QuickLinks Update

UK - Ordnance Survey maps to go online

2009-11-20T10:59:00.000+01:00

(BBC)
Ordnance Survey map data will be freely available online to everybody from 2010, the Government has announced. The move will allow people to interpret public statistics about crime, health and education by postcode, local authority or electoral boundary. Currently, the geographical data is only available free of charge to small scale developers. Opening it up is key to the success of government plans to free its data via data.gov.uk, say the site's creators.

The strange death of illegal downloading

2009-11-20T10:49:00.000+01:00

(Guardian)
This year is the most successful in the UK's history for singles sales. More than 117m have been sold ? comfortably beating the previous record of 115.1m, set in 2008. It is happening because of an explosion of new companies offering tracks free, legally, without having to go to peer-to-peer sites and thereby avoiding the risk of getting bogus tracks or viruses. People are flocking to them simply because it is a much easier way of listening to music. None of these sites were started by the music industry. Two of the newbies, Spotify.com and We7.com, alone have gained at least 5 million new users in their first year, mainly people who previously downloaded illegally. They use so called "freemium" business models offering streamed tracks for free if you accept an advert or for nothing if you take out a monthly subscription.

Twitter chief tells Murdoch: internet paywall will not work

2009-11-20T10:32:00.001+01:00

(Guardian)
The co-founder of Twitter warned Rupert Murdoch that his plans to charge for online content, and block Google from using stories produced by his News International titles, were a vain attempt to "put the genie back in the bottle".

AU - Bebo to shut down in Australia

2009-11-20T10:29:00.001+01:00

(Sydney Morning Herald)
The Facebook juggernaut has claimed the scalp of AOL Time Warner's $US850 million acquisition of Bebo, with the social media site tipped to close its Australian operation before Christmas as part of a global retreat and rethink. Australians, unlike net users in many other markets, have rapidly given Google and Facebook a near-monopoly position in online search and social networking.

IGF - Children in the Web 2.0 world - the European approach

2009-11-20T08:54:00.001+01:00

(UN)
Audio Webcast. Chair: Ana Luiza Rotta Soares (Protegeles), Panelists: Katia Segers (EU Kids Online), Rachel O'Connell (Bebo), Janice Richardson (INSAFE), Gry Hasselbalch (Danish Media Council), Simon Grehan (NCTE Ireland), Dieter Carstensen (eNACSO)

FR - Le gouvernement donne 32 000 euros pour lutter contre le spam

2009-11-19T16:18:00.001+01:00

(01net)
La France s'est dotée en 2007 d'une plate-forme nationale de signalement de pourriels, appelée Signal-spam. Selon la Cnil, elle compterait aujourd'hui 50 000 utilisateurs inscrits qui lui auraient adressé plus de 17 millions de signalements. L'association Signal-spam, partenariat entre pouvoirs publics et acteurs privés, est financée par ses membres. L'Etat vient de lui renouveler son soutien financier, d'un montant de 32 000 euros.

IGF - IGF: Jugendsch�tzer f�r Netzsperren

2009-11-19T16:12:00.001+01:00

(Heise)
Die Jugend im Netz war neben Klassikern wie Meinungsfreiheit und Datenschutz eines der großen Themen auf dem diesjährigen Internet Governance Forum (IGF) im ägyptischen Sharm El Sheik. Auf rund einem Dutzend Veranstaltungen wurden Themen wie Kinderschutz im Internet oder der Kampf gegen Kinderpornographie diskutiert. Dabei sprachen sich Experten auch für den Einsatz von Netzsperren aus.

