From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Wed Nov 3 08:18:20 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id IAA71925; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 08:16:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from mail.visi.com (baal.visi.com [209.98.98.3]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA71912 for ; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 08:16:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from infinia (clift.dsl.visi.com [209.98.142.42]) by mail.visi.com (8.8.8/8.7.5) with SMTP id QAA19783; Tue, 2 Nov 1999 16:16:25 -0600 (CST) Posted-Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 16:16:25 -0600 (CST) Message-Id: <199911022216.QAA19783@mail.visi.com> From: "Steven Clift" Organization: http://www.e-democracy.org/do To: apple@apnic.net, pagre@alpha.oac.ucla.edu, CARR-L@LISTSERV.LOUISVILLE.EDU Date: Tue, 2 Nov 1999 16:18:18 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: Markle Commits $1 million to Internet Governance Reply-to: slc@publicus.net X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.11) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by whois.apnic.net id IAA71919 Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Enclosed is an announcement about Markle Foundation support for efforts to improve public participation in Internet governance. Steven Clift Democracies Online Newswire http://www.e-democracy.org/do - Join Today Consultant to the Markle Foundation for Web White & Blue http://www.webwhiteblue.org From: http://www.markle.org/news/Release.199911021044.1219.html November 2, 1999 Markle Foundation Commits More Than $1 Million To Improve Internet Governance, Including Initiatives To Make ICANN More Publicly Accountable Markle’s efforts designed to help ensure that all users of the Internet are aware of ICANN’s role and have a voice in its decision- making through selection of members of ICANN’s Board of Directors Markle will fund public participation in ICANN and has enlisted The Carter Center, Common Cause, the American Library Association, Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and the Center for Democracy and Technology Key component of Markle’s $100-million initiative – spearheaded by Markle President Zoë Baird – to improve people’s lives through emerging communications media and information technologies November 2, Los Angeles, CA – The Markle Foundation is committing more than $1-million to improve Internet governance, including several major initiatives designed to make ICANN, the Internet’s first international oversight body, more accountable to all users of the Internet, it was announced in a statement today by Zoë Baird, President of the Markle Foundation. After a year of initial activities, the first elected Board of Directors of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is now being selected; nine of the 19 Directors have already been elected by three supporting organizations representing technical and commercial interests. Users of the Internet at large will elect an additional nine Directors, and Markle is helping to ensure that this election process is representative, fair and credible. Markle’s first initiative – a $200,000 grant directly to ICANN to initiate this process—will enable the organization to hire staff, conduct outreach (including easy-to-understand educational materials), create technical mechanisms for global voting, translate key documents into several major languages for the benefit of all potential ICANN members worldwide, and initiate the voting process. Ms. Baird also announced that Markle had enlisted the support of, and is providing funds for efforts by, The Carter Center, Common Cause, the American Library Association and other organizations from around the world to help establish the election process, to reach out to Internet users, and to monitor the elections. These efforts are designed to encourage the greatest participation by the broadest geographic base of individuals and non-commercial users. Ms. Baird said, “Global institutions are beginning to oversee Internet activities. The decisions they make will determine whether the Internet achieves its potential as a powerful weapon for democratic values and aspirations. Management of the Internet by a private entity will not be stable or legitimate if that entity does not adequately include the public voice. So it is essential that ICANN – which is establishing rules that impact individuals and organizations alike – be accountable to all Internet users everywhere. Specifically, that means building a legitimate way for individuals to vote and create an authority they can trust. We are bringing in experts who can make this happen.” Ms. Baird added, “The public must be aware of what is going on, understand what is at stake and have a meaningful opportunity to express its opinion. President Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center, which has overseen scores of elections worldwide, and Washington, DC- based Common Cause, under the leadership of former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, give the Internet community the expertise of leaders who understand how to build and protect democratic institutions. They – and our other partners – will help us forge essential ties between the Internet community and established democracy advocates here and abroad.” Esther Dyson, Interim Chairman of ICANN’s Initial Board of Directors, said, “We’re just delighted that Markle will make such a substantial contribution to ICANN’s At-Large Membership program. Markle’s commitment to broad public participation in setting policy for the Internet infrastructure is evident in the size of the grant and the attention to the issues that come with it. Although ICANN’s specific mandate is limited, we hope its activities will be a key foundation for Markle’s initiatives in building public interest and participation in the global medium. We plan to use the money to move quickly in public outreach, so that we can have broad and informed public input as we move forward in the design and implementation of the At-Large membership structure, which will ultimately produce 9 of our 19 directors.” Initiatives announced today The initiatives announced today include a $200,000 grant to ICANN, to fund the first phase of ICANN’s At-Large Membership Implementation Program. This program is designed to build ICANN’s At-Large Membership so that any Internet user in the world can participate. In addition, this grant will support the development of standards to ensure a fair, legitimate voting process and technical mechanisms for global voting. ICANN’s At-Large Membership will ultimately select nine of ICANN’s 19-member Board of Directors (nine additional directors have already been elected by the three Supporting Organizations; the President/CEO is the 19th member). Markle is also partnering with a wide range of independent entities to improve ICANN specifically and Internet governance generally: · The Atlanta-based Carter Center, the world’s leading election monitoring organization, will help the Internet community create an adequate mechanism to monitor the ICANN at-large membership elections in order to evaluate whether they are open and free of fraud. The Carter Center will also work with other leading experts in voting and democracy to determine standards for a fair election. · Common Cause, a 200,000-plus member, nonpartisan organization promoting open, honest and accountable government, will create and lead an international group of experts in governance and public accountability to advise ICANN about how to build bona fide membership and voting processes. · The American Library Association (ALA), the world’s oldest and largest national library association, will distribute educational materials about ICANN and individual membership, including those produced by ICANN and others, in the United States and, in partnership with international library groups, throughout the world. In addition, the ALA has agreed to create virtual “voting booths” at libraries in the United States – and work with library organizations abroad to do the same thing – for the At-Large elections. · The Center for Democracy and Technology(CDT), a leading civil liberties organization based in Washington, DC, will produce a pamphlet on why the public should care about ICANN and the decisions its makes. · The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School– a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development – will explore mechanisms for open governance and deliberation online. In addition, Markle and the Berkman Center co-hosted a public workshop on ICANN and pressing public interest issues in Los Angeles on October 31st. (see http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/workshops/la) Markle also intends to take other steps to assist leaders from around the world to participate in meetings of ICANN. Said Scott Harshbarger, President of Common Cause, and former Attorney General of Massachusetts, “Throughout our 30-year history, Common Cause has been a leading voice for citizens on issues of democratic process, civic participation, and openness and accountability in American government. We look forward to drawing on this experience to promote democratic values in Internet governance through work with the Markle Foundation.” “Libraries are the cornerstone of democracy,” said ALA President- Elect Nancy Kranich. “They provide the information people need to be well informed, and they provide access to millions of users. No place is better suited than libraries to foster democracy in action on the Internet.” Jerry Berman, Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, added, “Control over Internet names could ultimately impact vital public interest including free expression, personal privacy, and the structure of tomorrow’s Internet. An open and accessible domain name system makes it possible for anyone to stand on a street corner in cyberspace and speak to the whole world. We need to make sure that domain name governance is consistent with our fundamental civil liberties. Public interest participation in and oversight of this governance system is essential to preserve those liberties.” “Deliberation is at the core of both open education and open governance: a chance for views to evolve and to be refined, rather than simply summed,” said Jonathan Zittrain, Executive Director of the Berkman Center. “We are seeking to build a kernel of open source tools to facilitate broad-based online discussion, deliberation, and closure on issues that concern large and diverse groups of people and institutions.” ICANN Initiatives are Centerpiece of Markle’s Internet Governance Project The initiatives announced today at ICANN’s first annual meeting are part of Markle’s recently-launched Internet Governance Project (IGP). Markle has committed more than $1 million to the Internet Governance Project, which is designed to promote the public interest in nontraditional, international venues where decisions are increasingly made and standards are set that affect the Internet. These venues – non-governmental organizations such as ICANN and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and intergovernmental or regional organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization – consider such issues as electronic commerce standards, intellectual property, consumer protection, privacy, content regulation, taxation and online jurisdiction. An important component of Markle’s Policy for a Networked Society program, the Internet Governance Project will promote the public’s interest in a number of ways, such as: · Increase awareness among public interest leaders about how the decisions of non-traditional policy-making entities are affecting their constituencies; · Provide useful, cutting-edge policy analysis from scholars and professionals from the law, political science, public policy and other relevant disciplines; · Assist in institution building by working with nontraditional policymaking entities to make them more accountable and democratic as they remain efficient and goal oriented. About ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit, international corporation formed in September 1998 to oversee a select set of Internet technical management functions currently managed by the U.S. Government, or by its contractors and volunteers. Specifically, ICANN is assuming responsibility for coordinating the management of the domain name system (DNS), and other important features of the Internet. About the Markle Foundation Established in 1927, the Markle Foundation has focused on communications media for the past 30 years. A private not-for-profit philanthropy, the Foundation has assets of approximately $180- million. Since the appointment of Zoë Baird as President in 1998, the Foundation has decided to focus its resources on helping ensure that emerging new media and information technology improve people’s lives and on promoting the development of communications industries that meet public needs. In June 1999, the Markle Foundation established its Policy for a Networked Society program, which seeks to enhance the public voice in the consideration and resolution of policy affecting communications media and information technology. Markle’s other programs are: Public Engagement through Interactive Technologies, Interactive Media for Children, and Information Technologies for Better Health. Markle pursues its goals through a range of activities including analysis, research, public information and development of innovative products and services. Markle creates and operates many of its own projects- using not only grants but also investments and strategic alliances with non-profits and businesses. More information on the Markle Foundation can be found at www.markle.org. CONTACT: Julia Moffett Markle Foundation (212) 489-6655 x 337 - OR – Stuart Fischer Robinson Lerer & Montgomery (212) 484-7758 ------- End of forwarded message ------- ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. Clift - W: http://www.publicus.net Minneapolis - - - E: clift@publicus.net Minnesota - - - - - T: +1.612.822.8667 USA - - - - - - - ICQ: 13789183 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Steven Clift - E: clift@publicus.net T:+1.612.822.8667 Info - http://publicus.net DO - http://e-democracy.org/do Web White & Blue - http://webwhiteblue.