[LINK] Observatory on the Information Society Newsletter, 8.03. 2002

Mon, 11 Mar 2002 10:26:10 +1100

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY TO ALL FEMALE READERS OF OUR NEWSLETTER!

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UNESCO OBSERVATORY ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/observatory

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Newsletter - March 8, 2002

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The Briefs selection (below), is ordered into the major themes of the
Observatory:

- Action Plans and Policies
- Privacy and Confidentiallity
- Content Regulation
- Access to Public Domain

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Action Plans, Policies: international, regional and national levels

[NAM - 08.03.2002] Pentagon to ban foreigners from sensitive computer 
jobs  (Ananova)
The Pentagon plans to ban some foreign workers from computer jobs 
handling sensitive but unclassified material. Security concerns after 
the September 11 attacks have led the Defence Department to tighten 
rules for the private contractors that handle some of its computing 
needs. Continue
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_539011.html

APA - 07.03.2002] India plans to tax software exports  (EE Times)
Software developers were dealt a blow in the most recent Indian 
budget submission when the government said it would begin taxing 
software exports despite earlier promises to hold off on such taxes 
until 2010. The sting of the proposed tax plan was relieved somewhat 
by another proposal to allow software companies here to invest as 
much as $100 million overseas. Continue
http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20020306S0046

[EUR - 07.03.2002] European Commission Launches E-Govt Network  (Newsbytes)
The European Commission on Tuesday launched a Europe-wide, 
international network that links member nations' government intranets 
and aims to encourage the online exchange of information among 
governments. The pan-European e-government infrastructure is based on 
a private European backbone network called TESTA... Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174989.html

[NAM - 06.03.2002] Congressional Panel To Tackle 'Dot-Kids' Domain 
Proposal  (Newsbytes)
A congressional subcommittee on Wednesday will try to take the first 
legislative step toward mandating the creation of a kid-friendly 
Internet domain for the United States. The House Energy and Commerce 
Committee Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet is 
slated to vote on the "Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act of 
2002"... Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174982.html

[APA - 06.03.2002] India Joins Super (Grid) Powers  (Wired)
Once stymied by U.S. sanctions but now aided by fast communications 
links, India's state-run agency for advanced computing plans to build 
a nationwide grid of supercomputers for mammoth applications. Continue
http://wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,50840,00.html

[APA - 06.03.2002] Singapore-Backed IT School Locates In Philippines 
(Newsbytes)
With the backing of Singapore-born computer school Informatics, a new 
"international college" boasting 100 million Philippine pesos ($1.96 
million) worth of high-tech building will open to students in June at 
Manila's Northgate Cyberzone information technology park. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174967.html

[LAC - 05.03.2002] Colombia's Cyber (Un)Civil War  (Wired)
After Colombia's largest guerilla group hijacked a commercial plane 
and kidnapped a senator last week, the government called off peace 
talks...But even as their foot soldiers clash in Colombia's thick 
jungles, the leaders of the government and the rebel forces are 
waging a second, equally crucial battle in cyberspace to conquer 
public opinion. Continue
http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50748,00.html

[EUR - 05.03.2002] Iane: I was taken away by force with my computer 
(Europe Media)
In January, an anonymous report, entitled ëArmaghedon II,í accusing 
Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase of corruption began appearing 
in the e-mail boxes of major publications across the country. Less 
than a week later, authorities arrested an aide to former President 
Emil Constantinescu, and Ovidiu Iane, the head of a computer company, 
on allegations each helped to distribute the supposedly anti-state 
message. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=8815

[NAM - 04.03.2002] Senators talk tough on digital piracy  (MSNBC)
Sen. Fritz Hollings told electronics companies and copyright holders 
Thursday that if they canít agree on a solution to digital piracy, 
the government will. At a hearing over a proposed bill that could 
require security technology on computers and other digital devices, 
the Senate Commerce Committee chairman gave technology and media 
companies a deadline for working out their differences. Continue
http://www.msnbc.com/news/717894.asp?0si=-&cp1=1

