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The domain name news is supported by auDA

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Hello Australia!

This is the last Domain News for 2013. The Domain News will return no later than the week commencing 6 January, possibly earlier if the build-up of news gets too much over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime there I will be posting regular updates to www.domainpulse.com and www.domainnews.com on domain name issues, and on my own site, www.goldsteinreport.com, on other internet issues, as well as the occasional domain name story.

And as the year draws to a close, I?d like to ask if you have any suggestions on how to improve things. Are there stories or sources I miss that you think are worth including? Or any other suggestions? Feel free to send me an email if you can think of anything.

And so I?d also like to say to have a merry Christmas and happy new year to you all, and thank auDA for their support. As well as Kim Davies for providing the DNS list. This year marked the 11th year auDA has subscribed on behalf of the Australian domain name community, and gave me the start for my business, for which I?m very appreciative.

So see you in 2014!

David


ICA Supports GNSO Resolution on IGO/INGO Protections ? But the UN, NATO, WIPO and Interpol Oppose It by Philip Corwin, Internet Commerce Association
<http://internetcommerce.org/UNvsGNSO>

KPMG: migrating from .com
<http://www.worldipreview.com/article/kpmg-migrating-from-com>

Extortion.sucks ? Vox Pop CEO defends ?under-priced? $25,000 sunrise fee
<http://domainincite.com/15390-extortion-sucks-vox-pop-ceo-defends-under-priced-25000-sunrise-fee>

The Dot Com Bubble (pt. 2) by Jennifer Wolfe
<http://info.wolfedomain.com/blog/bid/362822/The-Dot-Com-Bubble-pt-2>

Typosquatters and fraudsters still exploiting antivirus brands, analysis finds
<http://news.techworld.com/security/3493755/typosquatters-fraudsters-still-exploiting-antivirus-brands-analysis-finds/>

Less phishing, but better targeting in 2013, report says
<http://news.techworld.com/security/3494104/phishing-messages-fall-markedly-in-2013-despite-better-targetting/>

Domain Pulse 2014 Heads To Salzburg And Looks At Hot Online Topics Including Governance And New gTLDs
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/12/23/domain-pulse-2014-salzburg/>

Pirate Bay Back in Sweden?s Calm Waters After .GY Suspension
<http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-back-in-swedens-calm-waters-after-gy-suspension-131219/>

Internet Society Names Kathryn C. Brown as New CEO
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-names-kathryn-c-brown-new-ceo>


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GOVERNANCE
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The Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation by Byron Holland, CIRA
The Internet is at a crossroads. And while high-profile events like the introduction of new gTLDs and revelations about governments and online surveillance may be a catalyst for recent Internet governance reform initiatives, their necessity isn't exactly new. After all, the current structures and processes in place were set up a decade and a half ago, an eternity in Internet years. A key step in reviewing and renewing these structures is the Panel on the Future of Global Internet Cooperation, announced at the recent ICANN meeting in Buenos Aires.
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131220_the_panel_on_the_future_of_global_internet_cooperation/>

Revisiting ?roles:? On the agenda for Brazil by Milton Mueller
As various groups discuss their ideas for the Brazil Conference on the Future of Internet Governance in April, one issue is rising to the top of the agenda: stakeholder roles. Increasingly, it looks as if the Brazil conference will be used to challenge a definition of multistakeholder governance that assigns different ?roles? to state actors and non-state actors.
<http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/12/18/revisiting-roles-on-the-agenda-for-brazil/>

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DOMAIN NAMES
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 - ICANN
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Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedure (PICDRP) Standing Panel Members
ICANN is seeking expressions of interest to serve on the PICDRP Standing Panel.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-4-19dec13-en>

Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedure Finalized
The Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedures (PICDRP) is finalized and now available.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-3-19dec13-en>

Approved Launch Program Review Guidelines Available
The guidelines ICANN will use to review Registry Operator (RO) applications for conducting an Approved Launch Program are now published.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-19dec13-en>

