29 June 2008

Blog standard

(Economist)
Authoritarian governments can lock up bloggers. It is harder to outwit them

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22 June 2008

CN / EU - China's censorship of Web unacceptable

(Reuters)
EU's telecoms chief Viviane Reding has said that China's censorship of the Internet was "unacceptable" and that the Beijing Olympics were a chance for the country to show its commitment to free flow of information. Reding, who is the European Commissioner for Information Society and Media said she regards the Internet as a free medium for expression and any curtailment of that is limiting the citizen's right to information. "People should be free to receive information, we do not think blocking of sites for political reasons is the right way to proceed," Reding told Reuters. "We say, for instance, to the Chinese very clearly that their blocking of certain Internet content is absolutely unacceptable to us," she said.

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17 June 2008

Blogger arrests hit record high

(BBC)
More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says the World Information Access Report. Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report. In 2007 three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006, it revealed. More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran. See Blogger Arrests.

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15 June 2008

US - Website judge dropped from trial

(BBC)
A US judge has removed himself from an obscenity trial he was overseeing after it emerged that his own website featured sexually explicit images. Federal appeals court judge Alex Kozinski, 57, earlier suspended the trial of a businessman accused of distributing obscene videos. Mr Kozinski said he was not aware the explicit photographs and videos on his website could be seen by the public. Public access to his site has since been blocked. Mr Kozinski is a high-ranking and highly respected judge, and is chief judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. See also The Kozinski messbu Larry Lessig.

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UK - Minister backs code to tackle online sex and violence

(Guardian)
The government has signalled its support for a common set of standards for internet content in response to worries about the impact of violent and sexual output online. The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, said he wanted to see online content meet the same standards required for television as the boundaries between the two media continue to blur. Television in the UK is governed by the broadcasting code of Ofcom, the media regulator. There is no overall regulation for the internet. See Secretary of State speech to the Convergence Think Tank 11 June 2008.

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04 June 2008

UK - ASA puts brakes on LG mobile phone

(Guardian)
A television ad for LG mobile phones has been banned by the advertising watchdog because it appeared to show a woman using her handset while driving.

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30 May 2008

FR - British newspaper websites liable in France for privacy invasion

(OUT-LAW News)
Two British newspaper publishers have been fined in French courts because they violated French privacy laws. The publishers were liable because the articles were viewed in France on the internet. Olivier Martinez, an ex-boyfriend of Kylie Minogue, sued Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) and Associated Newspapers for breach of France's strict privacy laws after the newspapers published stories suggesting Martinez and Minogue had recommenced their relationship. MGN was sued because of an article at sundaymirror.co.uk, while Associated was sued over articles at dailymail.co.uk and thisislondon.co.uk. For each title the publishers were ordered to pay €4,500.

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23 May 2008

SG - Singapore bans two porn websites in symbolic move

(Reuters)
Singapore has banned access to two pornographic websites in a "symbolic statement" of the country's societal values, its media regulator said. The two sites, which the regulator declined to identify but local media named as YouPorn and RedTube, work in a similar fashion to popular video-sharing website YouTube. The two Web sites allow users to add and download sex videos.

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14 May 2008

UK - Ofcom defends 9pm watershed

(Guardian)
Ofcom has dismissed claims by a group of MPs that the 9pm watershed is failing to protect young children because they can now access television online. Giving evidence at a culture, media and sport committee hearing, the Ofcom chief executive, Ed Richards, denied the regulator had put itself in an "impossible and absurd position" by not doing more to regulate objectionable content on the web. Richards was responding to claims made by Nigel Evans, the Ribble Valley conservative MP, who argued that Ofcom's powers over broadcasting should be more rigorously applied to internet content. The cross-party group of MPs raised concerns about services such as the BBC iPlayer, which make it possible for anyone to view post-watershed content at any time of the day. The Ofcom partner for content and standards, Stuart Purvis, said a lot of the responsibility rested with parents to make sure their children were not watching inappropriate material.

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30 April 2008

UK - Blogger fined for 'menacing' rant

(BBC)
A blogger who "let off steam" about the way he was treated by police has been convicted of posting a grossly offensive and menacing message.

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08 April 2008

CN - Most Chinese say they approve of government Internet control

(Pew Internet)
Many Americans assume that China's internet users are unhappy about their government's control of the internet, but a new survey finds most Chinese say they approve of internet regulation, especially by the government.

