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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Trademark Clearinghouse Lets Profit Dictate Policy by Philip Corwin
<http://internetcommerce.org/TMCH_eternity>

No costs to registries from TM Claims extension
<http://domainincite.com/15317-no-costs-to-registries-from-tm-claims-extension>

Should new gTLD objections have an appeals process?
<http://domainincite.com/15304-should-new-gtlds-objections-have-an-appeals-process>

Epic Fail: The Rise and Fall of Demand Media
<http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/epic-fail-the-rise-and-fall-of-demand-media-1200914646/>

Pirate Bay Docks in Peru: New System Will Make Domains ?Irrelevant?
<http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-docks-in-peru-new-system-will-make-domains-irrelevant-131212/>


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GOVERNANCE
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The Rights of Digital Man by Rod Beckstrom
We have created an online world whose vastness exceeds our comprehension. As a measure of its magnitude, consider this: In 2012, the new Internet address system, IPv6, created more than 340 trillion trillion trillion (3.4 x 1038) addresses ? that is, around 4.8 x 1028 addresses for every person on earth. That should be sufficient to service the five billion devices that currently connect to the internet, and the 22 billion devices forecast to be in use by 2020. The hard part of the connectivity explosion is not building capacity, but how it should be managed.
<http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rod-beckstrom-proposes-ways-to-reclaim-control-over-our-online-selves>

High-Level Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms Convenes in London
The Panel on Global Internet Cooperation and Governance Mechanisms?a diverse group of global stakeholders from government, civil society, the private sector, the technical community and international organizations?held their first meeting in London to discuss global Internet cooperation and governance mechanisms.
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/high-level-panel-global-internet-cooperation-and-governance-mechanisms-convenes-london>

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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New Contracting Statistics Released
Below are the key Contracting statistics, as of 13 December 2013:
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-2-13dec13-en>

ICANN 49 Registration Now Open
Registration is now open for ICANN's 49th Public Meeting to be held in Singapore from 23-27 March 2014. The meeting site will be the Raffles City Convention Centre.
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-12dec13-en.htm>

Update on the Middle East Strategy by Fahd A. Batayneh ? Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator, Middle East
This time around last year, the Middle East Strategy Working Group (MESWG) kick-started its work. 22 volunteers 1 from 11 different countries within the region joined forces to develop a strategy to tailor the needs of the Internet ecosystem in the region; mainly the domain name industry and Internet Governance, as well as strengthening engagement from the region in the ICANN and other Internet-related processes.
<http://blog.icann.org/2013/12/update-on-the-middle-east-strategy/>

Dispute Resolution Providers and Decisions
I have received a number of complaints about the results received from the dispute resolution providers in the new gTLD applications. I have received some careful and full submissions in relation to inconsistencies across the decisions which have been made, and have been invited to consider that the inconsistencies have made the decision making unfair.
<https://omblog.icann.org/?p=1039>

A big website is going to go dark thanks to ICANN?s new Whois verification
ICANN?s 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement is slowly going into effect at major domain name registrars.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/12/a-big-website-is-going-to-go-dark-thanks-to-icanns-new-whois-verification/>

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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European ccTLD News - December 2013
CENTR has published its latest ccTLD newsletter for December 2013 with articles and stats: The IANA Elephant in the Room", Network and Information Security, Survey Highlights: Registry Lock, QnA with Don Hollander (APTLD), Domain Name Statistics & Members News
<http://centr.org/news/european-cctld-news-december-2013>

.at-report - Policy
In the next 2 years hundreds of new TLDs enter the domain market. But how do .tirol or .versicherung differ from ccTLDs like .at or .de? The answer is easy: Through their policy model.
<http://www.nic.at/en/uebernic/current_issues/nicat_news/news_view/article/81/at-report-15-jahre-nicat/>

Germany Leads With Most .EU Registrations
Germany has by far the most registrations of .eu domain names with close to 1.127 million followed by the Netherlands with around 489,000 and then France and the United Kingdom with 344,000 and 328,000 respectively according to the latest EURid Quarterly Progress Report for the third quarter of 2013.
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21540>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/12/13/germany-most-eu-registrations/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/germany-most-eu-registrations.html>