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   Privacy & Confidentiality: transborder privacy, global e-commerce, 
cryptography

[ECO - 08.03.2002] Online Sales, B2B E-Commerce Continue Growing In 
Singapore  (Newsbytes)
Consumer and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce continued to grow 
in Singapore last year, with B2B taking the lion's share of total 
transactions by value, while some sectors of the economy performed 
better than others. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175020.html

[TRA - 08.03.2002] Online Services Race To Create Single ID, Password 
for Internet Users  (Ecommerce Times)
Internet users trade stocks, book vacations, buy clothes and much 
more. That means a lot of passwords -- and a lot of yellow sticky 
notes to remind you what they are. That's created an opportunity for 
so-called identity services, which let you use a single ID and 
password on multiple Web sites. Continue
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/16644.html

[ECO - 08.03.2002] Wireless tech providers see chance for growth in 
China  (CommsDesign)
Wireless technology companies struggling to recover from a year of 
record losses continue to turn to China's telecom market for new 
business...In making deals with Chinese manufacturers, Motorola and 
other global wireless companies seek to use that nation's booming 
wireless market as a proving ground for longer-term third-generation 
(3G) services... Continue
http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20020307S0040

[ECO - 07.03.2002] New law protects online buyers  (Europe Media)
Consumers who get into a legal dispute with a foreign company when 
buying goods online can now have their case heard in their country 
following recent changes to the Brussels Convention. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=8868

[TRA - 07.03.2002] E-Gov Efforts Buttress Homeland Security  (Newsbytes)
At least four of the Office of Management and Budget's 24 Quicksilver 
projects will reinforce the Office of Homeland Securityís fight 
against terrorism, Norman E. Lorentz, OMBís chief technology officer 
said yesterday. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174994.html

[ECO - 06.03.2002] Hong Kong Govt Reviews E-Commerce Legislation  (Newsbytes)
The Hong Kong government is conducting a top-level review of its 
various e-commerce laws, and said Monday it may fine tune the 
legislation if such an action is found to be necessary. Hong Kong's 
rules and regulations giving legitimacy to electronic transactions 
and digital signatures are enshrined in the Electronic Transactions 
Ordinance of 2000. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174955.html

[TRA - 06.03.2002] China: Lawmakers protest e-mail blocks  (Asia CNet)
Delegates to China's parliament are reproaching Western Internet 
administrators for blocking e-mails from China in a growing fight 
over the cross-Pacific flow of junk e-mail. Academics among the 2,987 
provincial deputies attending the annual meeting of the National 
People's Congress also called for laws punishing the distribution of 
junk e-mail, or "spam," the Xinhua news service reported on Monday. 
Continue
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/industry/0,39001143,39027281,00.htm

[TRA - 05.03.2002] Net monitoring scheme under fire  (BBC)
UK Government plans to archive all internet traffic and e-mail has 
been singled out for a controversial award at this year's Big Brother 
Award ceremony. The awards - established in 1998 by Human Rights 
watchdog Privacy International... Continue
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1854000/1854367.stm

[TRA - 04.03.2002] Court Decision Could Gag French Security Site 
Kitetoa  (Newsbytes)
Antoine Champagne has been offered thanks and even job offers from 
high-profile Web site owners whose insecurity he's exposed. But from 
now on, any more white-hat hacking by "Kitetoa" could cost him. Last 
month, a French court fined Champagne 1,000 euros (US$865) for 
publicizing at his Web site, Kitetoa.com, security holes he found at 
Tati.fr, the homepage of a Paris-based clothing retailer. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174910.html

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   Content Regulation: intellectual property rights, copyright, 
freedom of expression, cybercrime

