tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90441482149698830042024-02-07T04:37:44.185+00:00Internet co-regulationTo order: http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item6445008/?site_locale=en_GBchrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-68327843035693851002015-12-28T12:09:00.001+00:002015-12-28T12:09:12.956+00:00Apple makes new intervention in encryption row<a href="http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/apple-makes-new-intervention-in-encryption-row-34306497.html">Apple makes new intervention in encryption row - Independent.ie</a>: "“The bill would attempt to force non-UK companies to take actions that violate the laws of their home countries,” said Apple’s submission.<br /><br />
“This would immobilise substantial portions of the tech sector and spark serious international conflicts. It would also likely be the catalyst for other countries to enact similar laws, paralysing multinational corporations under the weight of what could be dozens or hundreds of contradictory country-specific laws.”<br /><br />
“Those businesses affected will have to cope with a set of overlapping foreign and domestic laws. When these laws inevitably conflict, the businesses will be left having to arbitrate between them, knowing that in doing so they might risk sanctions. That is an unreasonable position to be placed in.”<br /><br />
And Apple says that its own incorporation in Ireland means that the UK is trying to legislate for companies outside its jurisdiction.<br />
<br />
“If the UK asserts jurisdiction over Irish or American businesses, other states will too,” the company said in its submission. “We know that the IP bill process is being watched closely by other countries.”" <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-60156608978024634932015-12-18T16:30:00.001+00:002015-12-18T16:30:47.626+00:00The future of the IGF: mandate renewal?<a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2015/12/14/the-future-of-the-igf-mandate-renewal/">The future of the IGF: mandate renewal? | LSE Media Policy Project</a>: "To date, Dynamic Coalitions and Best Practice Fora have been the only components of the IGF structure allowing for the production of “tangible outputs”, although there are no formal impediments to the experimentation of new forms of multistakeholder cooperation. <br /><br />
The organisation of IGF main sessions in a more outcome-oriented fashion may be considerably more productive than keeping the current super-workshop format that allows, at best, repetition of the same kind of discussions enabled by regular workshops and, at worst, sterile collections of micro-statements.<br /><br />
The IGF process is on the right path to becoming more output oriented, and the João Pessoa meeting has clearly proven that the IGF can go further than mere debate. This year, the IGF has finally provided participants with the possibility not only to debate but also to table concrete suggestions. This is why the IGF 2015 has truly been the best IGF ever." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-52928457449807306492015-12-08T12:06:00.001+00:002015-12-08T12:06:10.366+00:00Ministers Reflect on Management Appraisals: Damian Green<a href="http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-reflect/person/damian-green/">Ministers Reflect | Damian Green</a>: "The real revolution for politicians if you like would be to say ‘We’re now going to treat you like a sort of manager in a company, and we’re to have development programmes and you’re going to have training and you’re going to be assessed regularly and in an objective way and your future progress will depend on that.’<br /><br />
And you get to that stage and everyone says ‘Oh, it’s impossible because in the end, Prime Ministers will want more women or more northerners or they’ll just dislike people and want to get rid of them.’ Well, a strong-minded Prime Minister will say, ‘No, actually what I want is to run an effective government, and I’m going to do it that way.’<br /><br />
So that will be one way to incentivise the ministers, and the other thing is all about knowledge, that all politicians should know how Whitehall works and Whitehall should know how Parliament works and why Parliament is important. And both sides of that equation seem to be me to be surprisingly deficient." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-79984724169689298602015-12-08T11:47:00.001+00:002015-12-08T11:47:53.593+00:00Ofcom to end VOD co-regulation on 1 Jan 2016<a href="http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2015/10/14/ofcom-to-end-vod-co-regulation/">Ofcom to end VOD co-regulation</a>: "“We are immensely proud of the work ATVOD has done since it was given the job of overseeing a brand new set of regulatory rules for video on demand services in 2010,” said ATVOD Chair Ruth Evans and ATVOD Chief Executive Pete Johnson in a joint statement. “We have done this as a co-regulator dedicated to engaging fully with the industry we regulate in order to ensure that consumers enjoy the protections to which they are entitled without the imposition of unnecessary burdens on providers of video on demand services. Under our regulation, the UK video on demand industry has grown strongly and consumer complaints have been dealt with effectively and efficiently.”<br /><br />
ATVOD says it will now work with Ofcom to ensure a seamless transition.<br />
<br />
Ofcom already has concurrent responsibility to act in addition to, or in place of, ATVOD.<br />
<br />
From 1 January 2016, Ofcom will take sole responsibility for regulating video-on-demand programme services. " <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-88186893704231936182013-06-21T17:11:00.001+01:002013-06-21T17:11:57.227+01:00European Parliament: Data throttling and the effects on social participation and the internal market E-006146/2013<a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2bWQ%2bE-2013-006146%2b0%2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN">Written question - Data throttling and the effects on social participation and the internal market - E-006146/2013</a>: "<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" class="doc_box_header" style="background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 119, 190); color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px;">