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17 March 2008

CN - China blocks media due to Tibet unrest

(Guardian)
The Chinese government has cracked down on international media coverage of the unrest in Tibet, blocking websites and censoring the local feeds of broadcasters including BBC World and CNN. China's internet clampdown came over the weekend, following the outbreak of widespread unrest and violence in Tibet last week, and has hit websites including Yahoo, YouTube and Guardian.co.uk.

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06 March 2008

Seeking Tighter Censorship, Repressive States Target Web 2.0 Apps

(Wired)
It's not the governments who censor keywords that worries Ethan Zuckerman, whose job it is to help dissidents around the world. He fears that governments will simply decide to go after the Web 2.0 tools that activists are using to publish.

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04 March 2008

Dynamic Medien Vertriebs GmbH v Avides Media AG

(European Court of Justice) Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 February 2008 Case C-244/06. Reference for a preliminary ruling: Landgericht Koblenz - Germany. Free movement of goods - Article 28 EC - Measures having equivalent effect - Directive 2000/31/EC - National rules prohibiting the sale by mail order of image storage media which have not been examined and classified by the competent authority for the purpose of protecting children and which do not bear a label from that authority indicating the age from which they may be viewed - Image storage media imported from another Member State which have been examined and classified by the competent authority of that State and bear an age-limit label - Justification - Child protection - Principle of proportionality.

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02 March 2008

Facebook: We didn't give data leading to Morocco arrest

(CNET.com)
Facebook has denied giving the Moroccan government information to identify a man who was sentenced to prison for posting a fake profile of a Moroccan prince. A Moroccan court sentenced the 26-year-old IT engineer to three years and fined him 10,000 dirhams ($1,320) for setting up a Facebook account in the name of King Mohammed's brother, Prince Moulay Rachid.

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01 March 2008

US - Wikileaks gets its domain name back

(Iconoclast) blog by Declan McCullagh. Wikileaks is getting its domain name back. After spending more than three hours hearing arguments from a raft of attorneys - two representing the Swiss bank that fought to get the site's plug pulled and about 10 who have been trying to get the site back online - a federal judge here has ruled in favor of Wikileaks. Wikileaks, which uses Wikileaks.org as its primary domain, is a whistle-blowing site that focuses on posting leaked documents.

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26 February 2008

CN - "The Connection Has Been Reset?

(The Atlantic)
by James Fallows. China's Great Firewall is crude, slapdash, and surprisingly easy to breach. Here's why it's so effective anyway.

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25 February 2008

US - Congress, Content Regulation, and Child Protection: The Expanding Legislative Agenda

(Progress & Freedom Foundation)
by Adam Thierer. The 110th session of Congress has witnessed an explosion of legislative proposals dealing with online child safety, or which seek to regulate media content or Internet communications in some fashion. More than 30 of these legislative proposals are cataloged in a new joint legislative index that was released today by the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Progress & Freedom Foundation, compiled to help keep track of the growing volume of legislative activity on these fronts. Many of the measures highlighted in the index raise serious free speech concerns.

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24 February 2008

PK - Pakistan blocks YouTube website

(BBC)
Pakistan has blocked access to the popular YouTube website because of content deemed offensive to Islam. Its telecommunications authority ordered internet service providers to block the site until further notice. Reports said the content included Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that have outraged many.

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US - Whistle while you work

(Guardian)
From government to big business, if you have a dirty secret, Wikileaks is your nightmare. David Leigh and Jonathan Franklin on the site a US court has tried to muzzle. See also Wikileaks judge gets Pirate Bay treatment

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MA - Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan

(BBC)
A Moroccan computer engineer has been sentenced to three years in jail for setting up a Facebook profile in the name of a member of the royal family. Fouad Mourtada was arrested on 5 February on suspicion of stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid, younger brother of King Mohammed VI. The Casablanca court also ordered Mr Mourtada, 26, to pay a $1,300 fine.

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09 February 2008

UK - Ministers plan clampdown on 'unsuitable' video games

(Guardian)
A legally enforceable cinema-style classification system is to be introduced for video games in an effort to keep children from playing damaging games unsuitable for their age, the Guardian has learned. Under the proposals, it would be illegal for shops to sell classified games to a child below the recommended age.

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31 January 2008

CN - China Steps Up Internet Video Control

(AP)
China will take a new step to tighten control of the Internet when rules go into force limiting online video-sharing to state companies. But regulators, wary of hurting a fast-growing industry, are expected to let private operators work around the restrictions. The rules are aimed at expanding a Chinese censorship system that tries to block Internet use to spread dissent while promoting it for business and education. Communist leaders are especially anxious about unflattering video showing up online ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August, a major prestige project.

