<-- The Filter --> July 2004
[1] In the News: Speak Up
[2] Berkman News: Fresh!
[3] Conference Watch
[4] Bookmarks: Induce Vomiting
[5] Quotables: Picture Motion
[6] Talk Back
[7] Subscription Info
[8] About us
[9] Not a Copyright
-----------------------------------------
[1] IN THE NEWS
================
* Anti-Porn Burden Bounced Back By SCOTUS
The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled against a
federal law that would have restricted access to internet pornography
websites, but a number of questions remain about the constitutionality
of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a law passed in 1998 to
limit access to websites deemed "harmful to minors." Civil liberties
groups like the ACLU have opposed the statute for its restrictions on
First Amendment freedoms, but the court did not strike down the law
entirely. Instead, the 5-4 decision concludes that the law can stand
only if it provides the "least restrictive alternative" for protecting
minors. Lower courts will have to continue to consider whether
private filtering clients can accomplish the desired end without
unnecessary restrictions on free speech and expression. Six years of
legal action in the highest courts, beginning with the now-defunct
Communications Decency Act, have failed to reach a complete
conclusion.
The Decision:
<http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/29june20041115/www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/03-218.pdf>
COPA:
<http://www.epic.org/free_speech/copa/>
<http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorship/copa.html>
Analysis:
<http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20040706.html>
<http://marketwatch-cnet.com.com/Supreme+Court+keeps+Net+porn+law+on+ice/2100-1028_3-5251475.html>
* Cybernews From Around the Globe
EU:
Metro AG Showcases RFID: <http://www.cbronline.com/currentnews/b23b82d67b5d1b3480256ecb0032def0>
Global WiFi Roaming Market Grows: <http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/07/08/HNglobalroaming_1.html>
Asia:
China Forces Rating of Online Games: <http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17097>
Hardware Security Tokens at Singapore Bank: <http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/personaltech/0,39001147,39186157,00.htm>
Africa:
Nigeria's NEPA Spends on Foreign Software: <http://allafrica.com/stories/200407070265.html>
Outsourcing Comes to Africa: <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=L'Outsourcing>
* Top Tech Companies in Legal Whirlwind
As Google's social software venture, Orkut (and its namesake
developer), is sued for stealing code, the company tries to do right
(or make its users do right) by not allowing the selling of or
bartering for invitations to the infamous, enormous-capacity Gmail
service. This legal action, of course, comes at an inauspicious
moment for Google, as it prepares for its imminent listing on the
NASDAQ stock market.
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,64046,00.html?tw=wn_5bizhead>
<http://www.sccaseinfo.org/pa5.asp?full_case_number=1-04-CV-020368>
<http://news.com.com/Google+bans+Gmail+swaps+and+sales/2100-1038_3-5254366.html?tag=nefd.pop>
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&e=1&u=/nm/20040712/wr_nm/tech_google_dc>
Microsoft's lawyers continue to work hard for their money. Microsoft
just lost an appeal in a patent case over ergonomic keyboards, is in
process of appealing the EU competition ruling, settled with Arizona
(antitrust and unfair competition), Massachusetts (consumer protection
violations and unfair competition) and Vermont (consumer fraud), is
suing the Brazilian government, dealing with security flaws...wait, I
lost my place...
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/07/ms_patent_appeal_defeat/>
<http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=131771&liFlavourID=1&sp=1>
<http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp>
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5310274/>
* VoIP: Talkin' About a Revolution
As VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) becomes more popular,
government and business entities have begun to take the technology and
its potential impact more seriously. The Internal Revenue Service has
released the equivalent of an RFC (Request for Comment) about possibly
taxing the new form of telephony, while critics fight taxation of an
Internet function. Vonage, the leading American VoIP provider, is
offering a choice of area code to customers, and reviving the
long-lost seven-digit dialing (without area code); with AT&T in the
fray, will both companies be able to offer these features? What will
the FCC have to say about taxation and other regulations? From their
website, the FCC has begun a "proceeding to examine what its role
should be in this new environment of increased consumer choice and
what it can best do to meet its role of safeguarding the public
interest."