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Wed Nov 3 19:23:27 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA118442; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 19:22:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from gateway.ntu.edu.sg (gateway.ntu.edu.sg [155.69.1.127]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA118433 for ; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 19:22:27 +1000 (EST) Received: by gateway.ntu.edu.sg with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) id ; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 17:22:00 +0800 Message-ID: <1DD1B50DBE02D311909900805FA7424B883C32@EXCHANGE5> From: "Ang Peng Hwa (Assoc Prof)" To: "'APPLe'" Subject: ABA struggles with ratings standard Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 17:21:57 +0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Folks, Following story is about ABA wrestling with implementing a ratings scheme that is modelled after the offline world. Regards, Ang Peng Hwa The consultation paper and further information is available online at http://www.aba.gov.au/what/online/restricted.htm . ABA struggles with ratings standard Roulla Yiacoumi, Newswire http://www.newswire.com.au/9911/rating.htm Net users will have to supply Web site operators with sensitive personal data if they wish to access R-rated material online. According to a consultation paper by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA), an age verification 'restricted access system' must be in place on sites which are likely to be classified R by the Classification Board and which do not already have a restricted access system in place. The ABA will be administering the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act 1999 which seeks to crack down on online material deemed to be illegal and/or offensive. The ABA must investigate any complaints, and if appropriate, issue take-down notices for the removal of objectionable material. The legislation takes effect on January 1, 2000. However, the ABA has conceded it will not have a standard for restricted access systems in place by January 1, as it is involved in lengthy discussions with Standards Australia to develop the specifications. In the interim, it has proposed a draft system for people seeking access to R-classified material online. As a minimum, the ABA says users will need to register with the Web operator of the R-rated site, either electronically or by hard copy, and prove their identity and age. Users will need to provide a number of details including their name, address, date of birth, email address, and credit card details or digital signature. This information must be accompanied by a declaration stating all details are correct. If the application for access is lodged in hard copy form, evidence of identity and age, such as a certified copy of a passport or driver's licence, must be enclosed. Following this registration, users will be issued with a PIN or password. To gain access to the site, users must enter-in full and on each occasion-their password and date of birth. Privacy and civil liberty concerns are not addressed by the restricted access system draft proposal. Comments on the draft can be submitted to the ABA until November 9. A provisional solution will then be tabled in Parliament prior to January 1, when the legislation will take effect. * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Wed Nov 3 20:15:49 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA124113; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 20:15:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1304.mail.yahoo.com (web1304.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.154]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id UAA124105 for ; Wed, 3 Nov 1999 20:15:37 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991103102636.25996.rocketmail@web1304.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1304.mail.yahoo.com; Wed, 03 Nov 1999 21:26:36 EST Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 21:26:36 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: Silicon ~ Blair lays out vision of UK's 'knowledge economy' To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi All An article about Tony Blair laying out his vision for the Internet, or 'knowledge economy', from Silicon. Cheers David Blair lays out vision of UK's 'knowledge economy' http://www.silicon.com UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, used this week's CBI (Confederation of British Industry) conference to outline his vision of how the UK will build a dynamic knowledge economy. "The role of government today is to equip people and business for the new economy in which we are going to live and work to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship to improve education stimulate competition and broaden access to the new technology," Blair said. Speaking at the CBI's annual conference in Birmingham, Blair said education is a key component in the country's evolution. He outlined deals with BT, Energis, Kingston, NTL and Telewest, to provide libraries, colleges and Citizens Advice Bureaux with permanent Internet access at half the standard price. Jim Norton, head of the Institute of Director (IoD)'s ecommerce team and former government advisor, welcomed the move, but warned that funding needs to be maintained in the long-term for the initiative to be a success. "And it does beg the question of why there shouldn't be similar concessions more widely in the community," he added. "Why BT can't deliver much more flexible tariffs than is currently the case?" Blair also told delegates that the government will subsidise courses at IT learning centres. The Prime Minister's speech focused on the importance of business-to-business commerce. "In the 21st century, financial capital will become the commodity and intellectual capital will be in short supply. Already in the IT industry, the value of software now exceeds that of the hardware. Most of the worth of the pharmaceutical industry is locked up in its patents. Knowledge is the key," he said. Tim Conway, director of the Information Age Unit at the CSSA, warned that the rhetoric needs to be matched by action. "The really important thing is the pace of change. They need to open up speed and ease of access to the Internet - but it's all happening a bit too slowly." Copyright Silicon.com 1998, 1999 ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Thu Nov 4 19:52:47 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA89885; Thu, 4 Nov 1999 19:49:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1302.mail.yahoo.com (web1302.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.152]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id TAA89874 for ; Thu, 4 Nov 1999 19:49:09 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991104100109.21005.rocketmail@web1302.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1302.mail.yahoo.com; Thu, 04 Nov 1999 21:01:09 EST Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1999 21:01:09 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: Japan kiddie porn law comes into force To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all A story on the introduction of the law in Japan regarding child porn. The Register also has a page that has a round up of stories from around the world dealing with child porn at http://www.theregister.co.uk/990815-000002.html. Cheers David Posted 03/11/99 4:18pm by Tim Richardson Japan kiddie porn law comes into force New laws outlawing child porn in Japan came into force in Japan on Monday and could eventually lead to a net reduction in the sexual exploitation of children on the Web. Before Monday, the whole area of child porn was untouched by legislation, effectively making Japan an offshore haven for the global trafficking in paedophilia. The new law, ratified earlier this year, bans the production, distribution, sale, possession and trade of kiddie porn. If convicted, offenders could face up to three years in gaol or be slapped with a fine of more than £15,000. According to official figures 80 per cent of the world's kiddie porn on the Net originates from Japan. David Kerr, head of the anti-porn Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in Britain welcomed Japan's move. He said that lobbying from many governments and anti-porn groups -- including the IWF-- helped contribute to Japan's decision. "We witnessed increasing volumes of child pornography coming from Japan but although we reported cases, we couldn't get them [Web sites] removed," he said. Now the practice has been outlawed, we should start to see a reduction in the amount of kiddie porn available on the Net, he said. Although the news is to be welcomed, it shouldn't be assumed that the trade in kiddie porn will simply dry up. It will take a while for Japan's legislation to take effect and it's likely that much of the "Lolita trade" will be forced further underground. However, since Japan accounts for such a massive slice of the illegal trade it is likely to have a major impact on this sordid industry. ® ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Fri Nov 5 23:18:02 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id XAA94425; Fri, 5 Nov 1999 23:14:21 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1303.mail.yahoo.com (web1303.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.153]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id XAA94418 for ; Fri, 5 Nov 1999 23:14:15 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991105132637.7330.rocketmail@web1303.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1303.mail.yahoo.com; Sat, 06 Nov 1999 00:26:37 EST Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1999 00:26:37 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: The Times ~ Christians told to combat Internet porn To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all An interesting story from The Times in the UK on Thursday. Cheers David Christians told to combat Internet porn BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT THE Church of England urged all Christians yesterday to get online and flood the Internet with positive and spiritual material to counter the tide of pornography. Owning a computer would soon become as much a part of life as owning a car or a television, the Church said in a new report, Cybernauts Awake!, which urges worshippers not to get left behind. "The Internet is not a fad, and will replace the telephone as the dominant means of communication in most relationships when people are unable to be within physical earshot," it says. Computers have become "dream machines" providing "tremendous opportunities" for businesses, charities, churches and individuals. "Putting material up is easy," it says. If every Christian put up specifically Christian material and linked it with other sites, cyberspace would "become increasingly populated with helpful content". Each church should develop its own website, and then use it to promote "socially economic causes", the report says. "Cyberspace is a strong force for social change, and Christians should be using it to work for social justice and evangelisation." It gives a warning that every dream has a dark side and questions whether today's children "will grow up to become zombies, always sitting in front of a screen". Loss of jobs, invasion of privacy and pornography were other possible consequences. The report also calls for computer users to develop a "healthy scepticism" about digital images and information. "Manipulation that would have been regarded as faking is now routine in many contexts." However, the immaterial nature of the Internet could be used to challenge atheism. "Christians may find some encouragement in the development of cyberspace and cyber-concepts," the report says. "People who once scorned the notion of spiritual reality and who rejected Christianity accordingly, might find their ideas transformed by experience in cyberspace." Cyberspace can offer a "rich new store of analogies and parables". The Internet's "intelligent agents" - software programs that a user can send around the Internet looking for a cheap air fare or a particular research paper - can be compared with angels. But the report also says: "We must always be aware of the limitations of these analogies, and not become so enamoured of them or cyberspace itself that we set up false understandings and false gods." The Church must embrace cyberspace as it embraced printing, the report says. "From papyrus onwards, every major development in communications has provided new channels through which the Gospel is proclaimed." It discloses that one theological college has already set up an online spiritual counselling service, urging people to e-mail questions which are then answered by ordinands, with back-up from tutors where needed. The Right Rev Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford and chairman of the Church's Board for Social Responsibility, said: "As the 20th century draws to a close, there can be little doubt that we have only just begun to appreciate the extent to which our social, economic and cultural life is being transformed." The BBC's Religious Broadcasting department may need a new name - such as Faith and Values - to reflect Britain's changing spiritual backcloth, said its head, Ernest Rea, in his inaugural lecture as honorary lecturer for the University of Manchester. He said that about 20 million people espoused a "vague faith" but would not dream of belonging to a religious group. www.cybernautsawake.net The ethical and spiritual implications of cyberspace ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Fri Nov 5 23:20:10 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id XAA94803; Fri, 5 Nov 1999 23:18:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1306.mail.yahoo.com (web1306.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.156]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id XAA94796 for ; Fri, 5 Nov 1999 23:18:26 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991105133053.10837.rocketmail@web1306.