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UK - Media regulation needs reform

(Guardian)
Sir Christopher Meyer, the chairman of the press watchdog, today said that the system of media regulation was "pretty weird" and needed to be sorted out with a new communications act. Meyer, appearing before the House of Lords communications committee, said the system of separate media regulators including Ofcom, the Press Complaints Commission he chairs, the BBC Trust and the Advertising Standards Authority was a "typical British fudge" and needed rationalisation.

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27 January 2008

UK - Crackdown on sales of violent video games

(BBC)
Ministers want to make it easier for parents to protect their children from violent games by introducing a new, simpler classification system based on age ratings used by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). Under the new scheme, it would become illegal for retailers to sell any video game to a child who was younger than the age rating on the box. At present, only the most violent games are regulated. The majority of games receive an age rating based on a voluntary system run by Pan-European Game Information (PEGI). PEGI ratings are not legally enforceable, however.

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UK - High court sends Manhunt back to Video Appeals Committee release

(BBC)
The developer of controversial video game Manhunt 2 has failed in its latest attempt to release the game in the UK. A high court judge ruled that the Rockstar Games' title must be re-evaluated by an appeals committee. The British Board of Film Classification successfully argued that the game had been approved for release on a misinterpretation of the law by the a decision by the Video Appeals Committee (VAC). The latest ruling means that the VAC must now re-evaluate the game under new guidelines.

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21 January 2008

TR - Turkey Bans YouTube for Second Time

(Huffington Post)
A Turkish court has again blocked access to the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube because of clips allegedly insulting the country's founding father. It was the second time Turkey banned the site because of clips deemed disrespectful to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is illegal in Turkey to insult the revered figure, whose portrait still hangs in nearly all government offices nearly 70 years after his death.

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16 January 2008

UK - Watchdog puts stranglehold on ad for violent computer game

(Guardian)
A TV advertisement for a computer game, Stranglehold, showing a shoot-out between four men was banned yesterday by the advertising watchdog for being too violent. After an investigation triggered by complaints from the public, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found the advert breached advertising rules relating to violence and cruelty, and health and safety. The watchdog said the advert for the 18-rated game featured almost continuous shooting and realistic computer-generated scenes of violenc

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09 January 2008

DE - Kritik an der Evaluierung des Jugendmedienschutzsystems

(Hesie)
Die Analyse des komplizierten Systems des deutschen Jugendmedienschutzrechts sei bislang zu schlampig ausgefallen, meint eine Gruppe namhafter Juristen. In einem Artikel der Fachzeitschrift "MultiMedia und Recht" kritisieren sie den jüngst vorgestellten Bericht des Hans-Bredow-Instituts in Hamburg zur Evaluation des Jugendmedienschutzstaatsvertrages und Jugendschutzgesetzes. Die Juristen stellen den Bericht als "defizitäre Defizitanalyse" in Frage.

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06 January 2008

CN - Fears for rights as Beijing 2008 nears

(BBC)
A few days ago, about 30 police officers broke into the home of Chinese activist Hu Jia and took him away.His wife, fellow activist Zeng Jinyan, is now under house arrest. At least 10 security personnel guard her home. Mr Hu's arrest comes as China celebrates the start of one of its most important years in recent history.

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CN - Unprecedented censorship measures to be applied to online video and audio files

(Reporters Without Borders)
Reporters Without Borders condemns new regulations jointly issued by the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) under which only websites that are licenced by both the MII and SARFT will be able to post videos and audio files online from 31 January.

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Saudis confirm detention of blogger

(New York Times)
An outspoken Saudi blogger, Fouah al-Farhan, is being held for "purposes of interrogation," the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed.

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JP - Regulating the Japanese cyberspace, one step at a time

(gyaku)
by shioyama. With little fanfare from local or foreign media, the Japanese government made major moves this month toward legislating extensive regulation over online communication and information exchange within its national borders. In a series of little-publicized meetings attracting minimal mainstream coverage, two distinct government ministries, that of Internal Affairs and Communications (Somusho) and that of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Monbukagakusho), pushed ahead with regulation in three major areas of online communication: web content, mobile phone access, and file sharing.

