Victory for the Mail! Kind of opt-in filtering for parents who want it

Victory for the Mail! Children WILL be protected from online porn after Cameron orders sites to be blocked automatically | Mail Online: "this is a kind of “default on” for houses with children; it’s just that it adds much more control for parents about exactly what is restricted,’ the Prime Minister writes. Mrs Perry, MP for Devizes and a Parliamentary aide at the Ministry of Defence, said she welcomed the Prime Minister’s plans.
‘Clearly, like many others I thought an opt-in was the simplest and best way to do it,’ she said. ‘But you have to listen when you do consultations. It is clear people think that more needs to be done, but there isn’t a majority in favour of an automatic block. If you have proper age verification systems, then I think this new system will put us a long way ahead of the rest of the world.
‘As near as damn it, we have got what we want and most campaigners are quite happy. The industry has, with a few notable exceptions, been quite slow but there is now good momentum. It will be my job to make sure it all gets implemented.’"
The Mail hasn't won this big since....well let's not mention the war. 'via Blog this'

Regulating Code: Court Approves Google's Privacy Settlement

Regulating Code: Court Approves Google's Privacy Settlement: RegBlog : "A federal court recently approved the $22.5 million settlement reached three months ago between Google and the Federal Trade Comm...

Ofcom study reveals 16% of UK internet users guilty of infringement would change after letter

Online copyright infringement: Ofcom study reveals one in six UK internet users guilty of infringement: "Fewer than one in four UK internet users that engaged in copyright infringing activity during a three month period earlier this year said they would be put off from repeating the offence if they knew they would receive a letter to tell them that their internet access was to be suspended as a result of the behaviour, according to a new study commissioned by Ofcom." 'via Blog this'

Australian coalition eyes co-regulatory content kill-switch on social networks

Coalition eyes content kill-switch on social networks - iTnews.com.au: "The federal opposition is canvassing a co-regulatory proposal to force social media networks to remove content deemed "likely to cause harm to an Australian child".
The coalition today released a discussion paper on issues of child safety on the internet, brought about by consultations through its Online Safety Working Group formed earlier this year. One of its key suggestions is to set up a "Children's e-Safety Commissioner" or similar body to coordinate "a national response to online safety". Among other responsibilities, the commissioner could be responsible for administering a "co-operative regulatory scheme that applies to large online social media outlets operating in Australia"." 'via Blog this'

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 -FoI request

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow: "From: FOI Requests: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
20 September 2012 BIS ref: IR/12/1248
Dear Professor Chris Marsden,
Thank you for your request for an internal review which was received on 20 September 2012. Your request has been passed on to the appropriate official at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to deal with.
Kind regards, Information Rights Unit" 'via Blog this'

Nominet chair apologises for trying to mislead members

Nominet chair rebuts “skewed and inaccurate” whistleblower claims | DomainIncite - Domain Name News & Opinion: "UK government officials and Nominet executives had been communicating via private email accounts, apparently in order to avoid Freedom of Information Act requirements. One Nominet email from 2008 provided to DI signed off with “It feels wonderful to work free from fear of FOI !!”
It is for this email that Fritchie appears to be apologizing. She wrote:
We would however like to apologise for the embarrassment caused to members by an inappropriate suggestion, made in an email from a Nominet employee, that information could or should be deleted by officials to avoid an anticipated Freedom of Information request." 'via Blog this'

Ofcom attack on James Murdoch throws Sky future into doubt

Ofcom attack on James Murdoch throws his future into doubt - Telegraph: "News Corp and BSkyB appeared unmoved by the criticism. Sources at the pay-TV broadcaster said the board continued to give Mr Murdoch its full backing. “The director were very clear continue to believe strongly in his integrity and confidence. What they said back in April still stands,” a source said.
News Corp defended Mr Murdoch’s “distinguished record”, arguing that Ofcom’s criticisms were “not at all substantiated” by evidence.
Ofcom’s verdict that BSkyB is “fit and proper” to hold a broadcasting licence could help clear the way for News Corp to make another attempt to by the 61pc of the satellite broadcaster that it does not already own."
'via Blog this'