Andrew Maurer, Assistant Secretary, Spectrum, Treaties and Internet Governance | Government of Australia, to Stephen Crocker
Australian Government Position on .wine and .vin
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/maurer-to-crocker-17dec13-en>

Customer Portal Functionality Expanded
In a continual effort to improve user experience, ICANN has deployed enhancements to the Customer Portal.
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-3-20dec13-en>

New Contracting Statistics Released
Below are the key Contracting statistics, as of 20 December 2013:
<http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-20dec13-en>

Akram Atallah, President, Global Domains Division | ICANN, to Jonathan Zuck et al.
Re: Name Collision Mitigation
<http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/atallah-to-zuck-et-al-19dec13-en>

ICA Supports GNSO Resolution on IGO/INGO Protections ? But the UN, NATO, WIPO and Interpol Oppose It by Philip Corwin, Internet Commerce Association
Yesterday ICA filed a letter that generally supported the GNSO Council?s recent and unanimously adopted Resolution on Protections for International Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations (IGOs & INGOs). In particular, while supporting strong protections for exact matches of their full names at the top and second level of the DNS, we were pleased that the Resolution did not grant undue protections to acronyms of their names, and did not put existing acronyms at incumbent gTLDs at unreasonable risk.
<http://internetcommerce.org/UNvsGNSO>

Internet is about to experience one of its greatest changes: ICANN
Fadi Chehade is the president and CEO of ICANN, an organization that allocates web addresses and assigns unique protocol numbers on the internet. In an email interview with Kim Arora, he discussed ICANN's globalization efforts, digital surveillance and the future of the internet.
<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/internet/Internet-is-about-to-experience-one-of-its-greatest-changes-ICANN/articleshow/27731743.cms>
<http://www.indiatimes.com/technology/internet/internet-is-about-to-experience-one-of-its-greatest-changes-icann-118597.html>

ICANN Explains Its Position on Uniform Contracts
Anyone registering a domain name through an ICANN-accredited registrar is required to accept provisions in the registration agreement
<https://sedo.com/us/news/3377/ICANN-Explains-Its-Position-on-Uniform-Contracts/>

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 - ccTLD & gTLD NEWS
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gTLDs in France: Growth Rates 50% Above World Averages
The latest Afnic Domain Name Industry Report shows that the French market has significant potential for future Internet TLDs
<http://www.afnic.fr/en/about-afnic/news/general-news/7487/show/gtlds-in-france-growth-rates-50-above-world-averages.html>

Q&A: Matt Mansell of 123-reg on the new .uk domains
The recent decision by Nominet to forge ahead with the introduction of new .uk domains has not been met with widespread approval, to say the least.
<http://econsultancy.com/au/blog/64028-q-a-matt-mansell-of-123-reg-on-the-new-uk-domains>

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 - NEW TLDS
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KPMG: migrating from .com
Professional services firm KPMG has some ambitious plans for its .kpmg gTLD. David Green, head of global digital marketing, told TB&I about the firm?s vision.
<http://www.worldipreview.com/article/kpmg-migrating-from-com>

New gTLDs: No More Waiting, Watching, Dreaming
Coffee houses have long served as places where individuals come together to discuss ideas and exchange information ? from current events and politics to the latest innovations and inventions. This tradition made Busboys and Poets a natural venue for ?The Impact of the New gTLD Program,? a panel discussion hosted by The D.C. Chapter of the Internet Society (ISOC-DC) and FairWinds Partners.
<http://gtldstrategy.com/2013/12/19/new-gtlds-no-more-waiting-watching-dreaming/>

Extortion.sucks ? Vox Pop CEO defends ?under-priced? $25,000 sunrise fee
Vox Populi Registry, the .sucks new gTLD applicant backed by Momentous Corp, is to charge trademark owners $25,000 to participate in its Sunrise period, should it win the TLD.
<http://domainincite.com/15390-extortion-sucks-vox-pop-ceo-defends-under-priced-25000-sunrise-fee>