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5261200.html>
<http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jul/1055141.htm>
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1621731,00.asp>
<http://www.usa.att.com/callvantage/home.jsp>
<http://www.cardozobellhead.net/>
<http://www.fcc.gov/voip/>
[2] BERKMAN NEWS
================
* iTunes Going Global
In its first week of operation in Britain, France, and Germany, iTunes
Europe sold an impressive 800,000 songs -- outpacing its nearest
competitor by a margin of 16:1. The Berkman Center's Digital Media
Project is tracking the expansion of iTunes and other online music
services into international markets in order to understand the
interplay between legal regimes and emerging business models in online
media. Summer researchers on the Digital Media Project recently
released a new study, iTunes Europe: A Preliminary Analysis, that
considers the legal foundation of iTunes Europe, the interplay of the
service with European law, and how both the market and law could
co-evolve in the years ahead.
iTunes Europe: A Preliminary Analysis:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/itunes_europe>
European Launch of iTunes:
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jun/15itunes.html>
iTunes Case study White Paper:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/itunes>
* Welcoming Jack Lerner and Meg Smith
The Berkman Center is proud to announce that Meg Smith and Jack Lerner
have joined the team as fellows for the upcoming academic year. Meg,
returning as a fellow to the Center after three years with McKinsey &
Company, a management consulting firm, will be working with the
Digital Media Project team. Jack, recently of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich
& Rosati in Palo Alto, is working on developing a private, voluntary
version of the alternative compensation system for digitally
distributed media that Terry Fisher discusses in Chapter 6 of his
forthcoming book, _Promises To Keep_.
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/>
[3] CONFERENCE WATCH
====================
July:
* July 14-31, 2004, Oxford, UK--Oxford Internet Institute Summer
Programme <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/teaching/?rq=sdp2004>
* July 19-23, 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia--ICANN Meeting
<http://www.icann.org/meetings/kualalumpur/>
* July 26-28, 2004, Los Angeles, California--Preventing the Internet
Meltdown <http://www.pfir.org/meltdown>
August:
* August 1-6, 2004, San Diego, CA--60th IETF Meeting
<http://www.ietf.org/meetings/IETF-60.html>
[4] BOOKMARKS
==============
* The Blogging Cover-Up
<http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5255244.html?tag=nefd.acpro>
* No More Lost Luggage Ever Again Really?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/technology/01tags.html>
* The Obsessively Annotated Introduction to the INDUCE Act
<http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/004563.html>
[5] QUOTABLES
==============
This month in Quotables, we commemorate the retirement of Jack Valenti
from the MPAA. Harvard's own Dan Glickman, of the Institute of
Politics, steps into his role as President and CEO. The following are
gems of Valenti's from over the years...
"I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the
American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."
Source: <http://j-walkblog.com/blog/index/P9202/>
"I've often believed that if television had existed in World War Two,
and there had been no censorship, that within two years of World War
Two, there would have been a great outcry in this country to let's
party with Hitler, let's make a deal, let's get out of there, this is
too costly, too bloody, too much treasure being spoiled."
Source: <http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/interviews/episode-11/valenti3.html>
"If you can't protect that which you own, then you don't own anything."
Source: <http://www.2600.com/news/0114-mpaa/press_release.txt>
"So long as people refuse to be cabinned and confined in their home
day after day, night after night, so long as you provide customers
with an epic viewing experience they cannot duplicate in their homes,
so long as each new generation of filmmakers enlarges and beautifies
the art of visual story telling, then so long will we travel that
sweet road that leads to success."
Source: <http://www.mpaa.org/MPAAPress/>
[6] TALK BACK
================
We continue to refine the Filter's format and content in response to
your feedback. The Filter Archives have recently been renovated as
well. Further comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please send them to filter-editor@cyber.harvard.edu
[7] SUBSCRIPTION INFO
======================
Follow this link to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the list:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/subscribe>
[8] ABOUT US
=============
Read The Filter online at <http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/>.
Who we are:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/about.html>
[9] NOT A COPYRIGHT
=====================
A publication of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard
Law School <http://cyber.harvard.edu> You may--and please
do--forward or copy this newsletter to friends and colleagues.
This work is hereby released into the Public Domain. To view a copy of the
public domain dedication, visit
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/>
or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford,
California 94305, USA.