[FRE - 08.03.2002] Safe Travel On the Information Superhighway  (allAfrica)
On March 18 Professor Peter Clayton, the head of the department of 
computer science at Rhodes University and head of the Centre for 
Distributed Multimedia, will be chairing a panel discussion on 
Hacking, Hot Babes and Hatespeak. Together with his panel, he will be 
debating whether a new set of rules can exist for the information 
age. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203070289.html

[IPR - 08.03.2002] Net law expert slams domain dispute process  (The Register)
The process for deciding ownership of Internet domains is flawed, 
biased and in drastic need of reform, an expert in Internet and 
e-commerce law has concluded in a study released today. Professor 
Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa has extended a previous 
study last year into how ownership of domain names... Continue
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24318.html

[CRM - 07.03.2002] Drug Traffickers Take Their Trade to Cyberspace  (allAfrica)
UN report says websites sell cannabis, heroin, ecstasy and cocaine; 
and encryption makes detection of criminals hard. Drug-peddling is 
taking to the worldwide web, according to a new in-depth United 
Nations (UN) study on drug-trafficking and control. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203060188.html

[IPR - 07.03.2002] Barcelona wins rights to barcelona.com  (Europe Media)
A US court has upheld a ruling requiring a Spanish travel site to 
return the domain name ëbarcelona.comí to the Barcelona City Council. 
But the domainís owners say they may consider appealing the decision, 
the first court case to assert that the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer 
Protection Act can be applied to foreign trademark violations. 
Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=8892

[CRM - 06.03.2002] Drug Traffickers Embrace Internet for Operation  (allAfrica)
As the United Nations intensifies efforts to fight drug abuse, the 
Philippine Embassy in Nigeria has alerted the world that a syndicate 
engaging in drug trafficking has been using the internet to spread 
the abuse of illicit drugs internationally. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203050112.html

[CRM - 05.03.2002] Security Threats Growing Faster Than the Internet, 
Says Clyde  (allAfrica)
Hacker attacks are growing at a faster rate than the Internet, says 
Rob Clyde, CTO of Symantec. "The growth of the Internet alone is not 
an adequate explanation of this growth of security threats," says 
Clyde, who believes that "one of the primary reasons for the 
exponential growth is the more than 30 000 hacker-oriented Web 
sites". Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203040747.html

[IPR - 05.03.2002] Kazaa: A Copyright Conundrum  (Wired)
File trading turned into a tale of international intrigue after a 
seemingly impervious sharing network went down last week. Now, 
complex corporate relationships in four countries could spell trouble 
for everyone involved. Continue
http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50788,00.html

[CRM - 05.03.2002] NBI cracks down on computer piracy  (Phil Star)
As part of a campaign to crack down on software piracy, the National 
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has seized a total of 132 personal 
computers as well as 27 installers containing illegal copies of 
Microsoft software in two raids conducted recently. Continue
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/News200203056304.htm

[IPR - 04.03.2002] Proposed licence fees could spell death of 
internet radio  (Europe Media)
Proposed new rates for licencing music to online radio stations could 
spell disaster for many online webcasters. The US Copyright 
Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) ñ a three-member panel of 
independent arbitrators assigned by the Copyright Office ñ recently 
handed down a decision that could require internet-only radio 
stations... Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=8781

[IPR - 04.03.2002] Lawmakers Urge Russians To Beef Up Piracy 
Enforcement  (Newsbytes)
A group of U.S. lawmakers earlier this month urged Russian 
authorities to take software piracy and intellectual property theft 
more seriously. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., told Newsbytes that the 
lawmakers wanted to convey the message that piracy prevention is "not 
just important to the United States, but also to industry in their 
country." Continue
http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15453-1.html

[CRM - 04.03.2002] Rights Groups Press Council Of Europe On 
Cybercrime Treaty  (Newsbytes)
More than 30 privacy and civil liberties groups are urging the 
Council of Europe to turn over information about a new protocol to 
the global cybercrime treaty on terrorist e-mail messages. In a 
letter to Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer, 
members of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign demanded the release 
of documents related to the insertion of a new protocol... Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174911.html