.eu registrations decrease by 3,051 domain names in Q3
The total number of .eu registrations increased in 16 of the 28 EU member states to reach 3.70 million domain names, according to the Q3 quarterly progress report of .eu registry EURid.
<http://www.telecompaper.com/news/eu-registrations-decrease-by-3051-domain-names-in-q3--985639>

Dot Award 2014 Contest - Enter your site with the .fr TLD and win a tablet!
If you?re an online secondary school, high school or university student, enter your .fr site for the Dot Award 2014 contest ? and win fame and fortune!
<http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/7479/show/dot-award-2014-contest-enter-your-site-with-the-fr-tld-and-win-a-tablet.html>

nl: SIDN supports campaign to protect children against identity hacking
Identity hacking is making unauthorised use of photos or other personal information ? for creating fake Twitter accounts or fake Facebook profiles, for example. Unfortunately, the practice isn't always about the satirisation of politicians or celebrities, but can involve the victimisation of innocent children.
<https://www.sidn.nl/en/news/news/article/sidn-steunt-actie-om-kinderen-te-beschermen-tegen-identiteitshacken-1/>

InternetNZ byelection after Torkington quits
InternetNZ will hold a byelection following the resignation of Councillor Nat Torkington.
<http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/internetnz-byelection-after-torkington-quits-ck-150132>

Godaddy.com Warns Customers That .Vg & .Tc Domains May Not Be Renewed & Will Be Costly
In any email Godaddy.com warns customers that they might not be able to renew .VG domain names or .TC domain names.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/12/12/godaddy-com-warns-holds-of-vg/>

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 - NEW TLDS
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Trademark Clearinghouse Lets Profit Dictate Policy by Philip Corwin
Deloitte, the ICANN-appointed operator of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), has unilaterally decided that the complainant services side of the Trademark Claims Service will operate for an indefinite period, rather than the required 90-day period set by the consensus agreement of ICANN stakeholders regarding the implementation of new gTLD rights protection measures (RPMs).
<http://internetcommerce.org/TMCH_eternity>

No costs to registries from TM Claims extension
New gTLD registries will not have to pay any extra fees due to the Trademark Clearinghouse?s extension of the Trademark Claims service, according to the the TMCH.
<http://domainincite.com/15317-no-costs-to-registries-from-tm-claims-extension>

Trademark Clearinghouse extends alert service beyond 90 days
The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) for new TLDs has extended the amount of time it will notify rights holders that domain names matching their trademarks have been registered.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/12/trademark-clearinghouse-extends-alert-service-beyond-90-days/>

A little bit more about the Trademark Clearinghouse?s extended alert service
Yesterday I wrote about how the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is extending the amount of time it will alert trademark holders if someone registers domains that contain their mark. Originally set for just 90 days, now the TMCH will extend the service for as long as a mark is registered with the TMCH.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/13/a-little-bit-more-about-the-trademark-clearinghouses-extended-alert-service/>

Blocked trademarks still eligible for Donuts sunrises
Donuts has confirmed that it is to allow trademark owners to participate in its new gTLD Sunrise periods even if their marks appear on name collisions block-lists.
<http://domainincite.com/15313-blocked-trademarks-still-eligible-for-donuts-sunrises>

New partnership to support the internet domains for Wales
Nominet and Gwynedd Council have today announced an important partnership to support the two new TLDs for Wales on the internet; .cymru and .wales.
<http://www.nominet.org.uk/news/press-releases/new-partnership-support-internet-domains-wales>

Ten more new gTLDs get ICANN contracts
.bar, .pub, .fish, .actor, .caravan, .saarland, .yokohama, .ren, .eus and .??? all have new gTLD contracts with ICANN as of yesterday.
<http://domainincite.com/15299-ten-more-new-gtlds-get-icann-contracts>

Should new gTLD objections have an appeals process?
Several new gTLD applicants that have lost objections ? many in decisions that appear to diverge from ICANN?s rules or are inconsistent with other decisions ? have been in touch to ask for redress, Ombudsman Chris LaHatte blogged this morning.
<http://domainincite.com/15304-should-new-gtlds-objections-have-an-appeals-process>

Hasta La Victoria Siempre
Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara once said ?Always to victory? in answer to a question posed about how to start a revolution. I?m sure that was the motto somewhere within ICANN when the new gTLD program was announced a few years ago.
<http://www.netnames.com/blog/2013/12/hasta-la-victoria-siempre/>