<tr style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px;" valign="top"><td align="left" class="doc_title" style="background-image: url(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/img/struct/navigation/gradient_blue.gif); border: 0px; color: #6679b4; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px;"><div style="color: #666666; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;">Deutsche Telekom has announced plans to change its tariffs and impose severe ‘throttling’ when a certain data usage is reached. At the cheapest rate, this throttle is to apply to usage from 75GB. This will take effect in 2016. Besides the issue of the announced breach of net neutrality that needs to be considered separately, the throttling itself has already led to a great deal of anger among citizens that was reflected, for example, in a petition on the change.org<a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2bWQ%2bE-2013-006146%2b0%2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN#def1" name="ref1" style="color: #ffae63; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span class="sup" style="font-size: 0.8em; vertical-align: super;">(1)</span></a> platform, which has so far been signed by nearly 200 000 people<a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fTEXT%2bWQ%2bE-2013-006146%2b0%2bDOC%2bXML%2bV0%2f%2fEN&language=EN#def2" name="ref2" style="color: #ffae63; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span class="sup" style="font-size: 0.8em; vertical-align: super;">(2)</span></a>.</div><div style="color: #666666; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;">1. Does the Commission have any figures on the current and future forecasted average usage by broadband users in Member States? If so, what are they?</div><div style="color: #666666; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;">2. Does the Commission consider the most unrestricted Internet access possible, especially for socially disadvantaged people, a condition for participating in society as fully as possible? If so, would, in the Commission’s opinion, such social participation not be affected by the enforcement of such tariff models and the additional costs arising from the volume limit being exceeded?</div><div style="color: #666666; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal;">3. Does the Commission take the view or, rather, does the Commission have any reliable figures on the macroeconomic effect that would occur if such throttling models were to gain acceptance across Europe? If yes, what are they?</div></td><td align="left" style="background-image: url(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/img/struct/navigation/gradient_blue.gif); border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px;"></td></tr>
<tr style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px;"><td align="left" class="contents" colspan="2" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-size: 0.75em; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px;" valign="top" width="100%"><span style="background-color: transparent;">4. How, in the Commission’s opinion, would this affect young European companies operating in the cloud services market?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent;">5. According to newspaper reports, the Commission intends to put forward, as early as this year, a legal recommendation designed to protect unlimited access to all Internet content for consumers. When will that recommendation be published?</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent;">6. What measures is the Commission planning in order to ensure access to the open Internet for all citizens and to enshrine net neutrality in law"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Excellent set of questions - note that Deutsche Telekom has increased its throttled-back proposals from 384Kb/s to 2Mb/s - and <a href="http://policyreview.info/articles/news/eurodig-discusses-variants-eu-net-neutrality-rule">Jimmy Schulz announced to EuroDIG that he intends to work on a net neutrality law</a> in Germany in the next few weeks...<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-39661719878939428412013-06-19T20:20:00.001+01:002013-06-19T20:20:26.936+01:00Sources: no Digital Economy Act copyright warning until 2016/17?<a href="http://www.sroc.eu/2013/05/sources-no-digital-economy-act.html?spref=bl">SRoC: Slightly Right of Centre: Sources: no Digital Economy Act copyright warning ...</a>: It's been a while since I wrote anything on the Digital Economy Act. As a quick recap, although the primary legislation to notify and ..." it's unravelling like a coalition agreement on tax evasionchrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-89616202845426666932013-05-16T18:03:00.003+01:002013-05-16T18:03:46.952+01:00Case study in data protection disaster: EOn passes customers' mobile numbers to complained-off subcontractor without permission<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">An email sent to EOn today:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Dear sirs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Have you entirely lost your minds? You passed my MOBILE NUMBER to
your subcontractor G4S without my permission? Have you ever heard of data
protection and consent? Unbelievable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In response to your impertinent email asking me to set up a DD,
please advise Ali Omar that he needs training in how to adopt a professional
email manner. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Hi Chris and thanks for your email.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused by the 07.45 meter reader's
knock on your door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Your meter was supposed to be read between 26/04/2013 and
13/05/2013, but the meter readers are meant to work between 8am and 8pm. I've
forwarded your query to the relevant department and they advised me they'll
address this issue with the meter readers to make sure they understand and
won't repeat that again. I trust this answers your query.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the meantime, I wonder if you thought about setting up a
monthly Direct Debit (DD) on your account. We prefer and recommend this payment
method as it gives you a great deal of control of your finances, as well as we
offer a healthy discount for customers paying by DD. You can find out more
about our Direct Debit policy by visiting www.eonenergy.com/directdebit. May I
wish you a great and a profitable afternoon!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Ali Omar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Customer Service"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Note that this is the same G4S meter reader which I had flagged up
as a potential burglar due to the dawn call. Which planet does this
multinational company and its idiot customer service rep actually live on? Their reply email below was breath-takingly ignorant.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEVD7s1OIS-0WqIkVxDPls2HbahVu-ye_CPzNNQKofoXNvDE-ONelfuCMrG0A17uRYJRA3hhI2nedYmheQtgPU11i0HwZANhU9w_G_tNbTbxjKQSpPC-u_vYGwKd-SquM_HIjSlaid9ug/s1600/EOn.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwEVD7s1OIS-0WqIkVxDPls2HbahVu-ye_CPzNNQKofoXNvDE-ONelfuCMrG0A17uRYJRA3hhI2nedYmheQtgPU11i0HwZANhU9w_G_tNbTbxjKQSpPC-u_vYGwKd-SquM_HIjSlaid9ug/s320/EOn.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
</div>
chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-91174303362160714002013-02-12T12:22:00.001+00:002013-02-12T12:22:46.190+00:00Food and drink firms undermining public health policy, say scientists<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/feb/12/food-drink-alcohol-health-regulation">Food and drink firms undermining public health policy, say scientists | Society | guardian.co.uk</a>: "Moodie and colleagues say that the food and drink industries should be treated like the tobacco industry - as companies with too much of a vested interest in the sale of unhealthy products to help curb the epidemic of disease. They must have no role in the formulation of national or international policy, they say. "Regulation, or the threat of regulation, is the only way to change these transnational corporations. The industry must be put under pressure if it is to change." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-32397134471392592572012-12-20T08:38:00.001+00:002012-12-20T08:38:59.419+00:00Victory for the Mail! Kind of opt-in filtering for parents who want it<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2250809/Victory-Mail-Children-WILL-protected-online-porn-Cameron-orders-sites-blocked-automatically.html">Victory for the Mail! Children WILL be protected from online porn after Cameron orders sites to be blocked automatically | Mail Online</a>: "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.<br />
‘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.<br />
‘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.’"<br />
The Mail hasn't won this big since....well let's not mention the war. <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-62257046720140279662012-11-27T22:35:00.001+00:002012-11-27T22:35:37.282+00:00Regulating Code: Court Approves Google's Privacy Settlement<a href="http://regulatingcode.blogspot.com/2012/11/court-approves-googles-privacy.html?spref=bl">Regulating Code: Court Approves Google's Privacy Settlement</a>: RegBlog : "A federal court recently approved the $22.5 million settlement reached three months ago between Google and the Federal Trade Comm...chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-43763063931468736002012-11-27T22:32:00.001+00:002012-11-27T22:32:23.725+00:00Ofcom study reveals 16% of UK internet users guilty of infringement would change after letter<a href="http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2012/november/fewer-than-a-quarter-of-infringers-would-be-put-off-by-internet-access-suspension-threat-ofcom-report-says/">Online copyright infringement: Ofcom study reveals one in six UK internet users guilty of infringement</a>: "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." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-48579422865071153252012-11-22T18:57:00.001+00:002012-11-22T18:57:44.388+00:00Australian coalition eyes co-regulatory content kill-switch on social networks<a href="http://www.itnews.com.au/News/323154,coalition-eyes-content-kill-switch-on-social-networks.aspx">Coalition eyes content kill-switch on social networks - iTnews.com.au</a>: "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".<br />
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"." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-38656933810090197832012-10-14T13:20:00.001+01:002012-10-14T13:20:32.225+01:00Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 -FoI request<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_between_bis_profe#incoming-319553">Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow</a>: "From: FOI Requests: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills<br />
20 September 2012 BIS ref: IR/12/1248<br />
Dear Professor Chris Marsden,<br />
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.<br />
Kind regards, Information Rights Unit" <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-76142398435627825922012-10-14T13:18:00.001+01:002012-10-14T13:18:02.248+01:00Nominet chair apologises for trying to mislead members<a href="http://domainincite.com/10737-nominet-chair-rebuts-skewed-and-inaccurate-whistleblower-claims">Nominet chair rebuts “skewed and inaccurate” whistleblower claims | DomainIncite - Domain Name News & Opinion</a>: "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 !!”<br />
It is for this email that Fritchie appears to be apologizing. She wrote:<br />