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   Universal Access - Public Domain: access for all, on-line 
governance, virtual libraries, multilingualism, digital divide, 
infostructure

[DVD - 08.03.2002] Computer Students "Bridging Digital Divide"  (allAfrica)
A group of 38 students has just graduated from an information and 
communications technology (ICT) course in Dar es Salaam, the focus of 
which was to promote development by bridging the so-called "digital 
divide" in least-developed countries like Tanzania. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203070013.html

[EQU - 08.03.2002] Bahrain sees increased adoption of advanced 
computing technologies  (Middle East Wire)
According to executives with Acer Computer Middle East, the Kingdom 
of Bahrain is quickly joining the Gulf states in the adoption of 
advanced computing technology as evidenced by Acer's record growth 
rates for 2001 in the Kingdom, with 80 per cent in its government 
sector and 40 per cent in its home computing operation. Continue
http://www.middleeastwire.com/bahrain/business/stories/20020307_meno.shtml

[EGO - 07.03.2002] Reach China's politicians via SMS  (ZDNet)
China has opened up its annual parliamentary session to suggestions 
via text messaging in an unusual step to amplify the voice of the 
people--or at least the voice of the country's 150 million mobile 
phone owners. Continue
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-853389.html

[EQU - 07.03.2002] Global Net Population At Half-Billion  (Newsbytes)
A half-billion people worldwide have Internet access at home, with 
North America showing the greatest number of Net surfers but the 
slowest growth rate of all, Nielsen//NetRatings reported today. 
Twenty-four million people joined the world Internet community during 
the fourth quarter of 2001, boosting the global count by 5 percent to 
498 million... Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175008.html

[EQU - 06.03.2002] Computer Training Benefits Students And Their 
Country  (allAfrica)
Tanzanians striving to get a good quality education in information 
and communications technology (ICT) can now earn an 
internationally-recognized certificate locally. A group of 38 
students have just graduated from the Cisco Networking Academy 
Programme at the University of Dar-es-Salaam computing centre. 
Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203050762.html

[EQU - 06.03.2002] UNIFEM Brings IT to Women  (allAfrica)
The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) announced on Friday the 
formation of a global intermediate technology (IT) advisory committee 
that aims to give women in Africa access to information communication 
technologies to improve their livelihoods. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203050359.html

[DVD - 05.03.2002] Net access gap closing, other inequities remain  (CNN)
For eighth-grader Dale Willis Jr., getting Internet access at home 
means no longer having to wait in line at the library for less than a 
half-hour at the computer...According to the Commerce Department, 54 
percent of Americans used the Internet in September, up from 44 
percent in 2000 and 22 percent in 1997 -- with increases among all 
races, income levels and educational backgrounds. Continue
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/03/04/internet.inequities.ap/index.html

[DVD - 04.03.2002] Digital divisions split town and country  (BBC)
Britain's digital divide is in danger of growing so wide it can not 
be bridged. Research into the social effects of technology has found 
that some sectors of society are in danger of being entirely cut off 
from the benefits of technologies that keep people in touch while 
they travel. Continue
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1849000/1849343.stm

[MUL - 04.03.2002] Digital characters 'talk' to the deaf  (BBC)
Using digital avatars as signing translators could significantly 
expand the ways deaf and hard of hearing people communicate with the 
hearing world. The avatars are computer animations designed to look 
and move like real people. A computer program takes spoken English 
and converts it in real-time to text. Continue
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1848000/1848431.stm

[DVD - 04.03.2002] E-Brain Sets Debates On Information Technology in 
Lusaka  (allAfrica)
Whether we like it or not, Information and Communication Technology 
(ICT) plays a critical role in national development and impacting 
positively on people's lifestyles. The other fact is that ICTs such 
as the internet and e-mail are here to stay. But, although there has 
been an increase in the use of these technologies very little has 
been said and done to help boost hopes of increasing economic and 
social growth... Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203020201.html

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