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30 December 2007

AU - New rules for age-restricted internet and mobile content

(ACMA)
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has determined new rules that for the first time implement a uniform approach for restricting access to MA15+ and R18+ content accessed through the internet or by mobile phones. The new Restricted Access Systems Declaration places obligations on all content service providers to check that individuals accessing restricted content provided in Australia are at least 15 years of age for MA15+ content or 18 years of age for R18+ content. Similar to previous obligations relating to stored content, the new rules provide that after receiving a complaint and investigating internet or mobile content, ACMA may require the content service provider to either remove the content or place the content behind specified access restrictions.

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17 December 2007

UK - Censors battle for Manhunt 2 ban

(BBC)
British censors are seeking a judicial review to block the sale of controversial video game Manhunt 2. Last week developer Rockstar won a hearing at the Video Appeals Committee to have a ban on the title lifted. But the British Board of Film Classification said that decision was based on an incorrect interpretation of the Video Recordings Act.

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02 December 2007

FR - Le Forum des droits sur l´internet énonce la règle du jeu vidéo en ligne

Le Forum des droits sur l´internet a publié sa Recommandation « Jeux vidéo en ligne : quelle gouvernance ? ». Cette 25e Recommandation constitue le premier rapport français qui étudie le phénomène du jeu vidéo en ligne dans ses diverses composantes : sociologique, économique et juridique. Il traite de toutes les formes de jeux qui existent en ligne (jeux en ligne massivement multijoueur, jeux occasionnels et consoles de jeu connectées à internet), à l´exception des jeux d´argent.

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16 November 2007

SG - Singapore bans Microsoft's video game for sex scene

(Reuters)
Singapore has banned a Microsoft video game that contains a scene showing a human woman and an alien woman kissing and caressing each other. The Straits Times said Mass Effect, a highly anticipated futuristic-space adventure game from Microsoft, was banned by Singapore's Media Development Authority.

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28 October 2007

RU - Kremlin Seeks To Extend Its Reach in Cyberspace

(Washington Post)
The Kremlin and its allies are turning their attention to cyberspace, which remains a haven for critical reporting and vibrant discussion in Russia's dwindling public sphere. Allies of President Vladimir Putin are creating pro-government news and pop culture Web sites while purchasing some established online outlets known for independent journalism. They are nurturing a network of friendly bloggers ready to disseminate propaganda on command. And there is talk of creating a new Russian computer network - one that would be separate from the Internet at large and, potentially, much easier for the authorities to control.

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JP - Japanese Poll: 87% Accept Manga Child Porn Regulation

(Anime News Network)
The Japanese government's Cabinet Office issued the results of its Special Opinion Poll on Harmful Materials, in which 86.5% of those who responded said that manga and art should be subject to regulation for child pornography, if they had to decide. 90.9% said that "harmful materials" on the Internet should be regulated, if they had to decide. The current child pornography laws in Japan do not regulate manga and art that depict children who are not real, or "virtual child pornography."

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24 October 2007

CN - China accused of rerouting search traffic to Baidu

(CNET News.com)
Reports have surfaced that China is redirecting traffic from foreign search engines operated by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to homegrown Baidu.com. According to various reports online, some online users in China attempting to access Google.com, Microsoft's Live.com and Yahoo.com search sites have been redirected to China-based Baidu.com. Blog site TechCrunch reported that Chinese traffic to Google's blog search engine was being rerouted to Baidu. TechCrunch later published another article saying a similar situation was observed with the other two search giants.

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20 October 2007

DE - Court approves ban on link portal

(Heise)
According to the State Media Agency of Lower Saxony (NLM) the Administrative Court in Lüneburg has imposed an order to cease and desist to stop an internet provider from hosting a web page containing about 1400 links, some of them leading to pornographic web sites. According to the NLM, minors are able to access these pornographic offers because no appropriate age verification system is in place.

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16 October 2007

Report highlights blog censorship

(BBC)
Bloggers are now finding themselves prey to censorship from repressive governments as much as journalists in traditional media. Reporters Without Borders' annual study of press freedom says China is one of the worst offenders, having imprisoned 50 people for postings on the internet. The report says governments realise the internet is now a key tool in promoting democracy and are moving to curb it. Eritrea was ranked bottom on overall press freedom by the pressure group. The African nation took the 169th slot on the sixth annual worldwide press freedom index, behind North Korea at 168th and Turkmenistan at 167th.

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14 October 2007

CN - A "journey to the Heart of Internet censorship" on eve of party congress

(Reporters Without Borders)
In partnership with Reporters Without Borders and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Chinese Internet expert working in IT industry has produced an exclusive study on the key mechanism of the Chinese official system of online censorship, surveillance and propaganda. This report shows how the CCP and the government have deployed colossal human and financial resources to obstruct online free expression. Chinese news websites and blogs have been brought under the editorial control of the propaganda apparatus at both the national and local levels.

