[eccr] QuickLinks 285 - 28 September 2003

>
> QuickLinks 285 - 28 September 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
>
>    Audiovisual
> 1. EU - TV and radio broadcasting: Commission pushes digital
> switchover
>
>    Competition
> 2. DE - ARD plant Selbstverpflichtung zur Begrenzung von Online-
> Angeboten
>
>    Computer crime
> 3. DE - Germany smashes child porn ring
> 4. DE - Schlag gegen weltweite Kinderporno-Community
> 5. JN - Pedophile pediatrician arrested
> 6. ZA - Child porn threatens to 'engulf' the Internet
> 7. ZA - New legislation fighting child porn tabled
>
>    Consumer protection
> 8. DE - Bundesweite Polizeiaktion gegen Abzocke mit 0190er-Nummern
>
>    Content regulation
> 9. CN - China Charges Internet Dissent
> 10. India bans a Yahoo group
>
>    Copyright, trademarks and patents
> 11. EU - Software patents limited by European Parliament vote
> 12. EU - Europaparlament gibt reinen Softwarepatenten einen Korb
> 13. EU - Software patents spur debate
> 14. US - Film industry joins war on Internet file sharing
> 15. US - Love May Fade, But Trademark is Forever
> 16. US - Recording Industry Withdraws Music Sharing Lawsuit
>
>    Data Protection (privacy)
> 17. US - Do-Not-Call List Blocked By Court twice
> 18. US - Privacy group calls for JetBlue prosecution
>
>    Domain names
> 19. WSIS - Ringen um die Netzverwaltung
>
>    e-Government
> 20. EU - Public sector information - Parliament firms up directive
> 21. 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics
>
>    Information society and Internet policy
> 22. Net guru peers into web's future
>
>    Junk mail (spam)
> 23. AU - Major Global Consumer Awareness Campaign to Counter Spam
> 24. UK - Britain Bungles Anti-spam Law
>
>    Mobile and wireless
> 25. ITU - mobile messaging applications
> 26. US - Some Gyms Ban Camera Phones
>
>    Protection of minors
> 27. MSN shuts down its chatrooms
>
>    Rating and filtering
> 28. AU - Overseas censors say Australia too strict on computer games
>
>    Security and encryption
> 29. US - Microsoft Critic Forced Out
>
> Market & Technology
>
>    Market
> 30. US - AOL launches kid service 'KOL'
>
>    Mobile and wireless
> 31. Turning mobiles into walkie-talkies
> 32. ZA - Mis-sent text ends MP's marriage
>
>    Portals, browsers and search engines
> 33. Amazon forms start-up to develop search engine
> 34. Microsoft goes after Google
>
>    Standards
> 35. New ISO fees on the horizon?
>
>    Statistics
> 36. EU - Incumbent operators continue to dominate the roll out of
> broadband
> 37. Researchers estimate 1-percent decrease in size of public Web
> 38. US - Filtering company says big growth in porn sites
>
> Forthcoming events
>
> 39. 2003-10-14 EU, Brussels - Next Generation Networks and Convergence
> of Numbering, Naming and Addressing
> 40. 2003-11-13 US, New York - The State of Play: Law, Games, and
> Virtual Worlds
> 41. 2003-11-20 DE, Berlin - The Internet in 2004: Safe or Just Safer?