Islamic states to ?officially object? to .islam
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation has decided to ?file an official objection to the use of gTLDs .Islam and .Halal?, following a summit of 56 foreign ministers.
<http://domainincite.com/15301-islamic-states-to-officially-object-to-islam>

The Mosque and the Bazaar: Islam, ICANN, and the New gTLD Program by Katim S. Touray
The launch of the new gTLD program in January, 2012 was undoubtedly one of the finest moments for ICANN; and rightly so. The launch was a culmination of thousands of hours of hard work by thousands of people from various countries, interests, and walks of life. In the end, a 338-page Applicant Guidebook with details about how the new gTLD program was to be implemented was produced. Thus was set the stage for the greatest cyberland rush in history.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131215_mosque_and_bazaar_islam_icann_and_the_new_gtld_program/>

Learning a Lesson
Chalkboard New TLDs promise to open up new business models from those thinking creatively. So perhaps the new TLDs will also lead to new educational models ? especially ones that harness the growing interest in online coursework.
<http://gtldstrategy.com/2013/12/12/learning-a-lesson/>

.BRAND New Language
ICANN is out with proposed language for the New gTLD Registry Agreement (RA) that specifically addresses the concerns of brand applicants.
<http://gtldstrategy.com/2013/12/09/brand-new-language/>

IP Summit: opportunities and threats of new gTLDs
The new gTLDs offer great possibilities for brand owners and new businesses but they could present new challenges, as discussed at the PanEuropean IP Summit on Wednesday.
<http://www.worldipreview.com/news/ip-summit-opportunities-and-threats-of-new-gtlds>

GoDaddy Offers 14 New Domain Name Extensions For Pre-Registration
GoDaddy, the world?s largest domain name registrar, is offering 14 new domain name extensions for pre-registration as part of the new program to expand the Internet landscape. The new domain name extensions increase the inventory of available website addresses, giving users more opportunity to register memorable and relevant domain names.
<http://au.godaddy.com/news/article/godaddy-offers-14-new-domain-name-extensions-for-pre-registration.aspx>

It looks like someone is already typosquatting on recently delegated TLDs
Just a few dozen second level domain names for new TLDs have been registered so far. Yet it looks like people are already typosquatting on them.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/12/it-looks-like-someone-is-already-typosquatting-on-recently-delegated-top-level-domain-names/>

First Geographic NewgTLD, .RUHR, Now Delegated by Dan York
Each week ICANN has been delegating more new newgTLDs and it's been somewhat entertaining to watch the list of delegated strings to see what new TLDs will enter the domain name space starting sometime in early 2014 when they become generally available for people to register new domains under.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131212_first_geographic_newgtld_ruhr_now_delegated/>

.Brand Registry Agreement Addendum Published for Public Comment
On December 6, 2013, ICANN posted for public comment a proposal requested by the Brand Registry Group to incorporate a new Specification 13 to the new gTLD Registry Agreement, which would be available to a registry operator that operates a TLD that ICANN determines qualifies as a ".brand TLD." Specification 13, otherwise known as the ?.brand Addendum,? would be added to the standard Registry Agreement that was finalized and approved by the ICANN Board of Directors in July 2013.
<http://www.natlawreview.com/article/brand-registry-agreement-addendum-published-public-comment>

ICANN?s Trademark Clearinghouse to offer ongoing claims notification services
ICANN?s Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) has today announced that it will offer an ongoing claims service, where trademark holders (and/or their agents) will be notified of potential intellectual property infringement indefinitely, beyond the original 90 day period.
<http://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2013/12/icanns-trademark-clearinghouse-to-offer-ongoing-claims-notification-services/>

Video: Frank Schilling Explains .Sexy
According to a tweet from Bret Fausett, Uniregistry posted a video on the nic.sexy website, and Frank Schilling explains what sexy means to him and why someone might choose to buy a .Sexy domain name. In Frank?s words, it is ?the internet equivalent of letting your hair down.?
<http://www.domaininvesting.com/video-frank-schilling-explains-sexy/>

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 - DNS SECURITY
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uk: Government avert cyber security 'gap' with drive to recruit computer skills
Ministers are leading a recruitment drive for computer scientists and hackers as they try to avert a potential shortfall in the number of skilled cyber security experts over the next decade.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/12/government-cyber-security-shortfall-recruit-computer>

uk: Government to press for operators of 'critical national infrastructure' to adopt new cyber security standard
Businesses involved in the operation of "critical national infrastructure" in the UK may be required to adopt a new voluntary organisational standard the Government is building on cyber security.
<http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2013/december/government-to-press-for-operators-of-critical-national-infrastructure-to-adopt-new-cyber-security-standard/>