CN - China wants fewer monsters, more 'culture' in online games

2009-11-19T16:04:00.000+01:00

(IDG News Service)
Online games in China should move away from "lowbrow" content such as monster hunting, Chinese regulators said, highlighting the uncertain regulatory conditions faced by game operators in the country. The game features the regulators dislike, especially monster hunting as the main way for players to gain experience points and new powers, exist in virtually all hit online games. Game operators should also limit highly popular systems that let players kill other human-controlled characters, the country's culture ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

Online gaming's dirty little secret

2009-11-19T15:59:00.001+01:00

(CNET blog)
There's no denying that the online multiplayer experience is a major selling point for video games like the just-released Modern Warfare 2. The ability to play with (and against) other players from around the world adds an expanded dimension and a social component that single-player titles lack. But while the bulk of the mainstream media criticism of these games tends to focus on the violence, gore, and questionable ethics in such combat-centric titles, little is spoken about a growing issue that can affect online gamers playing any title: instances of racism, misogyny, and homophobia.

CA - New study highlights need for education and collaboration to address child sexual abuse websites

2009-11-19T14:32:00.001+01:00

(Press Release)
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection today released a new study titled Child Sexual Abuse Images: An analysis of websites by Cybertip.ca. The study reinforces concerns regarding the scope and severity of child sexual abuse imagery and underscores the need for additional solutions. The report was based on the examination of nearly 16,000 incidents involving sites hosting child pornography and the analysis of more than 4,000 unique images of child sexual abuse. More than 82% of the images assessed by Cybertip.ca depicted very young, pre-pubescent children under 12 years of age. Most concerning was the severe abuse depicted, with more than 35% of all images showing serious sexual assaults.

US - Call for descriptions: online safety programs

2009-11-19T14:05:00.000+01:00

(Berkman Center for Internet & Society)
The Risky Behaviors and Online Safety track of Harvard University Berkman Center's Youth and Media Policy Working Group Initiative is creating a Compendium of youth-based Internet safety programs and interventions. We are requesting organizations, institutions, and individuals working in online youth safety to share descriptions of their effective programs and interventions that address risky behavior by youth online. We are particularly interested in endeavors that involve educators, social services, mentors and coaches, youth workers, religious leaders, law enforcement, mental health professionals, and those working in the field of public or adolescent health. Program descriptions will be made publicly available. Exemplary programs will be spotlighted to policy makers, educators, and the public so that they too can learn about different approaches being tried and tested. Submissions also will be used to inform recommendations for future research and program opportunities. Deadline: December 21, 2009

FR - 159.212 euros, la facture sal�e d'un abonn� Orange

2009-11-19T13:37:00.001+01:00

(Le Point)
La médiatisation la semaine dernière du cas d'un habitant de Petite-Forêt, près de Valenciennes, qui a reçu une facture d'Internet de près de 46.000 euros pour le seul mois d'août a incité d'autres clients malheureux à sortir de l'ombre. Un médecin urgentiste, abonné à internet avec une clé 3G illimitée, a affirmé mardi être en contentieux avec Orange depuis six mois après avoir reçu une facture de 159.212 euros.

IGF / CN - China isn't happy with the IGF

2009-11-19T12:07:00.001+01:00

(Rebecca McKinnon)
On the final day of a four-day meeting, most government representatives expressed support for renewing the Internet Governance Forum's five-year mandate which ends next year. China did not. Chen Yin, the head of the Chinese delegation to the Internet Governance Forum, said that the IGF's mandate should not be continued without reforms.

EU / IGF - Why the Internet must be open, global and multilingual

2009-11-19T11:05:00.001+01:00

(RAPID)
Opening speech by Viviane Reding Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media at the Internet Governance Forum Sharm El Sheikh, 15 November 2009

IGF - Hearing back from young people

2009-11-18T17:49:00.002+01:00

(Childnet International)
Video with messages for the IGF. Shown at the workshop on Internet Governance - Activating and Listening to the Voice of Tweens at Sharm el Sheikh 17 November 2009.

