[eccr] QuickLinks 270 - 11 May 2003

QuickLinks 270 - 11 May 2003

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

   Computer crime
1. International child porn ring smashed
2. UK - Townshend placed on sex offenders register
3. US - Cybercrime's Scope: Interpreting "Access" and "Authorization"
in Computer Misuse Statutes

   Content regulation
4. FR - Deux étudiants exclus pour avoir téléchargé des images pornos

   Copyright, trademarks and patents
5. Public Domain - Conference proceedings
6. US - Why Grokster and Morpheus Won

   e-Government
7. UK - Web Antidote for Political Apathy

   Hotlines
8. AU - NetAlert gets a lifeline

   Junk mail (spam)
9. US - Advocacy groups back antispam proposal

   Liability, jurisdiction and applicable law
10. Should The U.N. Intervene In A Transnational Internet Defamation
Case?
11. US - Court dismisses libel claim against eBay

   Safer Internet awareness
12. US - Play It Cyber Safe

   Security and encryption
13. Microsoft: flaw left millions at risk

   Self-regulation / codes of conduct
14. EU - Website Quality Labelling
15. UK - Meyer outlines PCC reforms

   Taxation and tariffs
16. LU - AOL Europe sets up Luxembourg base for tax reasons

   Telecommunications
17. OECD - Study Urges Governments to Maintain Competition Rules as
Telecoms Sector Restructures

Market & Technology

   Rating and filtering
18. IRE - Irish firm launches 3G porn blocker

   Standards
19. eBusiness Standards Issues - Results from the Open Meeting

   Technology
20. Program Lets P2P Users Roam Free

Forthcoming events

21. 2003-06-11 EU, Brussels - Consumer Complaints Form for Online
Resolution Mechanisms
22. 2003-07-09 EU, Brussels - Content for broadband and digital tv
beyond national borders

1. International child porn ring smashed (The Register)
Two UK members of a worldwide child porn ring, were arrested in an
"International Day of Action".  Others arrested or questioned include
ten Americans, seven Germans, one Canadian and one Norwegian.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15889.htm

2. UK - Townshend placed on sex offenders register (The Guardian)
The rock star Pete Townshend was cautioned by police and placed on the
sex offenders register for five years following his admission that he
accessed child pornography on the internet. Townshend, 57, received
the caution at Kingston police station in south-west London for
"accessing a website containing child abuse images".
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15877.htm

3. US - Cybercrime's Scope: Interpreting "Access" and "Authorization"
in Computer Misuse Statutes (New York University Law Review)
by Orin S. Kerr, George Washington University Law School. In the last
twenty-five years, the federal government and all fifty states have
enacted new criminal laws that prohibit unauthorized access to
computers. These new laws attempt to draw a line between criminality
and free conduct in cyberspace. No one knows what it means to "access"
a computer, however, nor when access becomes "unauthorized." This
Article presents a comprehensive inquiry into the meaning of
unauthorized access statutes. Full text.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15878.htm

4. FR - Deux étudiants exclus pour avoir téléchargé des images pornos
(Transfert)
A Poitiers, on ne badine pas avec le sexe.  Deux étudiants ont été
exclus de l'université de Poitiers pour avoir téléchargé des images à
caractère pornographique en utilisant le matériel mis à leur
disposition par les services universitaires. L'un des étudiants a été
exclu de l'établissement pour un an, l'autre s'est vu interdire
définitivement toute inscription dans l'enseignement supérieur public
français.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15891.htm

5. Public Domain  - Conference proceedings (Law and Contemporary
Problems)
Volume 66 Winter/Spring 2003 Numbers 1 & 2. Papers from a Conference
organized at Duke University School of Law in November 2001. see
Foreword: The Opposite Of Property? by James Boyle.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15875.htm

6. US - Why Grokster and Morpheus Won (FindLaw)
Why Napster Lost, and What the Future of Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
Looks Like Now, by Chris Sprigman. On April 25, in M-G-M v. Grokster ,
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson dismissed a copyright infringement
lawsuit brought by a group of movie studios and record companies
against Grokster and Morpheus. (Grokster and Morpheus are peer-to-peer
services that enable users to share copyrighted music, movies, and
other content over the Internet without paying a dime to the copyright
owners). Many observers were surprised. They had assumed that Grokster
and Morpheus would - like Napster in A&M Records v. Napster  - be shut
down for facilitating individual file sharers' copyright infringement.
But Judge Wilson, after carefully examining the underlying technology,
found that though users' infringement was occurring, Grokster and
Morpheus were not contributing to or authorizing it. Thus, they could
not be held liable.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15887.htm

