Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The domain name news is supported by auDA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UN telecom not eying Internet control (AP) http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6341089,00.html UN's new ITU boss says Internet should still be run by key players (Reuters) http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6150182.html New ITU head will not oppose US control of internet http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/01/15/221195/new-itu-head-will-not-oppose-us-control-of-internet.htm uk: Nominet seeks user views http://www.pcw.co.uk/computeractive/news/2172552/nominet-revises-changes ae: etisalat to hand over .ae domain http://zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidGN10096773/SecIndustries/pagTelecoms%20&%20IT/lok000000070114 Last Call for Whois Comments http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2082346,00.asp ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** UN telecom not eying Internet control (AP) The United Nations will not try to take the lead in determining the future of the Internet, the head of the UN telecommunications agency has said. Hamadoun Toure, a Malian who was elected director-general of the International Telecommunication Union in November, said the agency would be just one of many organizations involved in shaping the Internet's development. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6341089,00.html http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/01/13/1168105194353.html http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/16446999.htm http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14368384 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/01/13/1168105194353.html UN's new ITU boss says Internet should still be run by key players (Reuters) The Internet should continue to be overseen by major agencies including ICANN and the ITU, rather than any new "superstructure", the new head of the International Telecommunications Union said on Friday. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6150182.html http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39285462,00.htm New ITU head will not oppose US control of internet The new head of the United Nation?s ITU does not intend to side with those advocating less control of the internet by the US. http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2007/01/15/221195/new-itu-head-will-not-oppose-us-control-of-internet.htm Internet freedom not part of UN telecoms agency's scope: chief The new head of the UN's International Telecommunication Union, Hamadoun Toure, said that the agency had no business dealing with freedom of expression on the Internet. Asked about controls on the Internet and repression of dissidents who use the web in countries like China, Toure said: "Freedom of expression is a question of content which exceeds the mandate of the ITU, and to which I cannot respond." http://dailynews.muzi.com/news/ll/english/10032359.shtml http://out-law.com/page-7657 http://www.sharewatch.com/story.php?storynumber=293403 http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/13/1534241 http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20070115UNWillNotControlTheInternet.html Preparations begin for Internet Governance Forum The Secretary-General has decided to establish a small Secretariat in Geneva to assist in the convening of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The Secretary-General was asked by the World Summit on the Information Society, held in Tunis in November, to convene such a Forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10366.doc.htm Who Should Run the Internet Feud Continues Global bickering has carried over from last year into who should run the Internet with the new head of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) calling for a "superstructure" - which would of course include the United Nations agency and ICANN - though global critics argue the U.S. government still retains too much control. http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=12709 For want of a file, the net was lost Regular columnist Bill Thompson wonders if the net will be robust enough to cope with all the calls we will make on it in the future: One of the net's more persistent founding myths is that it was designed to survive nuclear war and to ensure that even after the bombs had fallen there would still be communications between surviving US military bases http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6263501.stm ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** uk: Nominet seeks user views Nominet, the .uk domain name registry, wants to make its dispute resolution process easier and more user-friendy, and is asking for the public's views on how this can be achieved. http://www.pcw.co.uk/computeractive/news/2172552/nominet-revises-changes http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2172552/nominet-revises-changes ae: etisalat to hand over .ae domain etisalat will hand over control of the .ae domain name to the government in the second quarter of this year, according to the nation's telecom regulator. http://zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidGN10096773/SecIndustries/pagTelecoms%20&%20IT/lok000000070114 http://gulf-news.com/business/Technology/10096773.html cn: Industry denies huge domain name loss China's domain name managers and Internet service providers refuted on Friday recent media reports about the loss of domestic domain names following the Taiwan earthquake that severed undersea cables last month. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-01/06/content_776083.htm A porn suffix would keep office PCs clean Regardless of any moral or legal arguments, the .xxx suffix will help firms block unsuitable websites http://www.computing.co.uk/itweek/comment/2172572/porn-suffix-keep-office-pcs http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/comment/2172572/porn-suffix-keep-office-pcs Hillary, has he got a domain name for you (AP) A retired judge who bought the Internet domain name Hillary2008.org in 1999 has the site up for sale on eBay. Flagstaff resident Tom Jacobs, a retired Phoenix-area judge, is asking at least $10,000 for the Web address. A supporter of former first lady and current U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he said he hopes to sell the site to someone who will boost the potential presidential candidate's fortunes. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/business/38608.php http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=3&aid=65878 Domain pulse to be held on 8 and 9 February 2007 (news release) Domain pulse is the most significant event in the German-speaking world for current topics and trends associated with all aspects of domain names. http://www.switch.ch/about/news.html?id=128 au: DCITA sourcing technical consultants The Department of Communications, Information Technology and The Arts (DCITA) is tendering for a brains trust to provide advice on future information technology purchases and technological direction. ... DCITA also requires an expert to track developments in calling line identification, telephone numbering and Internet domain names for next generation networks as well as the technical issues relating to broadcast platforms and services such as digital radio and television, satellite broadcasting and IPTV. http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;534067308 Last Call for Whois Comments It's not a good sign when the criminals and the lawyers are on the same side of an issue; there may be no good solution to the problems of Whois service rules. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2082346,00.asp ICANN's Last Call for Whois Comments From ?Last Call for Whois Comments?, a recent opinion piece by eWeek?s Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer: ?It?s not a good sign when the criminals and the lawyers are on the same side of an issue; there may be no good solution to the problems of Whois service rules. http://www.circleid.com/posts/icann_last_call_whois_comments/ Help! My Domain Name Has Been Hijacked! by Brett Lewis They are out there. In Internet Cafes and dark rooms from New York to Hong Kong to Iran, the domain name hijackers are plotting to steal your domain names. Fortunately, there are some steps that you can take to protect yourself against losing your domain names. http://www.circleid.com/posts/help_domain_name_hijacked/ Domain Name Steals of 2006 Savvy buyers found bargains in 2006. I just reviewed all of the publicly disclosed sales from domain aftermarket Afternic in 2006. Domain values are in the eye of the beholder, but I found some domains that seem like bargains. I would have gladly put up the money to buy these domains http://domainnamewire.com/2007/01/15/domain-name-steals-of-2006/ How to Invest in (Even Misspelled) Domain Names Stockerblog submits: You may have read about how the domain name business.com sold for $7.5 million, and even the misspelled word mortage.com recently sold for $242,000. http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070111/23987_id.html Wiki, The New Domain Name Rush; What The Buyers Don't Want Anyone to Know (news release) Most of the good domain names were taken during the domain name rush of the 90's. Even into this millennium names were still being registered at an alarming rate. So much so that even names having no meaning whatsoever were registered by people in the hopes that they could get a slice of the wealth some people were generating with domain names. http://prweb.com/releases/2007/1/prweb497118.htm Netcraft January 2007 Web Server Survey In the January 2007 survey Netcraft received responses from 106,875,138 sites, an increase of 1.63 million from last month's survey. Leading the growth is Microsoft, which adds more than 650K hostnames on its Windows Live Spaces blog service, while Go Daddy (+165K) and Google (+105K) also had growth of more than 100,000 sites this month. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2007/01/05/january_2007_web_server_survey.html Nominet Registrant satisfaction survey results (news release) Nominet conducted our third registrant satisfaction survey in August 2006 and the results of this are now available. http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/latest/?contentId=3494 ca: CIRA seeks membership input to strengthen board (news release) The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is moving to reinforce its ability to attract and retain the highest calibre of members to its Board of Directors. In line with modern governance principles, CIRA?s membership of domain name registrants overwhelmingly approved the introduction of compensation for its Board of Directors in February 2006. Now, the not-for-profit organization that administers Canada?s dot-ca Top Level Domain names is conducting a survey of its membership regarding the proposed compensation for CIRA?s Board members. http://cira.ca/news-releases/194.html Fi-domain name fee cut (news release) The domain name fee charged for the granting, renewal and transfer of fi-domain names has been cut. http://www.ficora.fi/en/index/viestintavirasto/uutiset/P_5.html Reporters Without Borders raps censorship of UK comedian?s "Borat" website Reporters Without Borders condemned censorship by the Kazakh government, which has removed the right to use the .kz suffix (equivalent to .uk) from two websites it finds troublesome, including that of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, or "Borat". http://www.rsf.org/print.php3?id_article=15919 Another Triple-X Shot For ICANN ICANN is considering a proposal for a .xxx TLD. It's a situation that has been on again off again for more than six years. http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3653756 Beckham deal sparks cyber-squatting frenzy David Beckham's proposed move from Real Madrid to the Los Angeles Galaxy football team has sparked a rush to buy up relevant internet domain names. http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2172486/beckham-deal-sparks Beckham's US move sparks domain name frenzy With the recent news that David Beckham is to head to the footballing backwater that is the US Major Soccer League, opportunists have been snapping up domain names related to the news. http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/362462/beckham-s-us-move-sparks-domain-name-frenzy.html http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070113-092118-6307r http://dailyindia.com/show/103009.php/Becks-Galaxy-gazing-triggers-mad-rush-for-cyberspace-domain-names! Dell sues family of typo-squatters Dell has filed a legal complaint in the US against websites using misspelled versions of its domain name to attract buyers. http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2172472/dell-sues-cybersquatting *************** RESEARCH PAPERS *************** Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview (Pew news release) A social networking site is an online place where a user can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users. In the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users. More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites, according