More stupid government interference with new TLDs
I?ve written before about hard headed governments and their challenges against particular TLDs. I was reminded of another such case today, thanks to the Government of India sending a letter to ICANN reiterating its opposition to a couple strings.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/20/more-stupid-government-interference-with-new-top-level-domain-names/>

?Premium? domain names by David Farrar
... My view is a domain name is of course worth what someone is willing to pay for it. But I do reflect that I doubt anyone in the world tries to buy books by going to books.com or books.co.nz. In fact who knows what those sites even are (turns out the former redirects to Barnes & Noble and the latter doesn?t exist). One can turn an obscure name like Amazon or Fishpond into a well known brand.
<http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/premium-domain-names-149839>

The Dot Com Bubble (pt. 2) by Jennifer Wolfe
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the world went crazy over websites based businesses with absolutely no revenue model. Hundreds of millions of dollars were sunk into the ?.com? bubble. Now, those models have evolved into billion dollar industries such as data mining, shopping online and advertising. As the new gTLDs prepare to launch, I can?t help but ask, ?What is the bubble in the .anything paradigm shift?? And, what happens to all those companies who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions for their .com ? what?s it worth now?
<http://info.wolfedomain.com/blog/bid/362822/The-Dot-Com-Bubble-pt-2>

New gTLDs and the Brand Bubble [from July 2013]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the world literally went crazy over websites with absolutely no revenue model. Hundreds of millions of dollars were sunk into the ?.com? bubble. Now, those models have evolved into data mining, shopping and advertising and they are billion dollar industries. 
<http://info.wolfedomain.com/blog/bid/317775/New-gTLDs-and-the-Brand-Bubble>

Applicants spank IO in .health objections
Donuts and Dot Health LLC have beaten back objections filed by ICANN?s Independent Objector over the .health gTLD.
<http://domainincite.com/15383-applicants-spank-io-in-health-objections>

1&1?s new gTLD ads banned for ?misleading? viewers
TV ads promoting 1&1?s new gTLD pre-registration services have been banned from the UK?s airwaves after being ruled ?likely to mislead? by the Advertising Standards Authority.
<http://domainincite.com/15377-11s-new-gtld-ads-banned-for-misleading-viewers>

Donuts officially richer than God after winning three new gTLD auctions
Donuts has a clear path to being awarded the .church, .life and .loans new gTLDs, following a private auction managed by Innovative Auctions this week.
<http://domainincite.com/15374-donuts-officially-richer-than-god-after-winning-three-new-gtld-auctions>

This one graphic threatens to derail progress in the new TLD program
This one graphic below, as spotted by Michael Berkens earlier today and published on Vox Populi?s website, threatens to set the forward momentum of the new TLD program back quite a bit:
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/19/this-one-graphic-threatens-to-derail-progress-in-the-new-tld-program/>

.buzz and .support go live
DotStrategy has become the newest registry with a gTLD live in the DNS root.
<http://domainincite.com/15371-buzz-and-support-go-live>

Contention for Three More gTLDs Resolved in Fourth Applicant Auction by Sheel Mohnot
The Fourth Applicant Auction has concluded, resolving contention for three more strings. Donuts Inc. came away from the auction as the winner of all three strings: .LIFE, .CHURCH, and .LOANS. Life Covenant Church, Inc. will be compensated for withdrawing their application for .CHURCH, and Radix will be compensated for their withdrawal from .LOANS, while Xiamen 35.com Technology Co.,Ltd and CompassRose will be compensated for their withdrawal from .LIFE
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20131219_contention_for_3_more_gtlds_resolved_in_fourth_applicant_auction/>

New gTLD Price Wars As United Domains Undercuts Godaddy
United Domains sent out an email making customers aware that they were now taking binding pre-orders on some new gTLD domain names.
<http://www.thedomains.com/2013/12/22/new-gtld-price-wars-as-united-domains-under-cuts-godaddy/>