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1306.mail.yahoo.com; Sat, 06 Nov 1999 00:30:53 EST Date: Sat, 6 Nov 1999 00:30:53 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: The Times ~ Christians told to combat Internet porn To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi All Just to add that the story below from The Times is online at http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/11/04/timnwsnws01041.html?999. Christians told to combat Internet porn BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/11/04/timnwsnws01041.html?999 THE Church of England urged all Christians yesterday to get online and flood the Internet with positive and spiritual material to counter the tide of pornography. Owning a computer would soon become as much a part of life as owning a car or a television, the Church said in a new report, Cybernauts Awake!, which urges worshippers not to get left behind. "The Internet is not a fad, and will replace the telephone as the dominant means of communication in most relationships when people are unable to be within physical earshot," it says. Computers have become "dream machines" providing "tremendous opportunities" for businesses, charities, churches and individuals. "Putting material up is easy," it says. If every Christian put up specifically Christian material and linked it with other sites, cyberspace would "become increasingly populated with helpful content". Each church should develop its own website, and then use it to promote "socially economic causes", the report says. "Cyberspace is a strong force for social change, and Christians should be using it to work for social justice and evangelisation." It gives a warning that every dream has a dark side and questions whether today's children "will grow up to become zombies, always sitting in front of a screen". Loss of jobs, invasion of privacy and pornography were other possible consequences. The report also calls for computer users to develop a "healthy scepticism" about digital images and information. "Manipulation that would have been regarded as faking is now routine in many contexts." However, the immaterial nature of the Internet could be used to challenge atheism. "Christians may find some encouragement in the development of cyberspace and cyber-concepts," the report says. "People who once scorned the notion of spiritual reality and who rejected Christianity accordingly, might find their ideas transformed by experience in cyberspace." Cyberspace can offer a "rich new store of analogies and parables". The Internet's "intelligent agents" - software programs that a user can send around the Internet looking for a cheap air fare or a particular research paper - can be compared with angels. But the report also says: "We must always be aware of the limitations of these analogies, and not become so enamoured of them or cyberspace itself that we set up false understandings and false gods." The Church must embrace cyberspace as it embraced printing, the report says. "From papyrus onwards, every major development in communications has provided new channels through which the Gospel is proclaimed." It discloses that one theological college has already set up an online spiritual counselling service, urging people to e-mail questions which are then answered by ordinands, with back-up from tutors where needed. The Right Rev Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford and chairman of the Church's Board for Social Responsibility, said: "As the 20th century draws to a close, there can be little doubt that we have only just begun to appreciate the extent to which our social, economic and cultural life is being transformed." The BBC's Religious Broadcasting department may need a new name - such as Faith and Values - to reflect Britain's changing spiritual backcloth, said its head, Ernest Rea, in his inaugural lecture as honorary lecturer for the University of Manchester. He said that about 20 million people espoused a "vague faith" but would not dream of belonging to a religious group. www.cybernautsawake.net The ethical and spiritual implications of cyberspace ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Tue Nov 9 01:42:27 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id BAA76032; Tue, 9 Nov 1999 01:38:13 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1306.mail.yahoo.com (web1306.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.156]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id BAA76024 for ; Tue, 9 Nov 1999 01:38:05 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991108153803.1303.rocketmail@web1306.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1306.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 09 Nov 1999 02:38:03 EST Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 02:38:03 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: ZDNET ~ Judge says COPA law too broad To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@ns.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi All An update on what's happening with the Child Online Protection Act in the US. Cheers David Judge says COPA law too broad By Reuters November 5, 1999 11:05 AM PT URL: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2389123,00.html PHILADELPHIA -- A government move to protect children from pornography on the Internet came under fire Thursday from a U.S. judge who suggested that the Child Online Protection Act could lead to censorship as restrictive as in "Iran or Iraq." The new U.S. law would make it a federal crime for commercial Web site operators to expose children under 17 to material deemed harmful. Government officials have been barred from enforcing it, however, because of a preliminary injunction imposed in February by a U.S. district judge who said he believed the law might violate the constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment. Justice Department attorneys who appealed the lower court's ruling to the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia quickly ran into trouble when a three-judge appellate panel opened an hour-long hearing to review oral arguments in the case. U.S. Circuit Judge Leonard Garth criticized the law for leaving the definition of "harmful" material to contemporary community standards. Garth commented, "It seems to me that in terms of the World Wide Web, what the statute contemplates is that we would be remitted to the most severe standards, perhaps those of Iran or Iraq," where he said that even showing a woman's face was considered objectionable. Who decides the standard? "Are we all going to be remitted to the standards of the residents of Utah or the Amish community? Isn't it for the most conservative community to be the ceiling for the rest of us?" he asked. "This one particular aspect gives me great, great trouble, and I don't think it's resolved." The Child Online Protection Act, which represents the latest attempt by the Republican-controlled Congress to control Internet smut, was signed into law by President Clinton a little over a year ago. But the law quickly ran into a court challenge from a coalition of Internet-based businesses led by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Two years ago, a similar coalition persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the law's forerunner, the 1996 Communications Decency Act. Despite assurances that material would be exempt if it had redeeming social, artistic or political value, opponents say the law could be used by conservative groups to close down Web sites devoted to hot-button issues, including gay or reproductive rights. "There would be widespread self-censorship," ACLU attorney Ann Beeson told the appellate panel, saying the law's maximum penalties of $50,000 in fines and six months in prison could have a chilling effect on businesses that offer artwork, online magazines or sexual assistance to people with physical disabilities. Some violators also could face additional daily fines of $100,000. 'Brown paper wrappers' "This is a criminal standard we're applying, and there are a lot of real people out there running businesses and wondering what they can put on the Web," she said. Justice Department lawyer Jacob Lewis tried to assure circuit court judges that the law was meant to target online pornographers who cater to the prurient interests of youths. He likened the law to the brown paper wrappers used to hide the covers of sexually explicit magazines, saying, "The government has a compelling interest in protecting children from harmful sexual material." But the government's argument only led Garth and fellow U.S. Circuit Judge Theodore McKee to suggest that Congress might be too late in seeking to impose controls on the bustling global electronic marketplace that the Internet has created. "I'm not at all sure that one can structure legislation that can control the very thing that ought to be controlled (pornography). I'm not sure that events haven't overtaken the legislative process," Garth said. McKee appeared to side with ACLU claims that the government would be better off encouraging parents to buy blocking software to keep youngsters from porn sites. "In this day and age of family values, maybe the only way to do it is to empower the family so they can decide," he said. Attorneys said they expected the appellate court to rule within a few months but predicted the case would be appealed to the Supreme Court regardless of the panel's opinion. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@alpha.apnic.net Tue Nov 9 20:46:28 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by alpha.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA91091; Tue, 9 Nov 1999 20:44:12 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1305.mail.yahoo.com (web1305.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.155]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id UAA91086 for ; Tue, 9 Nov 1999 20:44:09 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991109104404.21541.rocketmail@web1305.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1305.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 09 Nov 1999 21:44:04 EST Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 21:44:04 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: NY Times~Judges Raise Questions About Federal Anti-Pornography Law To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@alpha.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello All A slightly more in depth article from the New York Times to the one I posted yesterday on the the Child Online Protection Act. The NY Times Online requires registration. Cheers David Judges Raise Questions About Federal Anti-Pornography Law By PAMELA MENDELS A federal appeals court judge suggested Thursday that a federal law intended to shield children from online pornography could be fatally flawed, because it leaves open the question of which community's standards should apply when evaluating content. His comments came during oral arguments in a case centering on the Child Online Protection Act, which would prohibit commercial Web site operators from making sexually explicit material deemed "harmful to minors" available to those under 17. The law, which was challenged in court immediately after it was signed by President Clinton last year, never went into effect. A federal judge in Philadelphia blocked it with a preliminary injunction in February, saying it most likely violated the First Amendment. The plaintiffs in the case are 17 groups and companies, among them Condomania, a condom retailer; Powell's Books, a bookstore chain in Portland, Ore., that sells books online, and PlanetOut, a Web site for gays and lesbians. Another plaintiff is the Internet Content Coalition, which represents a number of news organizations that publish online, including MSNBC and The New York Times. The government is appealing the preliminary injunction to a three-judge panel in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia. In oral arguments Thursday, Jacob M. Lewis, a lawyer for the Department of Justice, faced tough questioning from two of the judges, Theodore A. McKee and Leonard I. Garth, who both seemed skeptical that the law could pass constitutional muster. The most intense questioning came from Judge Garth, who zeroed in on an issue left unmentioned in the earlier injunction blocking the law: community standards. The judge wanted to know what set of values would apply in determining whether material is harmful to minors, given the Internet's global reach. "It seems to me that in terms of the World Wide Web, what the statute contemplates is that we would be remitted to the most severe, conservative community standards, perhaps those in Iran or Iraq where exposure of a woman's face is deemed to be inappropriate," he said. If that is so, he asked Lewis, "haven't we then gone far beyond anything the First Amendment would permit?" Lewis conceded that the law leaves unclear the matter of which community's standards apply, although he said it was implausible that standards of communities outside United States borders would come into play. He also argued that community considerations were not the only factor, because the material in question must also lack scientific, literary, artistic or political value for the law to apply. But Garth remained unpersuaded. He said the law still left open the possibility that the standards of the most socially traditional communities in the United States -- conservative residents of Utah, for example -- would "be the ceiling for the rest of us." He told Lewis bluntly that on this issue, "you haven't satisfied me." "If I think this clause is sufficient to decide this statute is unconstitutional, I am going to vote that way," he added later. Judge McKee said he was disturbed by another aspect of the law: its provision that sites with material considered harmful to minors should restrict access by using credit-card gateways or other age verification mechanisms. This would force adults who want access to identify themselves in some way, even though they have a First Amendment right to that material. The provision might prove particularly troubling for users who want to access information on sensitive subjects like homosexuality, Judge McKee said. The judge rejected government arguments that COPA was akin to state laws that require wrappers or special display racks for adult material in stores. Such laws have been upheld by federal courts. "You don't have to divulge personal identifying information to get around a wrapper law, but you do in the COPA law," he said. Despite their critical questions, the judges were also clearly disturbed that pornographic material was accessible to children online. Garth noted that he was a grandfather, and said that children should not be looking at certain kinds of material in cyberspace. But both he and McKee asked whether, given the nature of the Web, it is possible to craft a law that upholds the First Amendment rights of adults while restricting children's access to inappropriate content. Judge Richard Lowell Nygaard posed this same question to Ann Beeson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who argued against the law. Beeson replied that there were several ways the current law could have been more narrowly tailored. For one thing, she said, the language of the statute could have more clearly targeted sites that offer pornography. It could also have focused on images and not included text, she said. Beeson also said she believes the government does have a role to play in assisting parents who want to control their children's access to offensive material. For example, it could require Internet service providers to notify parents of the availability of software products they can install to filter content. But referring to the possibility of crafting a law that would satisfy the First Amendment, she conceded that "there is a real question of whether you can do that at all in this medium." One thing that is clear, Beeson said, is that COPA violates the First Amendment. She said the law would force operators of commercial Web sites offering arguably offensive material to for fear of the law's sanctions -- prison terms of up to six months and fines of up to $50,000 per violation. The judges are not expected to issue a decision in the case for several months. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Wed Nov 17 19:39:15 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA68448; Wed, 17 Nov 1999 19:37:19 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1302.mail.yahoo.com (web1302.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.152]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id TAA68443 for ; Wed, 17 Nov 1999 19:37:16 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991117093714.5349.rocketmail@web1302.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1302.mail.yahoo.com; Wed, 17 Nov 1999 20:37:14 EST Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 20:37:14 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: Silicon ~ TescoNet blocks X-rated sites to attract family users To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all An article about one of the many so-called 'free' ISPs in the UK, the supermarket chain Tesco, providing a form of filtering for users of its Internet service. This article is available from http://www.silicon.com. Cheers David TescoNet blocks X-rated sites to attract family users PUBLISHED: 0:30am on Wednesday 17 November 1999 TescoNet - the ISP offshoot of Tesco - is to provide its users with free Internet surveillance software produced by Security Software Systems Inc (SSSI). In a lucrative deal for the Chicago-based software company, Tesco has licensed up to a million copies of SSSI's Cyber Sentinel technology. Software that makes the Internet family-friendly is also a selling point for services such as AOL and WHSmith Online. However, TescoNet said it has opted for technology which does not block certain URLs, but actually analyses content. The spokesman for the retailer said: "The fact that Cyber Sentinel enables parents and teachers to monitor and control the content of the children's chat room, email and other conversations with external users on the Net, and help guard against predators seeking to establish inappropriate relations with the child, makes this an invaluable offering to our TescoNet members." The technology has been supplied to TescoNet via Modems Direct and Distributor Services International. Bill Jenkins, Modems Direct managing director, told Silicon.com: "Even the best site blockers recognise, at most, only about 10 per cent of sex sites. But Cyber Sentinel is the only software of its type endorsed by Microsoft, and has a sophisticated recognition engine that analyses downloaded files and chat room nasties as well as Web pages." Language patterns and phrases from past paedophile cases, as recorded by the FBI, are used to identify offenders, and then parents can be warned, material captured, and browsers closed. SSSI claims the TescoNet deal is the largest site licence ever for online protection software. Copyright 1998, 1999 NMTV/Silicon.com. All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------- *** Register instantly and FREE for Silicon.com today http://www.silicon.com/register_emf . When you register you'll receive a free CD Rom video report worth 295. *** Want to receive all the latest IT and business news direct to your desktop? Subscribe here mailto:subscribe@silicon.com to Silicon.com daily news alerts by email. If you want a PERSONALISED news alert please give your keyword preferences. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Thu Nov 18 00:53:17 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id AAA90340; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 00:51:11 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1303.mail.yahoo.com (web1303.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.153]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA90333 for ; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 00:51:08 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991117145106.14501.rocketmail@web1303.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1303.mail.yahoo.com; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 01:51:06 EST Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 01:51:06 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: BBC ~ UK Government sets up legal framework for business To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all The Queen's speech to Parliament today (Wednesday) unveiled her government's plans for the coming year. This included bills on tackling road congestion, the age of consent for gays and the right to roam in the countryside, along with how the UK Government intends set up the legal framework for business taking place via the Internet. See below for details, and/or http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Politics/pasinter171199.shtml. Cheers David THE LAW OF THE NET http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_524000/524659.stm There are no details yet of the controversial area of law enforcement The UK Government intends set up the legal framework for business taking place via the Internet by April 2000. The Electronic Communications Bill, announced on Wednesday in the Queen's Speech to parliament, will give legal status to electronic signatures. It will also sweep away the need for paper documents in many areas of law and set up a voluntary "kitemark" scheme to ensure minimum standards of quality and service when using the net for buying and selling. Slow progress The government had been criticised for slow progress in legislating on e-commerce. Earlier this year, the Trade and Industry Select Committee said there was "a yawning gap between ambition and achievement." The full bill is expected to be revealed on Friday but some details are available now. These cover three of the four parts of the draft bill, published in July, but do not mention the most controversial section which deals with the law enforcement powers that will be available to the police. Civil liberties groups have sharply criticised the powers proposed in the draft bill which would require that people hand over the software key to encrypted data and could convict them if they do not. This has been called a reversal of the burden of proof. "Would it be sensible to imprison someone for forgetting the PIN number to a bank card," said Caspar Bowden, director of the Foundation for Information Policy Research. Some improvement But he believes that in the new bill: "The government has acknowledged that compliance with the European Court of Human Rights requires a strengthening of safeguards. Given that the Home Office have been denying any human rights problems, this is certainly an improvement." Another bill in the Queen's Speech, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, aims to tidy up the law on intercepting private communication in the light of new technology such as e-mail. The ties in with the Electronic Communications Bill in making it legal for authorities to demand the keys to scrambled messages. Self-regulation Another area of controversy is the regulation of the cryptography necessary for secure Internet transactions. The industry has argued for self-regulation and appear to have had their wishes met. If self-regulation fails however, there will be powers to set up a statutory scheme, though it would still be voluntary. The government has said that a self-regulatory "kitemark" scheme is needed to guarantee consumer protection. This would ensure minimum standards of quality and service when using the net for buying and selling. Relatively uncontroversial measures covered by the bill include: Electronic signatures: New legislation would provide a legal basis for the electronic signing of messages, "so that people will be able to check who sent the message and ensure it has not been tampered with." These signatures would also be recognised by the courts. Paper documents: Some existing laws insist on the use of paper but these requirements will be "swept away wherever it makes sense to do so". Telecommunication licenses: New laws will make it easier for the telecommunications regulator Oftel to update the licenses issued to operators. The government's stated aim is to "develop the UK as the best environment worldwide in which to trade electronically". It has pledged to take a lead in the promotion of e-commerce by setting an ambitious target that 90% of the routine goods the government buys will be purchased electronically by 2001. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Thu Nov 18 13:59:42 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA93876; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 13:56:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from mail3.ntu.edu.sg (mail3.ntu.edu.sg [155.69.1.91]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA93871 for ; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 13:56:38 +1000 (EST) Received: by mail3.ntu.edu.sg with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) id ; Thu, 18 Nov 1999 11:55:50 +0800 Message-ID: <1DD1B50DBE02D311909900805FA7424B883CFC@EXCHANGE5> From: "Ang Peng Hwa (Assoc Prof)" To: "APPLe (E-mail)" Subject: Felix Somm acquitted Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 11:55:52 +0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by whois.apnic.net id NAA93873 Sender: owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Have you folks heard? On 17th November 1999 the Munich Regional Court I (20th Criminal Division) acquitted in appeal proceedings the former managing director of the German CompuServe GmbH of the charge of distribution of child pornographic material. There are 2 parts to this rather long email: first a news release and second a commentary. Regards, Ang Peng Hwa Communications News: SPECIAL EDITION 17/11/1999 ----------------------------------------------------- Created for TKRNEWS-L (International Communications Law and Policy) ---Forward-this-message-and-inform-your-colleagues--- --------------------------------------------------- This Edition contains the same News in English and in German. ----------------------------------------------------- OFFICIAL RELEASE Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber Munich, November 17, 1999 Dr. H.-W. Moritz, Rechtsanwalt (Attorney-at-Law) W. Dingfelder, Rechtsanwalt (Attorney-at-Law) Acquittal of Mr. Felix Somm by the Landgericht München (Regional Court of Munich) on November 17, 1999 of the accusation of distributing publications with child pornography The defense lawyers of Mr. Felix Somm, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber, Dr. Hans-Werner Moritz, Rechtsanwalt and Wolfgang Dingfelder, Rechtsanwalt, welcome the acquittal of Felix Somm of the accusation that he was responsible for the distribution of publications with child pornography. Finally, the Landgericht München I clarified that the managing director of CompuServe GmbH, Mr. Felix Somm, was not responsible for the illegal content which the charge was based upon. Furthermore, by its judgment, the Landgericht München I created some legal certainty for the information and communications service industry by confirming exemption from punishment for providing access to the Internet. CompuServe's lawyer, Dr. Hans-Werner Moritz (law firm of Graf von Westphalen Fritze & Modest), already pointed out directly after the search of the premises of CompuServe GmbH in 1995 that CompuServe GmbH as a pure access provider could not be held liable for content delivered by third party providers. The lack of legal responsibility of CompuServe GmbH's managing director as well as the lack of technical means to avoid the distribution of content constituting a criminal offense was then shown by an extensive legal expertise and a detailed technical analysis prepared by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber, professor-in-ordinary for criminal law and information law at the University of Würzburg. Had the aspects stated therein been taken into consideration, the prosecutor would not have admitted these proceedings to be conducted before the Amtsgericht München (Local Court of Munich) and the main proceedings against Mr. Somm should not have been conducted at all. After the proceedings before the Amtsgericht München which were characterized by numerous errors of law and which were criticized world-wide as being unfair, the defense lawyers very much appreciate the fair and competent conduct of the proceedings by the Landgericht München I and the Munich public prosecution due to which now the factual and legal issues of the case could be thoroughly clarified before the Landgericht München I and Mr. Felix Somm's reputation could be fully restored. The following commentary is from PROF. DR. ULRICH SIEBER, who is a member of Somm's defence team: Moving Forward into the New Millennium * A New Culture of Responsibility on the Internet - On the eve of the new millennium the German judiciary has disposed of another explosive waste product: On 17th November 1999 the Munich Regional Court I (20th Criminal Division) acquitted in appeal proceedings the former managing director of the German CompuServe GmbH of the charge of distribution of child pornographic material. This judgment led not only to the long overdue rehabilitation of one of the pioneers of the German online industry, who had been burdened over a period of years with the accusation of distributing child pornographic material, even though he was a committed champion in the fight against pornography on the Internet. With this acquittal, the criminal justice system also removed the relationship of tension between itself and the Internet industry, which in recent years was impeding an effective fight against crime on the Internet. The "CompuServe Case" can be regarded at the outset - in the true style of a play - as a combination of human acts, which commenced most unfortunately but which were in the end capable of being turned around to produce some good. Under this analogy the first act was the criminal preliminary investigation proceedings with the leading role being played by a state prosecutor characterized by a poor handling of the files, a negligent gathering of evidence, suppression of exonerating matter and perhaps even political obedience in what was an election period. The second act, marked by the conviction at first instance, was characterized by a district court judge leading a missionary crusade against child pornography on the Internet, one who wasn't capable of learning, who high-handedly rejected motions to hear evidence and - as illustrated in Multimedia und Recht 1998, p. 438 et seq - who produced an astonishing stringing together of factual and legal mistakes. Since even the case representative from the state prosecution realised the mistake of the original indictment and requested an acquittal, this "dangerous coup by a district court judge" (as described by Martin Huff in the Frankfurter Allgemeiner Zeitung, 4th June 1998) provided the excitement of a good crime story that exposed the astonished public to the helplessness of the accused in Kafka's "Der Prozeß" during the one and a half year wait until the appeal proceedings. With this in mind, the third act of acquittal at appeal proceedings, of which advance notice had already been given in corresponding motions by the state prosecution, is not so much the result of a committed defence team, but of a state prosecution which is independent in the best of senses and of a judge who possessed the ability to read, listen, call on expert witnesses and learn. The case thereby transformed itself - not only with respect to the accused, but also with respect to that part of the Internet which could be classed "German" - from a Greek tragedy to a happy end: The initial mistakes were overcome, truth conquered and the value inherent in any legal proceeding subject to the rule of law with the right to request motions to hear evidence and appeal procedures was impressively confirmed. Upon closer analysis, however, there was more at stake in the present case: The reason for attempting to convict Felix Somm was not what some case commentators called the Bavarian electioneering campaign, but rather the lacking acceptance of the fact, even in our society today, that the Internet cannot be controlled on the national level. The original indictment and the conviction at first instance in the "CompuServe Case" can be seen as the attempt of our society to suppress the feeling of unconsciousness of the national state within the global Internet, manifested in the conviction of a national hostage - in the shape of Felix Somm - who according to the indictment should have filtered out criminal contents originating in the USA and reaching German Internet users. This helps explain the approval which the proceedings and the first instance judgment received among certain superficial observers of the case. However, the expert witnesses involved in the regional court proceedings clearly confirmed that such filtering solutions are not possible in the cases of Internet access and network providers and that the legislative decision taken in §5 subs. 3 Teleservices Act is correct, under which Internet access providers in particular are not criminally responsible for the transferred data (cf. for more detail Sieber, Verantwortlichkeit im Internet 1999). The acquittal of Felix Somm therefore - going beyond the individual aspect of rehabilitation of the accused - furthermore shows clearly the failure of national solutions intended to protect the German part of the Internet with a virtual wall against harmful contents from abroad. In this aspect lies the general importance of the case, which caused a sensation worldwide. The obvious failure of national blocking strategies should not, however, be understood as a capitulation of Internet law. Rather it offers us the opportunity to henceforth pursue effective measures instead of absurd alibi solutions. To this end, three aspects are of particular importance: * The prevention of punishable and illegal contents as well as other crime on the Internet firstly requires a much closer international co-operation particularly in the domain of criminal justice. Worldwide minimum standards of substantive law and internationally functioning co-operation procedures are necessary. Politicians must end their complaining about the difficulties of international legal harmonisation, which often serves merely as an alibi for inactivity and national narrow-mindedness. The "CompuServe Case" clearly shows that in the Internet domain, there are no alternatives to international legal harmonisation and international co-operation. * An effective fight against Internet crime also requires - as opposed to the hitherto confrontation - a better co-operation between law enforcement authorities and the Internet industry. The law enforcement agencies and the Internet industry must recognize their common interest in the prevention of illegal contents in the Internet. They are natural allies, who can only experience success together, in tandem: law enforcement agencies require the co-operation of the Internet industry particularly with respect to the speedy detection of criminal offenders in the international context; the Internet industry is dependent in many instances on the monopoly on power of law enforcement authorities for the prevention and detection of crime on the Internet. Effort is therefore required of both sides: the judiciary must understand the technical difficulties caused by a control of the Internet by industry. Moreover, the Internet industry should not lean back complacently in the light of this judgment, but rather should - within the scope of existing data privacy laws - support law enforcement authorities in the fight against crime on the Internet in such a way even as to go beyond their obligations under law. If this co-operation does not develop on a voluntary basis, the question of legal regulation will quickly arise, covering e.g. duties on the part of Internet providers of data storage, identification and information. * Furthermore, the users of the Internet must also take on more personal responsibility. Within the domain of material harmful to minors, parents should become more pro-active, e.g. by educating their children of the dangers and using appropriate software products. With respect to the prevention of child pornography, hotlines (including private hotlines) can play a part by accepting the particular reports and passing them on to the relevant providers. Similarly, deception on the Internet can be contained by increased educational measures - e.g. in the form of information sites or hotlines from consumer protection groups - and private security measures. In this way the role of the state will be changed in many areas of the Internet: frequently it will be no longer capable of directly protecting its citizens but merely of creating the instruments with which citizens can take their protection into their own hands. As a result, the acquittal of Felix Somm means not only the rehabilitation of an innocent citizen who was made a national hostage in the international Internet. Rather the case must also be seen as an opportunity to abandon absurd alibi solutions and replace the unnecessary confrontation between law enforcement and the Internet industry with an effective co-operation. The solutions of the next millennium demand internationalisation, co-operation and an increased responsibility on the part of the citizen. The point in issue - reduced to its basics - is the need to develop a new culture of responsibility for the new Millennium. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber is Ordinarius in the Professorial Chair for Criminal Law, Criminal Procedural Law, Information Law and Legal Informatics at the University of Würzburg. He is author of the recently published book "Verantwortlichkeit im Internet" (C.H. Beck Verlag, Munich 1999) and was part of the defence team for Felix Somm; for more details see >. * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Fri Nov 19 02:22:24 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id CAA91792; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 02:19:20 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1305.mail.yahoo.com (web1305.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.155]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id CAA91784 for ; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 02:19:17 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991118161915.2432.rocketmail@web1305.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1305.mail.yahoo.com; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 03:19:15 EST Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 03:19:15 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: positions with ICRA Europe To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@whois.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello all In case any of you are interested, below are a couple of jobs that were recently advertised for the Internet Content Rating Association and will be based in Europe. They are Director, ICRA Europe and System Development Manager. For more information on ICRA, see the ICRA web site at http://www.icra.org. Cheers David The Internet Content Rating Association is hiring two key staff to form the nucleus of the expanded ICRA, Europe office due to begin work in January 2000. Please see the ads below. You can view the job descriptions and person specifications on our web site at http://www.icra.org. If you are interested in applying, please contact me at sbalkam@icra.org. Otherwise, please pass this on to anyone you feel should apply (no phone inquiries, please). Here are the ads: Director, ICRA Europe The Internet Content Rating Association, an international, non-profit organization, is seeking a highly motivated Director to lead a small team and a range of external partners in an ambitious 18-month + project. ICRA plans to develop an internationally acceptable content rating system on the Internet and requires an experienced manager with keen people and technology skills to deliver a multi-faceted and demanding work program. Success in this first stage could lead to further 30 month funding. For further information, see the ICRA web site at: www.icra.org and submit your C.V. and letter of application via e-mail to Stephen Balkam, Executive Director at: sbalkam@icra.org. System Development Manager The Internet Content Rating Association, an international, non-profit organization, is seeking a highly motivated Systems Development Manager to work within a small team and a range of external partners in an ambitious 18-month + project. ICRA plans to develop an internationally acceptable content rating system on the Internet and requires an experienced manager with exceptional technology skills to help design, create and implement the new system. Success in this first stage could lead to further 30 month funding. For further information, see the ICRA web site at: www.icra.org and submit your C.V. and letter of application via e-mail to Stephen Balkam, Executive Director at: sbalkam@icra.org Stephen Balkam Executive Director Internet Content Rating Association web: www.icra.org ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Fri Nov 19 22:55:47 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA99879; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 22:55:37 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1304.mail.yahoo.com (web1304.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.154]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id WAA99731 for ; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 22:41:40 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991119124026.29501.rocketmail@web1304.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1304.mail.yahoo.com; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 23:40:26 EST Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 23:40:26 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: The Register ~ Safe Internet Foundation launches To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello All Below is an article on the Safe Internet Foundation, which will be producing a SIF Suite. It will consist of a package of solutions to protect against illegal information, viruses, the abuse of personal information, and fraudulent payments. The article is available at http://www.theregister.co.uk/991118-000017.html. Cheers David Posted 18/11/99 11:02am by Graham Lea in the Netherlands Safe Internet Foundation launches The Safe Internet Foundation (SIF) was launched yesterday at Keukenhof, the tulip capital of the Netherlands, as an initiative of the Dutch Internet Society. The original idea came from Jan Baan, founder of the Baan Company, but now running the Vanenburg Group (which has 2,000 employees, he said). Baan is the chairman of SIF and appears to be its backer, but financial details were not made available. Apparently the Dutch Road Safety Foundation also wanted to encourage the business world to develop safe Internet solutions - presumably they think that any highway, including the Internet Highway, is part of their remit. SiIF says it will be producing a SIF Suite, which will consist of a package of solutions to protect against illegal information, viruses, the abuse of personal information, and fraudulent payments. A questioner asked whether SIF was being abused when it became known that the first and so far only product in the SIF Suite is ClickChoice's MyFilter. It just happens that ClickChoice Europe is a Vanenburg company, with Baan's son Paul playing a prominent role. ClickChoice's Web site invites the downloading of the product, but The Register was told by the ClickChoice's US office in Georgia that the product will probably not be available until next year -- for the US and Canada only, apparently. It is now in a limited beta. Since the product is free, the revenue is apparently to come from selling demographic information derived from consumer registrations. However, ClickChoice says that the only personal identifiable information collected will be the email address, and that this "will not be shared outside of ClickChoice, unless required by law". We were told by the US company that they felt there was a sufficient market for anonymous demographic information to enable "marketeers to offer tailored advertising based on these user profiles". There is an opt-out possibility, but you would have thought that a pukka organisation would have an opt-in policy. Is it reassuring to know that its privacy policy guidelines were based "on the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission, the European Community [sic] Policy Directive in October 1998, and the privacy principles of TRUSTe and BBC OnLine"? It is suggested that the advertisers ("carefully selected partners") will be organisations like those with a news site giving information about a local concert, or information about a new book available in a local store. But could it not also be soul-saving religious messages, hard-sells for consumer products involving credit, and begging letters from charities? In the fullness of time, no doubt all will be revealed. ClickChoice will work in an extraordinary way in that it will combine technology with human intervention. When a previously unclassified Web site is visited, a rapid response system will be sent "to the community" (sounds like