> 42. 2003-12-02 BE, Brussels - The Broadband Revolution takes shape
> 43. 2004-01-30 SE, Stockholm - WHOLES - A Multiple View of Individual
> Privacy in a Networked World
>
> Useful addresses
>
> 44. Wayback Machine now searchable
>
> 1. EU - TV and radio broadcasting: Commission pushes digital
> switchover (EurActiv.com)
> The Commission published a Communication on 22 September aimed at
> assisting Member States in making the transition from analogue to
> digital broadcasting. The Communication on Digital Switchover sets out
> a guide on how best to migrate from analogue to digital radio and
> television broadcasting in a consumer-friedly fashion. Commissioner
> for Enterprise and the Information Society Erkki Liikanen emphasised
> that the EU was not considering 'intrusive measures' like prescribing
> deadlines for digital switchover, since progress varies widely across
> the Union. However, the Commission is actively monitoring national
> processes and will continue to run benchmarking exercises. The
> Commission's aim is to elicit voluntary switchovers through a series
> of incentives. Under the eEurope2005 Action Plan, Member States must
> publish their digital switchover plans by the end of 2003. In 2002,
> digital television's EU-wide penetration stood at 21 per cent of all
> households.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16762.htm
>
> 2. DE - ARD plant Selbstverpflichtung zur Begrenzung von Online-
> Angeboten (Heise)
> Die ARD bereitet eine Selbstverpflichtung zur Beschränkung ihrer
> Online-Angebote vor. Das bestätigte ARD-Sprecher Martin Gartzke heute
> in Hamburg. Der Text befinde sich derzeit im Entwurfsstadium. Klar
> sei, dass in den Online-Angeboten 'auch künftig kein Platz für E-
> Commerce, Werbung und Sponsoring' sei. 'Beim Anzeigengeschäft wollen
> wir den Printmedien und kommerziellen Internet-Portalen keine
> Konkurrenz machen.'
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16761.htm
>
> 3. DE - Germany smashes child porn ring (BBC)
> German police say they have broken up an international child
> pornography ring. Several hundred suspects are being investigated, and
> more than 500 homes across the country are said to have been searched.
> The raids involve at least 133 countries but it is not clear whether
> any arrests have been made.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16746.htm
>
> 4. DE - Schlag gegen weltweite Kinderporno-Community (ddp)
> Der Polizei in Sachsen-Anhalt ist ein Schlag gegen internationale
> Online-Händler von Kinderpornografie gelungen. Das weltgrößte
> Ermittlungsverfahren habe unter Federführung des Landeskriminalamtes
> (LKA) Sachsen-Anhalt gestanden, berichtet die "Magdeburger
> Volksstimme". In dieser Woche seien in Deutschland 505 Wohnungen
> durchsucht worden. Bei der Aktion "Marcy" hätten die Ermittler 38
> Kinderporno-Communities gesprengt.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16747.htm
>
> 5. JN - Pedophile pediatrician arrested (Japan Today)
> Police arrested a 38-year-old pediatrician for posting an ad on an
> Internet dating site inviting junior high school girls to have sex
> with him. The suspect, identified as Akiira Takabayashi, is the second
> man to be arrested under the newly introduced Dating Site Control Law,
> which intends to crack down on those who post messages on Internet
> bulletin boards seeking minors under the age of 18 as sexual partners.