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 - DNS SECURITY
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Typosquatters and fraudsters still exploiting antivirus brands, analysis finds
More than a decade after typosquatting became an Internet hazard, criminals and opportunists are still abusing misspelled domains on a scale that is leaving users and businesses out of pocket, consultancy High-Tech Bridge has found.
<http://news.techworld.com/security/3493755/typosquatters-fraudsters-still-exploiting-antivirus-brands-analysis-finds/>
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/2082227/typos-online-arent-just-a-hassle-theyre-a-hazard.html>

Less phishing, but better targeting in 2013, report says
Criminals are sending markedly fewer phishing emails than a year ago, but they are now being more skillfully targeted, an end-of-year report by security firm Websense has found.
<http://news.techworld.com/security/3494104/phishing-messages-fall-markedly-in-2013-despite-better-targetting/>
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/2082276/less-phishing-but-better-targeting-in-2013-report-says.html>

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 - DOMAIN DISPUTES
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WIPO pats itself on the back for Legal Rights Objections
World Intellectual Property OrganizationWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has issued a lengthy report detailing the process and results from managing Legal Rights Objections to new TLDs.
<http://domainnamewire.com/2013/12/20/wipo-pats-itself-on-the-back-for-legal-rights-objections/>

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 - IPv4/IPv6
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IPv6 will allow them to track you down. Not! by Andrew Sullivan, Principal Architect, Dyn, special to Network World
There has been a surge of questions of late regarding IPv6 and whether it can be used to better identify individuals on the Internet. Everyone from marketeers to law enforcement officials seem to hold the same misconception that IPv6 is going to make it possible to expose people in a way that IPv4 does not.
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2013/122013-ipv6-privacy-277163.html>
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/534821/ipv6_will_allow_them_track_down_/>

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 - MISCELLANEOUS
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Domain Pulse 2014 Heads To Salzburg And Looks At Hot Online Topics Including Governance And New gTLDs
Domain Pulse 2014 is coming in February and this year's hosts, nic.at has announced a programme that looks at internet governance, new gTLDs, how internet policy influences innovation, internet exchanges, privacy, why innovations generally come from Asia and the US but not Europe and the hot online topic of the moment - surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ of everything we do online.
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21594>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/12/23/domain-pulse-2014-salzburg/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/domain-pulse-2014-salzburg.html>

Domain Pulse Release Schedule
Domain Pulse takes place every year in either Germany, Austria or Switzerland. The event is organised by and hosted by DENIC, nic.at and SWITCH. Next year?s event is being held on February 20th and 21st in Salzburg, Austria. The preliminary agenda has just been released and covers topics that should be of interest to anyone.
<http://www.internetnews.me/2013/12/20/domain-pulse-release-schedule/>

Pirate Bay Back in Sweden?s Calm Waters After .GY Suspension
The Pirate Bay?s domain troubles seem to be never ending. Just a day after the troubled torrent site found a new home in Guyana, the site?s new .GY domain has already been suspended. The local domain registry informs TorrentFreak that all domains that violate its policies will be suspended immediately. The Pirate Bay, meanwhile, has decided to return to the relatively calm waters of Sweden for the time being.
<http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-back-in-swedens-calm-waters-after-gy-suspension-131219/>

Pirate Bay ccTLD World Tour Moves On Again, Back To .SE
It?s been a very interesting week for The Pirate Bay with the file sharing website moving ccTLDs for the fourth time. The latest move from .gy (Guyana) happened in less than 24 hours and TPB is now hosted back on a .se (Sweden) domain, where it was back in April.
<http://goldsteinreport.com/article.php?article=21572>
<http://www.domainpulse.com/2013/12/19/pirate-bay-world-tour-moves-to-se/>
<http://www.domainnews.com/pirate-bay-cctld-world-tour-moves-back-to-se.html>

Internet Society Names Kathryn C. Brown as New CEO
The Internet Society announced today the appointment of Kathryn C. Brown as its new Chief Executive Officer effective 1 January 2014. Ms. Brown brings more than 30 years of experience to her new role having most recently served as a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group, an international consulting firm, and as Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility at Verizon.
<http://www.internetsociety.org/news/internet-society-names-kathryn-c-brown-new-ceo>