[2] Berkman News: Fresh!
[3] Conference Watch
[4] Bookmarks: Induce Vomiting
[5] Quotables: Picture Motion
[6] Talk Back
[7] Subscription Info
[8] About us
[9] Not a Copyright
-----------------------------------------
[1] IN THE NEWS
================
* Anti-Porn Burden Bounced Back By SCOTUS
The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled against a
federal law that would have restricted access to internet pornography
websites, but a number of questions remain about the constitutionality
of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), a law passed in 1998 to
limit access to websites deemed "harmful to minors." Civil liberties
groups like the ACLU have opposed the statute for its restrictions on
First Amendment freedoms, but the court did not strike down the law
entirely. Instead, the 5-4 decision concludes that the law can stand
only if it provides the "least restrictive alternative" for protecting
minors. Lower courts will have to continue to consider whether
private filtering clients can accomplish the desired end without
unnecessary restrictions on free speech and expression. Six years of
legal action in the highest courts, beginning with the now-defunct
Communications Decency Act, have failed to reach a complete
conclusion.
The Decision:
<http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/29june20041115/www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/03pdf/03-218.pdf>
COPA:
<http://www.epic.org/free_speech/copa/>
<http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorship/copa.html>
Analysis:
<http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20040706.html>
<http://marketwatch-cnet.com.com/Supreme+Court+keeps+Net+porn+law+on+ice/2100-1028_3-5251475.html>
* Cybernews From Around the Globe
EU:
Metro AG Showcases RFID: <http://www.cbronline.com/currentnews/b23b82d67b5d1b3480256ecb0032def0>
Global WiFi Roaming Market Grows: <http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/07/08/HNglobalroaming_1.html>
Asia:
China Forces Rating of Online Games: <http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=17097>
Hardware Security Tokens at Singapore Bank: <http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/personaltech/0,39001147,39186157,00.htm>
Africa:
Nigeria's NEPA Spends on Foreign Software: <http://allafrica.com/stories/200407070265.html>
Outsourcing Comes to Africa: <http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=L'Outsourcing>
* Top Tech Companies in Legal Whirlwind
As Google's social software venture, Orkut (and its namesake
developer), is sued for stealing code, the company tries to do right
(or make its users do right) by not allowing the selling of or
bartering for invitations to the infamous, enormous-capacity Gmail
service. This legal action, of course, comes at an inauspicious
moment for Google, as it prepares for its imminent listing on the
NASDAQ stock market.
<http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,64046,00.html?tw=wn_5bizhead>
<http://www.sccaseinfo.org/pa5.asp?full_case_number=1-04-CV-020368>
<http://news.com.com/Google+bans+Gmail+swaps+and+sales/2100-1038_3-5254366.html?tag=nefd.pop>
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&e=1&u=/nm/20040712/wr_nm/tech_google_dc>
Microsoft's lawyers continue to work hard for their money. Microsoft
just lost an appeal in a patent case over ergonomic keyboards, is in
process of appealing the EU competition ruling, settled with Arizona
(antitrust and unfair competition), Massachusetts (consumer protection
violations and unfair competition) and Vermont (consumer fraud), is
suing the Brazilian government, dealing with security flaws...wait, I
lost my place...
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/07/ms_patent_appeal_defeat/>
<http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=131771&liFlavourID=1&sp=1>
<http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp>
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5310274/>
* VoIP: Talkin' About a Revolution
As VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) becomes more popular,
government and business entities have begun to take the technology and
its potential impact more seriously. The Internal Revenue Service has
released the equivalent of an RFC (Request for Comment) about possibly
taxing the new form of telephony, while critics fight taxation of an
Internet function. Vonage, the leading American VoIP provider, is
offering a choice of area code to customers, and reviving the
long-lost seven-digit dialing (without area code); with AT&T in the
fray, will both companies be able to offer these features? What will
the FCC have to say about taxation and other regulations? From their
website, the FCC has begun a "proceeding to examine what its role
should be in this new environment of increased consumer choice and
what it can best do to meet its role of safeguarding the public
interest."
