A blog relating to Internet legal issues by Professor John Swinson, University of Queensland
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Did this school do the right thing?
Google continues to expand
More on when will email cease to be free?
Is there anything wrong with a two tiered system? If users are prepared to pay for an email system that guarantees increased speed and authentication, why shouldn't just accept that it is their right to do so? It all comes back to the fundamental questions: should email be free, and why?
Internet performance in Australia
ACMA warning on phishing
Are we too email dependent?
Do you agree or disagree? Is the handwritten note gaining currency?
Content Regulation in China
Here are some other recent stories relating to content regulation in China:
- The Chinese government continues to prosecute people for subversion for online writings. For example, on Tuesday the AP reported that a Chinese journalist has been whose reports on rural poverty and unemployment riled local officials has been charged with subversion after posting essays on the internet.
- China is cracking down on spam and piracy.
- Much to the chagrin of the US government, various internet companies have agreed to China's censorship demands.
For a detailed study, see this report from the OpenNet Initiative: Internet Filtering in China in 2004-2005.
Of course, the Chinese government defends its right to regulate the internet in the way it does.
There are really two issues here. First, how successful has China's regulation been? And second, assuming the Chinese government's attempts at regulation have been relative successful, should a government be able to regulate what its citizens can access through the internet? So basically, the first is a practical or technical question - does it work? - while the second is the moral or philosophical question on the role of government and the value of free speech? Any thoughts or different perspectives? Who would defend what China is doing?
New Phishing Law Used
Do we need such new specialised legislation to combat phishing, or can existing laws be used.
Technological protection measures
A copy is available here:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/laca/protection/report.htm
This is more a straight IP issue, but has some impact on Internet distribution of content.
When will email cease to be free?
We need to think about why should email be free? Is it just because it always has been? Or are there other reasons? Note that for the moment at least, the plan is only charge to businesses. Will this last, or will all email users eventually have to pay a fee for each email they send? Would charging a fee for each email sent impact upon the use and adoption of email and the internet?
IT Today
Here a few interesting articles from the section published today that touch upon issues we will cover later in the semester:
- "Apple quiet on local music sales" - Apples iTunes Music Store, one of the leading legal alternatives to the illegal downloading of music, has said it will not release local download figures. Why? Does this mean that Australian sales are disappointing to sales overseas?
- "Spam has bolted, despite Gates" - reminding us that two years Bill Gates promised that spam would be gone in two years.
- "Law firms block junk" - Clayton Utz has slashed the number of incoming emails by nearly 40 per cent by restricting spam.
- "Script kiddies cooking up fresh threats" - how amateur hackers are using new programs called rootkits to give the user untraceable control of the compromised computer.
There are also interesting and relevant articles that are not available online, so it was worth buying The Australian each Tuesday just to stay on top of what is happening.
Who owns the Internet?
The article is worth reading as it reinforces a number of things discussed last night - how information on the information is carried in packets, the historical origins of the internet, how the internet has evolved, as well as positing that perhaps it is the telecommunication companies that own the internet. What do you think? And if the telecommunication companies do impose what the article refers to as a toll, what would be the implications on internet usage? Also, what privacy issues may this raise?
How should damages be assessed for privacy and cybersecurity breaches
Listen to this podcast where I discuss how damages should be assessed in privacy and cybersecurity lawsuits. The Lawyers Weekly Show host J...
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The United Nations intellectual property agency (WIPO) is the latest front in the US-China trade war. http://www.theage.com.au/world/sad-am...
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The issue of content regulation in China was mentioned in this blog last year . In the last few weeks, this issue has once again pushed into...
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Finally, what is called direct registration of domain names is coming to Australia. See https://www.auda.org.au/statement/australias-interne...