IGF- Muzzled by the United Nations

2009-11-18T12:13:00.001+01:00

(Rebecca McKinnon)
The Internet Governance Forum is winding down today in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. There have been a lot of very constructive conversations in workshops and panels over the past four days about how to advance security, privacy, child protection, AND human rights and free expression on the Internet. Unfortunately, the biggest headline coming out of the forum so far has been an incident on Sunday in which a poster promoting a book about censorship by the Open Net Initiative was removed by U.N. security. See reports by the BBC, the Associated Press, and the ONI's FAQ on the incident. Also see a YouTube video of the incident, and video of IGF Chairman Markus Kummer explaining the incident.

Facebook adopts new privacy policy

2009-11-18T09:52:00.000+01:00

(CNET)
Facebook has decided to adopt a revised privacy policy designed to be more accessible and easier to understand. The site also plans to add visual resources designed to make the document more accessible, such as a glossary of important terms and informational "learn more" videos. Facebook expects to post the revision in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish soon. See company blog.

UK - T-Mobile staff sold personal data

2009-11-18T09:09:00.001+01:00

(BBC)
Staff at mobile phone company T-Mobile passed on millions of records from thousands of customers to third party brokers, the firm has confirmed. Details emerged after the firm alerted the information commissioner, who said his office was preparing a prosecution. Christopher Graham said brokers had sold the data to other phone firms, who then cold-called the customers as their contracts were due to expire.

UK - Network sites 'need help buttons'

2009-11-18T09:05:00.001+01:00

(BBC)
Major social networking sites MySpace and Facebook have been criticised for failing to introduce a help button for children being bullied online. Jim Gamble, from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), hit out as rival networking site Bebo adopted the button. He said there was "no legitimate reason" why MySpace and Facebook had not done the same. see also Networking sites 'alert' police.

Dilbert cartoon

2009-11-17T16:50:00.003+01:00

EU cracks down on mobile services

2009-11-17T15:57:00.001+01:00

(BBC)
Websites mis-selling mobile ringtones and other services have been forced to clean up their acts, following a European Union crackdown. Some 301 sites were investigated, resulting in the closure of 54 and the correction of 159. The biggest problems were unclear pricing and misleading advertising suggesting ringtones were free. The investigation was a direct response to hundreds of complaints from parents and consumers across Europe. See Commission Press Release.

Bringing down walls and barriers in the digital world - priorities for the European Digital Agenda

2009-11-17T12:24:00.001+01:00

(RAPID)
Speech by Viviane Reding Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, 'Visby Agenda: Creating impact for an eUnion 2015' Visby/Gotland, 9 November 2009

Oxford's word of the year? 'Unfriend'

2009-11-17T11:03:00.004+01:00

(CNET)
The New Oxford American Dictionary has picked the verb "unfriend," or "to remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook," as its 2009 Word of the Year. [Ed: Other new words were considered including hashtag, netbook and sexting]

Girls 'becoming Facebook addicts'

2009-11-16T18:59:00.000+01:00

(BBC)
Parents fear their daughters are becoming addicted to social networking sites, a girls' school leader says. Girls seem to be "permanently connected" to sites like Facebook and Bebo, president of the Girls' Schools Association Jill Berry said. This issue now tops the list of parents' worries by some way, she told the association's annual conference.

EU - Commission forms industry body to solve behavioural advertising problems

2009-11-16T17:37:00.002+01:00

(OUT-LAW News)
The European Commission has formed a new group, the Stakeholder Forum on Fair Data Collection, in an attempt to regulate companies' growing gathering and use of customers' personal data. The group has been formed to address problems the Commission says are eroding consumer trust. Online retail is increasingly dependent on information on users' browsing habits and demographic information gathered from them. Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva has created a new industry body that she wants to address the privacy and consumer protection problems faced by the users of online retail services. See "Consumer Privacy and Online Market" Speech by Meglena Kuneva European Consumer Commissioner, BEUC Multi-Stakeholder Forum "Consumer Privacy and Online Marketing: Market Trends and Policy Perspectives" Brussels, 12 November 2009.