Archive
Category: Regulation and Government
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Government department blocks open government website
Today’s irony award goes to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, which last week blocked access to Open Australia, a website (modelled on They Work For You) which helps people track what their MPs say in Parliament. In fairness, the blockage occurred because a third party border proxy classified the content as a ‘blog’:… Read more →
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The decline of intermediary immunity under EU law
Out-Law has an interesting op-ed piece about the decline of intermediary safe harbours under the E-Commerce Directive. The basic premise of the article is that a combination of factors — the increasingly broad meaning given to constructive knowledge, liability for repeat uploads, duties to monitor for infringement — means that the notice-and-takedown system is providing… Read more →
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Secret talks for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement continue
Some interesting comments from Michael Geist concerning the now-infamous Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which is being negotiated in secret by representatives of most developed countries. This piece considers the extent to which states party to ACTA would be required to amend their domestic laws: most [representatives] have sought to dampen fears by implausibly claiming that… Read more →
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Australian government to filter refused classification internet content
Incredibly, despite widespread public opposition, reasoned technical and policy arguments, and international condemnation by the Electronic Frontiers Foundation and others, the Australian government looks set to proceed with its misguided plan to censor prohibited internet content. In December, the government released details of how the censorship (euphemism of choice: ‘filtering’) scheme will work. It’s not… Read more →
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Australian government ponders R18+ games classification
It seems that the Australian government is finally considering the introduction of a restricted classification (R18+) for computer games. Last week, the Attorney–General’s department released a discussion paper calling for submissions on whether the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 (Cth) (Act) should be amended to permit the Office of Film and Literature… Read more →
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Senator Conroy criticises ongoing iiNet defence
Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, has issued a stinging attack on iiNet’s position in Roadshow Films Pty Ltd & Ors v iiNet Ltd. Speaking at the CommsDay summit in Sydney yesterday, Senator Conroy described iiNet’s defence as something which ‘belongs in a Yes Minister episode’ — ironic, given that… Read more →
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Accessibility Lawsuit Challenges Target.com Website
A blind university student has filed a class action lawsuit against Target Corp. The plaintiff alleges that the website discriminates against visually impaired users of its services because the website is inaccessible using screen reader software. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of the Blind in Baltimore, an advocacy group that’s also a plaintiff… Read more →
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Government Cracks Down on Spyware Operation
According to this article, United States ‘Government regulators are trying to shut down Odysseus Marketing, which they say secretly downloaded spyware onto the computers of unwitting Internet users. The FTC accused Walter Rines and his company of luring computer users with a bogus promise of free software that would make peer-to-peer file sharing anonymous. The… Read more →
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Holland on the Failure of Law in Cyberspace
H Brian Holland, of Barry University School of Law, has published an article entitled ‘The Failure of the Rule of Law in Cyberspace? Reorienting the Normative Debate on Borders and Territorial Sovereignty’ (2005) John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law [Forthcoming]: The ultimate goal of this article is to suggest a different perspective on… Read more →
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Cabinet Paves Way for Telstra Sale
Federal Cabinet has approved a $3 billion plan for regional telecommunications that will pave the way for the full sale of Telstra. The plan includes a $2 billion fund to pay for service upgrades in regional Australia in the future. Mr Costello says the plan will resolve the issue of Telstra’s ownership once and for… Read more →