Software Engineering Institute of
Carnegie Mellon University.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13342.htm

32. EU - Commission opens infringement proceedings against five
Member States (RAPID)
As part of its efforts to push for greater competition in broadband
access, the European Commission has decided to open infringement
proceedings against Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and
Portugal in relation to the Regulation on Unbundling of the Local
Loop. The action is being taken because of the failure to ensure that
the reference offer from incumbent operators is complete and
sufficiently detailed. This offer should be sufficiently unbundled to
allow competitors to pay just for what they require, and must provide
in particular a breakdown of costs for the sub-loop so that an
operator can install equipment closer to customers' premises than the
local exchange.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13358.htm

33. Companies taking desperate steps against spam (CNET.com)
Spam is as old as the mainstream Internet itself, but its alarming
rise is challenging companies more than ever. In the past six months,
the volume of junk mail sent online more than doubled, according to
spam filter company Brightmail. Internet researcher Jupiter Media
Metrix estimates that consumers will receive about 206 billion junk e-
mailings in 2006 - an average of 1,400 per person, compared with
about 700 per person this year.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem13350.htm

Editorial announcement

QuickLinks is taking an Easter break. The next issue is scheduled
for 7  April 2002.

QuickLinks is edited by Richard Swetenham
(richard.swetenham /at/ cec.eu.int) - Main Sources and Contributors: Michael
Geist BNA - ILN, David Goldstein,  Gerhard Heine


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