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06 October 2007

CN - Expert says world misunderstands China's Web controls

(Reuters)
The Internet in China is not as restricted as sometimes believed in the West, with most controls actually coming from sites practising self-censorship, an academic who studies the Chinese Web said. But the government has also effectively stopped online dissent, defying expectations that the Communist Party would never survive broadband, said Rebecca MacKinnon, assistant professor of new media at Hong Kong University's Journalism and Media Studies Centre.

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29 September 2007

TK - Turkey blocks again YouTube

(EDRI-gram)
A Turkish court from the eastern city of Sivas decided on 18 September 2007 to order the ISPs to block the access to YouTube, considering that one of the video hosted there insulted Turkey's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish army.

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MM - Burmese junta tries to shut down internet and phone links

(Guardian)
The Burmese junta was desperately trying to shut down internet and telephone links to the outside world after a stream of blogs and mobile phone videos began capturing the dramatic events on the streets. In the past 24 hours observers monitoring the flow of information have noticed a marked downturn, with the reported closure of cybercafes and the disconnection of mobile telephones.

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US - Verizon Reverses Itself on Abortion Messages

(New York Times)
Reversing course, Verizon Wireless will allow an abortion rights group to send text messages to its supporters on Verizon's mobile network. Last week, Verizon rejected a request from the abortion rights group Naral Pro-Choice America for a five-digit "short code". Such codes allow people interested in hearing from businesses, politicians and advocacy groups to sign up to receive text messages. Verizon is one of the two largest mobile carriers. The other leading carriers had all accepted Naral's request for the code.

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AU - Government seeks to ban more websites

(PC World)
The Australian Government has tabled a bill that will increase the power of police to ban websites that they deem crime or terrorism related. The bill was tabled in the Senate, without notice. This bill proposes to amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to expand the black lists URLs that is currently maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to include crime and terrorism related websites hosted domestically and overseas.

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EU - Experts doubt plan to block bomb recipes on Web

(Reuters)
A European Union proposal to stop people from accessing bomb-making instructions online is fraught with technical difficulties, if not downright unworkable, Internet practitioners say. EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini says he is working on plans that would block Web searches for bomb recipes and oblige Internet service providers to prevent access to sites containing them.

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01 September 2007

CN - Chinese ISP introduces cartoon cops

(bigmouthmedia)
Police in China have created a cartoon depiction of the Chinese internet police force that will be displayed to users every thirty minutes whilst browsing the web. The aim of the cartoon is to be a friendly reminder to users to abide by the laws of the land and to avoid anything that could be deemed illegal in China.

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28 August 2007

US - Yahoo files to dismiss China human rights suit

(CNET News.com)
Yahoo has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two Chinese journalists who alleged that the Internet company and its subsidiaries "willingly" handed over information about their online writing to the People's Republic of China. The case hinges on a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California. Plaintiffs Shi Tao, Wang Xiaoning- two pro-democracy advocates - and Yu Ling (Wang's wife) charged Yahoo and its Hong Kong subsidiary with allegedly divulging information about their online activity and pro-democracy writing to Chinese authorities, an act that ultimately caused their arrest and prosecution, according to the filing. Both men were sentenced to 10 years in prison.

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25 August 2007

CN - Government gets blog service providers to sign "self-discipline" pact

(Reporters Without Borders)
Reporters Without Borders condemns the "self-discipline pact" signed by at least 20 leading blog service providers in China including Yahoo.cn! and MSN.cn. Unveiled by the Internet Society of China (ISC), an offshoot of the information industry ministry, the pact stops short the previous project of making it obligatory for bloggers to register, but it can be used to force service providers to censor content and identify bloggers.

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18 August 2007

TH - Thai legal experts, webmasters slam govt for illegally blocking websites

(Bangkok Post)
Internet law experts and webmasters lashed out at what they said was the government's illegal blocking of websites and the use of threats and intimidation tactics against webmasters by government officials. Paiboon Amornpinyokiart, an internet and IT law expert, said nowhere in the controversial Cyber Crime Act does it say the government has the authority to freely block websites. The law says any move to block a website must be backed by a court order.

