[LINK] Observatory on the Information Society Newsletter March 22, 2002
by way of Tony Barry
observatory-is@unesco.org
Sat, 23 Mar 2002 11:50:13 +1100
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UNESCO OBSERVATORY ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/observatory
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Newsletter March 22, 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
[AFR - 22.03.2002] African Leaders Urged to Create Good Legislative
And Regulatory Environment for ICT. (All Africa)
An appeal has gone to African governments to free their information
technology sectors from regulatory and legislative structures in
order to accelerate the growth of the sector in the continent. This
is the view of African Telecoms experts who gathered last week in
Accra, Ghanafor the Fourth African Telecom Summit. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203200684.html
[AFR - 22.03.2002] Expert Advocates ICT Research And Training for
Media Practitioners. (All Africa)
Unless there is adequate information communication and technology
(ICT) research and training for media practitioners, the country's
quest for bringing ICT forward as a matter that should occupy vital
position in the agenda of the government and other relevant bodies
will be far fetched, an IT expert has said. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203200685.html
[EUR, ACC - 22.03.2002] EU summit pledges support for R&D, broadband.
(Europemedia)
The Council called on the Commission to draw up an eEurope 2005
action plan, to be presented in advance of the Seville European
Council in June, which should focus on the availability of broadband,
IPv6, security of networks and information, e-government, e-learning,
e-health and e-business. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=9437
[APA - 19/20.03.2002] Korean Technical Support for Cambodia to
Establish Administrative Information System. (National
Computerization Agency)
National Computerization Agency, which is an agency that promotes and
supports national informatization, has been passing Korean IT
experiences overseas in earnest since it agreed on a contract for
providing consulting for the Cambodia National Administrative
Information System Project in November 2001. Continue
http://www.nca.or.kr/homepage/ehome/ehome.nsf/f964af844c8a560dc92569890007fa5c/0fe5bcff0eac1175c9256b80001f02fc?OpenDocument
[EUR, ECO - 18.03.2002] E-commerce law gets Senate approval. (Europemedia)
The Romanian Senate has approved the countryís proposed e-commerce
law, after the Chamber of Deputies accepted it in November last year.
The draft law contains aims to facilitate the use of internet to
conduct commercial activities, exchanges of goods and services and
cash transfers. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=9367
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Privacy & Confidentiality: transborder privacy, global e-commerce, cryptography
[ECO - 22.03.2002] Internet plays critical role in Latvian
businesses. (Europemedia)
The majority of Latviaís large- and medium-sized companies have
admitted that the internet is playing an important role in their
commercial business and in contact with clients, according to Ina
Gudele, the CEO Latvian Internet Association. Research carried out by
the Association and IG Komunikacijas IT and Marketing consultants
shows that out of 250 businesses surveyed, 62 per cent claimed that
losing the internet hurt their business. About 40 per cent of the
respondents reported that they have already secured a reserve
internet connection. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=9440
[CRY, PRI - 22.03.2002] Security Is the Watchword at FOSE. (Washington Post)
Security was very much on the minds of attendees at the 2002 FOSE
trade show for government information technology professionals, which
began March 19. Continue
http://www.washtech.com/news/govtit/15736-1.html
[PRI - 21.03.2002] Senator Urges Stronger Privacy For Calling
Information. (Newsbytes)
Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., today urged his congressional
colleagues to support tighter restrictions on the distribution of
consumers' personal calling data. Wellstone urged other senators to
cosign a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
supporting the adoption of an "opt-in" privacy standard for Customer
Proprietary Network Information (CPNI), which would require companies
to gain customer permission before sharing their data. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175307.html
[PRI - 21.03.2002] Big Brother watching Irish Internet users. (NUA
Internet Surveys)
Almost one in four Internet users in Ireland say that their use of
the Internet in the workplace is restricted or monitored. Continue
http://www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905357759&rel=true
[ECO, CON - 19/20.03.2002] 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. Continue
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1872000/1872731.stm
[ECO, CRY - 18.03.2002] Time to lock down cybersecurity. (ZD Net)
These days, computer security sells itself. But that isn't stopping
John W. Thompson, chairman and CEO of security software maker
Symantec, from doing whatever he can to nudge the issue even higher
up the corporate priority list. Continue
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-861318.html
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Content Regulation: intellectual property rights, copyright, freedom
of expression, cybercrime
[CON - 22.03.2002] Former Netscape Chief Says Microsoft Pact No Help. (Yahoo!)
The U.S. government's proposed settlement of the Microsoft Corp.
antitrust case would have failed to stop the software giant's illegal
campaign against Netscape in the 1990s, former Netscape Chief
Executive Officer James Barksdale testified on Tuesday. Continue
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020320/wr_nm/microsoft_dc_66
[CRM - 22.03.2002] Global Police Can't Cope with Savvy Cyber
Criminals. (Yahoo!)