FTC wants to be enforcer of data security
Despite growing pushback from companies and powerful industry groups, the Federal Trade Commission continues to insist that it wants to be the nation's enforcer of data security standards.
<http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244794/FTC_wants_to_be_enforcer_of_data_security>
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/121313-ftc-wants-to-be-enforcer-276931.html>

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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Hogan Lovells represents Facebook in efforts to suspend ?.facebok.pw? domain name
Hogan Lovells has successfully represented Facebook in its efforts to suspend the ?.facebok.pw? domain name, using a new legal rights mechanism called Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS).
<http://www.thelawyer.com/firms-and-the-bar/hogan-lovells-represents-facebook-in-efforts-to-suspend-facebokpw-domain-name/3013696.article>

Respondent Proves It Is No Square
When it comes to UDRP complaints, we often see cases in which the Respondents are completely absent, failing to present any sort of defense or argument. This was not the case in a recent National Arbitration Forum filing over the domain name squaregrouper.com, in which the Respondent fought back and was able to convince the NAF panel to deny the complaint.
<http://domainnamestrategy.com/2013/12/09/respondent-proves-it-is-no-square/>

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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IPv6-Centric Networking: Innovation Without Constraints by Mark Townsley,
... In this installment, Mark takes a look into the future at some of the things IPv6 will make possible. I?m particularly excited about this, because the unlimited addressing scheme of IPv6 is what will enable the exponential growth of connections among people, process, data, and things that will drive $14.4 trillion in IoE private-sector value over the next decade, and dramatically impact our daily lives. This is Mark?s third and final blog on IPv6.
<http://blogs.cisco.com/ioe/ipv6-centric-networking-innovation-without-constraints/>

Growth of IPv6 puts pressure on government to support next-gen Internet
As U.S. carriers make strides adopting IPv6, pressure is mounting for federal agencies to support the next-generation Internet Protocol on their public-facing websites and cloud-based citizen and business service portals.
<http://gcn.com/articles/2013/12/12/ipv6.aspx>

Comcast, IPv6 and SDNs: Moving the Internet into the Future
The race to implement Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the addressing scheme that gradually is replacing the almost exhausted IPv4, has been a marathon, not a sprint. Indeed, the effort has been ongoing for about a decade. And while progress has been made, the deployment of IPv6 is by no means near completion.
<http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/data-and-telecom/comcast-ipv6-and-sdns-moving-the-internet-into-the-future.html>

Are We Ready to Switch Off IPv4? by Marco Hogewoning
At the RIPE 67 meeting in Athens, Greece, the RIPE IPv6 Working Group ran a little experiment to test the feasibility of an IPv6-only network and to identify challenges in user experience. While the results were highly encouraging, they indicated that there is still work to be done before IPv4 can be switched off once and for all. As IPv6 is slowly but surely deployed around the world, we've entered a phase where it's necessary for your devices to be able to communicate using either of the two IP protocols currently in use.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131212_are_we_ready_to_switch_off_ipv4/>

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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2013 Domain Name Year in Review by Elisa Cooper
Well folks, it?s that time of year again. It?s time for our countdown of the top 10 biggest domain stories for 2013. And while my predictions from last year were accurate, in that we did see a record number of registry and registrar breaches, I had no idea that this year?s biggest story would even appear on the list. So with that said, let?s get started.
<https://www.markmonitor.com/mmblog/2013-domain-name-year-in-review/>	

Rewarding Research: A Better Connected World, Name Collisions and Beyond
It's a privilege for Verisign to welcome this week the recipients of our 2012 Internet Infrastructure Grant program, who will be presenting the results of research their teams have conducted over the past year and a half. The results will be the focus of our fourth and final Verisign Labs Distinguished Speaker Series event for the year.
<http://blogs.verisigninc.com/blog/entry/rewarding_research_a_better_connected>