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5261200.html>
<http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/Jul/1055141.htm>
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1621731,00.asp>
<http://www.usa.att.com/callvantage/home.jsp>
<http://www.cardozobellhead.net/>
<http://www.fcc.gov/voip/>
[2] BERKMAN NEWS
================
* iTunes Going Global
In its first week of operation in Britain, France, and Germany, iTunes
Europe sold an impressive 800,000 songs -- outpacing its nearest
competitor by a margin of 16:1. The Berkman Center's Digital Media
Project is tracking the expansion of iTunes and other online music
services into international markets in order to understand the
interplay between legal regimes and emerging business models in online
media. Summer researchers on the Digital Media Project recently
released a new study, iTunes Europe: A Preliminary Analysis, that
considers the legal foundation of iTunes Europe, the interplay of the
service with European law, and how both the market and law could
co-evolve in the years ahead.
iTunes Europe: A Preliminary Analysis:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/itunes_europe>
European Launch of iTunes:
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jun/15itunes.html>
iTunes Case study White Paper:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/itunes>
* Welcoming Jack Lerner and Meg Smith
The Berkman Center is proud to announce that Meg Smith and Jack Lerner
have joined the team as fellows for the upcoming academic year. Meg,
returning as a fellow to the Center after three years with McKinsey &
Company, a management consulting firm, will be working with the
Digital Media Project team. Jack, recently of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich
& Rosati in Palo Alto, is working on developing a private, voluntary
version of the alternative compensation system for digitally
distributed media that Terry Fisher discusses in Chapter 6 of his
forthcoming book, _Promises To Keep_.
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/media/>
[3] CONFERENCE WATCH
====================
July:
* July 14-31, 2004, Oxford, UK--Oxford Internet Institute Summer
Programme <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/teaching/?rq=sdp2004>
* July 19-23, 2004, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia--ICANN Meeting
<http://www.icann.org/meetings/kualalumpur/>
* July 26-28, 2004, Los Angeles, California--Preventing the Internet
Meltdown <http://www.pfir.org/meltdown>
August:
* August 1-6, 2004, San Diego, CA--60th IETF Meeting
<http://www.ietf.org/meetings/IETF-60.html>
[4] BOOKMARKS
==============
* The Blogging Cover-Up
<http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5255244.html?tag=nefd.acpro>
* No More Lost Luggage Ever Again Really?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/technology/01tags.html>
* The Obsessively Annotated Introduction to the INDUCE Act
<http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/004563.html>
[5] QUOTABLES
==============
This month in Quotables, we commemorate the retirement of Jack Valenti
from the MPAA. Harvard's own Dan Glickman, of the Institute of
Politics, steps into his role as President and CEO. The following are
gems of Valenti's from over the years...
"I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the
American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone."
Source: <http://j-walkblog.com/blog/index/P9202/>
"I've often believed that if television had existed in World War Two,
and there had been no censorship, that within two years of World War
Two, there would have been a great outcry in this country to let's
party with Hitler, let's make a deal, let's get out of there, this is
too costly, too bloody, too much treasure being spoiled."
Source: <http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/interviews/episode-11/valenti3.html>
"If you can't protect that which you own, then you don't own anything."
Source: <http://www.2600.com/news/0114-mpaa/press_release.txt>
"So long as people refuse to be cabinned and confined in their home
day after day, night after night, so long as you provide customers
with an epic viewing experience they cannot duplicate in their homes,
so long as each new generation of filmmakers enlarges and beautifies
the art of visual story telling, then so long will we travel that
sweet road that leads to success."
Source: <http://www.mpaa.org/MPAAPress/>
[6] TALK BACK
================
We continue to refine the Filter's format and content in response to
your feedback. The Filter Archives have recently been renovated as
well. Further comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please send them to filter-editor@cyber.harvard.edu
[7] SUBSCRIPTION INFO
======================
Follow this link to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the list:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/subscribe>
[8] ABOUT US
=============
Read The Filter online at <http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/>.
Who we are:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/filter/about.html>
[9] NOT A COPYRIGHT
=====================
A publication of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard
Law School <http://cyber.harvard.edu> You may--and please
do--forward or copy this newsletter to friends and colleagues.
This work is hereby released into the Public Domain. To view a copy of the
public domain dedication, visit
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/>
or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford,
California 94305, USA.