> The law came into effect on Sept 13.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16760.htm
>
> 6. ZA - Child porn threatens to 'engulf' the Internet (IOL)
> The growing flood of child porn is threatening to engulf the Internet
> - about a million pornographic pictures depicting children are now on
> the World Wide Web - and it's having a terrible impact on South
> Africa. An estimated 90 percent of all paedophile-related activities
> involve the Internet. Those shocking statistics were revealed by
> Iyavar Chetty, the senior executive of the South African Film and
> Publication Board.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16764.htm
>
> 7. ZA - New legislation fighting child porn tabled (ITWeb)
> The Films and Publications Amendment Bill, which aims to crack down on
> child pornography and force Internet service providers (ISPs) to take
> a role in blocking child porn, was tabled in Parliament in South
> Africa.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16751.htm
>
> 8. DE - Bundesweite Polizeiaktion gegen Abzocke mit 0190er-Nummern
> (Heise)
> Bei einer Aktion gegen kriminelle Abzocke mit 0190er-Nummern hat die
> Polizei 18 Wohnungen und Geschäftsräume in fünf Bundesländern
> durchsucht. Ein Verantwortlicher einer nordhessischen Internet-Firma
> wurde verhaftet, teilt das hessische Landeskriminalamt in Wiesbaden
> heute mit. Die Firma soll mindestens 280 Internetnutzer mit
> manipulierter Software um 37.000 Euro gebracht haben. Durchsuchungen
> gab es in Hessen, Berlin, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz und
> Sachsen-Anhalt.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16748.htm
>
> 9. CN - China Charges Internet Dissent (AP)
> A southwestern China government official accused of using Internet
> chatrooms to contact dissidents abroad has been arrested on subversion
> charges. Li Zhi was arrested Sept. 3 by state security agents in
> Dazhou, a city in Sichuan province where he was a finance official,
> according to a statement from New-York based Human Rights in China.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16730.htm
>
> 10. India bans a Yahoo group (CNET News.com)
> The Indian government has banned a Yahoo group, alleging that it has
> anti-India content. The offending Web site was found to promote
> antinational news, the government's Department of Telecommunications
> said in a statement Monday. The Web site contained material regarding
> the federal government and the local government of Meghalaya, a state
> in northeast India. Many insurgent groups are active in the region.
> The department said it ordered the site blocked after Yahoo officials
> in India declined to comply with a request to remove the material from
> the Web site.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16755.htm
>
> 11. EU - Software patents limited by European Parliament vote (Out-
> law)
> The European Parliament has approved a controversial proposal for a
> Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions, but
> only after making amendments to ensure that patents would not be
> issued for 'actual software.' The draft, which seeks to harmonise
> Europe's rules, passed by 361 votes to 157, with 28 abstentions.
> Software patent limits 'go too far' and Patents directive wins
> European Parliament OK (ZDNet UK). See EP amendments, Report A5-
> 0238/2003 (Arlene McCarthy) and Legislative history.  Debate and
> result of the vote (EP Daily Notebook).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16739.htm
>
> 12. EU - Europaparlament gibt reinen Softwarepatenten einen Korb
> (Heise)
> Das europäische Parlament hat sich nach heftigen Diskussionen für weit
> gehende Änderungen an der umstrittenen Richtlinie über die
> 'Patentierbarkeit Computer-implementierter Erfindungen' ausgesprochen.
> In der Schlussabstimmung in Straßburg votierten 364 Abgeordnete für
> deutliche Revisionen an dem Konstrukt und nur 153 dagegen.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16749.htm
>
> 13. EU - Software patents spur debate (New York Times)
> The European Parliament debated a proposal for a pan-European law
> governing how patents apply to software programs, and with the main
> political parties apparently evenly divided on the bill, a close vote
> was expected. The proposal calls for computer-implemented invention
> patents to be awarded only to ideas that are new, not obvious and have
> a technical effect. That means that in order to be patented the
> software must be connected to a technical device that makes or does
> something new. Opponents of the law say it will stifle innovation by
> handing too much power to the large, litigious patent holders.
> Supporters counter that the smaller software developers stand to
> benefit from being able to protect their inventions with patents.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16756.htm
>
> 14. US - Film industry joins war on Internet file sharing (New York
> Times)
> If Hollywood executives have learned anything watching their peers in
> the music business grapple with online file-sharing, it was how not to
> handle a technological revolution. While the major labels in the music
> industry squabbled about how best to deal with Internet piracy and
> failed to develop consumer-friendly ways to buy music online, the
> movie industry has gone on a coordinated offensive to thwart the free
> downloading of movies before it spins out of control. Next month the
> industry will begin promoting a "stealing is bad" message in schools,
> teaming up with Junior Achievement to sponsor an hour-long class for
> middle-school students on the history of copyright law and the evils
> of piracy. The class will include games like "Starving Artist," in
> which students pretend to be musical acts whose music is downloaded
> without payment from the Internet, and a crossword puzzle called
> "Surfing for Trouble.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16740.htm
>
> 15. US - Love May Fade, But Trademark is Forever (bIPlog)
> Copyright has an enddate, even if it's way past the author's death.