Epic Fail: The Rise and Fall of Demand Media
Just look at Demand Media, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based firm some thought would revolutionize content production. Not long after the company went public in January 2011, its market capitalization soared to more than $2 billion, sending the then-5-year-old firm?s value briefly past that of the New York Times Co.
<http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/epic-fail-the-rise-and-fall-of-demand-media-1200914646/>

Pirate Bay Docks in Peru: New System Will Make Domains ?Irrelevant?
The Pirate Bay was forced to switch domains earlier this week but today the torrent site reached its final destination for now. A few moments ago TPB landed in Peru with words of caution for its adversaries. Speaking with TorrentFreak, a Pirate Bay spokesman said a new system currently under development will not only make domain names irrelevant, but will herald the arrival of a new generation of hardened file-sharing services.
<http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-docks-in-peru-new-system-will-make-domains-irrelevant-131212/>

TLD Hopping Pirate Bay Seeks World Where Domains Irrelevant
The Pirate Bay this week was forced to change its TLD from .sx (Sint Maarten) to .ac (Ascension Island) after pressure from the Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN. And this was only eight months after it was forced to change from .se (Sweden). And it seems TPB, which flagged this as only a temporary move due to the Ascension Island's links to the United Kingdom, has already moved on to its next TLD - .pe (Peru).
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21539>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/12/13/pirate-bay-domains-irrelevant/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/pirate-bay-domains-irrelevant.html>

Pirate Bay switches address for the sixth time this year
Peer-to-peer network Pirate Bay has been forced to change its domain name for the sixth time this year after being shut down by the authorities in multiple countries.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/13/pirate-bay-domain-address-filesharing>

Pat Pilcher: The Pirate Bay sails to a new domain
Pressure to get the world's largest torrent tracking site taken down by the entertainment industry is relentless, and in the early hours of the morning Pirate Bay users discovered that the Pirate Bay's .SX domain had became inaccessible, effectively rendering the site unreachable.
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=11172176>

20,000 porn-watchers' addresses mistakenly released in German court: lawyer
About 20,000 people who watched pornography on a U.S.-based website have had their names and addresses mistakenly released by a court and are now being ordered to pay fines, a lawyer said Friday.
<http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/13/21891592-20000-porn-watchers-addresses-mistakenly-released-in-german-court-lawyer>

Pledge to Help Semper Fi Fund Doubles To $2MM
The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation is raising the stakes in order to help even more injured or critically ill military service personnel by doubling the matching fund limit from $1 million, up to $2 million to the Semper Fi Fund. This means donations through December 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to another million. The initial charity drive in partnership with GoDaddy, has already reached its goal for $1 million in matching funds almost one month ahead of schedule.
<http://au.godaddy.com/news/article/pledge-to-help-semper-fi-fund-doubles-to-2mm.aspx>

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Google to introduce policy of charging advertisers only for ads that users have seen
Google is introducing a new policy for advertisers which will allow them to pay only for ads that have been seen.
<http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/13/google-introduces-policy-charging-advertisers-only-ads-users-have-seen>

SnapNames Launches .CO.UK and .CN Domain Drop-Catching Auctions
SnapNames ... announced today that .CO.UK and .CN domain names are now available through their popular online marketplace.
<https://www.moniker.com/domainnewsresources/news/snapnames_launches_.co.uk_and_.cn_domain_drop-catching_auctions>

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Facebook the Most Trusted Channel for Brand Recommendations [Survey]
As social media has developed as a method of amplifying the power of online reviews about brands, Facebook has become the most trusted channel for product and service recommendations.
<http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2318332/facebook-the-most-trusted-channel-for-brand-recommendations-survey>

Twitter backtracks on blocking changes
Twitter has reversed changes it made to how people block other users, less than a day after they were introduced.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25361255>

Twitter users revolt over changes to abusive behaviour policy
Twitter Inc encountered a user revolt for the first time as a public company after it tweaked its "block" function on Thursday, prompting an outcry from those who said the new policy empowered perpetrators of online abuse.
<http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/uk-twitter-abuse-idUKBRE9BC03C20131213>
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/twitter-abuse-idINDEE9BC01H20131213>

Protecting Brand and Data While Staying Social
While businesses continue to expand their use of social networking to manage their brand and increase productivity, only a minority of firms are attempting to offset the risks posed by the services.
<http://www.darkreading.com/monitoring/protecting-brand-and-data-while-staying/240164774>

