Archive
Category: Electronic Communications
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Information monopolists as cyclic products of network effects: Tim Wu
Tim Wu’s excellent new book, The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires, chronicles a history of communications policy and the long-term behaviour of firms in information industries. His basic thesis is that such firms acquire market power by a combination of network effects and industry consolidation, then exert a form of regulatory… Read more →
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Mobile phone spam targeted by ACMA
The quantity of mobile phone spam never ceases to amaze me. Considering that the medium isn’t free like email, conversion rates must be particularly high given the number of commercial text messages, SMS bait schemes and pre-recorded VoIP calls that seem to be plaguing Australian mobile networks. Now it looks as if the Australian Communications… Read more →
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Australian spammer fined $92 715
If you received an email marketing Indian herbal pharmaceuticals last year, chances are it came from Mr Lance Atkinson of Pelican Waters, Queensland. This New Zealand man, living in Australia, has agreed to pay fines of $92 715 to the New Zealand Internal Affairs Anti-Spam Compliance Unit. According to media reports, Mr Atkinson admitted participating in… Read more →
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Managing Your Contacts
Today’s law firms have thousands of contacts. The best contact management software does more than just store them, it tracks relationships and helps with lead generation. Steven Maxwell, a recruitment officer, found that his company was able to avoid contracting with an executive search company in two-thirds of its hires last year, thanks to software… Read more →
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Electronic Redaction Doesn’t Always Hide What It’s Supposed to Hide
Individuals at all levels of an organization must understand its technology before it’s deployed, especially if classified or other highly sensitive information is at risk. The increasing use of PDFs — a step forward in that they make disseminating information easier — presents new security risks. To play it safe, law firms, corporations, government agencies… Read more →
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I’m the Blue Security Spammer
A Russian junk e-mailer takes credit for this week’s attacks on antispam firm Blue Security. He did it to gather fresh e-mail addresses, he says. By Joanna Glasner. Originally by Wired News: DAT’s Entertainment, 10:54 AM Read more Read more →
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Disclaimers could make emails into contracts
England’s 400 year-old cyber signature law The High Court in Manchester has ruled that an email cannot be recognised as a legal written offer if it does not contain a signature or name within the body of the mail. The inclusion of a user name in the message header is not enough.… Originally by The… Read more →
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Clarifying the Spam Act: Federal Court Finds Contravention
In the first prosecution of its kind under the Spam Act 2003 (Cth) (‘Spam Act’), Nicholson J of the Federal Court of Australia yesterday found Clarity1 Pty Ltd and its managing director to have contravened provisions of the Act. Inter alia, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (‘ACMA’) submitted to the Court that in the… Read more →
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New York Firm Settles Personal E-Mail Case
A company accused of using unauthorized personal data “mined” by other firms from about six million e-mail addresses across the US has agreed to reform its practices under a $1.1 million settlement. New York Attorney-General Eliot Spitzer said Datran Media used e-mail addresses and other personal data it obtained from several companies. Read more →
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Law Firm Blogging and Practice Development
‘Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton used to reach more than 7 000 current and prospective clients by e-mail newsletter. But with new spamming laws and better anti-spam software, the firm was “running the risk of being blacklisted,” says Vickie Spang, Sheppard Mullin’s chief marketing officer. The solution? Blogging. And not just one blog — six of… Read more →