Government & Policy
08 February 2010
UK Digital Economy Bill bill could 'breach rights' BBC News
An influential group of MPs and peers has said the government's approach to illegal file-sharing could breach the rights of internet users.
Internet gambling again in play in US Washington Post
Poker lobbyists are ramping up an aggressive push backed by millions of dollars to legalize Internet gambling in the United States this year, hoping to overcome passionate objections from social conservatives, sports leagues and other longtime opponents.
05 February 2010
US Justice Dept. Criticizes Latest Google Book Deal New York Times
In another blow to Google's plan to create a giant digital library and bookstore, the Justice Department on Thursday said that a class-action settlement between the company and groups representing authors and publishers had significant legal problems, even after recent revisions.
Australia's fibre-optic network backbone begins The Australian
The federal government is a week away from seeing the first sod of soil turned in the construction of fibre-optic backbone links for its ambitious $43 billion national broadband network.
02 February 2010
Europe Looms as Major Battleground for Google New York Times
Google has a problem in China. It may be headed for a bigger one in Europe. So far, no one has accused European governments of cyberattacks like those that Google says it has suffered in China. But on issues from privacy to copyright protection to the dominance of Google's Internet search engine, clashes with European lawmakers, regulators and consumer advocates are escalating.
Britain's Conservatives would end BT monopoly to deliver superfast broadband The Guardian
The Conservatives today claimed they were willing to loosen BT's grip on the local telephone network and use parts of the BBC licence fee to deliver "superfast" broadband to the majority of Britain's homes by 2017.
01 February 2010
Bill to split Telstra delayed by the Senate again The Australian
Legislation designed to cleave Telstra in two has been pushed off this week's timetable of Senate debates, despite assurances from Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
31 January 2010
New EU Privacy Laws Could Hit Facebook BusinessWeek
Technologies such as social networking, RFID, and even airport scanning have raced ahead of Europe's outdated data protection rules. Brussels aims to fix that
YouTube, EU e-commerce rules under threat EurActiv
The European Commission is concerned about a draft Italian law requiring video-sharing platforms such as YouTube to check that user-generated content is lawful before it is posted. Many fear that the move - a clear breach of the E-Commerce Directive - could set a dangerous precedent for other EU countries to follow.
29 January 2010
Apple iPad a threat to publishers: Former Premier Bob Carr Sydney Morning Herald
Former NSW premier Bob Carr says the arrival of digital book reading devices such as Apple's iPad make it imperative for the Federal Government to lift bans on book sellers from buying cheap stock overseas.
27 January 2010
Italian regulator criticises proposed Internet bill The Age
An Italian government decree seeking to regulate video content on television and the Internet drew criticism Tuesday from the head of Italy's telecommunications regulator, media reports said.
19 January 2010
German News Media Challenge Google Der Spiegel
Google could be facing an investigation over allegedly anti-competitive practices in Germany following complaints from newspaper and magazine publishers who accuse the company of unfair search results and profiting from journalism that is expensive to produce. Google executives, however, say they believe the company complies with German and European laws.
France to Give €2 Billion to Improve Internet Speed Wall Street Journal
The French government will provide €2 billion ($2.88 billion) to improve the country's high-speed Internet networks, as part of a national loan program to boost the economy through investment in infrastructure.
16 January 2010
FCC looks at ways to assert authority over Web access Washington Post
The Federal Communications Commission is considering aggressive moves to stake out its authority to oversee consumer access to the Internet, as a recent court hearing and industry opposition have cast doubt on its power over Web service providers.
14 January 2010
UK government amends plan for ministerial power to change copyright law OUT-LAW News
The Government has modified its proposal to allow ministers to change copyright law without going through a full legislative process. The move follows a campaign against the powers waged by opposition parties.
13 January 2010
Views of the public sought on Australian wireless spectrum The Australian
A crucial piece of wireless spectrum needed to advance the nation's mobile broadband services could soon be added to the government's "digital dividend" auction block after the communications watchdog put out a public call for how the spectrum band should be best used.
Google could be granted copyright immunity in UK law The Guardian
Proposed amendment to the Digital Economy Bill exempts search engines from copyright infringement claims from third parties - Rupert Murdoch presumably included
11 January 2010
Second leg of Australia's 4G digital auction ramped up The Australian
Media and telecommunications companies will be forced to make more efficient use of the limited spectrum available to service the rapid growth in data-hungry devices such as smart phones as the federal government prepares for the launch of the second leg of its digital spectrum auction.
10 January 2010
Child porn and artistic merit link scrutinised by NSW govt ABC News
The New South Wales Government has released recommendations to scrap the defence of 'artistic merit' in relation to child pornography.
08 January 2010
UK online betting faces regulation overhaul The Guardian
The government's disastrous tax regime for online gambling is expected to be radically overhauled after moves today by the sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, to tighten regulation of offshore operators.
France considers taxing Google and other Internet portals Los Angeles Times
The French government is mulling a so-called Google tax that it said would help level the playing field between Internet portals that offer free content and the music, film and publishing industries that lost revenue partly because of it.
07 January 2010
France considers "Google tax" to pay creative work Reuters
France could start taxing Internet advertising revenues from online giants such as Google, using the funds to support creative industries that have been hit by the digital revolution, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
06 January 2010
UK government charts Digital Britain progress OUT-LAW News
The Government claims that a quarter of the recommendations in the Digital Britain report published six months ago have already been implemented. Others, including the passing of controversial legislation, are progressing, it said.
04 January 2010
NZ's cyber spies win new powers Stuff
New cyber-monitoring measures have been quietly introduced giving police and Security Intelligence Service officers the power to monitor all aspects of someone's online life.
Huawei backs Australia's NBN model The Australian
A leading global player in providing high-speed internet systems has backed the Rudd government's plan for an open-access national broadband network.