> But Trademark? Dewey's like a Tiffany Diamond® and possibly better.
> Because Dewey just keeps on paying. The Library Hotel is based on the
> theme of the Dewey Decimal System, so you know, floor eight is about
> erotic lit, seven is performing arts, just like those in the 800 and
> 700 series in the library. Anyway, the hotel used the Dewey system for
> their theme, and well, now lawyers are involved, suing for Trademark
> infringement.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16758.htm
>
> 16. US - Recording Industry Withdraws Music Sharing Lawsuit (EFF)
> Seven major record labels dismissed charges of copyright infringement
> leveled at a 65-year-old educator, artist, and grandmother from
> Massachusetts. Sarah Ward was one of 261 individuals sued by the
> recording industry for allegedly sharing copyrighted music using peer-
> to-peer (P2P) filesharing systems. What was the problem? The recording
> industry charged Ward with sharing songs using the KaZaA filesharing
> software, but she owns only a Macintosh computer which cannot run
> KaZaA.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16727.htm
>
> 17. US - Do-Not-Call List Blocked By Court twice (Washington Post)
> A government plan to allow Americans to block telemarketing calls to
> their homes was stalled by a federal judge in Oklahoma City who said
> the Federal Trade Commission overstepped its authority. Consumers have
> placed more than 50 million phone numbers on the anti-telemarketing
> list by using the Internet or a toll-free telephone number. Beginning
> Oct. 1, marketers would have risked an $11,000 fine each time they
> called a number on the list.  The judge said that Congress had not
> given the FTC specific authority to develop and implement the list.
> Order: U.S. Security v. FTC.  see also Call List Is Again Blocked In
> Court. A federal judge in Denver ruled that the government's effort to
> curb unsolicited telemarketing calls was unconstitutional, another
> blow to plans to implement a national do-not-call list. The decision
> was announced just minutes after Congress, in a rare display of speed
> and bipartisanship, voted to overturn an earlier federal judge's
> decision to nullify the list on different legal grounds.  Opinion:
> Mainstream Marketing Services v. FTC and Order.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16731.htm
>
> 18. US - Privacy group calls for JetBlue prosecution (Reuters)
> JetBlue violated a promise to maintain customer privacy when it gave
> passenger information to a military contractor last year, the
> Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said in a complaint
> filed with the Federal Trade Commission. JetBlue has apologized for
> handing over passenger names, addresses and phone numbers in an effort
> to help the Defense Department identify possible terrorist threats.
> see also JetBlue Customers Feel the Pain (Wired News).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16759.htm
>
> 19. WSIS - Ringen um die Netzverwaltung (Heis)
> Sollen künftig internationale Regierungen das letzte Wort über die
> Politik der Namen und Nummern im Netz haben oder eine private
> Netzverwaltung? Darüber wird in den letzten Stunden der
> Vorbereitungskonferenz zum Weltgipfel der Informationsgesellschaft
> (WSIS) erbittert gerungen. Nacht für Nacht wurden die entsprechenden
> Paragraphen bei den Plenumssitzungen der Regierungsdelegationen
> verschoben. Ein Patt ist entstanden, nachdem der kenianische
> Vorsitzende der Internet Governance Arbeitsgruppe einen Vorschlag aus
> dem Hut zauberte, per ITU Task Force ein Modell für eine
> internationale Netzverwaltung entwickeln zu lassen.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16750.htm
>
> 20. EU - Public sector information - Parliament firms up directive (EP
> Daily Notebook)
> The European Parliament adopted a series of compromise amendments at
> the second reading of a directive on the re-use and commercial
> exploitation of public sector information. This should avoid the need
> for conciliation. [Ed: i.e. the Council is expected to vote the same
> amendments, in which case the Directive will be adopted]. see also EP
> amendments, Report A5-0284/2003  (W.G. van Velzen) and Legislative
> history.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16738.htm
>
> 21. 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics
> (PoliticsOnline)
> PoliticsOnline announced the results of its second world wide survey
> recognizing the top 25 individuals, organizations and companies that
> are having the greatest impact on the way the Internet is changing
> politics. In recent years, the Internet and burgeoning information
> technologies have inexorably altered our body politic, fundamentally
> changing the way we do democracy. At the 4th Annual Worldwide Forum on
> Electronic Democracy in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, PoliticsOnline
> recognized the best of the best - the innovators and pioneers who
> blaze the e-political trails.  Commissioner Erkki Liikanen is no. 12.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16728.htm
>
> 22. Net guru peers into web's future (BBC)
> The inventor of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, outlines his ideas for a
> more 'intelligent' web in an interview with the BBC programme, Go
> Digital.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16752.htm
>
> 23. AU - Major Global Consumer Awareness Campaign to Counter Spam
> (Press Release)
> The power to end the scourge of spam is largely in the hands of
> internet users. So says Australia's Internet Industry Association, who
> announced a new collective worldwide push to help give internet users
> back the control of their inboxes. IIA chief executive Peter Coroneos
> said ''The collective aim of this unprecedented global campaign is to
> empower users with a simple message. 'If you have any doubt about the
> bona fides of email sent to you - Don't try - Don't buy - Don't
> reply'. If enough users started hitting the delete key on
> questionable, unsolicited offers, the commercial case for spamming
> will soon erode." The user empowerment campaign is building fast.
> Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo!, Junkbusters, and Consumers International
> (representing 250 consumer organisations in 110 countries) have
> quickly added their weight to the initiative. The Global Spam Campaign
> Web site will go live on Monday 29 September 2003.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16736.htm
>
> 24. UK - Britain Bungles Anti-spam Law (Spamhaus)
> Britain has disappointed the UK Internet community by introducing
> legislation that attempts to differentiate between 'private' and
> 'business' spam and creates loopholes in the process. From 11 December
> it will be illegal to send Unsolicited Bulk Email to a private email
> address, but legal to send Unsolicited Bulk Email to the hapless
> employees of British businesses. Britain's firms will continue to
> suffer the onslaught of ever more spam, now from spammers claiming
> legality. Worse, spammers have a free bite at spamming all UK
> addresses until issued a direct order to stop by the Information
> Commissioner. Enforcement is left to the overworked and under-
> resourced Information Commissioner whose job it will be to deal with
> thousands of daily spam complaints and issue spammers with "orders" to
> stop spamming.  see also Spam policeman blasts new spam laws
> (vnunet.com). Information Commissioner Richard Thomas has criticised
> the government's anti-spam legislation, calling on ministers to extend
> his powers to tackle unsolicited email.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16768.htm
>
> 25. ITU - mobile messaging applications (ITU)
> The ITU Strategy and Policy Unit has published a collection of mobile
> messaging applications (SMS, MMS) in business, government, education
> etc. The examples highlight innovative uses of messsaging technologies
> in an increasingly wireless world. In this context, the ITU will be
> holding an international workshop on 'Shaping the future mobile
> information society' in March 2004 in Seoul. The workshop, which will
> focus on future technologies for mobile (e.g. ubiquitous, broadband,
> multimedia) and their impact on public policy and human life, will be
> jointly hosted by ITU and Korea's Ministry of Information and
> Communications (MIC). "
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16745.htm
>
> 26. US - Some Gyms Ban Camera Phones (Washington Post)
> So far, no outrageous misuse of camera-equipped phones has been
> reported by health clubs in the Washington area. But the phones'
> potential for mischief is making the devices the targets of concern by
> gym managers anxious about their responsibilities to members. Already,
> the gizmos have been banned by a scattering of Washington area health