censors to us) and be put at the top of the list of URLs to be categorised. If it's "racism, drugs, pornography, swearing, dependency, drugs or sects", then access will be denied to the original requester. An early ClickChoice user is to be the Safe America Foundation which is also, as it happens, based in Georgia and is concerned with several areas of safety, including technology. The approach described by Len Pagano, its president, was better education of parents, and they go about it in a big way. MTV has given them $500,000 of media time, and with a Wal-Mart promotion, they reached 90 million people in America. Monique de Vries, the Secretary of State for Transport and Public Works was to have declared the Safe Internet Foundation launched, but it was perhaps fortunate that her presence was required in parliament, perhaps to deal with a demonstration outside the Dutch parliament over noise levels at Schiphol airport. Had she had to do the launch, by clicking a screen and entering some data, she would have had the same embarrassment that befell her substitute and the meeting chairman, Professor Marcel Creemers. It was pretty clear that so far as the Internet was concerned, those who can do, and those who can't talk about it. This was crystallised in the most perceptive remark of the day from Han de Ruiter, vp of electronic commerce at ABN AMRO Bank, who observed that "we are talking too much, and not doing enough". Jaw jaw is a very Dutch failing, where the Polder Model decrees that in the purple (red/blue, with a soupcon of D66) parliamentary coalition, everything is much discussed and controlled. Baan evidently sees the SIF as a dyke across the polder, and a basis for the virtual society where money, money, money had been replaced by speed, speed, speed. He also related how former Israeli PM Simon Peres had told him that "Bill Gates is considered president of America, not Bill Clinton". Jan Prins, director of the Dutch Internet Society said he would not use PowerPoint slides, as they were "a terrific way to deliver a poor speech". His heart was also in the right place, since he analogised between Guinness and the Internet being both good for you. It was interesting that he and speakers other than Baan put emphasis on issues like the security of payments, the protection of privacy, and a healthy distrust of government. His preference was for self-regulation, rather than government interference. Prins rather set-up Frans de Bruine of the European Commission DGXIII, who did use PowerPoint slides. He quoted The new Finnish DGXIII commissioner, who said in his interview by the European Parliament that "I favour self-regulation by service providers, rather than excessive regulation. The commission was looking at safety for children, for consumers, for business, and safe technology." A legal regulatory framework for the Internet was impossible, he suggested, but harmonisation was on the menu as usual. Ton Jensen, director of SIF wound it up. He was previously with Baan as VP of marketing, before moving to a similar job at Vanenburg. Next year, a similar foundation is apparently to be set up in the UK with a conference in November, with additional plans for expansion to Germany, Spain and France. The nearer-term objective is to get 100 international members and 50 Dutch members paying NLG10,000 (about $5,000). Jensen made it clear in response to a question about ClickChoice that rival products would be promoted equally, but ClickChoice was seen to be an initiative-taker. Hella Voute-Droste, a VVD (liberal) party MP asked whether the Foundation was a camouflage for the further development of ClickChoice. Baan huffily commented that he hadn't mentioned ClickChoice in his presentation, and launched into a tirade as to how "We're far too afraid [in the Netherlands], with no capital and no guts to get things going. Silicon Valley is one second away, not nine hours." Pagano sprang to his defence and said that in the US, Baan was regarded as "a national treasure", but this view did not seem to be unanimous. The Safe Internet Foundation appears to have wrong-footed itself with its promotion of ClickChoice, especially as it is not even available. Perhaps it would be wise to put the SIF Suite programme on hold until some choices can be offered. ® ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Fri Nov 19 23:29:52 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA99879; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 22:55:37 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1304.mail.yahoo.com (web1304.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.154]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id WAA99731 for ; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 22:41:40 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991119124026.29501.rocketmail@web1304.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1304.mail.yahoo.com; Fri, 19 Nov 1999 23:40:26 EST Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 23:40:26 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: The Register ~ Safe Internet Foundation launches To: "Mailing List" APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello All Below is an article on the Safe Internet Foundation, which will be producing a SIF Suite. It will consist of a package of solutions to protect against illegal information, viruses, the abuse of personal information, and fraudulent payments. The article is available at http://www.theregister.co.uk/991118-000017.html. Cheers David Posted 18/11/99 11:02am by Graham Lea in the Netherlands Safe Internet Foundation launches The Safe Internet Foundation (SIF) was launched yesterday at Keukenhof, the tulip capital of the Netherlands, as an initiative of the Dutch Internet Society. The original idea came from Jan Baan, founder of the Baan Company, but now running the Vanenburg Group (which has 2,000 employees, he said). Baan is the chairman of SIF and appears to be its backer, but financial details were not made available. Apparently the Dutch Road Safety Foundation also wanted to encourage the business world to develop safe Internet solutions - presumably they think that any highway, including the Internet Highway, is part of their remit. SiIF says it will be producing a SIF Suite, which will consist of a package of solutions to protect against illegal information, viruses, the abuse of personal information, and fraudulent payments. A questioner asked whether SIF was being abused when it became known that the first and so far only product in the SIF Suite is ClickChoice's MyFilter. It just happens that ClickChoice Europe is a Vanenburg company, with Baan's son Paul playing a prominent role. ClickChoice's Web site invites the downloading of the product, but The Register was told by the ClickChoice's US office in Georgia that the product will probably not be available until next year -- for the US and Canada only, apparently. It is now in a limited beta. Since the product is free, the revenue is apparently to come from selling demographic information derived from consumer registrations. However, ClickChoice says that the only personal identifiable information collected will be the email address, and that this "will not be shared outside of ClickChoice, unless required by law". We were told by the US company that they felt there was a sufficient market for anonymous demographic information to enable "marketeers to offer tailored advertising based on these user profiles". There is an opt-out possibility, but you would have thought that a pukka organisation would have an opt-in policy. Is it reassuring to know that its privacy policy guidelines were based "on the guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission, the European Community [sic] Policy Directive in October 1998, and the privacy principles of TRUSTe and BBC OnLine"? It is suggested that the advertisers ("carefully selected partners") will be organisations like those with a news site giving information about a local concert, or information about a new book available in a local store. But could it not also be soul-saving religious messages, hard-sells for consumer products involving credit, and begging letters from charities? In the fullness of time, no doubt all will be revealed. ClickChoice will work in an extraordinary way in that it will combine technology with human intervention. When a previously unclassified Web site is visited, a rapid response system will be sent "to the community" (sounds like censors to us) and be put at the top of the list of URLs to be categorised. If it's "racism, drugs, pornography, swearing, dependency, drugs or sects", then access will be denied to the original requester. An early ClickChoice user is to be the Safe America Foundation which is also, as it happens, based in Georgia and is concerned with several areas of safety, including technology. The approach described by Len Pagano, its president, was better education of parents, and they go about it in a big way. MTV has given them $500,000 of media time, and with a Wal-Mart promotion, they reached 90 million people in America. Monique de Vries, the Secretary of State for Transport and Public Works was to have declared the Safe Internet Foundation launched, but it was perhaps fortunate that her presence was required in parliament, perhaps to deal with a demonstration outside the Dutch parliament over noise levels at Schiphol airport. Had she had to do the launch, by clicking a screen and entering some data, she would have had the same embarrassment that befell her substitute and the meeting chairman, Professor Marcel Creemers. It was pretty clear that so far as the Internet was concerned, those who can do, and those who can't talk about it. This was crystallised in the most perceptive remark of the day from Han de Ruiter, vp of electronic commerce at ABN AMRO Bank, who observed that "we are talking too much, and not doing enough". Jaw jaw is a very Dutch failing, where the Polder Model decrees that in the purple (red/blue, with a soupcon of D66) parliamentary coalition, everything is much discussed and controlled. Baan evidently sees the SIF as a dyke across the polder, and a basis for the virtual society where money, money, money had been replaced by speed, speed, speed. He also related how former Israeli PM Simon Peres had told him that "Bill Gates is considered president of America, not Bill Clinton". Jan Prins, director of the Dutch Internet Society said he would not use PowerPoint slides, as they were "a terrific way to deliver a poor speech". His heart was also in the right place, since he analogised between Guinness and the Internet being both good for you. It was interesting that he and speakers other than Baan put emphasis on issues like the security of payments, the protection of privacy, and a healthy distrust of government. His preference was for self-regulation, rather than government interference. Prins rather set-up Frans de Bruine of the European Commission DGXIII, who did use PowerPoint slides. He quoted The new Finnish DGXIII commissioner, who said in his interview by the European Parliament that "I favour self-regulation by service providers, rather than excessive regulation. The commission was looking at safety for children, for consumers, for business, and safe technology." A legal regulatory framework for the Internet was impossible, he suggested, but harmonisation was on the menu as usual. Ton Jensen, director of SIF wound it up. He was previously with Baan as VP of marketing, before moving to a similar job at Vanenburg. Next year, a similar foundation is apparently to be set up in the UK with a conference in November, with additional plans for expansion to Germany, Spain and France. The nearer-term objective is to get 100 international members and 50 Dutch members paying NLG10,000 (about $5,000). Jensen made it clear in response to a question about ClickChoice that rival products would be promoted equally, but ClickChoice was seen to be an initiative-taker. Hella Voute-Droste, a VVD (liberal) party MP asked whether the Foundation was a camouflage for the further development of ClickChoice. Baan huffily commented that he hadn't mentioned ClickChoice in his presentation, and launched into a tirade as to how "We're far too afraid [in the Netherlands], with no capital and no guts to get things going. Silicon Valley is one second away, not nine hours." Pagano sprang to his defence and said that in the US, Baan was regarded as "a national treasure", but this view did not seem to be unanimous. The Safe Internet Foundation appears to have wrong-footed itself with its promotion of ClickChoice, especially as it is not even available. Perhaps it would be wise to put the SIF Suite programme on hold until some choices can be offered. ® ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Sat Nov 20 13:35:08 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA112990; Sat, 20 Nov 1999 13:35:07 +1000 (EST) Received: from gateway.ntu.edu.sg ([155.69.1.127]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA112986 for ; Sat, 20 Nov 1999 13:35:05 +1000 (EST) Received: by gateway.ntu.edu.sg with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) id ; Sat, 20 Nov 1999 11:34:16 +0800 Message-ID: <1DD1B50DBE02D311909900805FA7424B883D1D@EXCHANGE5> From: "Ang Peng Hwa (Assoc Prof)" To: "APPLe (E-mail)" Subject: AMAZON REVERSES ON HITLER BOOK Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 11:34:13 +0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk >From Edupage, so you might have seen it: AMAZON REVERSES ON HITLER BOOK German consumers no longer will be able to purchase Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf from Amazon.com, under terms of a new policy announced yesterday by the company. The announcement is a departure from the company's previous policy of selling English translations of the book to German buyers; German language versions of the title are banned in Germany. Sales of the English version helped push Mein Kampf onto Amazon's top-10 list for German buyers. "It is not legally definitely clear to us what the status of the English version is," and therefore the company has decided not to ship Mein Kampf to Germany, says Amazon.com's Bill Curry. Amazon.com's decision was greeted warmly by the hate-group monitoring organization, the Wiesenthal Center. Barnesandnoble.com will, for now, continue to sell the book in Germany. (Washington Post 11/18/99) * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Mon Nov 22 21:08:33 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA74691; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 21:08:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1303.mail.yahoo.com (web1303.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.153]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id VAA74683 for ; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 21:08:26 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991122110824.19866.rocketmail@web1303.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1303.mail.yahoo.com; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 22:08:24 EST Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 22:08:24 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: People For Internet Responsibility To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello all Some information about the PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) from another mailing list I am on and their web site. "PFIR is a global, grassroots, ad hoc network of individuals who are concerned about the current and future operations, development, management, and regulation of the Internet in responsible manners. The goal of PFIR is to help provide a resource for individuals around the world to gain an ability to help impact these crucial Internet issues, which will affect virtually all aspects of our cultures, societies, and lives in the 21st century. PFIR is non-partisan, has no political agenda, and does not engage in lobbying." "PFIR has been founded (in November, 1999) by Lauren Weinstein of Vortex Technology in Woodland Hills, California and Peter G. Neumann of SRI International in Menlo Park, California." PFIR was formed as a result of "the rapid commercialization of the Internet and its World Wide Web during the 1990's, there are increasing concerns that decisions regarding these resources are being irresponsibly skewed through the influence of powerful, vested interests (in commercial, political, and other categories) whose goals are not necessarily always aligned with the concerns of individuals and the people at large. Such incompatibilities have surfaced in areas including domain name policy, spam, security, encryption, freedom of speech issues, privacy, content rating and filtering, and a vast array of other areas." "PFIR is a resource for discussion, analysis, and information regarding Internet issues, aimed at providing a forum for ordinary people to participate in the process of Internet evolution, control, and use, around the entire world. PFIR is also a focal point for providing media and government with a resource regarding Internet issues that is not controlled by entities with existing major vested financial, political, or other interests." "PFIR is operating on a shoestring using the founders' own extremely limited resources. It is hoped that individuals and organizations who are in agreement with PFIR's objectives will be interested in helping to underwrite PFIR efforts." More information on PFIR is available from http://www.pfir.org. Cheers David ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Mon Nov 22 21:14:58 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA75160; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 21:14:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1301.mail.yahoo.com (web1301.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.151]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id VAA75153 for ; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 21:14:52 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991122111449.9639.rocketmail@web1301.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1301.mail.yahoo.com; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 22:14:49 EST Date: Mon, 22 Nov 1999 22:14:49 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: AOL News Release ~ America Online To Require Ratings For All Games Played On AOL To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello all I'm not sure of a URL for this, but a news release of interest to some of you. Cheers David AMERICA ONLINE TO REQUIRE RATINGS FOR ALL GAMES PLAYED ON AOL AOL Endorses Leading ESRB Ratings System for Online Games With Support of Key Partners eToys and Beyond.com Games Without Ratings Will Not Be Promoted on AOL-Controlled Screens Dulles, VA, November 18, 1999 -- As part of the Company's commitment to provide parents with the information they need to guide their children's online experience, America Online today announced it will require all games played on the AOL service to be rated by the nation's leading video and computer game rating system, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and will work with others in the industry to press for wide adoption of game ratings across the Internet Joining AOL in this announcement are its commerce partners eToys and Beyond.com, both of which have been industry leaders in helping to highlight game ratings by displaying them on their sites. With the introduction of this new policy, all of AOL's game partners with games in their inventory which have been rated by the ESRB will display the ESRB rating prominently wherever the games are sold. ESRB rating designations range from "Early Childhood," to "Everyone," "Teen," "Mature," and "Adults Only." A fact sheet on the ESRB/ESRBi ratings system is attached. Highlights of AOL's initiative on game ratings: * All games available for play on the AOL service will be rated by the ESRB and those ratings will be prominently displayed. Games which are rated adults-only or which are not rated will not be available for play on the AOL service. * AOL and AOL.COM commerce partners with games for sale online which have been rated by the ESRB will prominently display ESRB ratings at the point where they are sold. Games which have not been rated, or which are rated adults-only, will not be available on AOL-controlled screens. * AOL and ESRB will take the lead in forming an industry task force to campaign for industry-wide adoption of ratings for all online games, demos and games editorial sites, and to address the issue of shareware * AOL expects that it and its partners will be fully compliant with this new policy by no later than March 1, 2000 Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of America Online, Inc., said: "Parents need good information in order to help their children make the right decisions about what they do both online and in their everyday lives. With our adoption of ESRB ratings for games on our service, and our campaign to encourage the rest of the online industry to support game ratings, we hope that parents everywhere will have easier access to the information they need to make smart decisions about what games to allow their children to play Said Jon Sacks, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, AOL Interactive Services: "Electronic games can be a great source of enjoyment for our kids. We want to congratulate our gaming and commerce partners for their important support for the ESRB system, and we look forward to working with the rest of the industry to ensure the widest possible adoption of this valuable resource for parents Said Arthur Pober, ESRB Executive Director: "Parents need help from business to make sure their kids are playing only those games that are right for them. Today's announcement by AOL is an extremely important contribution to our efforts." The ESRB is an independent rating system established in September, 1994 by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) to give parents and all consumers information about the content of video and computer games so they can make informed purchase and rental decisions. Praised by Peggy Charren, founder of Action for Children's Television and one of the country's leading child advocates, as well as by the nation's foremost consumer group, the Consumer Federation of America, ESRB ratings inform consumers about the age appropriateness of a given game, taking into account both violent and sexual content. Offline retail games are rated by the ESRB, while an ESRB subdivision, ESRBi, rates online games and online editorial game Web sites With today's announcement, AOL and AOL.COM have each launched an online consumer education area with information about this new policy, a link to the ESRB home page and other resources for parents. (These areas are available: on AOL at Keyword: Games Policy, and on AOL.COM at www.aol.com/webcenters/games). In addition to displaying the ratings for all games available for play on the AOL service, AOL is developing new Parental Controls functions that will allow parents to block their children's access to any or all categories of games on AOL based on ESRB ratings. Said Trinka Dyer, Vice President and General Manager of the Beyond.com Consumer Division: "Beyond.com is committed to helping our customers make informed decisions on the types of games they purchase. By featuring ESRB ratings on our site, we are helping parents to determine what games are appropriate for their children." Said Douglas Lowenstein, President of the Interactive Digital Software Association, the trade group which represents the nation's PC and video game software industry: "As the popularity of online games continues to build, it's critical that parents have the access to the same ESRB age and content ratings that are on the video and PC games sold in traditional retail outlets. AOL's announcement is a landmark breakthrough for game ratings on the Internet and will serve as a catalyst to make ESRB ratings as ubiquitous online as they are on packaged software today." For more information about the ESRB, please contact Alison Chase at 310-394-1222 or visit the ESRB web site at www.esrb.com. About America Online, Inc. Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 19 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, Digital City Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone; Spinner.com, Winamp and SHOUTcast. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Mon Nov 22 23:53:38 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id XAA83873; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 23:53:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1305.mail.yahoo.com (web1305.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.155]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id XAA83866 for ; Mon, 22 Nov 1999 23:53:32 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991122135330.3945.rocketmail@web1305.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1305.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 23 Nov 1999 00:53:30 EST Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 00:53:30 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: WTO Commissioner in online debate To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello all >From Quicklinks (http://www.qlinks.net)... Cheers David Launching the World Trade Organisation Millennium Round of trade negotiations. In his capacity as Commissioner responsible for Trade, Pascal Lamy will lead the European Union's negotiating team in Seattle at the end of November when WTO members convene for the Ministerial Conference to mark the launch of a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The new Round will take place at a time when the challenges posed by globalisation are at the forefront of national, European and world debate. Further trade liberalisation must therefore address and respond not only to the need for increased market access but also to a broad range of wider issues of concern to public opinion at large. Pascal Lamy argues that harnessing the positive effects of globalisation in the new Round can and must be our objective. We must ensure that free trade makes a real contribution to sustainable development by addressing and catering for issues such as the environment, culture, health and food security. We must aim to integrate developing countries fully into the world economy to ensure they derive the full benefits of liberalisation. On 22 November 1999, all these questions will be addressed by Pascal Lamy in an on-line debate, between 19h00 and 21h00 (CET) organised by the European Commission. The chat will be conducted in French, English, German and Spanish. You may ask questions in any of these languages. Questions can also be sent in advance to the following mailbox : Chat-Lamy@cec.eu.int.. Commissioner Lamy will open the chat replying to fundamental questions. More technical enquiries will be answered as they are received. For general information, consult the Millennium Round site: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/2000_round/index_en.htm To take part in the chat you should download and install an IRC software. We recommend MIRC (PC) /IRCLE (Mac). For further information on configuration please follow our suggested procedure. The address to access to the chat is: chat.europa.eu.int. We recommend you to download and test the software in advance. http://europa.eu.int/chatlamy/index.htm ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Thu Nov 25 01:38:36 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id BAA83999; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 01:38:29 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1303.mail.yahoo.com (web1303.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.153]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id BAA83994 for ; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 01:38:27 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991124153824.17620.rocketmail@web1303.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1303.mail.yahoo.com; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 02:38:24 EST Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 02:38:24 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: EC acts to bring down cost of communications in Europe To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hello all This may be of interest to some. Cheers David Leased lines: Commission acts to bring down cost of communications in Europe The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation on the pricing of short-distance leased lines. The Recommendation sets price ceilings for short distance leased lines that incumbent telecommunication operators charge. Leased lines are short distance communications links that incumbent telecommunications companies rent to other network operators. These short distance circuits constitute essential building blocks for the internal communications networks of European businesses. Leased lines are increasingly used also by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to have a permanent high speed access to the Internet. The sector of leased lines, data networks and business communications is becoming increasingly important in particular with the emergence of e-commerce, and already represents about 25% of the total telecommunications market in some Member States. The Recommendation also encourages unbundling of the local loop and other measures to stimulate competition in the loca! l access networks. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/99/873|0|RAPID&lg=EN ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Thu Nov 25 19:40:56 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA82723; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 19:40:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1302.mail.yahoo.com (web1302.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.152]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id TAA82719 for ; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 19:40:48 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991125094045.12639.rocketmail@web1302.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1302.mail.yahoo.com; Thu, 25 Nov 1999 20:40:45 EST Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 20:40:45 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: IAJ Internet Year 2000 Problems Simulation Report To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi All >From another mailing list I am on, a report on Y2K from Japan. See below for more information. Cheers David IAJ Internet Year 2000 Problems Simulation Report A comprehensive analysis and simulation of technical problems around Internet Y2K has been completed and now downloaded at: http://www.iaj.or.jp/y2ktf/r01e.html Under Internet Association of Japan (IAJ) 's new Y2K Task Force website. There still needs some refinement, but in the interest of time, we have published this. This is the result of some 20 engineers spent 2day/1night retreat and discussed extensively about the issues. We appreciate their sincere efforts. We welcome your redistribution, comments and feedbacks, too. Please use them for your own analysis and preparation for contingency. IAJ TF plans to call for more international cooperation on contingency matters in cooperation with APIA and other groups. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Mon Nov 29 22:17:23 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA93254; Mon, 29 Nov 1999 22:17:19 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1303.mail.yahoo.com (web1303.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.153]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id WAA93246 for ; Mon, 29 Nov 1999 22:17:16 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <19991129121713.10549.rocketmail@web1303.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1303.mail.yahoo.com; Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:17:13 EST Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:17:13 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: Wired ~ World Tackles Web Regulation To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all A story on a conference in Paris this week which is looking at net regulation. UNESCO also has an Innocence in Danger web site that was launched by UNESCO to ensure coordinated follow-up to the Action Plan to combat child pornography and paedophilia on the Internet by supporting the work of specialists and NGOs in this field. See http://www.unesco.int/webworld/innocence/index.html. Cheers David World Tackles Web Regulation by Declan McCullagh http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,32711,00.html 9:45 a.m. 24.Nov.1999 PST Every government official worth his pension plan seems to have his own plans for Internet regulation these days. Nigeria wants a "Marshall Plan" where tax money from wealthy countries would wire Africa. The Netherlands wants to limit "commercial influences" on the Net, and Singapore hopes to convince everyone to follow its lead in restricting erotica online. To try to find a common ground, governments from around the world will debate the best way to approach Internet regulations at a United Nations summit next week in Paris. A major theme of the "Internet and New Services" two-day summit of regulators, hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is whether government pressure on the computer industry is sufficient -- or whether more formal regulations are necessary. Sentiments are mixed, according to more than 60 countries that responded to advance queries from the French government. The Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel, an administrative agency, collected the replies and prepared a summary it distributed to summit attendees. But there are some areas of agreement. Just about everyone seems to think that applying broadcasting regulations developed for TV and radio is the "the best ground for any attempt to adapt a legal framework" for Web sites, according to the 30-page CSA report. Some highlights: Malta wants summit delegates to create "a draft convention" to regulate Internet broadcasters. The document would then be forwarded to UNESCO to be turned into a formal international agreement. It may not be a separate country, but Quebec nevertheless gets a special mention. It wants more "promotion of cultural contents" online. The Netherlands' Comissarjaat voor de Media says "it is also of importance that the information is not subject to commercial influences." The country says consumers should be able to trust information they read and "certain basic principles of the broadcasters have to be transferred on the Internet, as for instance the distinctive character of the public broadcasting organizations." Gabon appears to want to restrict anonymity, citing "the necessity to name a responsible person" for Internet-distributed multimedia clips. Labeling Web sites with technologies like RSACi -- something controversial in the United States -- will be a topic of discussion. So is how to promote filtering software. "Labeling of the sites is envisaged. For the moment, only the more advanced countries seem to set up reflection groups for labeling," the summary reads. Critics say that the UNESCO summit should be closely monitored for threats to free speech and economic liberty. "The Internet community has to engage in this stuff. It has to be outspoken when things are really wacky," says Tony Rutkowski, a former FCC lawyer who worked with UNESCO as a US government representative. "The Internet doesn't survive well in traditional regulatory environments. There's probably more reason than most to be inquisitive and skeptical about what's going on," Rutowski said. "Most of this proposal is grossly impractical, especially where they talk about national filtering standards," says Solveig Singleton, a telecommunications lawyer at the free-market Cato Institute. "It's a sign that there are a lot of people out there who are determined to protect the status quo at all costs and are not adapting to the new world." Nearly half of the UNESCO summit is devoted to whether governments in "northern" countries should tax their citizens to subsidize Internet access in "southern" nations. "Far from being a global village or a planetary media, the Internet today, in all cases, is clearly dominated by a few countries in the North," the CSA summary says, calling the situation "economic colonialism." African delegates appear to be leading the call for economic aid. A Nigerian representative said a "Marshall Plan" is needed for the Internet. A proposal from African regulators -- Réseau des instances africaines de régulation de la communication (RIARC) -- wants not only cash, but more "protection of children" and more scientific information placed online. (CSA hosted a meeting with their RIARC counterparts in June 1999 to draft a position paper.) CSA's summary prepared for the UNESCO summit repeatedly cites a controversial July 1999 report prepared by another UN agency -- the United Nations Development Program. The UNDP report "particularly draws attention to the reality of this split in the matter of access to the Internet," CSA says. But in the United States, many Internet users -- and even some members of Congress -- complained about the UNDP report's recommendation that rich countries tax Internet usage at about one US cent per 100 email messages. The idea isn't new. An expert group convened by the European Commission has recommended a "bit tax" on all online communications. The UNESCO Paris summit runs from 30 November through 1 December. ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net * From owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Tue Nov 30 20:46:47 1999 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA109546; Tue, 30 Nov 1999 20:46:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from web1301.mail.yahoo.com (web1301.mail.yahoo.com [128.11.23.151]) by whois.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id UAA109533 for ; Tue, 30 Nov 1999 20:46:41 +1000 (EST) Received: (qmail 22775 invoked by uid 60001); 30 Nov 1999 10:46:39 -0000 Message-ID: <19991130104639.22774.qmail@web1301.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.129.101.40] by web1301.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 30 Nov 1999 21:46:39 EST Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 21:46:39 +1100 (EST) From: =?iso-8859-1?q?David=20Goldstein?= Subject: Australia/Singapore further relationship in Information and Communications technology To: APPLe MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-apple@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Hi all A news release about Singapore and Australia furthering their relationship in regards to information and communications. The news release is available at http://www.dcita.gov.au/nsapi-graphics/?MIval=dca_dispdoc&ID=4643&template=Newsr. Cheers David AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS SINGAPORE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY joint communique 26 November 1999 Australia and Singapore further their relationship in Information and Communications technology The Australia-Singapore Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Joint Council convened for its second meeting in Canberra this week. The Co-Chairs of the Council are Mr Neville Stevens, Secretary of the Australian Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and Mr Alan Chan, Permanent Secretary of the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Key outcomes of this Joint Council meeting include: Authentication and e-commerce Australia and Singapore have agreed to work on a pilot project for electronic certification of government-to-government health certificates pertaining to animal, agricultural and fish commodities. The pilot would initially cover meat commodities with a view to expanding into plant products in the latter part of 2000. Singapore and Australia will undertake a feasibility study into cross-border authentication for the financial services industry by next year. This will promote further development of trade through e-commerce. Development of partnerships between Australian and Singaporean firms through online communication between industry associations and trade missions Australian and Singaporean information technology associations will establish Internet links designed to foster cooperation between Australian and Singaporean firms seeking trade, investment and product development opportunities. The Australian Information Industry Association has already established a 'trading post' link with the Singapore Information Technology Federation (SITF). Three other major Australian industry associations (the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, the Internet Industry Association, and the Australian Interactive Multimedia Industry Association) are actively examining the establishment of similar links with the SITF. The initiative will help to build on the numerous examples of Australian and Singaporean companies working together to capture opportunities in the region. Collaboration on application of ICT to education Australia and Singapore have agreed to work together in developing online education content. This will include dedicated trade missions, with Australian educators, and multimedia and software companies visiting Singaporein early 2000. A reciprocal visit by Singaporean educators and software companies will follow later in the year. Other areas of potential collaboration are: information sharing on education standards for digital curriculum materials and related areas; identifying specific curriculum areas for sharing information on digital resources; and establishing links between Australian and Singaporean Internet sites to profile the capabilities of companies and institutions with online education products and services and an interest in international collaboration. Broadband connections The Joint Council agreed to investigate the feasibility of Internet Service Provider (ISP) peering between the two countries and harmonising policies to enhance the development of information and broadband services, including areas such as tourism and education-related content. Delivery of government services online Australia and Singapore are exchanging information about the evaluation of government online service delivery programs in both countries. Background information The program of joint working activities was agreed at the first meeting of the Australia-Singapore Joint Council on Information and Communications Technology, in Singapore on 25 June 1999. The Council was established following the signing of a collaborative agreement between the Australian and Singaporean Governments in February 1999. It comprises senior government officials and industry leaders from both countries. The Council meeting coincided with the General Assembly and Symposium of the Asian Oceanian Computer Industry Organisation or ASOCIO99-a leading industry event for the communications industry in Asia. The Australian industry was well represented at ASOCIO99 with many exhibiting companies and 300 delegates attending the associated activities. The next meeting of the Council will be held in Singapore in June 2000. The meeting will coincide with CommunicAsia 2000. Contacts: AUSTRALIA Mr Bob Howie Manager, Policy Coordination Office of Government Online Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Tel: +61 2 6271 1564 Fax: +61 2 6271 1698 Email: bob.howie@ogo.gov.au or Mr Ashley Cross Market Access Facilitator Information Industries Taskforce Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade Tel: +61 2 6261 2192 Fax: +61 2 6261 1385 Email: ashley.cross@dfat.gov.au SINGAPORE Ms Sher Ling CHIA Corporate Communication Manager National Computer Board, Singapore Tel: 65-322 1840 Fax: 65-7795340 Email: chiaslg@tas.gov.sg ===== David Goldstein email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au post: 5 Coles Lane, Oakington, Cambridge, CB4 5BA, UK phone: + 44 (0)1223 574 857 (h); +44 (0)1223 237 700 (w); +44 (0)7979 965 503 (mobile). ICQ: 32130305. _______________________________________________________________ We're taking care of bidness at Yahoo! Australia & NZ Auctions Buy or sell almost anything, and it's FREE to list - http://auctions.yahoo.com.au * APPLe: To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe" to apple-request@apnic.net *