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30 July 2007

UK - Web child fight videos criticised

(BBC)
Police chiefs have urged websites to remove violent video footage of children fighting, following an investigation by the BBC. Panorama found that films showing brutal fights between children are regularly uploaded to sharing websites. Police say the companies should monitor what is posted on their sites and remove any violent or criminal content. But YouTube, one of the sites found with footage, says it relies on users to "flag up" inappropriate films. The investigation found films showing children as young as 11 and 12 punching and kicking other youngsters.

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08 July 2007

FR - Second Life : Familles de France n'obtient pas l'interdiction

(Silicon.fr)
L´éditeur américain peut respirer. Les associations familiales déboutées, l´accès à son site ne sera pas restreint en France. Les fans du Linden Lab peuvent se rassurer. L´Union départementale des associations familiales de l´Ardèche et l'Association Familles de France ont vu l´ensemble de leur plainte déboutée par le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris (TGI). L´accès à Second Life (SL) ne sera pas restreint. Familles de France reprochait, entre autre, à l´éditeur américain la présence de contenus à caractère pornographique trop aisément accessibles pour les mineurs. UDAF de l´Ardèche et autre / Linden Research et autres (Legalis.net) Tribunal de grande instance de Paris Ordonnance de référé 02 juillet 2007

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07 July 2007

UK - Manchester Cathedral says Sony apology not enough and issues new digital rules

(Times)
Manchester Cathedral is calling for all video games manufacturers to sign up to a new set of "sacred digital guidelines" to prevent future "virtual desecration" of religious buildings. Digital Guidelines code of conduct: 1. Respect our sacred spaces as places of prayer, worship, peace, learning and heritage. 2. Do not assume that sacred space interiors are copyright free. 3. Get permission from the faith leaders who are responsible for the building interiors you want to clone. 4. Support the work of those engaged in resisting the culture of gun crime and those involved in promoting the work of conflict resolution.

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UK - Sony 'sorry' over cathedral game

(BBC)
Sony has issued an "unreserved" apology to Manchester Cathedral for using it as a violent computer game backdrop. The firm published an apology in a city newspaper but has confirmed it will not be withdrawing the game or making any changes to it.

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05 July 2007

EU proposes anti-terror measures

(BBC)
The European Commission is drafting new Europe-wide measures to bolster the fight against terrorism, including sharing air passenger data. EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said that all states needed to co-operate more closely. The measure is expected to require air passengers travelling into the EU to submit data for security agencies. Other proposals include creating a "rapid-alert" system for stolen explosives, a network of bomb disposal squads and making the spread of bomb-making instructions online a criminal offence.

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DE - German legislation troubles the big Internet companies

(EDRI-gram)
Yahoo and Google seems to have problems adapting their business to the tough requirements of the German law regarding content harmful to minors and the implementation of the data retention directive, respectively. Yahoo has recently changed the way the content filter setting for its photo-sharing service Flickr works for German members so that they can't view photos labelled as "moderate" or "restricted" via the search function. The German draft law for the implementation of the data retention directive also raises problems with the online service providers. The draft foresees that providers of e-mail services will basically have to keep records of the following: the user's IP address for each e-mail sent and for each access to the inbox as well as the sender's network ID for every e-mail received. Peter Fleischer, Google privacy counsellor considered the draft law as "a severe blow to privacy " and praised the possibility to have anonymous email accounts.

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30 June 2007

UK - Brain game pulled over 'offence'

(BBC)
A video game which uses a term abusive to people with disabilities is being pulled by its manufacturer. MindQuiz, a brain training game for the Nintendo DS handheld console, was released in the UK by French software giant Ubisoft in March 2007.

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29 June 2007

EU - Commission urges Greece to lift its ban on gaming machines

(RAPID)
The European Commission has formally reminded the Greek authorities of its obligation to lift its total ban on gaming machines, including computer games. The European Court of Justice in Case C-65/05 of 26 October 2006 ruled that the Greek laws which ban the installation and operation of all gaming machines violate a number of internal market principles.

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28 June 2007

BR - YouTube wins "supermodel sex on the beach" case

(Ars Technica)
A Brazilian judge has ruled in favor of YouTube, Globo Comunicações e Participações, and Internet Group do Brasil (iG) this week in a case involving Brazilian model Daniella Cicarelli and a sex video. Cicarelli and her boyfriend, Tato Malzoni, had sued YouTube after a video of the couple having sex on a public beach in Brazil appeared on the site. The pair argued that YouTube was violating their privacy. Judge Gustavo Santini Teodoro ruled that the couple's privacy claims were unfounded and ordered Cicarelli to pay fees to each of the defendants.

