Don't forget to check out http://www.auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the archive of the last 3 months of the news. And see my website - http://GoldsteinReport.com/ - for daily updates in between postings. *************************************************** The domain name news is supported by auDA *************************************************** ICANN Community Declares Success of AGP Limits Consensus Policy http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-19nov10-en.htm Outsourcing censorship: ICANN, Inc. insists on it! by Milton Mueller http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/11/14/4679990.html au: Domain Drops and the Process http://blog.auda.org.au/2010/11/08/domain-drops-and-the-process/ Russia?s Cyrillic cybernauts: Groups close to the Kremlin have come to dominate Russia?s internet http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc12822c-f351-11df-a4fa-00144feab49a.html NATO "Cyber Coalition 2010" to exercise collaboration in cyber defence [news release] http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_68205.htm Code clues point to Stuxnet maker http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11795076 Worm Was Perfect for Sabotaging Centrifuges http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/middleeast/19stuxnet.html WIPO Advanced Workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution: Update on Practices and Precedents [news release] http://wipo.int/amc/en/events/workshops/2011/domainname/ Online Seizure and Counterfeit Bill: Burning the House to Roast the Pig http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-gagnier/online-seizure-and-counte_b_785819.html The Case Against COICA: Legislative Analysis by Peter Eckersley http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/case-against-coica us: Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/coica-web-censorship-bill/2/ au: Turnbull holds $10m network conflict http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/turnbull-holds-10m-network-conflict-20101121-182mp.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/turnbull-holds-10m-network-conflict-20101121-182mp.html ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** ********************** - ICANN ********************** ICANN Community Declares Success of AGP Limits Consensus Policy The Add Grace Period (AGP) Limits Policy, implemented on 1 April 2009, resulted in a 99.7% decrease in AGP deletes and illustrates the success of ICANN?s consensus-driven, bottom-up policy development process. Community members identified a problem, initiated policy discussions, and generated a solution that has produced effective and sustained results. http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-19nov10-en.htm Outsourcing censorship: ICANN, Inc. insists on it! by Milton Mueller ICANN?s staff is trying to reject key consensus recommendations regarding the censorship of new top level domains. The staff's "explanatory memo," which tells us why it is trying to discard the decisions of a Cross-community Working Group, show a complete lack of interest in the freedom of expression implications of the new gTLD objection process. It focuses instead on how to lower legal and financial risks to the corporation. Outsourcing the decision to censor new top level domains to a "dispute resolution service provider" is considered by ICANN's staff to be a very important part of a ?risk mitigation strategy." ?Without outside dispute resolution,? the staff wrote, ?ICANN would have to re-evaluate risks and program costs overall.? What a startling admission! http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/11/14/4679990.html How ?final? is the new TLD guidebook? Many would-be new top-level domain registries were pleasantly surprised a week ago when ICANN published the latest Applicant Guidebook and referred to it as the ?proposed final? version. http://domainincite.com/how-final-is-the-new-tld-guidebook/ ICANN told to ban .bank or get sued A major financial services lobby group has threatened to sue ICANN unless it puts strict limitations on ?.bank? top-level domains. http://domainincite.com/icann-told-to-ban-bank-or-get-sued/ ********************** - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS ********************** au: Domain Drops and the Process Some questions we are often asked at auDA include, ?My domain name has expired what do I do?? or, ?A domain name is due to expire soon and I want to register it, how can I do this?? As part of our new ?FAQ? series on the auDA blog, the following piece aims to answer these questions by providing information on: the domain name expiry process, how and why domain names are deleted, The Official Domain Drop List and what you need to know about domain drop catchers. http://blog.auda.org.au/2010/11/08/domain-drops-and-the-process/ Use of diacritics in Czech domains again refused [news release] For the fourth time in a row, the Czech Internet public refused the introduction of diacritics in the .CZ domain system. This ensues from a public opinion survey carried out by Markent for the CZ.NIC association, the administrator of the Czech domain registry. http://www.nic.cz/page/819/use-of-diacritics-in-czech-domains-again-refused/ Roundtable discussion on .??? domain at "Telefor" [news release] RNIDS would like to invite you to join the roundtable discussion ".??? ? the Cyrillic Internet domain of Serbia", organised within the 18th telecommunications convention TELFOR 2010. http://rnids.rs/en/node/67?lang=en Eurid boss cautious on generic domain names and DNSSec Marc Van Wesemael is a refreshing rarity in a domain name industry hidebound by political machinations and the promotion of vested interests; a senior figure unafraid to speak candidly about the industry and his somewhat controversial registry, Eurid. http://www.pcw.co.uk/v3/analysis/2273240/dot-eu-domain-name-van-wesemael HKIRC?s Top 10 ?.hk? Website Competition 2010 [news release] The Top 10 ?.hk? Website Competition 2010 organised by Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited (HKIRC) closed for entries on 12 November 2010. To promote community involvement and make the competition even more representative, public voting for the favourite .hk websites from the shortlisted entries starts from today and runs through 28 November 2010. Anyone who votes will also take part in a lucky draw to win an Apple iPAD! https://www.hkirc.hk/company_info/pressrelease.jsp?item=208 is: Quality Laws for quality domains [news release] The Icelandic ministry of Communications has published a proposed a new law concerning the country code top level domain .is. The proposed new law also covers any future top level domains that in some way reference or are related to Iceland. http://www.isnic.is/news/index.php nl: SIDN launches Friends and Fans programme for DNSSEC [news release] SIDN ... is today launching a Friends and Fans programme for DNSSEC. The programme offers registrants who already have experience with DNSSEC (DNS Security Extensions) the option of publishing the ?public keys? for a small number of domain names. https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/sidn-lanceert-friends-fans-programma-voor-dnssec-1/ Increased demand for .PRO names prompts price reduction [news release] RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .PRO TLD, announced it will be decreasing wholesale pricing to accredited registrars by over 25% for 2011. The decision stems from a historic growth in the number of registered .PRO names in 2010, which were up 125% from the previous year. http://registry.pro/press-releases/2010/1118.shtml Russia?s Cyrillic cybernauts: Groups close to the Kremlin have come to dominate Russia?s internet For once, a Russian company was being floated whose success was not based on privatised Soviet assets and the export of raw materials. This month?s initial public offering in London by Mail.ru instead reflects the values of a ?modernised? and ?innovative? Russia, two buzzwords much favoured by President Dmitry Medvedev. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc12822c-f351-11df-a4fa-00144feab49a.html Russia?s new Cyrillic domain names surging Almost half a million Russian websites now use the Cyrillic domain name .??, despite it only having been opened up for registration a week ago, on 11 November. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-11/18/cyrillic-domain-names New Auction Terms for .?? Domains [news release] New terms for .?? preorder domains placed in private auctions will take effect on November 22, 2010. http://www.nic.ru/news/en/2010/rf_case_changes.html .se domains least risky on the Swedish market [news release] In security company McAfee?s yearly weighted ranking of how risky it is to visit websites under different top-level domains (TLD?s), .se is far down the list, in the 80th place. .com, on the other hand, is at the very top of the list of risky TLD?s, while .nu is in 24th place and .eu in 44th. http://www.iis.se/en/pressmeddelanden/se-domaner-minst-riskfyllda-pa-svenska-marknaden Go Daddy objects to numeric .tel domains Go Daddy has objected to Telnic?s plan to start selling numeric .tel domain names, saying that it, among other things, ?smells a lot like gaming?. http://domainincite.com/go-daddy-objects-to-numeric-tel-domains/ uk: Nominet News - November issue We are pleased to announce that we have published the latest issue of our Nominet News electronic newsletter. This is an interesting and useful source of information about the .uk domain name industry for all Nominet members, registrars and other stakeholders. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=8019 ********************** - DNS SECURITY ********************** NATO "Cyber Coalition 2010" to exercise collaboration in cyber defence [news release] Between 16-18 November, NATO will conduct Cyber Coalition 2010, a cyber defence exercise that will test cyber incident response, inter-agency collaboration, and the strategic decision making processes of NATO and its member states. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_68205.htm NATO adopts new Strategic Concept At their Summit meeting in Lisbon, NATO leaders adopted a new Strategic Concept that will serve as the Alliance's roadmap for the next ten years and that reconfirms the commitment to defend one another against attack as the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-91B635AF-D15A0B56/natolive/news_68172.htm NATO Secretary General and young professionals discuss new security challenges On 19 November, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addressed Young Leaders at the 2010 Young Atlanticist Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, which is being run concurrently with the NATO Summit. In his keynote address, the Secretary General highlighted the complex security challenges of the 21st century, including weak states, terrorism, missile proliferation and cyber attacks. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-91B635AF-D15A0B56/natolive/news_68432.htm Code clues point to Stuxnet maker Detailed analysis of the code in the Stuxnet worm has narrowed the list of suspects who could have created it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11795076 Stuxnet may be part of Iran atom woes - ex-IAEA aide Iran has been experiencing years of problems with equipment used in its uranium enrichment programme and the Stuxnet computer virus may be one of the factors, a former top U.N. nuclear inspections official said. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AJ0OR20101120 Worm Can Deal Double Blow to Nuclear Program The German software engineer who in September was the first to report that a computer worm was apparently designed to sabotage targets in Iran said Friday that the program contained two separate ?digital warheads.? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/world/middleeast/20stuxnet.html Worm Was Perfect for Sabotaging Centrifuges Experts dissecting the computer worm suspected of being aimed at Iran?s nuclear program have determined that it was precisely calibrated in a way that could send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/middleeast/19stuxnet.html us: Prospects For Cybersecurity Bill Dim National Journal Daily reported Thursday that Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., says that the Senate will not act on cybersecurity legislation during the lame-duck session, punting the issue of how to improve the government's response to cyber threats to the next Congress. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/prospects-for-cybersecurity-bi.php Dan Kaminsky Releases Phreebird for Easy DNSSEC Today marks another key step in DNSSEC deployment. Congrats to Dan Kaminsky, chief scientist at Doxpara and one of our partners on the Practice Safe DNS campaign, on the release of his new code Phreebird. http://pir.org/blog/2010/phreebird Afilias offers domain name registrars integrated registry and DNS solutions for new TLDs [news release] Afilias ... announced that it is now offering domain name registrars a full suite of registry and DNS services to ensure that both their proposed new top-level domain (new TLD) applications and registries are successful. http://www.afilias.info/news/2010/11/15/afilias-offers-domain-name-registrars-integrated-registry-and-dns-solutions-new-tlds Afilias Secures .GI, .MN, and .SC Domains with DNSSEC [news release] Afilias ... today announced that it has enabled Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) for .GI, the country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for Gibraltar, .MN for Mongolia, and .SC for the Seychelles. http://www.afilias.info/news/2010/11/18/afilias-secures-gi-mn-and-sc-domains-dnssec ********************** - DOMAIN DISPUTES ********************** ee: First determination of Domain Disputes Committee falls in favour of Bang & Olufsen The Domain Disputes Committee, which forms part of the Estonian Internet Foundation, has issued its first determination, granting the use of the domain bang-olufsen.ee to Bang & Olufsen A/S. http://www.eestiinternet.ee/eng/news/first-determination-of-domain-disputes-committee-falls-in-favour-of-bang-olufsen WIPO Advanced Workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution: Update on Practices and Precedents [news release] The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center plans to hold its annual Advanced Workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution in Geneva (Switzerland) Tuesday, October 11 and Wednesday, October 12, 2011. Further information on the program and registration modalities will be posted in the near future. http://wipo.int/amc/en/events/workshops/2011/domainname/ WIPO Arbitration Workshop Each year, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center organizes in Geneva (Switzerland) a WIPO Arbitration Workshop. In 2011, the Center plans to hold this Workshop on Thursday, October 13 and Friday, October 14. Further information on the program and registration modalities will be posted in the near future. http://wipo.int/amc/en/events/workshops/2011/arbitration/ ********************** - IPv4/IPv6 ********************** New ARIN Education Multimedia ? Deploying IPv6 [news release] ARIN is proud to announce a new Flash-based primer titled: Deploying IPv6. This presentation describes the impending depletion of the IPv4 resource and the need to adopt IPv6. https://www.arin.net/announcements/2010/20101116.html ********************** - MISCELLANEOUS ********************** Porn site confusion sees online tourism campaign pulled [AFP] The Philippines says it pulled its latest online tourism campaign after critics panned the rebrand and warned that unwary surfers could easily end up at a porn site instead. http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/porn-site-confusion-sees-online-tourism-campaign-pulled-20101118-17ycd.html Online Seizure and Counterfeit Bill: Burning the House to Roast the Pig Worldwide intellectual property infringement will not be crippled by legislation like the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, (COICA) which sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week. While this bill has been touted as a way to combat counterfeiting online worldwide, its overly excessive means will surely cause harm beyond posing a threat to free speech. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-gagnier/online-seizure-and-counte_b_785819.html The Case Against COICA: Legislative Analysis by Peter Eckersley EFF is deeply disappointed to report that the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the COICA Internet censorship bill this morning, despite bipartisan opposition, and countless experts pointing out how it would be ineffective, unconstitutional, bad for innovation and the tech economy, and would break the Internet. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/case-against-coica Congress should heed U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's observations on DNS censorship by Brenden Kuerbis Early yesterday the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its 324 page annual report to Congress. The lead story in the press has been an April 2010 BGP incident. While the underlying technical problems of BGP are well known and similar situations occur frequently, the incident is being painted ominously as a routing "hijack" that affected traffic to U.S. government websites - something which China Telecom is denying and which Renesys and Arbor Networks have done a good job of refuting. Another incident in the report, not mentioned in the press, was the March 2010 tampering of DNS responses from an i-root instance located in Beijing, which resulted in some Internet users from outside of China being blocked from reaching certain websites that are censored inside of China. Congress, which is now considering the Combatting Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA), would be well served to read how using the DNS to implement a domestic policy agenda is a bad idea. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/11/19/4683849.html us: Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee The mechanism by which the government would do this, according to the bill, is the internet?s Domain Name System (DNS), which translates web addresses into IP addresses. The bill would give the Attorney General the power to simply obtain a court order requiring internet service providers to pull the plug on suspected websites. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/coica-web-censorship-bill/2/ Contentious IP protection bill heads for Senate debate A controversial IP protection bill that would require domain registrars, Internet Service Providers and others to block access to Web sites the U.S. says contribute to copyright infringement, was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9197188/Contentious_IP_protection_bill_heads_for_Senate_debate http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/111810-contentious-ip-protection-bill-heads.html us: Senate panel passes bill against piracy websites U.S. agencies and officials would get new powers to go after foreign websites that sell counterfeit goods and pirated music, movies and books under a bill passed on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AH3RF20101118 http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AH3RF20101118 Wyden Threatens To Block Online IP Bill Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Thursday threatened to block legislation aimed at curbing piracy and counterfeiting on foreign Web sites, saying the bill is a heavy-handed solution to the problem. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/wyden-threatens-to-block-onlin.php Senate Judiciary Backs Online Piracy Bill The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Thursday aimed at cracking down on online piracy and counterfeiting with a particular emphasis on rogue foreign websites. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/senate-judiciary-backs-online.php US Senate panel ticks domain-seizure bill A controversial proposal allowing the US government to pull the plug on websites accused of aiding piracy is closer to becoming a federal law. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20023238-38.html http://www.zdnet.com.au/us-senate-panel-ticks-domain-seizure-bill-339307380.htm US Senate panel approves website shut-down bill [IDG] The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a controversial bill that would allow the government to seek court orders to shut down websites offering materials believed to infringe copyright. http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/368621/us_senate_panel_approves_website_shut-down_bill/ http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/368621/us_senate_panel_approves_website_shut-down_bill/ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/211093/.html Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb" The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA, S.3804) sets up a system through which the US government can blacklist a pirate website from the Domain Name System, ban credit card companies from processing US payments to the site, and forbid online ad networks from working with the site. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 19-0 this week, but it's never going to pass the Senate before the end of the current Congress. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/senator-web-censorship-bill-a-bunker-busting-cluster-bomb.ars Domain Dialing by Ricardo Vaz Monteiro The emergence of generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) and country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) allowed the internet browsing to become much easier and intuitive. After all, from the user's perspective, it is so much easier to remember a domain instead of an IP address... The IP addresses replacement by domain names helps the Internet to become this global phenomenon that we know. Unfortunately, this revolution that had occurred in the domain market was not followed by other markets. http://www.circleid.com/posts/domain_dialing/ au: Turnbull holds $10m network conflict THE opposition communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, has a $10 million investment in an information technology company which, its managing director says, stands to reap ''new wealth'' from the Labor government's $43 billion national broadband network. Mr Turnbull, who has been charged by Tony Abbott with demolishing Labor over the network, owns through two of his companies 5.4 million shares in Melbourne IT. Mr Turnbull's wife, Lucy, is a director. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/turnbull-holds-10m-network-conflict-20101121-182mp.html http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/turnbull-holds-10m-network-conflict-20101121-182mp.html .ORG, The Public Interest Registry Hosts ".ORG in Real Time With David Meerman Scott: Web Strategy, Domain Names, and Building Your Brand" [news release] What's in a domain name? With over 8.5 million registrants, .ORG, The Public Interest Registry (PIR), manager of the world's third largest generic top-level domain, held an intimate breakfast and discussion today with acclaimed marketing specialist David Meerman Scott to impart answers to this fundamental question. The 90-minute session titled, ".ORG in Real Time with David Meerman Scott: Web Strategy, Domain Names, and Building Your Brand," is part of a series of informative events hosted by .ORG's WhyIChose.ORG campaign -- a newly launched initiative that aims to educate marketing and communications executives about the positive impacts various domain names can have on online branding and marketing. http://pir.org/news/pr/2010/dmseventnyc Oversee Hack Day 2010 It is amazing what can be done by engineers in twenty-four hours when they are fed, highly motivated, and full of caffeine. Last week, Oversee hosted a hack day for its development team. What is a Hack Day? It is a very intensive programming challenge where employees come up with ideas and have one day to make it happen. It actually may involve people outside of the normal engineering teams (we actually had a very nice cross-section of Oversee departments) but the goal is to build something cool. http://regularlyexpressed.com/oversee-hack-day-2010/ What I learned at Oversee Hack Day Hey everyone. I am Nate Hashem, lead engineer at Domain Sponsor. Oversee held an event called ?Hack Day? this past Thursday/Friday. The premise was simple: anyone could form a team, work on any project they wanted, and they had 24 hours to implement it. The experience was a total blast and after having some time to reflect on the event (and catch up on some much-needed sleep), here?s what I learned: http://regularlyexpressed.com/what-i-learned-at-oversee-hack-day/ ********************** - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET ********************** Pair of 6-Figure Sales Totaling $420,000 Gives Domain Aftermarket a Boost Two solid six-figure sales set the pace for the domain aftermarket this week. Evan Horowitz's HuntingMoon.com led the charge with their $270,000 sale of Celebs.com. MediaOptions.com also rang the six-figure bell by brokering Aron Meystedt's $150,000 sale of Copies.com. Meystedt was on the other end of a major transaction as the buyer of Tablets.com however he was unable to release the sales price for that domain due to a non-disclosure agreement. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2010/20101117.htm .CO Registry Announces Upcoming Private Auction for Coveted "i.CO" Domain at Web 2.0 Summit [news release] .CO Internet S.A.S. ... announced today from Web 2.0 Summit that the highly coveted single-letter domain name, i.CO, will soon be put on the auction block. The auction will be privately held and only qualified bidders will be eligible to participate. Bidder qualification will commence today live from Web 2.0 Summit and will end on January 21st, 2011. http://www.cointernet.co/media/press-releases/co-registry-announces-upcoming-private-auction-coveted-ico-domain-web-20-summit ********************** REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS ********************** Vertical Separation of Telecommunications Networks: Evidence from Five Countries by Robert W. Crandall, Jeffrey A. Eisenach, and Robert E. Litan The widespread adoption of mandatory unbundling in telecommunications markets has led to growing interest in mandatory ?functional separation,? i.e., separation of upstream network operations from downstream retail operations. Since 2002, vertical separation has been implemented in five OECD countries: Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In 2008, the International Telecommunications Union noted ?a tremendous amount of interest? in functional separation around the world; and, in April 2009, the European Parliament held its second reading on a new regulatory framework that embraces functional separation as an ?exceptional measure.? http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/pubs/v62/no3/7- CRANDALL_FINAL.pdf The Sound of Money: Copyright, Royalties, and Creative "Progress" in the Digital Music Revolution by Armen Boyajian Academics and popular critics alike want to distill, reform, or altogether destroy U.S. copyright law as we know it. Much of this stems from animosity toward the old-guard record industry?s alleged practices of overcharging consumers, underpaying royalties to artists, and suing teenagers and grandmas. But what those calling for reform all seem to neglect is a tiny but inevitable fact: for the first time in history, composers and recording artists can keep their copyrights. http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/pubs/v62/no3/10- BOYAJIAN_FINAL.pdf The Effect of Content on Global Internet Adoption by V. Brian Viard & Nicholas Economides [NET Institute Working Paper] Abstract: We test the effect of content availability on Internet adoption across countries. Controlling for the endogeneity of content with respect to the installed base of Internet users and a host of demographic, economic and infrastructure factors, content has a statistically and economically significant effect. Since content is more easily and quickly altered than these other factors, our results suggest that policies promoting content creation will positively affect Internet diffusion even in the short run. Our results also suggest that, given its ubiquity, Internet content is a useful tool to affect social change across countries. Content has a greater effect on adoption in countries with more disparate languages, consistent with its use to overcome linguistic isolation, and in countries with international Internet gateways, suggesting the importance of infrastructure to deliver content. http://ssrn.com/abstract=1709806 ********************** INTERNET USE ********************** Icon Aims To Make Net Advertising More Transparent The future of industry efforts to make online behavioral advertising more transparent for the consumer may be linked to a blue triangle. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/icon-aims-to-make-net-advertis.php Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction On the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh?s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer? By all rights, Vishal, a bright 17-year-old, should already have finished the book, Kurt Vonnegut?s ?Cat?s Cradle,? his summer reading assignment. But he has managed 43 pages in two months. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html uk: Government services to be online-only; people without internet access could suffer in coalition cost-cutting Britons will be forced to apply online for government services such as student loans, driving licences, passports and benefits under cost-cutting plans to be unveiled this week. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/nov/20/government-services-online-only German Internet Users Received 188 Billion Display Ads in Q3 2010 [news release] comScore ... released an overview of the German online display advertising market for Q3 2010, using the comScore Ad Metrix service. The data revealed that German internet users received more than 188 billion display ads during the quarter. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/11/German_Internet_Users_Received_188_Billion_Display_Ads_in_Q3_2010 Exploring the Digital Nation: Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States [news release] The Department of Commerce's Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today released a new report, ?Digital Nation II,? that analyzes broadband Internet access and adoption across the United States. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press/2010/DNII_Release_11082010.html ********************** SOCIAL NETWORKING ********************** Alan Rusbridger: Why Twitter matters for media organisations I've lost count of the times people ? including a surprising number of colleagues in media companies ? roll their eyes at the mention of Twitter. "No time for it," they say. "Inane stuff about what twits are having for breakfast. Nothing to do with the news business." http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/19/alan-rusbridger-twitter The Trouble with Facebook's New 'See Friends' Feature Facebook normally catches flack for making private information available to advertisers. But last month, the social networking site with half a billion users quietly added a feature that makes your private information available to the friends of your friends, which may be a much more nefarious group. A button called "See Friendship" aggregates onto a single page all of the information that two friends share: photos both people have been tagged in, events they have attended or are planning to attend, comments they have exchanged, etc. To see this stuff, you need only be "friends" with one of the people. So let's say I've turned down an ex-boyfriend's request for friendship; he can still peruse my pictures or trace my whereabouts by viewing my interactions with our mutual pals. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2032030,00.html MySpace deal looks to Facebook to gain and retain users The once dominant MySpace has turned to the company that stole its crown, Facebook for help to drive users to its ailing site. The two launched Mashup with Facebook, to let MySpace users log into their Facebook accounts through their MySpace page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11792927 Foursquare Doesn't Fly with the Air Force Checking in to Foursquare from outer space? Awesome. Checking in from a war zone? Impressive, but not a good idea, according to the U.S. Air Force. http://www.pcworld.com/article/211035/.html NZ ignores risks of faceless Facebook Businesses are scrambling to build their Facebook profiles as the number of registered users spins past 500 million worldwide, but are they considering the risks? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10688550 Facebook shows its ugly side Just a week ago, in Wellington, Joshua Simon Ashby, 20, was jailed for, among other vengeful behaviours, posting a naked picture of his ex-girlfriend on her Facebook. ... The dark side - whether Facebook, the internet, human nature or a toxic mixture of all three - is something Netsafe development manager Sean Lyons deals with all the time. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10688845 Facebook.com generates nearly 1 in 4 page views in the US In March, we reported an important milestone when the market share of visits to Facebook.com* surpassed Google.com*. Since then, we have continued to watch the growth of Facebook.com, which increased 60% from the same week last year and represented 1 in 10 US Internet visits last week. http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-dougherty/2010/11/facebookcom_generates_nearly_1_1.html ********************** NEW TECHNOLOGIES ********************** Gartner Identifies Four Converging Trends That Will Change the Face of IT and Business [news release] From social media to intelligent devices to cloud computing, evaluating how these technologies fit into an organization and their impact on the bottom line will become a critical function of the C-level executive, according to Gartner, Inc. In future, the impact of IT on revenue will be directly related to the financial compensation of CIOs. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1470115 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ Child Online Protection taken to new level: President of Costa Rica and ITU Secretary-General announce action phase for initiative [news release] A new phase of concrete activities for ITU?s Child Online Protection (COP) initiative will encourage the development of national COP centres, awareness campaigns and community forums to create a safe environment for young users of the Internet. The COP Global Initiative was announced today by the Patron of COP, HE Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica and ITU Secretary- General, Hamadoun Tour? at a ceremony in San Jose, Costa Rica. It will provide a framework for coordinating existing global efforts and implementing a series of safety training and prevention activities. http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/46.aspx au: Cyber bullying short films topic NEXT Thursday cannot come soon enough for Peregian Beach filmmaker Evette Henderson, as she counts down to the world premiere of her short film Cyber Sin at the J Theatre. http://www.coolum-news.com.au/story/2010/11/19/cyber-bullying-short-films-topic/ nz: How to stay safe online Netsafe's Sean Lyons' advice: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10688852 uk: Coventry school tackles Facebook bullying Three students at a Coventry school have been excluded over "cyber bullying". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-11789164 ********************** ONLINE TV & MUSIC ********************** Google TV, Usability Not Included Google Mail. Google Phone. Google Voice. Google News. Holy cow. Is there any corner of our lives where Google doesn?t want a toehold? Not anymore. It?s here, just in time for the holidays: Google TV! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/technology/personaltech/18pogue.html ********************** MOBILE/WIRELESS ********************** Secret Life of the Mobile User: the truth about mobile use trends is that habits have been changing for some time The stereotype is that the Millennial generation has pushed the use of mobile tech in business, creating the "bring your own device" phenomenon that has very quickly forced enterprises to let go of the corporate-issued-BlackBerry approach to controlling user technology. As it turns out, Baby Boomers -- today's executives and managers -- have led the charge. The median age of mobile workers is in fact 46, or eight years older than the average Facebook and Twitter user. http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/the-truth-about-todays-mobile-user-499 http://www.pcworld.com/article/211288/.html US mobile users wary of usage-based pricing: survey Consumer users of mobile devices in the United States prefer unlimited data plans over usage-based pricing plans even if it means paying more, according to a Bernstein survey. http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53016020101119 SIM cards to grow beyond mobile phones The world's largest mobile phone network operators revealed on Thursday an effort to expand the GSM wireless communications technology to navigation devices, cameras, handheld gaming systems, music players, and more starting in 2012. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20023197-264.html http://www.zdnetasia.com/sim-cards-to-grow-beyond-mobile-phones-62204516.htm http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/tech-tech-boom-10017860/gsma-investigating-integrated-sim-options-10021092/ Apple warned over built-in Sim cards Some of Europe?s leading mobile operators are warning that they could take punitive action against Apple if it introduces a technological innovation on its iPhone. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/db917464-f344-11df-a4fa-00144feab49a.html ********************** SPAM ********************** The changing landscape of online fraud: As spammers find their emails blocked, they are trying other tactics. Expect no respite When Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Facebook, presented its new messaging service on November 15th, he praised one feature in particular: the ?social inbox?, which would catch spam or other unwanted messages. ?Because we know who your friends are, we can put in really good filters to make sure you only see things you care about,? he said, with unwarranted confidence. http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=17519964 Dealing with spam: Vigilance, not technology, can best counter spam and the criminals who send it Bill Gates, then still Microsoft?s boss, was nearly right in 2004 when he predicted the end of spam in two years. Thanks to clever filters unsolicited e-mail has largely disappeared as a daily nuisance for most on the internet (see article). But spam is still a menace: blocked at the e-mail inbox, spammers post messages as comments on websites (including economist.com) and increasingly on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The criminal businesses behind spam are competitive and creative. They vault over technical fixes as fast as the hurdles are erected. http://www.economist.com/node/17522616?story_id=17522616 ************************** ONLINE CRIME, SECURITY & LEGAL ************************** NATO "Cyber Coalition 2010" to exercise collaboration in cyber defence [news release] Between 16-18 November, NATO will conduct Cyber Coalition 2010, a cyber defence exercise that will test cyber incident response, inter-agency collaboration, and the strategic decision making processes of NATO and its member states. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_68205.htm NATO adopts new Strategic Concept At their Summit meeting in Lisbon, NATO leaders adopted a new Strategic Concept that will serve as the Alliance's roadmap for the next ten years and that reconfirms the commitment to defend one another against attack as the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-91B635AF-D15A0B56/natolive/news_68172.htm NATO Secretary General and young professionals discuss new security challenges On 19 November, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addressed Young Leaders at the 2010 Young Atlanticist Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, which is being run concurrently with the NATO Summit. In his keynote address, the Secretary General highlighted the complex security challenges of the 21st century, including weak states, terrorism, missile proliferation and cyber attacks. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/SID-91B635AF-D15A0B56/natolive/news_68432.htm Code clues point to Stuxnet maker Detailed analysis of the code in the Stuxnet worm has narrowed the list of suspects who could have created it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11795076 Stuxnet may be part of Iran atom woes - ex-IAEA aide Iran has been experiencing years of problems with equipment used in its uranium enrichment programme and the Stuxnet computer virus may be one of the factors, a former top U.N. nuclear inspections official said. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AJ0OR20101120 Worm Can Deal Double Blow to Nuclear Program The German software engineer who in September was the first to report that a computer worm was apparently designed to sabotage targets in Iran said Friday that the program contained two separate ?digital warheads.? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/world/middleeast/20stuxnet.html Worm Was Perfect for Sabotaging Centrifuges Experts dissecting the computer worm suspected of being aimed at Iran?s nuclear program have determined that it was precisely calibrated in a way that could send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/world/middleeast/19stuxnet.html us: Prospects For Cybersecurity Bill Dim National Journal Daily reported Thursday that Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., says that the Senate will not act on cybersecurity legislation during the lame-duck session, punting the issue of how to improve the government's response to cyber threats to the next Congress. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/prospects-for-cybersecurity-bi.php China net hijacking may be random mistake The US Defence Department said it had no evidence that a large internet access provider backed by the Chinese government deliberately hijacked traffic for an 18-minute period on April 8. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3f5cc4ba-f437-11df-89a6-00144feab49a.html uk: Top judge says internet 'could kill jury system' The jury system may not survive if it is undermined by social networking sites, England's top judge has said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11796648 Tweeting and Googling threaten trial by jury, says judge Court-based tweeting and internet research by jurors are threatening trial by jury, Lord Judge, the lord chief justice, has warned. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/nov/19/tweeting-googling-threaten-trial-jury au: Court suppression stymied by Facebook The identity of a man accused of killing three members of a family at Kapunda was suppressed when he appeared in an emotional court appearance this week, but many already knew his name from Facebook. http://www.zdnet.com.au/court-suppression-stymied-by-facebook-339307381.htm ************************** PRIVACY ************************** uk: Google agrees to delete private data gathered by Street View cars Google has agreed to delete all the personal data its Street View cars collected from unsecured wireless networks and will introduce new training and guidance for its staff, the Information Commissioner said yesterday. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/google-agrees-to-delete-private-data-gathered-by-street-view-cars-2139196.html uk: Google's wi-fi data to be deleted The UK's information commissioner has said that wi-fi data accidentally collected by Google's Street View cars will be deleted "as soon as possible". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11797907 Google to delete Street View data Google is to delete the sensitive information ? including full emails and passwords ? it illegally captured from Wi-Fi networks when its Street View cars mapped the UK's towns and cities. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/nov/19/google-street-view-data Google signs commitment to improve data handling [news release] Google Inc. has signed a commitment to improve data handling to ensure breaches like the collection of WiFi payload data by Google Street View vehicles do not occur again, the Information Commissioner said today. http://www.ico.gov.uk/~/media/documents/pressreleases/2010/google_undertaking_press_release_19112010.ashx Google Launches Street View Germany For months, a debate has stewed in Germany about whether Google's Street View service violates privacy by providing images of homes and front yards across the country. More than 244,000 residents requested that their homes be blurred out of the service, which launched on Thursday. http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,729793,00.html EU Chews Over Web Cookies [sub req'd] The EU last year passed a law requiring companies to obtain consent when tracking files such as cookies are placed on users' computers. But agreeing on the law's meaning is proving difficult. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704444304575628610624607130.html ********************** CENSORSHIP ********************** Chinese Internet firms innovate behind Great Firewall Long derided as little more than copycats, Chinese Internet firms are coming of age with innovative business models, showcasing how companies need to have different strategies in emerging Internet markets. http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-52943820101120 ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** Online Seizure and Counterfeit Bill: Burning the House to Roast the Pig Worldwide intellectual property infringement will not be crippled by legislation like the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, (COICA) which sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week. While this bill has been touted as a way to combat counterfeiting online worldwide, its overly excessive means will surely cause harm beyond posing a threat to free speech. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christina-gagnier/online-seizure-and-counte_b_785819.html The Case Against COICA: Legislative Analysis by Peter Eckersley EFF is deeply disappointed to report that the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the COICA Internet censorship bill this morning, despite bipartisan opposition, and countless experts pointing out how it would be ineffective, unconstitutional, bad for innovation and the tech economy, and would break the Internet. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/11/case-against-coica Congress should heed U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's observations on DNS censorship by Brenden Kuerbis Early yesterday the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its 324 page annual report to Congress. The lead story in the press has been an April 2010 BGP incident. While the underlying technical problems of BGP are well known and similar situations occur frequently, the incident is being painted ominously as a routing "hijack" that affected traffic to U.S. government websites - something which China Telecom is denying and which Renesys and Arbor Networks have done a good job of refuting. Another incident in the report, not mentioned in the press, was the March 2010 tampering of DNS responses from an i-root instance located in Beijing, which resulted in some Internet users from outside of China being blocked from reaching certain websites that are censored inside of China. Congress, which is now considering the Combatting Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (COICA), would be well served to read how using the DNS to implement a domestic policy agenda is a bad idea. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2010/11/19/4683849.html us: Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee The mechanism by which the government would do this, according to the bill, is the internet?s Domain Name System (DNS), which translates web addresses into IP addresses. The bill would give the Attorney General the power to simply obtain a court order requiring internet service providers to pull the plug on suspected websites. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/coica-web-censorship-bill/2/ Contentious IP protection bill heads for Senate debate A controversial IP protection bill that would require domain registrars, Internet Service Providers and others to block access to Web sites the U.S. says contribute to copyright infringement, was unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9197188/Contentious_IP_protection_bill_heads_for_Senate_debate http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/111810-contentious-ip-protection-bill-heads.html us: Senate panel passes bill against piracy websites U.S. agencies and officials would get new powers to go after foreign websites that sell counterfeit goods and pirated music, movies and books under a bill passed on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AH3RF20101118 http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6AH3RF20101118 Wyden Threatens To Block Online IP Bill Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Thursday threatened to block legislation aimed at curbing piracy and counterfeiting on foreign Web sites, saying the bill is a heavy-handed solution to the problem. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/wyden-threatens-to-block-onlin.php Senate Judiciary Backs Online Piracy Bill The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation Thursday aimed at cracking down on online piracy and counterfeiting with a particular emphasis on rogue foreign websites. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/11/senate-judiciary-backs-online.php US Senate panel ticks domain-seizure bill A controversial proposal allowing the US government to pull the plug on websites accused of aiding piracy is closer to becoming a federal law. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20023238-38.html http://www.zdnet.com.au/us-senate-panel-ticks-domain-seizure-bill-339307380.htm US Senate panel approves website shut-down bill [IDG] The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a controversial bill that would allow the government to seek court orders to shut down websites offering materials believed to infringe copyright. http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/368621/us_senate_panel_approves_website_shut-down_bill/ http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/368621/us_senate_panel_approves_website_shut-down_bill/ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/211093/.html Senator: Web censorship bill a "bunker-busting cluster bomb" The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA, S.3804) sets up a system through which the US government can blacklist a pirate website from the Domain Name System, ban credit card companies from processing US payments to the site, and forbid online ad networks from working with the site. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 19-0 this week, but it's never going to pass the Senate before the end of the current Congress. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/senator-web-censorship-bill-a-bunker-busting-cluster-bomb.ars us: FCC moves to ensure ?net neutrality? The Federal Communications Commission is expected to announce plans next week for regulations that would forbid internet service providers from blocking or favouring content online. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4ab0de46-f437-11df-89a6-00144feab49a.html Peter Gabriel joins voices backing net neutrality in UK The UK government's plans to abandon net neutrality threaten British business startups and if taken up elsewhere could undermine democracy, says Peter Gabriel, the influential musician and technology entrepreneur who has backed a number of successful internet companies. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/nov/18/peter-gabriel-net-neutrality-backing uk: Labour MP counters Vaizey with net neutrality motion Tom Watson, a longstanding parliamentary proponent of digital rights, has put forward an early day motion against communications minister Ed Vaizey's anti-net-neutrality stance. http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/communication-breakdown-10000030/labour-mp-counters-vaizey-with-net-neutrality-motion-10021093/ us: Pirate-slaying censorship bill gets unanimous support The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) sets up a system through which the US government can blacklist a pirate website from the Domain Name System, ban credit card companies from processing US payments to the site, and forbid online ad networks from working with the site. This morning, COICA unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/11/pirate-slaying-censorship-bill-gets-unanimous-support.ars us: Cybersecurity bill gives DHS power to punish tech firms Democratic politicians are proposing a novel approach to cybersecurity: fine technology companies $100,000 a day unless they comply with directives imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20023464-38.html America's Broadband Opportunity: Today the Administration is Freeing Up a Chunk of New Wireless Spectrum This morning an opinion editorial co-written by Secretary Locke and Larry Summers ran in the Wall Street Journal. It explains the value of opening up additional wireless spectrum for innovation and economic growth. http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2010/11/15/americas-broadband-opportunity-today-administration-freeing-chunk-new-wireless-spect au: ACTA? Big deal. We're fine. commentary Australia has dodged the bullet that is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), but then we always would have. The treaty was whipped-up by copyright harpies as a shadowy destabilising force that would undermine the way we play online. http://www.zdnet.com.au/acta-big-deal-we-re-fine-339307401.htm ACTA to bypass unfinished EU copyright row European negotiators of an international anti-piracy treaty are rewriting EU laws on copyright infringement, bypassing an unfinished row in the EU over Internet providers' role in piracy cases, according to industry lobbyists in Brussels. http://euractiv.com/en/infosociety/acta-bypass-unfinished-eu-copyright-row-news-499765 ********************************* MISCELLANEOUS ********************************* Web Start-Ups Search History: New Firms Look at Successes, Failures of Net Pioneers When Looking Abroad In looking abroad for new users, the latest batch of Internet start-ups is taking some ideas from Yahoo Inc. and other first-generation Web companies?and discarding many others. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703374304575622831929061668.html ********************** TELECOMMUNICATIONS ********************** France Telecom says online firms should pay for network [AFP] Telephone and Internet provider France Telecom on Thursday said Google and others should be billed according to how much traffic they generate on French networks. http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/france-telecom-says-online-firms-should-pay-for-network-20101119-17zjy.html http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/france-telecom-says-online-firms-should-pay-for-network-20101119-17zjy.html ********************************** ARRESTS/COURT CASES FOR ONLINE CHILD PROTECTION ********************************** uk: Priest's blackmailer jailed over pornography claims A blackmailer who drove a Roman Catholic cleric to quit the priesthood in a bogus child pornography photo scam was jailed for five years yesterday. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/19/priest-blackmailer-jailed +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2010 --------- David Goldstein email: goldstein_david§yahoo.com.au web: http://davidgoldstein.tel/ http://goldsteinreport.com/ phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9665 5773 - office/home "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim FlanneryReceived on Sun Nov 21 2010 - 19:06:33 UTC
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