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow:
"I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Business, Innovation and Skills's handling of my FOI request 'Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet
officials 2008-9'.
Note that a good deal of correspondence was omitted from the FoI reply, but is already public domain since 11 September - can there be any justification in refusing to release such information?
See Rosenbaum, M. (2012) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19...
I also note that the Information Commissioner has made plain that civil servants cannot exclude relevant communications from FoI requests by use of private emails, a point which I made in my
initial request: ICO (2011) http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2...
Furthermore, under the Digital Economy Act 2010 ss.19-21, Nominet has clearly become a co-regulatory body performing public functions, is judicially reviewable and therefore its correspondence with government (at the very least) should also be subject to FoI requests." 'via Blog this'

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9

Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow:
"Dear Professor Marsden,
Thank you for your email of 22 July 2012 where you requested correspondence (including from officials on official business that was sent via private email addresses) regarding the instigation and conduct of the Garratt Review into the governance of Nominet between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2009. You also requested all emails relating to “Plan G” and correspondence of Nominet executives (we have interpreted the latter as being related to your main request about the Garratt Review). As you are probably aware, policy responsibility for this area was passed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in January 2011.
The information you requested is attached. "
'via Blog this'

FOI, fear and personal emails for public business

BBC News - FOI, fear and personal emails for public business: ""It feels wonderful to work free from fear of FOI!!" This expression of relief came in an email from a civil servant at the business department discussing government matters - but sent from his personal email account to colleagues at their private email addresses.
I have just been provided with a copy of this email and others about internet policy sent through personal accounts. Although written back in October 2008, the issue they illustrate - of the relationship between FOI, official business and private email accounts - is still very much a continuing one."
'via Blog this'

TeleFrieden: febrile frothing in Washington DC election season

TeleFrieden: How the FCC’s 8th Broadband Report Became a Referendum on the Marketplace: "[Previously] FCC Commissioners of both parties gladly supported extraordinary and admittedly too generous and inefficient universal service programs.  These initiatives included “rate integration” that required carriers to average in the higher costs of providing telephone service in non-continental United States locales, e.g., Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  No one balked at providing “free” satellite earth stations to Pacific island residents whose governments have an affiliation with the United States, e.g., The Federated States of Micronesia.  Nobody invoked Ann Rand to suggest that rural residents should suffer any cost disadvantage for the various upside opportunities from living in the hinterland.
Now a Report to Congress somehow has all sorts of underlying messages.  By truthfully answering a question posed by Congress that more work needs to be done to achieve ubiquitous and affordable broadband, the FCC apparently is foreshadowing a broad agenda to pre-empt the marketplace."'via Blog this'

Dephormation - Interesting (partial) disclosure by government on PHORM legal case

Dephormation - Home Office FoI Documentation and Correspondence: "They don't account for the missing items of correspondence, such as the 7 December 2007 email referenced in the first correspondence file  and the additional information in the second disclosure concerning contact with 121Media in 2006 and early 2007, all of which was excluded without explanation at the time of the response to the FoI. One surprising comment, I'm told in the document that disclosing information would mean a disclosure to a 'genuinely interested and concerned applicant automatically opens it up for disclosure to anyone, including those who might represent a threat to the UK'. Bearing in mind Phorm is supposedly an advertising system, its hard to see how disclosing information about the relationship between the Home Office and Phorm might pose a threat to the UK."
'via Blog this'

Nominet rocked by secret plan to let government impose co-regulation

Nominet rocked by disability discrimination ruling - Telegraph: "Publicy, Nominet said it did not want Government intervention and had not sought to involve officials, but documents obtained from the tribunal by The Telegraph show that was disingenuous. They show that senior management privately asked officials to intervene in a strategy referred to as “Plan G”. It was developed over email, with Department for Business officials using private email addresses in an effort to dodge Freedom of Information Act requests. Similar anti-transparency practices have since been exposed in other departments. The documents also show, and the employment tribunal found, that Lesley Cowley had the ostensibly independent governance review amended to remove sections she did not like"
'via Blog this'

Book Review: Internet Co-Regulation: European Law, Regulatory Governance and Legitimacy

Nora Ni Loideain 71 Cambridge Law Journal 2, July 2012 , pp 457-458 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S000819731200061X

“Marsden's research, both evidence-based and cutting-edge, provides a broad and theoretical though clear overview of the complex legal and technical issues involved in the regulation of the Internet. In particular, this book is an invaluable source of information for those interested in regulatory reform and the ongoing challenges posed by Internet co-regulation.”