> clubs.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16744.htm
>
> 27. MSN shuts down its chatrooms (BBC)
> Microsoft's internet service MSN is to cut back drastically its
> chatroom services because of concerns about child safety. MSN is
> closing all its chatrooms in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America
> and most of Asia from 14 October, and changing the way others are
> operated globally. Chatrooms on MSN's other global sites will either
> be supervised - or moderated - by an adult 24 hours a day, or will be
> on a credit card subscription-basis only. It means no free,
> unmoderated chatrooms will exist anymore on any of MSN's global
> network of sites. see also Pedophile threat closes Microsoft chat
> rooms, Chatroom ban prompts fierce debate (CNN), Rival attacks
> Microsoft decision to close chatrooms (Guardian). Freeserve accused
> MSN of making the well-publicised move because it wasn't prepared to
> invest in policing the chatrooms. Chatroom closures 'not altruistic'
> (Guardian),  Microsoft chat move 'irresponsible' (BBC) and Internet
> chatrooms - About morals or money? (Economist).UK - Children's
> charities call for end to 'anarchic Internet' (ZDNet UK). Two of the
> UK's most prominent children's charities said that they hope
> Microsoft's decision to shut down most of its chatrooms is the
> beginning of the end for the technology, the reputation of which has
> suffered because of its misuse by paedophiles. The National Children's
> Home (NCH) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
> Children (NSPCC) said that Microsoft made the right decision,
> regardless of its motives, because children will now be safer. see
> also Independent But Rachel O'Connell of Lancaster University, a
> specialist in online behaviour, warned that closing down chatrooms
> wholesale would only encourage children to go to other less- monitored
> parts of the Net - where they would be followed by paedophiles.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16757.htm
>
> 28. AU - Overseas censors say Australia too strict on computer games
> (Sydney Morning Herald)
> Australian censors were too uptight about the supposed dangers of
> violent computer games, overseas delegates told a classification
> conference in Sydney. Under Australian Office of Film Literature and
> Classification (OFLC) guidelines computer games can be banned on the
> basis their interactive nature makes them dangerous. But the director
> of the Film Classification Board of Sweden, Gunnel Arrback, said
> Australians were getting carried away about the dangers of computer
> games.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16763.htm
>
> 29. US - Microsoft Critic Forced Out (Washington Post)
> A technology executive whose company does business with Microsoft has
> been forced out of his job after he helped write a cybersecurity
> report critical of the software giant. AtStake, a computer security
> firm, said that chief technology officer Daniel R. Geer Jr. is "no
> longer associated" with the firm. A company statement added that
> Geer's participation in preparation of the report was not sanctioned
> by the firm, and that "the values and opinions of the report are not
> in line with [AtStake's] views." Geer was one of several corporate and
> academic security experts who wrote the Computer and Communications
> Industry Assocation (CCIA) CyberInSecurity report, which argues that
> Microsoft's dominance over personal-computer operating systems and
> other software programs makes it easier for malicious hackers to
> attack millions of machines and networks at once.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16729.htm
>
> 30. US - AOL launches kid service 'KOL' (MSNBC)
> America Online is set to launch a children's version of its service,
> dubbed KOL, or Kids Online, featuring a host of new welcome screens, a
> daily Internet radio show for kids, original online shows and a new
> Batman comic strip. The KOL service, designed for 6- to 12-year-olds,
> is free and comes with AOL 9.0 Optimized, the newest version of AOL.
> see also Children Get Their Own Service, but Parents Get to Keep
> Control (New York Times).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16735.htm
>
> 31. Turning mobiles into walkie-talkies (BBC)
> New 'push-to-talk' services that turn mobile phones into walkie-
> talkies with unlimited range could soon make text messaging obsolete.
