IP News

[MAD]

WINDOWS MEDIA AWARE OF DVDS WATCHED
Microsoft has amended the privacy policy for its Windows
Media Player after a noted computer security expert warned
that the software keeps track of the DVD titles people
watch.  The posting flagged a feature that allows Microsoft
to log what DVDs play on a particular PC through the use of
"cookies".
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-841766.html

U.S. TREASURY INVESTIGATING FRAUDULENT ONLINE T-BILL BIDS
The U.S. Treasury says it has gained new leads into an
investigation of bidding violations at a recent online
treasury bill auction that left nearly $1 billion dollars
unpaid.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174651.html

VICTORIA CONSIDERS ONLINE VOTING
The Australian state of Victoria is investigating the
introduction of online voting at state elections as part of
an inquiry into electronic democracy.  Live Internet
parliamentary broadcasts, internet discussion forums and
email and text-message alerts are also being canvassed under
the Electronic Democracy Inquiry.
<http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3811645^15441^^nbv^1530

6-15319,00.html>


THAILAND TO IMPOSE RESTRICTIONS ON CYBERCAFES
The Thai government has said that it plans to impose curfews
on Internet cafes because they are a bad influence on young
people.  The government would prefer that young people
review their studies and rest.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/020221/80/csoqx.html

NIGERIAN MONEY SCAMS THRIVE ON THE INTERNET
The arrival of Internet cafes in Nigeria a few years ago has
given new life to an old scam that's been bleeding millions
of dollars annually from Americans and Europeans.  The scam
entices greedy recipients with the false promise of windfall
profits in exchange for helping the sender recover millions
of dollars in frozen or hidden assets.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174646.html

POLICE CHIEF FACES MUSIC OVER OUTBURST ON WEB SITE
The senior police officer in charge of a controversial
cannabis initiative has found himself at the center of
another furore over outspoken remarks he allegedly made to a
Web site renowned for its coverage of direct action
protests. Commander Brian Paddick, who is in charge of
policing in Lambeth, south London, told www.urban75.com that
"the concept of anarchism has always appealed to me".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/internetnews/story/0,7369,653161,00.html

 

[MAD]

ICANN MEETINGS COMMENCE IN GHANA
The ICANN meetings began yesterday in Ghana and run through
March 14th.  Topping the list for discussion is the ICANN
CEO Stuart Lynn proposal to reform ICANN along with another
push from the at-large community to ensure that individual
Internet users maintain a voice in ICANN governance through
direct elections of some board members.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175085.html

SWEDISH COURT HOLDS CHAT FORUM OWNER RESPONSIBLE FOR
POSTINGS
A Swedish court has ruled that the editor of the Web edition
of a major Swedish newspaper can be held liable for the
content of postings on its moderated online comment forum.
The decision arises from charges of agitating against an
ethnic group that were brought against the editors after
several pro-Nazi postings made their way onto the forum.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24352.html
<http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/3/7/15844/31987>

SOUTH AFRICAN E-BILL PRESENTED TO PARLIAMENT
The South African government has presented its long awaited
Electronic Communications and Transactions bill to
parliament.  The 100 page bill would grant legal recognition
to digital signatures, provide new consumer protections for
e-commerce transactions, and criminalize several types of
cybercrime.  The bill also calls for the nationalization of
the dot-za domain name space by placing it under government
control.  Bill at
<http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2002/ectbill.rtf>
Coverage at
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/internet/2002/0203071207.asp

AUSTRALIAN COURT RULES DOMAIN NAME REGISTRAR MISLEADING
An Australian federal court has found that the Com.Au
Register, an Australian registrar, breached that country's
Trade Practices Act when it misled businesses by claiming
that they had to use its services to retain their domain and
by falsely claiming an official affiliation with the dot-au
registry.  The company will be required to provide customer
refunds and retract false information.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/ebusiness/story/0,2000024981,20263926,00.htm

<http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3929214^15342^^nbv^1530

6%2D15319,00.html>

NAPSTER SHEDS STAFF AS TALKS LAG
File-swapping company Napster laid off 10 percent of its
staff this week, as it struggles to stay afloat without
significant sources of revenue.  The company had hoped to
settle its long-running copyright battles with the major
record labels by now, paving the way for it to launch its
subscription service this month. Negotiations have stalled,
however and the company is back in court without a clear
path to settlement in sight.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-855890.html

 

[MAD]

COURT SHUTS DOWN SELLERS OF FAKE 'DOT-USA' DOMAINS
The FTC has busted a company that preyed on people's
patriotism by selling them .usa addresses that did not work
on the Web.  A temporary injunction has been ordered
prohibiting the UK-based operators of the dotusa.com Web
site from peddling .usa domain names. The decision by a
federal judge in Chicago last week followed an investigation
by the FTC, British law enforcement and ICANN.  FTC
complaints and orders at
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/03/tld.htmCoverage at
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175104.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50977,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-856979.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/12/technology/12SPAM.html

CANADIAN COLLECTIVE PROPOSES TARIFF ON MP3 PLAYERS AND
COMPUTER HARD DRIVES
The Canadian Private Copying Collective, the collective
responsible for collecting tariffs related to the private
copying exemption found in the Canadian Copyright Act, has
released its proposed tariffs for 2003-04.  The proposal is
sure to generate considerable controversy as it calls for
levies on computer hard drives and MP3 players.  The MP3
player levy is particularly steep at $21 per gigabyte,
resulting in an increase in the cost of an Apple iPod of
$105, while the 40 gig Archos MP3 player, which retails for
$870 would come with $840 in tariffs.  Hearings on the
tariff will be held by the Canadian Copyright Board in May.
Proposed tariffs at
http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/tariffs/proposed/c09032002-b.pdfCoverage at
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/printarticle/gam/20020312/RCDCD>

PENNSYLVANIA LAW REQUIRES ISPS TO REMOVE CHILD PORN
Pennsylvania has enacted a new anti-online child porn law
that may require local ISPs to block access to such content
or face criminal prosecution.  House Bill 1333 requires ISPs
to remove or disable access to child pornography within five
days of notification by the state attorney general.  Law at
http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2001/0/HB1333P3184.pdf

SENATOR BURNS WANTS CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF ICANN HEARING
While ICANN meets in Accra, the U.S. Senate may be gearing
up for a meeting of its own.  Senator Conrad Burns has
written to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation to ask for oversight hearing on
ICANN.  Senator Burns says that it is time to revisit ICANN
and Internet governance in light of the recent ICANN CEO
reform proposals.
<http://www.icannwatch.org/article.php?sid=598>

COURT RULES 'SUCKS' SITE CAN STAY ONLINE DURING ARGUMENTS
A federal appeals court has allowed a protest site to return
to the Web while First Amendment issues are considered,
overturning a lower court decision.  A Michigan Court had
ordered Henry Mishkoff, a computer consultant who resides in
Dallas, Texas, to take down "TaubmanSucks.com," a Web site
critical of The Taubman Co. - a shopping mall developer
based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  The 6th Circuit
Court of Appeals suspended the order, however, while the
case is being heard.  Decision at
http://www.citizen.org/documents/TaubDecision-3-11-02.pdfCoverage at
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175118.html