Evgeny Morozov: The Naked And The TED Khanna

Evgeny Morozov: The Naked And The TED | The New Republic: "Khanna’s contempt for democracy and human rights aside, he is simply an intellectual impostor, emitting such lethal doses of banalities, inanities, and generalizations that his books ought to carry advisory notices. He is a manufacturer of abstract, meaningless slogans. He is, indeed, the most talented bullshit artist of his generation. And this confers upon him a certain anthropological interest." 'via Blog this'

Cass Sunstein to Leave Top Regulatory Post - NYTimes.com

Cass Sunstein to Leave Top Regulatory Post - NYTimes.com: "In returning to Harvard Law School, Mr. Sunstein will direct the new Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy. The White House said Boris Bershteyn, the budget office’s general counsel, will serve as interim regulatory chief." 'via Blog this'

Kroes consultation won't call it "net neutrality"

EUROPA - Press Releases - Digital Agenda: Commission opens public consultation on preservation of the open internet (net neutrality): "Input is sought from all interested public and private parties, including fixed and mobile internet service providers, Internet content and application providers (including comparison websites), equipment manufacturers, transit providers, investors, public authorities, consumers and their associations. The responses to this consultation will be crucial input for the Commission's planned recommendations - in 2013...
Neelie Kroes said: "Today there is a lack of effective consumer choice when it comes to internet offers. I will use this consultation to help prepare recommendations that will generate more real choices and end the net neutrality waiting game in Europe. Input from this consultation will help turn BEREC's findings into practical recommendations."" 'via Blog this'

Trails: Cyber-censorship in Norway

Trails: Cyber-censorship in Norway: Excellent summary of co-regulatory trends including "Minister of Justice, Knut Storberget, in 2008 took an active role in getting all ISPs to adopt the “voluntary” filtering by sending the ISPs a letter telling them – in effect – that unless they adopted the CSAADF filtering scheme voluntary, he would seek legislation change to make filtering mandatory."'via Blog this'

Digital Economy Act ss.17-18 Repeal

Digital Economy Act Repeal from SCL: "The Government has announced that it will seek to repeal the Digital Economy Act 2010, ss 17 and 18 'at an early opportunity'. These sections contain reserve powers to allow courts to order that access to websites dedicated to copyright infringement be blocked.
In August last year the Government announced it would not bring forward the site-blocking provisions in the DEA after Ofcom concluded the specific measures in the Act would not work in practice. The Government also cites the fact that rights holders have successfully used the CDPA, s 97A to secure court orders instructing ISPs to block access to web sites dedicated to copyright infringement. So far rights holders have secured orders for Newzbin2 and Pirate Bay."
'via Blog this'

Taking politics out of political regulation?

Leveson asked: "If you're giving so much weight to independent regulators at every stage and you're removing your discretion to a very large degree, if not entirely, why not just give the whole decision to independent regulators? That's what we do in competition law. It used to be in competition law that those decisions were made also by secretaries of state and we removed that and gave that to independent regulators."
Hunt replied: "I do have some sympathy with that view, because even though the decision I took was totally impartial, I always felt there were going to be elements of the public that would never believe it was. I still believe it's perfectly possible for politicians to set aside their views and take decisions in a quasi-judicial impartial way, but I do think that you have to try very hard, because you know that some of the decisions you make could have an impact on future relationships and you have to set all that consideration aside."
In contrast, Cable said: "I think there's everything to be said for having elected officials, councillors or MPs, as ministers, making decisions in public interest cases."
He went on: "There is a very clearly prescribed process which the politicians have to follow, they are subject to legal advice at every stage. I wouldn't be comfortable with simply abandoning this quite complex arrangement for something that seeks artificial comfort in a purely – well, bureaucratic or purely judicial mechanism."
Cable did argue that media ownership rules should be clearer so that politicians are working in clearer tramlines.