> The services let users choose a recipient from an instant messenger-
> style 'buddy list' on their phone screen, press a key and start
> talking. Push-to-talk has proved immensely popular in the United
> States, and Nextel, the mobile phone operator which dominates the US
> push-to-talk market, has 12 million customers for its service. see
> also 'Push-to-Talk' Spreading Fast (Wired).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16742.htm
>
> 32. ZA - Mis-sent text ends MP's marriage (BBC)
> A South African member of parliament is getting divorced after he
> inadvertently sent an amorous text message meant for his mistress to
> his wife instead.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16733.htm
>
> 33. Amazon forms start-up to develop search engine (Associated Press)
> Amazon.com is planning to invade Google's turf with a new search-
> engine company aimed at plucking some of the profit flowing into the
> rapidly growing sector. Unlike Google, A9 is not trying to develop an
> all-purpose search engine that indexes billions of Web pages. The
> start-up instead is zeroing on one of the sweet spots of search
> engines: e-commerce. As more consumers have become comfortable with
> the Internet, a growing number are using search engines to review
> products and compare prices. The research frequently results in online
> sales, prompting more advertisers to pay for prominent listings in the
> commercial sections of Google and other search engines.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16741.htm
>
> 34. Microsoft goes after Google (Reuters)
> Microsoft, which is trying to drive growth by investing in everything
> from small business software to video games, has quietly set its
> sights on a new industry - searching the Web.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16767.htm
>
> 35. New ISO fees on the horizon? (CNET News.com)
> Information technology standards groups are raising warning flags over
> a proposal that could raise fees for commonly used industry codes,
> including two-letter country abbreviations, used in many commercial
> software products. At stake is a tentative proposal from the
> International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to add usage
> royalties for several code standards, a move that opponents say could
> weaken standards adherence by forcing software providers to pay a fee
> for each ISO-compliant product they sell. The standards cover country,
> currency and language codes, respectively.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16766.htm
>
> 36. EU - Incumbent operators continue to dominate the roll out of
> broadband (Press Release)
> ECTA, the European Competitive Telecommunications Association, has
> published the latest update to its DSL Scorecard, which shows the
> level and pace of broadband penetration across the European Union. In
> summary, the Scorecard shows that: dominant incumbents continue their
> lead on DSL lines; wholesale DSL operated by alternative
> operators/ISPs is being constrained; very little DSL interconnect has
> been provided; and continued poor performance on local loop
> unbundling.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16734.htm
>
> 37. Researchers estimate 1-percent decrease in size of public Web
> (OCLC)
> Although the public Web has more than doubled in size since 1998, the
> speed of its growth steadily declined over that period. The trend
> culminated in a slight contraction in size over the past year,
> according to the latest results from OCLC Research's annual survey of
> the Web. While the number of sites may have plateaued, the size of Web
> sites is increasing. The average number of Web pages contained within
> a public site in 2002 was 441, compared to 413 in 2001. The amount of
> so-called "dark matter" on the Web - information in databases and
> other formats not accessible by traditional web-crawling techniques -
> is said to be large and growing. Adult sites - those offering sexually
> explicit content - constitute approximately 3 percent of the public
> Web, or a little more than 100,000 sites. see also Trends in the
> Evolution of the Public Web: 1998 - 2002 (D-Lib Magazine).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16743.htm
>
> 38. US - Filtering company says big growth in porn sites (The Age)
> The Internet filtering company N2H2 says the number of commercial
> pornographic sites on the internet has increased by 1800 percent over
> the last five years. The company said in a media release that in July
> alone, it identified web sites comprising over 28 million pages for
> its filtering database. It said it had now identified over 260 million
> pages classified as pornography.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16737.htm
>
> 39. 2003-10-14 EU, Brussels - Next Generation Networks and Convergence
> of Numbering, Naming and Addressing (Europa)
> On 14 October 2003, the European Commission will hold workshops in
> Brussels on two independent studies for the Commission.  In the
> morning, Siticom/Devoteam and Cullen International will present the
> findings of their study on the regulatory implications of Next
> Generation Networks and other developments in electronic
> communications (executive summary; full report).  In the afternoon,
> Political Intelligence will present its work on the policy
> implications of convergence of numbering, naming and addressing
> (executive summary; full report). Programme for the day. The workshops
> are open but pre-registration is required.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16770.htm
>
> 40. 2003-11-13 US, New York - The State of Play: Law, Games, and
> Virtual Worlds (NYLS)
> A Conference sponsored by Institute for Information Law and Policy at
> New York Law School and Information Society Project at Yale Law
> School, to be held at New York Law School in New York City, November
> 13-15, 2003. This interdisciplinary conference will examine the state
> of play today in an effort to understand the phenomenon of digital
> games and the virtual worlds they create and to discuss the complex
> social, psychological, and legal issues to which they give rise.
> Registration.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16732.htm
>
> 41. 2003-11-20 DE, Berlin - The Internet in 2004: Safe or Just Safer?
> (INHOPE)
> A major one-day international conference called "The Internet in
> 2004:Safe or Just Safer? - an INHOPE Initiative" in the Grand Hotel
> Esplanade in Berlin on 20 November 2003. The INHOPE inaugural one-day
> conference will create an exciting forum and target an audience
> representing the areas of law enforcement, child welfare, Internet
> Service Providers (ISP's) and the interested parents of children all
> eager for 'frank talk.' This conference will demonstrate the
> importance of protecting people's rights, especially childrens';
> preventing victimization through consumer education; promote a network
> linking the experts and specialists in the field of sexual
> exploitation and online illegal content and enable the expansion of
> the INHOPE network to new and diverse stakeholders.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16765.htm
>
> 42. 2003-12-02 BE, Brussels - The Broadband Revolution takes shape
> (Forum Europe)
> European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association (ETNO)
> second annual conference. Concert Noble, Brussels, Belgium. Erkki
> Liikanen will be a keynote speaker at this event. Fabio Colasanti,
> European Commission, Director General for Information Society and a
> panel of high-level experts & specialists will also take part in this
> one day conference focusing on three key issues: 1) Are winners
> emerging in the race to develop new business models? The relationship
> between content & infrastructure providers 2) Has the new regulatory
> framework contributed to the development of broadband? The conditions
> to deliver broadband (multi-platform competition) 3) Are the Broadband
> strategies on target to meet the Lisbon process objectives? What is
> being done at member state level to promote its development?
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16771.htm
>
> 43. 2004-01-30 SE, Stockholm - WHOLES - A Multiple View of Individual
> Privacy in a Networked World (Swedish Institute of Computer Science)
> WHOLES - A Multiple View of Individual Privacy in a Networked World.
> Stockholm, Sweden, January 30-31, 2004. With this workshop, we seek to
> explore interdisciplinary approaches to helping individuals in
> managing their privacy in the context of emerging information
> technologies. The workshop will explore privacy in the intersection of
> information technologies, law, political choices, public opinions,
> etc. We are particularly interested in usability and applicability
> aspects of this theme. Potential participants need to submit a short
> paper of 5-7 pages describing ongoing research in an area within the
> scope of the workshop. Only authors of accepted submissions will be
> invited to participate at the workshop. Please submit your
> contribution no later than October 31, 2003 by email to
> (markus.bylund /at/ sics.se).
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16754.htm
>
> 44. Wayback Machine now searchable (Internet Archive)
> Anna Patterson built a search engine for the Internet Archive's
> Wayback Machine! She has indexed a portion of the full archive, 11
> billion pages. Browse through 30 billion web pages archived from 1996
> to a few months ago. the Internet archive at the New Library of
> Alexandria, Egypt, mirrors the Wayback Machine. Try your search there
> when you have trouble connecting to the Wayback servers. QuickLinks
> home page 11 November 1998, 19 June 2000 and 23 September 201.
> http://www.qlinks.net/items/qlitem16726.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.

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