7. UK - Web Antidote for Political Apathy (Wired)
In October, the BBC plans to flick the switch on an ambitious website
designed to help Britons organize and run grassroots political
campaigns. The site, dubbed iCan, is designed to help citizens
investigate issues that concern them, find others who share those
concerns and provide advice and tools for organizing and engaging in
the political process. [ed: in this story for "gas" read petrol]
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15890.htm

8. AU  - NetAlert gets a lifeline (Australian IT)
Internet porn watchdog NetAlert has been thrown a $500,000 lifeline in
industry support and the prospect of further federal funding,
according to executive director Alan Tayt.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15892.htm

9. US - Advocacy groups back antispam proposal (CNET News.com)
Three consumer advocacy groups said they are backing a proposed e-mail
standard that aims to help consumers and Internet service providers
separate legitimate e-mail from unsolicited bulk e-mail, known as
spam. The groups, the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
(CAUCE), CAUCE Canada and the SpamCon Foundation, endorsed the Trusted
E-mail Open Standard (TEOS), which was proposed in April. The approach
is based on the work of a privacy consultancy, ePrivacy Group, which
created the Trusted Sender technology--an industry self-regulation
program that tries to distinguish between legitimate e-mail and spam,
and prevent marketers from setting up fraudulent e-mail accounts.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15880.htm

10. Should The U.N. Intervene In A Transnational Internet Defamation
Case? (FindLaw)
University of Washington law professor Anita Ramasastry discusses an
unusual move by a defendant in a landmark Internet defamation case.
The case has been brought in Australia against an American journalist
and his American publisher, on the ground that Australians could
download the allegedly defamatory article.  The  journalist has sought
the U.N.'s help, arguing that the Australian court's finding of
jurisdiction violates a treaty, to which Australia is a signatory,
guaranteeing his free speech rights.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15886.htm

11. US - Court dismisses libel claim against eBay (AP)
A California court has dismissed a libel claim against eBay by a
shopper (an attorney) who was criticized by a merchant on the auction
site - a key ruling that further limits eBay's responsibility for the
actions of its users. see Grace v. Neeley (PDF).
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15883.htm

12. US - Play It Cyber Safe (BSA)
While the Internet can be a unique educational and recreational
resource for children, it's important that kids learn how to use this
powerful tool safely and responsibly. The goal of this Web site is to
empower children, parents and teachers to prevent cyber crime through
knowledge of the law, their rights and how to avoid misuse of the
Internet. The Cyber-Crime and Intellectual Property Theft Prevention
and Education Project is a United States Department of Justice funded
initiative to educate the public on cyber-crime and intellectual
property theft. One of the key initiatives of this project is to
develop educational tools designed to reach school-age children. The
Business Software Alliance, in partnership with the Hamilton Fish
Institute at the George Washington University, is the executor of the
project.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15885.htm

13. Microsoft: flaw left millions at risk (AP)
Microsoft acknowledged a security flaw in its popular Internet
Passport service that left 200 million consumer accounts vulnerable to
hackers and thieves -- an admission that could expose the company to a
hefty fine from U.S. regulators.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15884.htm

14. EU - Website Quality Labelling (PCMLP)
Support for Cooperation and Coordination Projects in Europe.
Stimulating the development of trustmarks for websites and enhancing
trust in e-business and internet is a noble goal, but not an easy one.
Trustmarks for websites to be successful need to have a strong basis,
a strong, well recognised brand and a financially sustainable business
model. In other words: a successful trustmark requires a lot of money
and support. Without good marketing and a strong brand trustmarks will
not be recognised and have little effect in practice. A paper written
for the IAPCODE project funded by the Safer Internet Action Plan,
administered by the European Commission.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15876.htm

15. UK - Meyer outlines PCC reforms (Guardian)
Sir Christopher Meyer has set out an eight-step plan to improve the
press complaints commission, admitting self-regulation of newspapers
had "jagged edges and imperfections".
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15882.htm

16. LU - AOL Europe sets up Luxembourg base for tax reasons (Reuters)
AOL Europe, the Internet division of AOL Time Warner, is establishing
a Luxembourg operations base to comply with new EU tax legislation.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15893.htm