Meet Kathy Brown, the Internet Society?s New CEO
If you?re the kind of person who keeps track of Internet policy and governance debates, you should know that the Internet Society has a new CEO as of today.
<http://allthingsd.com/20131219/meet-kathy-brown-the-internet-societys-new-ceo/>

"Open-Heart Surgery for the Internet" Undertaken Successfully
DE-CIX Management GmbH has now successfully completed the migration to their new platform: With DE-CIX Apollon in Frankfurt am Main, they now operate the highest performance platform worldwide for the exchange of data on the Internet, and are now equipped for data transfers of 100 Gigabits per second.
<http://international.eco.de/2013/press-releases/open-heart-surgery-for-the-internet-undertaken-successfully.html>

Google: Your Various ccTLDs Will Probably Be Fine From The Same IP Address
Ever wondered if Google would mind if you had multiple ccTLD sites hosted from a single IP address? If you?re afraid they might not take kindly to that, you?re in for some good news. It?s not really that big a deal.
<http://www.webpronews.com/google-your-various-cctlds-will-probably-be-fine-from-the-same-ip-address-2013-12>

Google's Matt Cutts: Ideally ccTLDs Should Have IP In Country
Google's Matt CuttsThis is probably a topic we've covered a dozen times here but it is always nice to have an official video from Matt Cutts on the topic.
<http://www.seroundtable.com/google-cctld-ips-17838.html>

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 - DOMAINING & AFTERMARKET
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Sedo Announces Top 10 Domain Sales of 2013
Sedo ... announced its 2013 list of the highest-valued public domain sales of the year. Leading the list is Jobs.ca, which closed just days ago at $450,000, stealing the top honors from Body.com at $380,000. Another notable name in the top ten is Sandwich.com, one of the names sold as part of Yahoo?s auction of more than 100 domain names in late November, which sold for $137,500.
<https://sedo.com/presse/presse.php?tracked=&partnerid=&language=us&id=613>

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REPORTS & RESEARCH PAPERS
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The App Economy You or your institution have access to this content	
Mobile applications, also known as "apps", are a highly innovative and are an expanding sector of the economy, so policy makers are keen to maximise their innovative potential. Mobile platform markets are fiercely competitive, as highlighted by the recent rise and decline of platforms such as Blackberry, and governments are rightfully allowing market mechanisms to play out with minimal government intervention.
<http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/science-and-technology/the-app-economy_5k3ttftlv95k-en>

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SOCIAL MEDIA
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Even our grunts could be monetised by Facebook
Online hysteria about Facebook reading text that is deleted before it is posted might not be entirely unfounded
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/22/facebook-monetise-grunts-john-naughton>

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CHILD PROTECTION & ONLINE SAFETY
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Treat online abuse of women and girls as robustly as offline, authorities urged
Women's groups are calling on the police and prosecutors to treat abuse of women and girls online as "robustly" as they do offline, as a report published on Thursday reveals the extent of sexual harassment on social media sites such as Twitter.
<http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/19/treat-online-abuse-women-girls-robustly-evaw>

Transforming Child Safety through Mobility
New innovations in mobility are transforming our daily lives and the safety of our loved ones. As the growth of mobility enables more wearable devices and applications that include GPS and Wi-Fi features, it is becoming increasingly easier for parents to remotely monitor their children?s safety while managing their own daily tasks.
<http://blogs.cisco.com/ioe/summary-transforming-child-safety-through-mobility-2/>

What Next-Generation Wi-Fi Models Could Mean for Secure Mobility
With the adoption of the Internet of Things and Internet of Everything, advances in mobility and next-generation Wi-Fi are driving faster speeds, higher signal quality and more reliable connectivity, but how are they changing the way we think about mobile security?
<http://blogs.cisco.com/wireless/summary-what-next-generation-wi-fi-models-could-mean-for-secure-mobility/>