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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Toxic 'e-waste' dumped in poor nations, says United Nations
Millions of mobile phones, laptops, tablets, toys, digital cameras and other electronic devices bought this Christmas are destined to create a flood of dangerous "e-waste" that is being dumped illegally in developing countries, the UN has warned.
<http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/14/toxic-ewaste-illegal-dumping-developing-countries>

'This is not a good place to live': inside Ghana's dump for electronic waste
The orange flesh of a papaya is like an oval gash in the landscape at Agbogbloshie, Ghana's vast dumping site for electronic waste, where everything is smeared and stained with mucky hues of brown and sooty black. A woman kneels among the carcasses of discarded computer monitors, scooping the fruit's flesh for workers hungry from a morning's work scavenging to eat.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/14/ghana-dump-electronic-waste-not-good-place-live>

Electronic waste: we must design gadgets that don't poison the planet
Record sales of tablets, laptops and smart phones. Ever smaller computers, and thinner televisions, brighter screens and sharper cameras. What could possibly be wrong with the worldwide explosion in sales of electrical and digital equipment seen this Christmas? Consumers love the sleek designs and the new connectivity they offer, businesses can't make enough for a vast and hungry global market, and governments see technological innovation and turnover as the quick way out of recession. This is a new age of the machine and electronic equipment is indispensable in home and workplace.
<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/14/observer-editorial-electronic-toxic-waste>

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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nz: Lorde and the New Face of Cyberbullying
Lorde may be the new face of music with her numerous successes, but she appears to also be the new, celebrity face of cyber bullying after her supposed attacks upon pop idols like Justin Bieber and One Direction.
<http://www.lawfuel.co.nz/news/1144/lorde-and-the-new-face-of-cyberbullying>

Australian state announces 'sexting' laws
Victoria in Australia is set to become the first state to introduce new legislation on ?sexting?, meaning it is now illegal to distribute to a third party a sexually explicit image of somebody without their consent.
<http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/australian-state-announces-sexting-laws-9000809.html>

Sexting: Victoria makes it an offence to send explicit images without consent
Victoria is to become the first state to modify its laws on ?sexting?, making it an offence to distribute explicit images without consent but also exempting young people from child pornography offences.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/12/sexting-victoria-makes-it-an-offence>

au: REELise sets screening date
BUDDING film makers are busily preparing their cyber-bullying-themed works in preparation for the March screening of the inaugural REELise Film festival.
<http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/city-east/reelise-sets-screening-date/story-fngr8h22-1226782693565>

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ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
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A Stream of Music, Not Revenue
When Spotify, the digital music company of the moment, announced this week an exclusive deal with Led Zeppelin and free access on mobile devices, it also reported impressive numbers. Its listeners have streamed 4.5 billion hours of music this year, and it has paid more than $1 billion in music royalties since its founding.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/business/media/a-stream-of-music-not-revenue.html>

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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US FCC reconsiders ban on mobile phones on planes
The US communications agency has taken the first step toward lifting a ban on mobile phone calls during flights.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25355399>

Google removes privacy feature from Android mobile software
Google Inc has removed an experimental privacy feature from its Android mobile software that had allowed users to block apps from collecting personal information such as address book data and a user's location.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/13/google-android-privacy-idINDEE9BC0DK20131213>

IPhone-Factory Deaths Dog Apple and Supplier
The recent deaths of a 15-year-old and three other workers at an iPhone plant in Shanghai highlight the challenges that Apple Inc. and its suppliers face to maintain worker safety and keep underage people out of factories.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304202204579251913898555706>

iPhone factory conditions 'not to blame for 15-year-old worker's death'
Working conditions at Apple contractor Pegatron didn't lead to the death by pneumonia of a 15-year-old boy who lied to get a job there, experts sent by the company have concluded.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/12/iphone-foxconn-factory-conditions-death>

Google Cutting Android Tool Harms Privacy, Group Says
Google Inc. was criticized by a privacy advocate after disabling a feature in the latest version of its Android smartphone software that lets users choose which data can be accessed by applications during downloads.
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-14/google-cutting-android-tool-harms-privacy-group-says-correct-.html>

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
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Porn users targeted by German law firm over copyright
Thousands of Germans are reported to have been sent letters asking them to pay a fee for porn they are alleged to have streamed illegally online.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25347913>