to a new national survey of teenagers conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The survey also finds that older teens, particularly girls, are more likely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites are primarily places to reinforce pre-existing friendships; for boys, the networks also provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends. http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/198/report_display.asp The Action Bias in American Law: Internet Jurisdiction and the Triumph of Zippo Dot Com by RICHARD K. GREENSTEIN (Temple Law Review) Abstract: American law reflects the stories we tell ourselves about who we are as a nation. To illustrate the effect of America's stories on the law, I identify and describe in this essay a particular characteristic of American law: an "actionbias" - a propensity to bestow disproportionately greater legal significance upon affirmative acts than on failures to act - and I argue that this bias reflects, in turn, a powerful myth at the core of the self-image of the United States, a myth I call the "Immigrant's Tale". To illustrate this thesis, I give a number of instances of the action bias, but focus primarily on the career of an important federal district court decision: Zippo Manufacturing Company v. Zippo Dot Com, the case that formulated the framework now used almost universally in the determination of personal jurisdiction in Internet cases. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=939075 Censorship by Proxy: The First Amendment, Internet Intermediaries, and the Problem of the Weakest Link by SETH F. KREIMER (University of Pennsylvania Law Review) Abstract: The rise of the Internet has changed the First Amendment drama, for governments confront technical and political obstacles to sanctioning either speakers or listeners in cyberspace. Faced with these challenges, regulators have fallen back on alternatives, predicated on the fact that, in contrast to the usual free expression scenario, the Internet is not dyadic. The Internet's resistance to direct regulation of speakers and listeners rests on a complex chain of connections, and emerging regulatory mechanisms have begun to focus on the weak links in that chain. Rather than attacking speakers or listeners directly, governments have sought to enlist private actors within the chain as proxy censors to control the flow of information. Some commentators have celebrated such indirect methods of governmental control as salutary responses to threatening cyberanarchy. This Article takes a more jaundiced view of these developments: I begin by mapping the ubiquity of efforts to enlist Internet intermediaries as proxy censors. I emphasize the dangers to free expression that are likely to arise from attempts to target weak links in the chain of Internet communications and cast doubt on the claim that market mechanisms can be relied upon to dispel them. I then proceed to explore the doctrinal resources that can meet those dangers. The gambit of enlisting the private sector to establish a system to control expression is not new in the United States. I argue that the First Amendment doctrines developed in response to the last such focused effort, during the McCarthy era, provide a series of useful starting points for a First Amendment doctrine to protect the weak links of the Internet. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=948226 Governing Cyberspace by DAVID G. POST (Wayne Law Review) Abstract: What is the source of those law(s) that will govern our interactions in cyberspace? What body of rules will participants in cyberspace transactions consult to determine their substantive obligations and who is to make those rules? This paper sketches out two alternative models for the way in which order can emerge in this environment, models I refer to as Hamilton and Jefferson. Hamilton involves an increasing degree of centralization of control, achieved by means of increasing international coordination among existing sovereigns, through multi-lateral treaties and/or the creation of new international governing bodies along the lines of the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the like. Jefferson invokes a radical decentralization of law-making, the development of processes that do not impose order on the electronic world but through which order can emerge, in which individual network access providers, rather than territorially-based states, become the essential units of governance. The normative choice is a significant one, and I argue that mobility users' ability to move unhindered into and out of individual networks with their distinct rule-sets is a powerful guarantee that the resulting distribution of rules is a just one; indeed, that our very conception of what constitutes justice may change as we observe the kind of law that emerges from uncoerced individual choice. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=951745 Law And Borders--The Rise of Law in Cyberspace by DAVID R. JOHNSON & DAVID G. POST (Stanford Law Review) Abstract: Global computer-based communications cut across territorial borders, creating a new realm of human activity and undermining the feasibility--and legitimacy--of applying laws based on geographic boundaries. While these electronic communications play havoc with geographic boundaries, a new boundary, made up of the screens and passwords that separate the virtual world from the real world of atoms, emerges. This new boundary defines a distinct Cyberspace that needs and can create new law and legal institutions of its own. Territorially-based law-making and law-enforcing authorities find this new environment deeply threatening. But established territorial authorities may yet learn to defer to the self-regulatory efforts of Cyberspace participants who care most deeply about this new digital trade in ideas, information, and services. Separated from doctrine tied to territorial jurisdictions, new rules will emerge, in a variety of on-line spaces, to govern a wide range of new phenomena that have no clear parallel in the nonvirtual world. These new rules will play the role of law by defining legal personhood and property, resolving disputes, and crystallizing a collective conversation about core values. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=535 ******************* OTHER INTERNET NEWS ******************* us: Documents Borne by Winds of Free Speech Eli Lilly is trying to stop Web sites from publishing internal documents on its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa: A showdown is scheduled for a federal courtroom in Brooklyn tomorrow afternoon, where words like ?First Amendment? and ?freedom of speech? and ?prior restraint? are likely to mix seamlessly with references to ?BitTorrent? and ?Wiki.? http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/technology/15link.html nz: Warning over online predators Netsafe is advising parents and children using Internet chat rooms to look out for telltale signs of predators. http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.aspx?id=69489 nz: Parents: watch kids online Netsafe advises parents to keep an eye on their childrens' Internet relationships due to predators http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.aspx?id=69500 Childnet to help tackle cyberbullying in UK schools (news release) Childnet announced today that it has been awarded the contract by the Department for Education and Skills to research and provide guidance for schools on preventing and responding to cyberbullying. This first phase of this work will be carried out between January and April 2007. http://www.childnet-int.org/news/articles/201206.html sg: Singapore man jailed over Internet nude picture threat A student in Singapore was jailed for two years and three months Monday for threatening to distribute a doctored picture of an apparently naked woman over the Internet, and other computer crimes. http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=43544 Attack of the Zombie Computers Is Growing Threat In their persistent quest to breach the Internet?s defenses, the bad guys are honing their weapons and increasing their firepower. With growing sophistication, they are taking advantage of programs that secretly install themselves on thousands or even millions of personal computers, band these computers together into an unwitting army of zombies, and use the collective power of the dragooned network to commit Internet crimes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/technology/07net.html us: FBI warns of twist in extortion phishing scam FBI officials are warning users of a new phishing scam that plays off a recent round of bogus extortion threats. http://news.com.com/2100-7348_3-6150094.html us: Life Under a Million Digital Eyes An explosion in data collection has been embraced by many Americans as a trade-off for convenience and discounts. But it also has raised questions about personal privacy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/15/AR2007011501304.html Privacy in Digital Age Washington Post staff writer Ellen Nakashima and privacy expert Jim Dempsey from the Center for Democracy and Technology will be online Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss how our private lives can be tracked and exploited by everyday technology. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/01/15/DI2007011500963.html us: Google contributes thousands to conservatives Under pressure in Washington, Google has given thousands in political contributions to some of the most conservative members of Congress, tempering its image as a bastion of liberal campaign money. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-01-14-google-usat_x.htm China: Falling Hard for Web 2.0 Youngsters in the Middle Kingdom are flocking to homegrown versions of MySpace and YouTube http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2007/gb20070104_650257.htm Google's Top-10 Search Terms Dominated By Trademarks According to Google's 2006 Year-End Review, dubbed Zeitgeist, or the cultural climate of an era, a majority of the top-ten search terms for 2006 were trademarks. Topping the list is the registered BEBO mark which is held by Bebo.com LLC, a California company that runs a social networking website. Second on the list was MYSPACE, the registered mark associated with Newscorp's $580 million social-networking giant. Next, as a result of a majority of the world catching soccer fever over the summer, "world cup" ranked as the third most searched term. http://www.circleid.com/posts/google_top_10_search_terms_trademarks/ Internet Extends Reach Of Bangladeshi Villagers The village doctor's diagnosis was dire: Marium needed immediate surgery to replace two heart valves. The 28-year-old mother of three said she was confused and terrified. She could barely imagine open-heart surgery. She had no idea how her family of farm laborers could pay for an operation that would cost $4,000. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112101725.html Hollywood Asks YouTube: Friend or Foe? YouTube can help studios build tremendous buzz for films and TV shows, driving Hollywood to try to work with it instead of against it. http://iht.com/articles/2007/01/15/business/utube.php http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/technology/15youtube.html Convergence is at present a key factor in developments underlying electronic communications Almost any type of content can be converted into a digital form and then exchanged over the Internet, via fixed or mobile connections and using multiple platforms and terminal devices. This has had, and is expected to continue to have, a major effect on electronic communication markets. Telecommunication operators, in effect, have become content providers, broadcasters offer Internet services and network providers provide multiple-play services. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/41/37868139.pdf Drop the Computer: With new products and a shorter name, Apple hopes to change the world again ?WE'RE going to make some history here today,? said Steve Jobs this week at the beginning of his annual speech at Macworld, his company's cult-like trade show in San Francisco. He was as good as his word. First, he launched a product that promises at last to bring digital entertainment from people's computers to their television screens without fuss. Then he unveiled an even more impressive device that transcends the description ?mobile phone?. Mr Jobs, who was so excited that he had lain awake all night, made it clear that he considered this day a watershed in the three-decade history of Apple Computer, a point that he emphasised by announcing that his firm would henceforth drop ?Computer? from its name. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8521960 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2006 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David §yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (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 Flannery Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.comReceived on Thu Jan 18 2007 - 11:55:00 UTC
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