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ONLINE TV, MUSIC & PIRACY
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U.S. Releases More Evidence of Megaupload?s ?Mass Infringing Use?
The U.S. Department of Justice has released a new 191-page filing in which Megaupload is portrayed as a massive piracy hub. The Government is using data obtained from Megaupload?s seized databases to back up and expand several of the allegations against Kim Dotcom and his co-defendants. Among other things, the evidence suggests that ?repeat infringers? drove a lot of traffic to Mega?s sites. The document further shows that roughly 43% of all files streamed on Megavideo received a takedown notice.
<http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-releases-more-evidence-of-megauploads-mass-infringing-use-131221/>

FBI releases evidence against Dotcom [APNZ]
A detailed account of the evidence against Kim Dotcom has been released by the FBI to allow so-called victims of alleged piracy to claim against his seized fortune.
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11176431>
<http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/286226/fbi-releases-dotcom-evidence>

Court: 30,000 Movie Piracy Threats Could Have No Legal Basis
During the past few weeks an estimated 30,000 Internet users received threatening letters from a lawfirm claiming that they needed to pay hard cash in compensation after ?illegally? watching adult movies on the hugely popular streaming site RedTube. But in a turnaround described as ?spectacular? by a lawfirm involved in the dispute, a court has admitted that those individuals? personal details should never have been handed over.
<http://torrentfreak.com/court-30000-movie-piracy-threats-could-have-no-legal-basis-131221/>

ISP Told to Take Down ?Pirate Site? or Face Money Laundering Issues
A complaint sent to a major webhost by the Federation Against Copyright Theft has threatened to take the issue of ISP liability to a whole new level. LeaseWeb, a company with around 50,000 servers, was warned that if it did not take down a streaming video site it could be considered an accomplice to money laundering offenses. The company?s senior counsel informs TorrentFreak that these ?strong arm? tactics only make FACT?s other claims look suspicious.
<http://torrentfreak.com/isp-told-to-take-down-pirate-site-or-face-money-laundering-action-131220/>

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MOBILE/WIRELESS
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Europe reaches deal on common mobile phone battery charger
Mobile phone makers will have to provide a standard battery charger that can fit any device, including smart phones, under a provisional deal on a new EU law reached on Thursday.
<http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/uk-eu-phone-charger-idUKBRE9BI0PP20131219>

New green ICT standards tackle e-waste and energy efficiency - Universal charger for laptops and green battery solution defined [news release]
A meeting of ITU?s expert group on green ICT has resulted in new standards including an environmentally friendly universal charger for laptops as well as other portable devices (ITU-T L.1002), and a standard for green batteries for smart phones and other handheld ICT devices (ITU-T L.1010). Additionally experts have agreed on a standardised methodology for manufacturers to report the quantity of rare metals contained in their ICT devices (Recommendation ITU-T 1101) ? something that will increase the efficiency of recycling schemes.
<http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2013/76.aspx>

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ONLINE CRIME & LEGAL
**********************
German court reverses itself, puts the brakes on bizarre ?porn troll? case
On Friday, judges at the Regional Court of Cologne have taken the unusual step of revoking at least 50 of their own court orders in a strange intellectual property dispute.
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/12/german-court-reverses-itself-puts-the-brakes-on-bizarre-porn-troll-case/>

Top 3 Australian financial scams of 2013
As the year winds down, it?s time to look back at some of the financial scams that targeted Australians in 2013. 
<http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/534306/top_3_australian_financial_scams_2013/>

Australia in top five ransomware victims but fares relatively well on malware [CSO]
Australians were the fifth most-frequent victims of ransomware schemes over the past year but stayed out of the top 20 most at-risk countries for Web-based malware infections overall, according to new figures from security firm Kaspersky Labs.
<http://www.cso.com.au/article/534815/_australia_top_five_ransomware_victims_fares_relatively_well_malware/>

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PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE
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Obama Weighing Security and Privacy in Deciding on Spy Program Limits
If President Obama adopts the most far-reaching recommendations of the advisory group he set up to rein in the National Security Agency, much would change underneath the giant antennas that sprout over Fort Meade, Md., where America?s electronic spies and cyberwarriors have operated with an unprecedented amount of freedom since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/us/politics/obama-weighing-security-and-privacy-in-deciding-on-spy-program-limits.html>