Global law enforcement cannot cope with savvy cyber criminals, who
are quick to exploit technology to create havoc, top officials at the
U.S.'s Federal Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday. "Technology
permits cyber crimes to occur at the speed of light and law
enforcement must become more sophisticated in uncovering them," FBI
(news - web sites) assistant director Ronald Eldon told a conference
on fighting organized crime in Hong Kong. Continue
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020320/wr_nm/technology_cybercrime_dc_1
[CRM - 22.03.2002] Pacific Rim a highway for hack attacks. (C Net)
Servers based in South Korea and China are the most commonly used in
attacks on the Internet, following servers housed in the United
States, according to a study released Monday by an infrastructure
consulting firm. Continue
http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/security/0,39001150,39033078,00.htm
[CON, EGO - 21.03.2002] FEC To Debate Rules On Net's Role In Federal
Elections. (Newsbytes)
The Federal Election Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday
to air concerns over its plan to apply existing election laws to
online campaign activity. The proposed regulations would exempt from
disclosure rules individuals who use computer equipment, software or
Internet services that they personally own to advocate a candidate
for federal office. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175311.html
[CRM, AFR - 19/20.03.2002] Lawyers Allege Super Highway Banditry. (All Africa)
Recruitment portal CareerJunction is taking legal action against
rival portal Jobfood.com for allegedly "scraping" job offerings from
its portal and adding them - identical typing errors and all - to its
own database. Continue
http://allafrica.com/stories/200203180618.html
[CRM, NAM - 19/20.03.2002] FBI Cracks Child Porn Ring Based On
Internet. (Washington Post)
Numerous arrests have been made in a 14-month investigation, and 50
more arrests are expected later this week in the first phase of a
nationwide crackdown on Internet-based child pornography. Continue
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47037-2002Mar18.html
[PRI - 18.03.2002] NY Judge Narrows Terms in BT Internet Patent Case. (Yahoo!)
An initial ruling by a U.S. judge has narrowed what British Telecom
can say to prove its claim to have invented hyperlinking, in a
high-profile case that could give BT rights to demand royalties on
Internet use. Continue
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020315/wr_nm/tech_hyperlinks_patent_dc_1
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Universal Access - Public Domain: access for all, on-line governance,
virtual libraries, multilingualism, digital divide, infostructure
[ACC - 21.03.2002] Broadband Use Faces Knowledge Gap Hurdle. (Yahoo!)
Roll-out of high-speed Internet services in Britain may be
complicated by a lack of basic computing knowledge among potential
subscribers, according to a survey due to be published on Wednesday.
Continue
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020319/wr_nm/telecoms_britain_broadband_dc_1
[ACC - 21.03.2002] Consumers may bear PC recycling costs. (C Net)
Electronics makers have moved a step closer to incorporating the cost
of recycling in new PCs, computer peripherals and TV sets, according
to an agreement reached last week. Continue
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-864038.html
[ACC, APA - 19/20.03.2002] 21 Laguna schools get free PC labs. (IT
Net Central)
Twenty-one public high schools in the province of Laguna
(Philippines) have received P12.6 million worth of computer
laboratory packages under the government's "PCs for Public High
Schools" program. These recipients are part of the 500 high schools
in Luzon, which includes 19 in Metro Manila, that already have
computer laboratories, bringing the number of computers deployed to
more than 10,000 under the project. Continue
http://www.itnetcentral.com/news/article.asp?id=8364&leveli=0&info=News
[ACC, APA, INF - 19/20.03.2002] Major Net upgrade coming. (Bangkok Post)
One of the most significant upgrades to the Internet's core
infrastructure is now taking place and Asia will be a leader rather
than a follower in adopting the new technology, according to Internet
experts who attended last weeks APRICOT technology seminar in
Bangkok. Continue
http://www.bangkokpost.com/130302_Database/13Mar2002_data03.html
[ACC,NAM - 19/20.03.2002] Women Surfers Rule In The Roost But Lag In
The Workplace. (Newsbytes)
Women may make up 51 percent of the Web- surfing population at home,
but statistics released today suggest that men remain the dominate
Internet users in the workplace. Continue
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175173.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175173.html
[EGO, VIR - 18.03.2002] Irish government plans online access to
public services. (Europemedia)
By the end of 2002, the Irish Government hopes that Irish people and
businesses will be able to get information about any public service
through a single access point online. Continue
http://europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=9375
[VIR - 18.03.2002] Welcome to your future Internet. (MSN NBC)
Have you ever checked your e-mail over a high-speed Internet
connection, while waiting at a bus stop? Have you ever chatted with
your pals on the Net, using high-definition television? How about
hooking your car up to the Internet so that someone knows where you
are at all times? These feats are no half-baked visions of the
future. Somewhere in the world, theyíre being done right now. Continue
http://www.msnbc.com/news/720246.asp
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http://mirror-japan.unesco.org/webworld/observatory/index.html
United States (by the University of Nebraska):
http://mirror-us.unesco.org/webworld/observatory/index.html
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