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PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE
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Obama Panel Said to Urge N.S.A. Curbs
A presidential advisory committee charged with examining the operations of the National Security Agency has concluded that a program to collect data on every phone call made in the United States should continue, though under broad new restraints that would be intended to increase privacy protections, according to officials with knowledge of the report?s contents.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/world/americas/obama-panel-said-to-urge-nsa-curbs.html>

NSA review to leave spying programs largely unchanged, reports say
A participant in a White House-sponsored review of surveillance activities described as ?shameful? an apparent decision to leave most of the National Security Agency?s controversial bulk spying intact.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/nsa-review-to-leave-spying-programs-largely-unchanged-reports-say>

By cracking cellphone code, NSA has capacity for decoding private conversations
The cellphone encryption technology used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows, giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/by-cracking-cellphone-code-nsa-has-capacity-for-decoding-private-conversations/2013/12/13/e119b598-612f-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html>

NSA chief on spying programs: 'There is no other way to connect the dots'
Senior US officials, fighting to forestall a push to end the bulk collection of Americans' phone data, told a Senate panel they would be "failing" the country if the controversial surveillance practice ceased, and suggested that a congressional move to stop it would not be the final word on the matter.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/11/nsa-chiefs-keith-alexander-senate-surveillance>

France Broadens Its Surveillance Power
For all their indignation last summer, when the scope of the United States? mass data collection began to be made public, the French are hardly innocents in the realm of electronic surveillance. Within days of the reports about the National Security Agency?s activities, it was revealed that French intelligence services operated a similar system, with similarly minimal oversight.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/world/europe/france-broadens-its-surveillance-power.html>

French officials can monitor internet users in real time under new law
French intelligence and government officials will be able to spy on internet users in real time and without authorisation, under a law passed on Wednesday.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/11/french-officials-internet-users-real-time-law>

au: Phone surveillance by security agencies: Labor backs Senate inquiry
A Senate committee will scrutinise internet and phone surveillance by Australia?s security agencies after Labor backed an inquiry proposed by the Greens.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/12/phone-surveillance-labor-backs-inquiry>

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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TPP Won't Wrap Up This Year, But Fast Track Remains a Threat
Despite the U.S. Trade Representative's concerted efforts to push through a deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) will not be completed by the self-imposed deadline of the end of this year. That announcement, made in Singapore today at a closed press conference, is welcome: the U.S. Trade Representative's accelerated timeline has served as yet another means of restricting transparency, and a key pressure point in its campaign to get the U.S. Congress to abdicate its oversight role by granting "fast track authority." If you're in the U.S., you can contact your legislators and tell them to oppose that effort.
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/tpp-wont-wrap-year-fast-track-still-threat>

TPP talks stalled until 2014
Countries negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership, a trade deal in which intellectual property is a hotly-debated topic, have missed their deadline to wrap up talks by the end of 2013.
<http://www.worldipreview.com/news/tpp-talks-stalled-until-2014>

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MISCELLANEOUS
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Google's Road Map to Global Domination
Fifty-five miles and three days down the Colorado River from the put-in at Lee?s Ferry, near the Utah-Arizona border, the two rafts in our little flotilla suddenly encountered a storm. It sneaked up from behind, preceded by only a cool breeze. With the canyon walls squeezing the sky to a ribbon of blue, we didn?t see the thunderhead until it was nearly on top of us.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/magazine/googles-plan-for-global-domination-dont-ask-why-ask-where.html>

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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au: Coalition?s NBN to cost $12bn more and take four years longer
The Coalition government has massively revised its plan for the National Broadband Network, breaking a promise to complete the first stage by 2016, after a strategic review found cost blowouts and poor management.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/12/coalitions-nbn-cost-12bn-more-four-years-longer>

New ITU broadband standard fast-tracks route to 1Gbit/s [news release]
ITU membership has reached first-stage approval of G.fast, the new ITU broadband standard capable of achieving access speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s over existing telephone wires. Within 250-metre range of a distribution point, G.fast?s fibre-like speeds give service providers a tool to supplement and further monetize fibre to the home (FTTH) strategies with the customer self-installation benefits of ADSL2.
<http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2013/74.aspx>

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David Goldstein

 email: david at goldsteinreport.com

 web:   http://goldsteinreport.com/ / http://davidgoldstein.tel/
 phone: +61 418 228 605 - mobile; +61 2 9663 3430 - office/home

"Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery