Information Policy

China sends its troops into cyberspace

The authorities are paying bloggers 50 cents a go to push messages on online forums: John McCain's campaign team has been at it. Wal-Mart was revealed as doing it. Sony in the past dabbled with it. Online, astroturfing - whereby stealth PR tactics are passed off as grassroots enthusiasm for a product or candidate - is flourishing. But in China, things have gone one step further - with the establishment of the country's 50-cent army.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/22/chinathemedia.marketingandpr

100,000 .sg domain names registered

While some ccTLDs race past the one million registration mark, others, especially those for smaller countries, slowly add registrations. One to pass a milestone in recent days was the .sg ccTLD that passed the 100,000 registration mark last week.

http://www.domainpulse.com/2008/09/21/100000-sg-domain-names-registered/

Internet needs a strong system of self-regulation

by John Whittingdale is a Conservative MP and chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Cyberspace does not lend itself well to censorship. But while policing every strand of the world wide web would be impossible, that does not mean it cannot be better regulated. It is almost impossible for some of the bigger websites, such as MySpace and YouTube, to screen everything. More than ten hours of video content is uploaded every minute, which means that websites have to rely upon their users to notify them of anything inappropriate.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article4776357.ece

Govt can do more on cyber security: report

In March this year, governments from Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States ran the largest-ever cyber war games, Cyber Storm II. Freedom of Information documents, obtained by AAP in Australia, show the participants, which included the private sector, were surprised by the "borderless nature" of cyber attacks and the "speed with which they can escalate".

http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24396122-5013044,00.html

Yahoo to transform Web ads with new system

Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang told Reuters in an interview that publishers and advertisers would benefit from a more efficient process that would allow them to sell their products and services on more than one website at a time. Yang said the system, called APT, would be much simpler than the current process of selling banner ads through hundreds of websites - a time-consuming model with roots in traditional media like television and newspaper advertising. 'This system allows cross-selling between sales forces, it allows us to have visibility of what pricing is happening and where,' said Yang, who added the system could transform the online Web industry's inefficiencies in selling ads. Yahoo is hoping to build a system as efficient for online display advertising as the one run by Google Inc in search advertising. Google's market-leading search advertising sales system is largely automated via an auction bidding process. Yahoo's first APT partner will be the nearly 800 newspaper websites of the Newspaper Consortium which includes MediaNews Group. It will start to roll out APT in the fourth quarter, and from early 2009, will place Yahoo's own inventory on the system as well as other publishers and advertisers.

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/yahoo_to_transform_web_ads_with_new_system/

Broadband Internet for all Europeans: Commission launches debate on future of universal service

How can the EU achieve that all Europeans - from the North of Finland to the South of Italy, from the Western Ireland to Eastern Romania - have access to broadband Internet? This is the main question raised in a Commission report today. From 2003-2007 broadband use in the EU tripled to 36% of households. However, 7% of the EU's population are still not connected (30% in rural areas). There are striking gaps in the EU: 100% of the population is covered in Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium, but more than 60% in Romania (75% in rural areas) do not have broadband access. Even in strong economies such as Italy and Germany, 18% and 12% respectively of the rural population are not covered. With broadband increasingly important in daily life, policy tools like radio spectrum management and mobile satellite services should accompany a broad debate about the universal service in telecoms - a safety net guaranteeing a minimum level of services, such as connection to a phone network and basic Internet access, filling basic needs that the market does not.

The Commission's 2008 Report on the Scope of the Universal Service in Telecoms: Frequently Asked Questions:

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/583&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=nl

Idea Gets US$100-mil. Loan for Network Expansion

Indian mobile group, Idea Cellular, has secured a US$100-million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank. The funds will be directed towards network roll-out in Bihar, and the establishment of Idea's long-distance network. It represents the first time the World Bank has funded a telecoms project in India.

The fund will be a welcome boost to the telecoms sector in Bihar, where telecoms infrastructure is poorly developed and penetration is currently around 8%. IFC director for global information and communication technologies, Mohsen A. Khalil, has expressed his optimism that the loan to Idea will help to boost mobile penetration in Bihar to over 20% by 2012. Underserved rural areas represent the biggest growth opportunities in India, where there are currently a dozen operators. Idea has licences to operate in all 22 service areas in India, with commercial operations in 12 of those areas and Bihar in line for imminent service launch.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/140/32668?7649

Malaysian Blog Censorship

Ira Piltz, Greenpoint Technologies

On August 28, 2008, all twenty-one Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country were ordered to block the Website of Malaysia Today, the country’s leading blog. Notices were sent out by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (“SKMM”)) in accordance with Section 263 of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act. The SKMM justified its actions on the grounds that comments posted on the blog were “insensitive, bordering on incitement”.

Malaysia's leading political blog, Malaysia Today, was blocked by local ISPs on August 28, 2008 in what was widely seen as a government crackdown on Internet Websites that were credited with contributing to government losses in the general election. The editor of Malaysia Today said that blocking access to his portal was a breach of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). MSC Malaysia's 10-Point Bill of Guarantees, includes a guarantee by the Malaysian government to “ensure no Internet censorship” as part of its commitment to ensuring the success of MSC status companies.

The editor of Malaysia Today is the country’s first online journalist to be charged under the 1948 Sedition Act. This charge stemmed from a posting on Malaysia Today, on May 6, 2008, that linked a senior government official to the murder of a young woman. The editor faces a possible three-year sentence for violating a Sedition Act provision that outlaws inciting “hatred, doubt or contempt” for any government leader or member.

Bloggers note that the SKMM action against Malaysia Today violates the government’s promises not to censor the Internet, except for pornographic Websites. The policy was introduced in the 1990s to encourage foreign investment in the Multimedia Super Corridor, near Kuala Lumpur. However, the Home Minister countered these claims, saying that the everyone was subject to the law, “even Websites and blogs”, and that the Malaysian government did not intend to curtail people’s freedom or right to express themselves, but “when they publish things that are libelous, slanderous or defamatory, it is natural for SKMM to act”.

What is the reason, according to bloggers, for the blocking of the Website? The mainstream media in Malaysia is either controlled by the ruling party or is closely linked to the ruling party; as a response, some of Malaysia’s most popular Websites and blogs contain commentaries which are fiercely anti-government. Malaysian bloggers present themselves as an alternative to the mainstream media and, indeed, in the last general election, a prominent anti-government blogger was elected to Parliament as a member of the opposition. In fact, the Prime Minister himself recently admitted that the government had underestimated the influence of the Internet in the March general election.

Is the blocking of ‘Malaysia Today’ the only instance of Cybercensorship in Malaysia? The Associated Press recently reported that a group of fifty bloggers in Malaysia had formed an alliance to protect bloggers from government intervention. The group was apparently formed after two of them were sued by a newspaper with close government ties. The group accused the government of trying to silence criticism.

Is the blocked Website accessible through an alternative address?

Yes, the blocked Website and the article that triggered the government’s fierce reaction are freely accessible from an alternative address even within Malaysia.

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=FADC0EC0-2B84-4454-AE3F-9F9DAAD82DFC

Personal Data Protection Act 2000 of the Czech Republic

The Czech Personal Data Protection Act 2000 (the “Act”) is designed to protect personal data that is processed by state authorities, territorial self-administration bodies, and other public authorities, including natural and legal persons. As such, the Act imposes a number of obligations upon persons who collect and manage personal data and bestows rights upon the owners of personal data.

The Act’s purpose is to protect personal data from illegal interference, to regulate the rights and responsibilities of those who process personal data, and to specify the conditions under which personal data may be transferred to third countries. Article 44 of Chapter VII of the Act specifies various offenses and related penalties that may be levied upon violators of the Act. Specifically, Article 44(1) states that any person who (a) is in an employment relationship with the controller or carries out activities for the controller on the basis of an agreement, or (b) who comes into contact with personal data in the controller’s possession during the fulfillment of the duties and responsibilities imposed upon him by a particular Act, commits an offense if he breaches the obligation to maintain confidentiality, and may be liable for a fine of up to CZK 100,000.

Article 44(2) of the Act states that any person who is in the position of a controller and who fails to specify the purpose, sources or the manner of processing of personal data that is under his or her control, and

• processes personal data inaccurately or in a manner that does not correspond to the specified purpose for which the data is provided, or

• unnecessarily preserves personal data for a longer-than-needed period,

• processes the data without the consent of the data subject (except the cases provided by law),

• fails to provide the data subject with the information required to be provided under the Act, or refuses to provide relevant information requested by the data subject,

• fails to adopt the measures for ensuring security of personal data processing, or

• fails to fulfill the notification obligations pursuant to the Act,

may be liable for a fine of up to CZK 1,000,000.

Article 44(3) of the Act states that any controller who commits an offense in the course of processing personal data that jeopardizes a substantial number of persons by unauthorized access to personal information or fails to fulfill responsibilities related to the processing of sensitive data may be liable for a fine of up to CZK 5,000,000. Notwithstanding, under certain circumstances, a controller will not be liable for breaches of the Act, in particular, where the controller made an honest effort to protect personal information.

What are the primary duties of parties who collect data?

When collecting personal data, the collecting person or entity must inform the person whose data is collected of the extent to which his or her data is processed and the purpose for which the personal data will be processed. The collecting entity must also specify who and in what manner will process the personal data, and explain to whom such personal data may be disclosed, unless the person is already aware of this information. The controller is likewise responsible for notifying the person about his right of access to personal data and the right to have his personal data amended for accuracy.

Article 38 of the Act states that the controller must inform the person whose data is collected of the initiation of any inspection of data related to that person. In addition, the Act provides that data collectors must adhere to a series of standards aimed at respecting the rights and lawfully protected interests of controlled persons. Specifically, the Act provides that data processors must:

• identify themselves to the owner of the data by means of an identification document,

• return the seized documents along with any copies of computer-readable media to the owner of the data as soon as the reasons for their seizure cease to exist,

• properly protect the seized documents against loss, demolition, misuse or damage,

• prepare a report on the results of inspection, and

• maintain confidentiality of facts found during the inspection and not to misuse the knowledge of these facts.

Does the obligation of confidentiality established under the Act apply to unidentified and general information?

Article 38 also states that “[t]he obligation to maintain confidentiality shall not prejudice the notification obligation pursuant to special Acts… [and] shall survive the termination of the labor relationship with the Office… [and] [t]he President of the Office may release the controlling person from the obligation to maintain confidentiality.” However, the obligation to maintain confidentiality does not apply in cases of unidentified and generalized information.

Under what circumstances will a controller be exempt from liability due to breaches of the Act?

Article 46 of the Act provides a number of exemptions under which the legal or natural person will not be held liable for an administrative offense pertaining to a breach of obligations respecting personal data processing.

Pursuant to this Article, if a legal or a natural person proves that he or she had taken all the necessary efforts to prevent the breach of a legal obligation, that individual will be exempt from liability. Further, when imposing a fine due to a breach of any provisions of the Act, the seriousness, method, time period and consequences of the unlawful behavior and the situation under which the offense has been committed are all taken into consideration. Finally, a person will not be held liable for a breach under the Act if the administrative body has not initiated the proceedings against that person within one year from the day that it learned of the breach, but not later than three years from the date on which the offense was committed.

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=articles&id=DE28E6E3-EDE7-4A15-902F-86A190267677

Technorati: Blogs are media

Across the globe, 184 million people have started a blog and over three-quarters of active Internet users read blogs. Technorati's annual 'State of the Blogosphere' report reveals the latest figures behind blogging in a week-long series of releases. The blogosphere is overflowing with content with almost a million blog posts a day. In the U.S. alone, 77.7 million people visit blogs of which two-thirds are written by males, half of them aged 18 - 34. Blogging has certainly 'arrived', said Technorati's chief executive Richard Jalichandra, via VentureBeat. 'Blogs are media. That is the difference now. They are as relevant as the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. The blogger with 5,000 readers may be just as credible a source of information for those 5,000 people as anyone else.' According to Technorati's report, a blogger can earn around USD 75,000 (EUR 50,800) a year with a unique audience of 100,000. The mean annual revenue from blogging, however, is somewhat more sobering at just USD 6,000 which isn't too bad when annual investment in a blog costs, on average, USD 1,800.

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/technorati_blogs_are_media/