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DE - Studie hält ausgeweitetes Verbot von "Killerspielen" nicht für erforderlich

(Heise)
Die Studie zur Evaluierung des Jugendschutzsystems im Bereich Video- und Computerspiele (PDF-Datei), die das Hamburger Hans-Bredow-Institut für Medienforschung im Auftrag des Bundesfamilienministeriums erstellt hat, spricht sich gegen eine Verschärfung des Verbots von "Killerspielen" aus. Ähnlich wie die SPD-Fraktion im Bundestag sehen die Forscher aber Vollzugsdefizite bei der Einhaltung der Regeln zur Verhinderung der Verbreitung gewalthaltiger Spiele.

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US - Take Two: Manhunt 2 Gets Adults-Only Rating

(Wired)
Take Two has confirmed that the upcoming Manhunt 2, scheduled for release July 10 on PlayStation 2 and Wii, has been given a preliminary rating of Adults Only by the ESRB. see also Take-Two delays plans to distribute 'Manhunt 2' and Manhunt 2 Ban Fallout, Game Rated AO By ESRB.

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UK - Censors ban 'brutal' video game

(BBC)
British censors have banned a violent video game from the UK for the first time in a decade. The video game Manhunt 2 was rejected for its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", the British Board of Film Classification said. It means the Manhunt sequel cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. see also A discussion of the BBFC's decision to ban Manhunt 2 (gamesindutry.biz) by Rob Fahey.

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24 June 2007

CN - Web users rage against China's 'Great Firewall'

(Reuters)
The blocking of Flickr is the latest casualty of China's ongoing battle to control its sprawling Internet. Wikipedia and a raft of other popular Web sites, discussion boards and blogs have already fallen victim to the country's censors.

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22 June 2007

DE - German Flickr censorship causes web outcry

(Register)
Flickr's introduction of content filters in Germany last week has provoked protests in blogs and web forums globally. While in most countries the photo sharing site's 'SafeSearch' function can be turned off by users interested in seeing all the photos available on Flickr, that option has been axed in Germany due to 'stricter legislation and penalties in that country', parent company Yahoo! said in a statement.

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19 June 2007

UK - Censors ban 'brutal' video game

(BBC)
British censors have banned a violent video game from the UK for the first time in a decade. The video game Manhunt 2 was rejected for its 'unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying', the British Board of Film Classification said. It means the Manhunt sequel cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.

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15 June 2007

US - Bush administration attacks 'shield' for bloggers

(CNET News)
The Bush administration blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources. The latest draft of the Free Flow of Information Act would pose a grave threat to national security and federal criminal investigations by protecting far too large a segment of the population, a U.S. Department of Justice official told Congress.

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13 June 2007

CN - Yahoo's China policy rejected

(BBC)
Yahoo shareholders have rejected plans for the company to adopt a policy that opposes censorship on the internet. Proposals to set up a human rights committee which would review its policies around the world, specifically China, were also heavily defeated.

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11 June 2007

US - FCC decision on broadcast expletives struck down

(FEP Project)
The U.S. Court of Appeals has invalidated the FCC's ban on "fleeting expletives," and in the process, cast doubt on the constitutionality of the agency's whole censorship regime. In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that the "fleeting expletives" rule was "arbitrary and capricious," in violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, because the agency gave no reasoned rationale for its change, in 2004,

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10 June 2007

UK - Cathedral row over video war game

(BBC)
The Church of England is considering legal action against entertainment firm Sony for featuring Manchester Cathedral in a violent PlayStation video game. The Church says Sony did not obtain permission to use the interior in the war game Resistance: Fall of Man. The game, which has sold more than one million copies, shows a virtual shoot-out in the cathedral's nave in which hundreds of enemies are killed

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08 June 2007

Censorship 'changes face of net'

(BBC)
Amnesty International has warned that the internet "could change beyond all recognition" unless action is taken against the erosion of online freedoms. The warning comes ahead of a conference organised by Amnesty, where victims of repression will outline their plights. The "virus of internet repression" has spread from a handful of countries to dozens of governments, said the group. Amnesty accused companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo of being complicit in the problem.

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23 May 2007

Global web censorship on the rise

(New Scientist)
The number of governments that routinely block web sites is increasing, according to the most comprehensive survey of internet filtering yet. Meanwhile, the same study suggests that techniques for blocking undesirable content are growing ever more sophisticated.