Obama concedes NSA bulk collection of phone data may be unnecessary
President Barack Obama has conceded that mass collection of private data by the US government may be unnecessary and said there were different ways of ?skinning the cat?, which could allow intelligence agencies to keep the country safe without compromising privacy.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/20/obama-nsa-collection-phone-data-unnecessary>

Obama: Snowden leaks caused 'unnecessary damage'
Barack Obama has declined to be drawn into a debate about possible amnesty for Edward Snowden, the whistleblower whose revelations about the NSA have sparked intense internal deliberation about changing US surveillance activities.
<http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/20/obama-snowden-leaks-caused-unnecessary-damage>

Obama promises review of NSA spying program, possible reforms
President Obama signaled Friday that he may halt the National Security Agency?s collection and storage of millions of Americans? phone records and instead require phone companies to hold the data.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-concludes-tough-year-with-press-conference/2013/12/20/7840204c-6991-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html>

Surveillance review board recommends U.S. shift to cyber defense
The task force appointed by the White House to review controversial surveillance programs and other operations by the National Security Agency has recommended policy shifts that emphasize cybersecurity defense.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/nsa-defense-idINDEE9BI00U20131219>

GCHQ and NSA targeted charities, Germans, Israeli PM and EU chief
British and American intelligence agencies had a comprehensive list of surveillance targets that included the EU's competition commissioner, German government buildings in Berlin and overseas, and the heads of institutions that provide humanitarian and financial help to Africa, top-secret documents reveal.
<http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/dec/20/gchq-targeted-aid-agencies-german-government-eu-commissioner>

N.S.A. Spied on Allies, Aid Groups and Businesses
Secret documents reveal more than 1,000 targets of American and British surveillance in recent years, including the office of an Israeli prime minister, heads of international aid organizations, foreign energy companies and a European Union official involved in antitrust battles with American technology businesses.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/world/nsa-dragnet-included-allies-aid-groups-and-business-elite.html>

How GCHQ Monitors Germany, Israel and the EU
Documents from the archive of whistleblower and former NSA worker Edward Snowden show that Britain's GCHQ signals intelligence agency has targeted European, German and Israeli politicians for surveillance.
<http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/snowden-documents-show-gchq-targeted-european-and-german-politicians-a-940135.html>

NSA Snooping's Negative Impact On Business Would Have The Founding Fathers 'Aghast'
James Madison would be ?aghast.? That was one of the incendiary charges leveled at the National Security Agency and its mass surveillance activities by Judge Richard Leon in his December 16 opinion ordering the government to stop collecting some of the data that it?s been gathering on private citizens here and abroad.
<http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/12/20/nsa-snoopings-negative-impact-on-business-would-have-the-founding-fathers-aghast/>

White House Tries to Prevent Judge From Ruling on Surveillance Efforts
The Obama administration moved late Friday to prevent a federal judge in California from ruling on the constitutionality of warrantless surveillance programs authorized during the Bush administration, telling a court that recent disclosures about National Security Agency spying were not enough to undermine its claim that litigating the case would jeopardize state secrets.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/us/white-house-tries-to-prevent-judge-from-ruling-on-surveillance-efforts.html>

A judge damns America?s data-collection programmes
James Madison ?would be aghast? at America?s vast surveillance programmes. So said Richard Leon, a federal judge hearing a challenge to their constitutionality. On December 16th he issued a blistering 68-page critique, calling the technology used by the National Security Agency (NSA) ?almost Orwellian? and ordering it to stop collecting the telephone records of two plaintiffs.
<http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21591856-judge-damns-americas-data-collection-programmes-judge-v-spies>

Germany should ban U.S. contracting companies passing data to NSA - report
U.S. contracting companies such as Cisco, which manages much of the German armed forces' data, should be contractually barred from passing sensitive information to the U.S. security services, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives was quoted saying.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/21/germany-spying-idINDEE9BK04820131221>