World Summit on the Information Society 2012: Geneva 15-17 May

World Summit on the Information Society: still grinding on from year to year, Millennium Development Goals the ostensible target....in case you thought IGF was the only game in town. 'via Blog this'

George Michael: I declined to give Leveson inquiry evidence

George Michael: I declined to give Leveson inquiry evidence | Media | guardian.co.uk: "George Michael has claimed he rejected a request to testify at the Leveson inquiry, branding the investigation into phone hacking and media standards "bullshit". The singer made his remarks in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning, ranting about Rupert Murdoch, David Cameron, phone hacking, the Daily Mail and the allegedly "sham" system that he claims has failed to jail any journalist for criminal activities apart from the royal editor of the News of the World, five years ago." Out of the mouths of babes? 'via Blog this'

BSkyB boss: 'I don't work for Rupert Murdoch, remember' • The Register

BSkyB boss: 'I don't work for Rupert Murdoch, remember' • The Register: "Jeremy Darroch - the actual boss of BSkyB - reportedly reminded hacks yesterday about the distinction between his firm and Murdoch's corporation. "I would emphasise that it's important to remember that Sky and News Corporation are separate companies," he said. "We believe that Sky's track record as a broadcaster is the most important factor in determining our fitness to hold a licence." His comments come as UK watchdog Ofcom continues to scrutinise whether BSkyB, which trades as Sky, is "fit and proper" to hold a broadcasting licence."
Difficult to credit this man's chutzpah, when the animal Sam Chisholm ran Sky throughout its breakthrough years in as ruthless an attack-dog style as his boss, The Digger, would have done himself.
Note The Sun continues charming.
'via Blog this'

Consent of the Networked reviewed

How non-government actors have removed accountability: Consent of the Networked reviewed: "The defense is a common one and extends to the giants of the social web like Facebook. Namely, we must "respect" the laws of other countries. This is the defense used by then Yahoo general counsel Michael Callahn when he spoke before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. His appearance came in regards to the company's surrender of private information on journalist Shi Tao to the Chinese authorities. It inspired the late Rep. Tom Lantos to proclaim, "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies."
Indeed - as 'Internet Co-regulation' made clear in some detail...
'via Blog this'

Murdoch conclusion stirs memories of his old foe Maxwell | Reuters

Murdoch conclusion stirs memories of his old foe Maxwell | Reuters: "If he had not died 20 years ago, Robert Maxwell, the disgraced newspaper tycoon, might have allowed himself a wolfish grin at the verdict of a parliamentary committee on his old rival, Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch, according to the House of Commons select committee on culture, media and sport, which examined the phone-hacking scandal now convulsing the Australian-born mogul's media empire, "is not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company"."
'via Blog this'

Handy cut-out and keep guide to audiovisual self/co-regulation

From the EU27's Contact Committee.

So with no internet, we had no porn, right?

SRoC: Slightly Right of Centre: So with no internet, we had no porn, right? "Child content locks are just one tool - of limited use.  They will prevent most incidental or accidental exposure. They will not prevent a half-determined half-digitally-literate child accessing potentially harmful content. They will not stop your children trading porn in the playground, and a Micro-SD card is far easier to hide than a magazine. With this in mind, we must question how far the state expects service providers to go in the name of child protection.  Blocking only has limited use, and to take blocking to the point that it infringes on other important rights and freedoms in the name of child protection - especially when the protection offered is minimal - is disproportionate. Additionally, prohibition will inevitably lead to the resurgence of the playground black marketeer.  Children are enterprising little buggers who will profit from censorship. "
'via Blog this'