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." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-90896472892694233822012-09-20T20:22:00.001+01:002012-09-20T20:22:40.902+01:00Ofcom attack on James Murdoch throws Sky future into doubt<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/9556554/Ofcom-attack-on-James-Murdoch-throws-his-future-into-doubt.html">Ofcom attack on James Murdoch throws his future into doubt - Telegraph</a>: "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.<br />
News Corp defended Mr Murdoch’s “distinguished record”, arguing that Ofcom’s criticisms were “not at all substantiated” by evidence.<br />
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."<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-20207431454755296042012-09-20T15:07:00.001+01:002012-09-20T15:07:26.136+01:00Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_between_bis_profe#followup">Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow</a>:<br />
"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<br />
officials 2008-9'.<br />
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?<br />
See Rosenbaum, M. (2012) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19...<br />
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<br />
initial request: ICO (2011) http://www.ico.gov.uk/news/latest_news/2...<br />
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." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-13970289460150288212012-09-20T13:07:00.001+01:002012-09-20T13:07:28.626+01:00Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9<a href="http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/correspondence_between_bis_profe#incoming-314413">Correspondence between BIS, Professor Garratt and Nominet officials 2008-9 - a Freedom of Information request to Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - WhatDoTheyKnow</a>:<br />
"Dear Professor Marsden,<br />
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.<br />
The information you requested is attached. "<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-34303882795407050352012-09-14T08:23:00.001+01:002012-09-14T08:23:40.108+01:00FOI, fear and personal emails for public business<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19550952">BBC News - FOI, fear and personal emails for public business</a>: ""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.<br />
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."<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-76458935248578555332012-08-23T15:42:00.001+01:002012-08-23T15:42:47.262+01:00TeleFrieden: febrile frothing in Washington DC election season<a href="http://telefrieden.blogspot.no/2012/08/how-fccs-8th-broadband-report-became.html?spref=tw">TeleFrieden: How the FCC’s 8th Broadband Report Became a Referendum on the Marketplace</a>: "[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.<br />
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."<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-61385487499164157052012-08-22T13:50:00.001+01:002012-08-22T13:50:27.748+01:00Dephormation - Interesting (partial) disclosure by government on PHORM legal case<a href="https://www.dephormation.org.uk/?page=12">Dephormation - Home Office FoI Documentation and Correspondence</a>: "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."<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-11918688986724310342012-08-22T13:22:00.001+01:002012-08-22T13:22:22.190+01:00Nominet rocked by secret plan to let government impose co-regulation<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9478319/Nominet-rocked-by-disability-discrimination-ruling.html">Nominet rocked by disability discrimination ruling - Telegraph</a>: "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"<br />
<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-67610135208823654292012-08-09T10:43:00.004+01:002012-08-09T10:43:42.699+01:00Book Review: Internet Co-Regulation: European Law, Regulatory Governance and Legitimacy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nora Ni Loideain <o:p></o:p><a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=8614559&jid=CLJ&volumeId=71&issueId=02&aid=8614558&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=&fulltextType=BR&fileId=S000819731200061X">71 Cambridge Law Journal 2, July 2012 , pp 457-458 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S000819731200061X</a></div>
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“<span style="background-color: white; color: #626262; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">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.</span>”
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</div>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-86834557291025346082012-08-04T09:29:00.001+01:002012-08-04T09:29:58.489+01:00Evgeny Morozov: The Naked And The TED Khanna<a href="http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/magazine/105703/the-naked-and-the-ted-khanna">Evgeny Morozov: The Naked And The TED | The New Republic</a>: "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." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-91814710265120431712012-08-04T09:27:00.001+01:002012-08-04T09:27:47.966+01:00Cass Sunstein to Leave Top Regulatory Post - NYTimes.com<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/science/earth/cass-sunstein-to-leave-top-regulatory-post.html?_r=1&smid=tw-nytimes&seid=auto">Cass Sunstein to Leave Top Regulatory Post - NYTimes.com</a>: "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." <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9044148214969883004.post-72762717416655610662012-07-24T07:46:00.001+01:002012-07-24T07:46:23.296+01:00Kroes consultation won't call it "net neutrality"<a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/817&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">EUROPA - Press Releases - Digital Agenda: Commission opens public consultation on preservation of the open internet (net neutrality)</a>: "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...<br />
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."" <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a>chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894132626803555691noreply@blogger.com0