What Transparency Reports Don't Tell Us: These reports give us a lot of numbers, but very little information about how hard these companies fight on the behalf of users
There was a time in the not so distant past when hardly any Internet company wanted to release a transparency report?a report that summarized the number of law enforcement and intelligence requests that they received and responded to. What started with just Google and Twitter in 2010 and 2012, respectively, has become a steady stream of companies joining the bandwagon in the wake of Edward Snowden?s revelations. Companies that had no interest in reporting one year ago now hold out their reports in an attempt to earn back eroded customer trust. The problem is that transparency reports actually tell us very little about whether we should trust these companies.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/what-transparency-reports-dont-tell-us/282529/>

Government Requests to Remove Online Material Increase at Google
Governments, led by the United States, are increasingly demanding that Google remove information from the Web.
<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/government-requests-to-remove-online-content-increase-at-google/>

Spain privacy watchdog fines Google for breaking data law
Spain's privacy watchdog on Thursday fined Google for breaking the country's data protection law when combining personal information from its many different online services and failing to inform users clearly on how it uses their data.
<http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/spain-google-privacy-idINDEE9BI0HP20131219>

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GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY
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European Commission rejects Google's latest proposals to settle antitrust case
The European Commission has rejected Google's revised proposals to settle a three-year antitrust row, its competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said today.
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/20/european-commission-rejects-google-proposals-antitrust-case>

Google Back in Europe?s Antitrust Sights
Google?s latest proposal to settle an antitrust investigation in Europe does not go far enough, the European Union?s competition commissioner said on Friday, dealing a blow to the company as it tries to resolve the case.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/technology/europe-official-is-dissatisfied-with-google-proposal.html>

EU has 'serious doubts' about Italy's proposed Web tax
The European Commission warned on Thursday that Italy's proposed legislation to raise revenue from online companies including Google Inc and Amazon Inc was likely to break European Union rules.
<http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/19/uk-eu-web-tax-idUKBRE9BI0RH20131219>

Internet Policy to Decide on Germany?s Economic Future
The new government has been confirmed. Germany?s future role in international competition will stand or fall on the basis of the framework conditions that companies are provided with. eco ? Association of the German Internet Industry e.V., in a position paper published today, therefore calls for Internet policy to be given a strategic significance in order to make Germany fit for the gigabit society.
<http://international.eco.de/2013/press-releases/internet-policy-to-decide-on-germanys-economic-future.html>

The TPP's Attack on Artists' Termination Rights
There are any number of controversial proposals in the leaked text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) chapter on intellectual property. Here?s one that?s not getting enough attention: the TPP appears to contain yet another attempt to undermine "termination rights," which grant artists the ability to regain control over copyrights they've assigned away after 35 years.
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/12/tpps-attack-artists-termination-rights>

Bitcoin, Nationless Currency, Still Feels Government?s Pinch
If Bitcoin is a bubble, as its critics contend, it is showing signs of deflating.
<http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/bitcoin-collides-with-government-concerns/>

New Australian government sits on website censorship inquiry
The new Australian government has had a draft discussion paper prepared on the controversial Section 313 powers granted to government agencies to force ISPs to block websites, but it has not acted on it since the election.
<http://www.zdnet.com/au/new-australian-government-sits-on-website-censorship-inquiry-7000024489/>

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MISCELLANEOUS
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Into the Bitcoin Mines
On the flat lava plain of Reykjanesbaer, Iceland, near the Arctic Circle, you can find the mines of Bitcoin. To get there, you pass through a fortified gate and enter a featureless yellow building. After checking in with a guard behind bulletproof glass, you face four more security checkpoints, including a so-called man trap that allows passage only after the door behind you has shut. This brings you to the center of the operation, a fluorescent-lit room with more than 100 whirring silver computers, each in a locked cabinet and each cooled by blasts of Arctic air shot up from vents in the floor.
<http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/12/21/into-the-bitcoin-mines/>

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