Jeremy Hunt visited News Corp in US as Murdochs considered BSkyB bid

Jeremy Hunt visited News Corp in US as Murdochs considered BSkyB bid | Politics | The Guardian: "Jeremy Hunt spent five days in the US, holding meetings with News Corporation when Rupert and James Murdoch were first deciding whether to bid for Sky, official documents reveal. Almost immediately after Hunt's trip, James Murdoch visited David Cameron in London, and privately told him that News Corp had agreed to switch its support to the Tories in the upcoming election. Hunt then became culture secretary in the victorious Tory government." 'via Blog this'

Self-Regulation Done Right : CJR

Self-Regulation Done Right : CJR: "Denmark, Finland, and Sweden all have similar press councils, with a few varying details. For instance, Pressens Opinionsnämnd, the Swedish system, has one ombudsman at its head, and it only deals with the print media, while complaints against broadcast TV or radio news go to a separate state-run commission. But the systems function in otherwise similar ways. Any member of the public may submit a complaint, free of charge; administrative fees are paid annually by the member organizations. The news outlets voluntarily submit themselves to the councils’ judgments because it shows their audience that they are responsible, accountable, and fair. “This is like the… what do you call it in America?” asks Kjell Nyhuus, one of PFU’s secretaries. “The fox that watches the henhouse. But it is a very good fox! A very serious fox.”"
'via Blog this'

The night I saw Jeremy Hunt hide behind a tree before dinner with James Murdoch

The night I saw Jeremy Hunt hide behind a tree before dinner with James Murdoch – Telegraph Blogs: "The hiding behind a tree should be seen very much in the context of his subsequent handling of the BSkyB bid. That night at UCL Jeremy Hunt wanted to be close to News International, and to have dinner with James Murdoch, but he didn't want to be seen being close to News International. How apt, when one considers what followed."
'via Blog this'

How Vince Cable fended off Murdoch camp's overtures

How Vince Cable fended off Murdoch camp's overtures | Media | The Guardian: "James Murdoch told the Leveson inquiry that he sensed Cable was taking other people's advice. He said it was very frustrating that Cable would not sit down and "let us make our case". Michel tried again to set up a meeting with Wilkes in a phone call on 15 November, asking: "When would be good for you?" Wilkes replied drily: "Let us assume it is when a Google of Vince Cable, News International and Sky does not turn anything up. I am sure we are both interested in staying within the proper bounds of conduct.""
'via Blog this'

Jeremy Hunt: BSkyB scandal

Jeremy Hunt: the 'goody two shoes' caught up in BSkyB scandal | Politics | The Guardian: "culture department's civil service specifically instructed Hunt not to meet James Murdoch on 15 November, as the strong legal advice was that "the current process is treated as a judicial one not a policy one, and any meeting could be referred to and jeopardise the whole process". Yet Frédéric Michel, News Corp's director of public affairs, tells James Murdoch: "You could have a chat with him on his mobile which is completely fine and I will liaise with his team privately." On 24 December, when Hunt took formal ministerial responsibility for the bid, Hunt declared he could not hold a meeting with James Murdoch. Yet Michel spoke to "JH" at 5.25pm and reported to Murdoch: "[He] said he was very happy for me to be the point of contact with him/Adam on behalf of James Murdoch going forward. Very important to avoid giving the anti any opportunity to attack the fairness of the process and fine to liaise at that political level.""
'via Blog this'

Phone hacking: key claims from 'Dial M for Murdoch'

Phone hacking: key claims from Tom Watson's book | Media | guardian.co.uk: "Watson adds that as a result of the surveillance the committee members whose private lives had been under investigation decided not to summon Rebekah Brooks to give evidence in 2010."
'via Blog this'

Is secrecy the new black in IP? | Kluwer Copyright Blog

Is secrecy the new black in IP? | Kluwer Copyright Blog: "rules introduced by the Lisbon Treaty and the rising public awareness of the need for transparency might mean that such fashion will be outdated soon in Europe. In the last couple of years, relevant laws and international agreements in the field of intellectual property have been shrouded in secrecy. A very recent example is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), dubbed ACTA 2.0."
'via Blog this'

Ofcom: press self-(co)regulation could work

Ofcom: press self-regulation could work | Media | guardian.co.uk: ""Properly constituted, effective and independent self-regulation could be the basis of a new model of press regulation," Ofcom added. But the regulator said that in order for self-regulation to work certain elements of the new regime, such as rules governing membership, may need to be recognised by a statute."
Co-regulation. innit?
'via Blog this'

Regulatory Policy Committee: publishes its Annual Report 2011 ‘Improving Regulation’.

Regulatory Policy Committee » Blog Archive » Press Release: Regulatory Policy Committee publishes its Annual Report 2011 ‘Improving Regulation’.:

'via Blog this'

How seriously does the UK Government take child safety?

How seriously does the UK Government take child safety? | GamesIndustry International: "March 27 was four years since the publication of the Byron Review, which included sweeping recommendations for the overhaul of video game age ratings in Britain; meanwhile April 7th marked two years since the Digital Economy Bill was passed by Parliament, of which the implementation of PEGI as the statutory ratings system was a part. And yet here we are, still waiting for the new system to be adopted. Still using the same dual PEGI/BBFC ratings on game boxes."
'via Blog this'

Dutch net neutrality rules seen taking effect in 2013-14

Dutch net neutrality rules seen taking effect in 2013-14 - Telecompaper: "the rules on net neutrality and continuous service are expected to start at a later date, likely 01 Janaury 2013. The net neutrality rules will only apply to contracts agreed after this date, while contracts agreed prior to that date will have until 2014 to implement the changes. During the transition period, telecoms regulator Opta will develop a system for testing and enforcement of the new rules."
'via Blog this'

LCJ Judge on the soft law inherent in the Magna Carta as applied

The great triumph of William Marshall: "one of the most striking features of the Charter is that it provides no remedy for any individual affected by breach of any provision. In short, to the extent that it provided any rights at all, the individual whose rights were effected, was not able to do anything about it. If the King failed to comply with the agreement, the rebel barons were dispensed from their obligation of fealty. Yet in some strange way this provided one of its longer term strengths."
'via Blog this'

Newspaper Man: Eircom's "3 strikes" scheme is illegal under EU law

Newspaper Man: Eircom's "3 strikes" scheme: "Eircom, through Pat Galvin, its head of public policy, is recorded saying "graduated response", as implemented by Eircom "is expensive and does not provide protection or redress for end-users, as is required by the EU Telecoms package". Quite an admission. Both pages recording this meeting and that admission are on scribd.com
Eircom are worried there is no independent oversight of their 3 strikes system as is required by the EU Telecoms Reform package signed into law in 2009. But why sign up for a scheme in 2010 that was in breach of EU law passed a year earlier? Well the EU law was only transposed into Irish law in July 2011."
'via Blog this'

European Cybercrime Centre to be established at Europol

European Cybercrime Centre to be established at Europol | Europol: "The European Cybercrime Centre will provide governments, businesses and citizens throughout the Union with the tools to tackle cybercrime. Building on Europol's proven track record and unique expertise in this area, and with the support of the Member States, other EU bodies, international partners, and the private sector, the European Cybercrime Centre will make the EU smarter, faster and stronger in its fight against cybercrime."

'via Blog this'

Making Laws for Cyberspace: Chris Reed

Making Laws for Cyberspace: Paperback: Chris Reed - Oxford University Press: "Professor Reed puts forward a new model for cyberspace laws which focuses on human actions rather than the technology used. Arguing that, in cyberspace, law works primarily through voluntary obedience rather than fear of enforcement, Professor Reed explains his thoughtful and controversial new viewpoint as to how cyberspace laws should be devised and re-opens the debate as to the value of law for regulating cyberspace and how best to influence the behaviour of cyberspace actors." Should be provocative and fascinating reading.

'via Blog this'

Co-regulation key to safer internet - iTnews.com.au

Co-regulation key to safer internet - Telco/ISP - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au: "welcomed moves by providers Telstra, Optus and CyberOne to filter child abuse sites based on an Interpol-maintained ‘worst of’ blacklist of more than 400 sites. The voluntary filter and subsequent move to an Interpol blacklist has been widely seen as a stop-gap arrangement to the Federal Government’s mandatory internet filtering proposal, which would focus on a blacklist of refused classification material maintained by the media regulator."

'via Blog this'

Bringing the Internet up to Speed - Vivendi chair pleads for two-sided pricing

Bringing the Internet up to Speed: or how to end net neutrality...
'via Blog this'

Are Nominet decisions the last word in domain name disputes?

The IPKat: Are Nominet decisions the last word in domain name disputes?: Michael Toth v Emirates [2011] EWPCC 18, Judge Birss QC (Patents County Court, England and Wales) held that the decisions of a Nominet-appointed expert or appeal panel in .uk domain name disputes were subject to review by a court. In reaching this decision Judge Birss QC fastened his attention on clause 17.c of the DRS Procedure... Nominet's terms neither precluded nor limited the court's jurisdiction to hear disputes that had been brought before the Nominet DRS Procedure. and the expert determination was not therefore conclusive. Might this open the floodgates to litigation over Nominet rulings? The judge conceded that this was a matter that a court should consider when deciding whether to allow a review in any given case. Emirates appealed against the refusal to strike out the application relating to abusive registration, while Toth cross-appealed in relation to the striking out of the application relating to an improper decision. This morning Mr Justice Mann, sitting in the Chancery Division in 
Michael Toth v Emirates [2012] EWHC 517 (Ch) found for Emirates.
'via Blog this'

Gillard loyalist becomes 'minister assisting for deregulation'

Sky News: Gillard loyalist becomes ass't treasurer: "minister assisting for deregulation" - good grief...

'via Blog this'

Smug and chagrined: Susan Crawford blog

Smug and chagrined | Susan Crawford blog: I just picked up on this (well January I was in Bali...;-) excellent analysis by Susan Crawford, one of the more strident and provocative thinkers in US telecoms. Thinking outside the cable box, you might say - and as the fibre route to the home becomes more clearly stuck on the kerb with DOCSIS3.0 cable, it seems highly appropriate reading from here in Australia, home of the NGN.

'via Blog this'

Nudge as Fudge - Yeung - Modern Law Review

Nudge as Fudge - Yeung - 2011 - The Modern Law Review - Wiley Online Library:

'via Blog this'

House of Commons: debate on Hargreaves and copyright

House of Commons Hansard Debates for 07 Feb 2012 (pt 0001): an unedifying read, I am afraid, shot through with ignorance and economic illiteracy.

'via Blog this'

Peter Coroneos: pioneer of Internet co-regulation from 1999

IIA Announces Retirement of Peter Coroneos: Australian Internet industry lobby head

'via Blog this'

Australia to form Ofcom?

Copyright Agency Limited: the broadcast review produces a well-anticipated super-broadcast regulator...and a France-style production investment quota

'via Blog this'

Hot tub time machine | Lex Ferenda

Hot tub time machine | Lex Ferenda:

'via Blog this'

iurisdictio-lex malacitana: Internet en el Derecho Europeo

iurisdictio-lex malacitana: Internet en el Derecho Europeo:

'via Blog this'

Astomishing failure of self-regulation - Oz cricketers advertise KFC

Daniel Brettig on the effects of Cricket Australia's sponsorship deal with KFC | Specials | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo:

'via Blog this'

Press regulation 'needs state support' | Media | The Guardian

Press regulation 'needs state support' | Media | The Guardian: co-regulation it is...
'via Blog this'

Mitt Romney 2012 Economic Plan: corporate capture and Romney-nomics

Mitt Romney 2012 Economic Plan

'via Blog this'

Press self-regulation: dead or alive? | The Media Online

Press self-regulation: dead or alive? | The Media Online: Leveson compared to South African co-regulation, interesting...

'via Blog this'