17. OECD - Study Urges Governments to Maintain Competition Rules as
Telecoms Sector Restructures (Press Release)
Confidence is slowly returning to the telecommunications sector after
the "boom and bust" years of the 1990s. Although the necessary
restructuring now underway in the industry is painful, a new OECD
study says governments and regulators should resist the temptation to
provide relief to companies by easing competition requirements or by
providing financial help. The study, After the Telecommunications
Bubble, says that the current state of the industry in OECD countries
does not justify a major shift in telecommunications regulatory policy
as a way of encouraging new investment. Indeed, competition is still
hampered in some market segments, particularly high-speed internet
access, which deprives consumers and businesses of some of the
benefits of technological innovation.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15895.htm

18. IRE - Irish firm launches 3G porn blocker (Electric news)
Irish mobile technology company Telcotec has launched a new product
designed to protect 2.5G and 3G mobile phone users from unsolicited
and pornographic content.  Telcotec's Content Guardian is a content
filtering product that enables operators to filter pornographic images
and block a limited amount of spam.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15894.htm

19. eBusiness Standards Issues - Results from the Open Meeting (CEN)
The Draft Report  on key strategic aspects for e-business
standardization in the framework of eEurope 2005 - prepared at the
request of the European Commission DG Enterprise in the framework of
eEurope 2005 - has been produced by the CEN/ISSS eBusiness Standards
Focus Group. An open meeting to discuss this draft Report and draft
Recommendations was held on 28 April 2003. The draft notes and
presentations from this open meeting are now available. Comments on
the draft report and the draft Recommendations should be sent before
15 May 2003.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15881.htm

20. Program Lets P2P Users Roam Free (Wired)
A new "cloaking" application that protects individuals from network
snooping is making the rounds among file traders, marking the latest
salvo in the increasingly volatile battle between music labels and
file traders.  Free software called PeerGuardian creates a personal
firewall that blocks the IP addresses of snoops. They can see the
names of files being traded, but they can't download the file to tell
whether it's a copyrighted file.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15888.htm

21. 2003-06-11 EU, Brussels - Consumer Complaints Form for Online
Resolution Mechanisms (CCform)
Public Plenary Meeting. The CCform project has been working to improve
the standards of complaint management to the benefit of consumers and
business customers, as well as product and service suppliers. We are
developing an online, multilingual complaint form and a best practice
business process that will enable consumers to complain in their own
language and track its progress and, if necessary, escalate their
grievance to a dispute resolution service or regulator. Over the last
six months members of the project representing large companies, SMEs,
consumer organisations, regulators, legal experts or software
researchers have met in topic panels in order to discuss and reach a
consensus on the various components that will ultimately make up a
standardised complaint form and process. We have looked into such
areas as legal and consumer affairs, standards for SMEs, alternative
dispute resolution systems, ontology/technology/multilinguism  &
extensibility and vertical markets. On 11 June, in Brussels, we will
hold a final workshop to present the findings of each groups.
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15879.htm

22. 2003-07-09 EU, Brussels - Content for broadband and digital tv
beyond national borders (Puntoit)
Puntoit is organizing a Workshop at the European Parliament in
Brussels, on "Content for broadband and digital tv beyond national
borders. At EU level, the most critical issue concerns content
distribution rights. Do we need new rules to give unrestricted access
to consumers at European level?" This unique event will bring together
representatives from content, providers, broadcasters, telecom
operators, manufacturers, and EU Institutions. Italian version:
Accesso ai contenuti nell'era della larga banda, 3G e tv digitale E'
ormai evidente che, nell'era della larga banda, del 3G e della tv
digitale, la questione chiave per il settore dell'ICT riguarda
l'accesso ai ai contenuti. Il Workshop tratterà due tematiche in due
sessioni separate: i) Come è possibile massimizzare la disponibilità
del contenuto nel quadro del mercato unico? ii) Quale può essere il
ruolo delle regole della concorrenza per risolvere i problemi di
accesso al contenuto e per affrontare la questione della protezione
dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale in un contesto di capacità
tecnologiche in continua evoluzione?
http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem15764.htm

Main Sources and Contributors: Baker & McKenzie E-Law Alert, Michael
Geist BNA - ILN, cybertelecom.org, jugendschutz.net, Gerhard Heine,
David Goldstein, Net Family News, selfregulation.info,
saferinternet.org.

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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