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22 May 2007

CN - China stepping back from proposed blog rules

(Reuters)
China will back down from a plan to require bloggers to use their real names when they register blogs, following an outcry over the proposal from the Internet industry. Instead, the government will promote a "self-discipline code" that will encourage, but not mandate, bloggers to register under their own names, the report said, citing draft guidelines published by the Internet Society of China.

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18 April 2007

Gamers affected by violence... on the telly and the big screen, that is

(BBC)
The British Board of Film Classification isn't the first place that gamers expect to find research on video games and the reasons that people play them, but the BBFC has just released such a report as part of its attempt to better understand the attitudes of gamers and those who don't play them. The BBFC's even-handed report also delves into the question of game violence, but always with an eye to understanding rather than judgment. Their findings? Despite some parental fears, gamers consistently understand the distinction between the real-world and an onscreen fantasy, and don't confuse the two. The report is lengthy but well worth reading, if only to see a model of how to seek understanding before leaping to polemical conclusions.

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13 April 2007

CN - China battles online porn

(PPA)
The Chinese government is launching a new crackdown on online pornography, complaining it has "perverted China's young minds." The Ministry of Public Security says the six-month campaign will target cyber strip shows and sexually explicit images, stories and audio and video clips.

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08 April 2007

TK - Turkey to block 'insulting' Web sites

(AP)
A parliamentary commission approved a proposal allowing Turkey to block Web sites that are deemed insulting to the founder of modern Turkey, weeks after a Turkish court temporarily barred access to YouTube. Parliament plans to vote on the proposal, though a date was not announced. The proposal indicates the discomfort that many Turks feel about Western-style freedom of expression, even though Turkey has been implementing widespread reforms in its bid to join the European Union.

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07 April 2007

UK - Cyber bullying threat to teachers

(BBC)
Teachers are calling for much tougher restrictions to protect staff from 'cyber bullying' by pupils. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers has warned of the distress caused to teachers by anonymous, malicious comments on websites. 'Offensive' comments and mocking video clips should not be allowed to undermine teachers' authority.

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04 April 2007

TH - Thailand blocks YouTube for clip mocking king

(Reuters)
Thailand's military-appointed government blocked access to video-sharing Web site YouTube after its owner, Google, declined to withdraw a video clip mocking the country's monarch. Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told Reuters he ordered a block of the entire site from Thailand after the ministry's attempts to block the offending page last week failed. See also YouTube tries to resolve Thai ban (BBC). YouTube executives said they would not take down material that did not violate policies but would show authorities how to block individual items.

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25 March 2007

CN - Former website editor-in-chief jailed for six years

(Xinhua)
The former editor-in-chief of a Chinese website has been given a six-year prison term for subversion, according to a statement from the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court in east China's Zhejiang Province. The court ruled that Zhang Jianhong, former editor-in-chief of a website named "Aiqinhai", or "Aegean Sea", had written articles which defamed the Chinese government and amounted to agitation aimed at toppling the government.

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24 March 2007

US - Net porn ban faces another legal setback

(CNET News.com)
U.S. District Judge Lowell Reed in Philadelphia permanently barred prosecutors from enforcing the Child Online Protection Act, or COPA, saying it was overly broad and would undoubtedly 'chill a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech for adults.' The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Even though politicians enacted COPA nearly a decade ago as part of an early wave of Internet censorship efforts, the courts have kept it on ice and it has never actually been enforced. The law makes it a crime for commercial Web sites to make "harmful to minors" material publicly available, with violators fined up to $50,000 and imprisoned for up to six months. See COPA Struck Down Again by Court, COPA Struck Down, Part 2 and The COPA Decision, Part 3: Implications for Age Verification and Social Networking (Progress & Freedom Foundation) by Adam Thierer

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15 September 2006

US - Acceptable nudity?

(BBC)
When is nudity acceptable on the news? Ever since the infamous 'nipplegate' incident involving Janet Jackson's costume malfunction, television channels in America have been especially sensitive to any bare flesh. So Allan Little's piece from Swaziland saw a group of BBC World producers studying the US rule book very carefully... since we broadcast on American cable networks, and have to respect 'local' laws.

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01 March 2006

BoingBoing banned in UAE, Qatar, elsewhere.

(BoingBoing)
Boing Boing is blocked by entire countries including the United Arab Emirates, and by many library systems, schools, US government and military sites, and corporations. Internet Qatar, the sole ISP in the State of Qatar, has also banned BoingBoing. At fault in most of these cases is a US-based censorware company called Secure Computing, which makes a web-rating product called SmartFilter.

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