A new word - "struthious" A new word - "struthious"
The dangers of not being aware
The web as a wonderful place
The possibilities...
In the US, the CDA has been overturned in the courts, but the Government
has filed notice of appeal
In Australia, the Attorney General of NSW has produced draconian draft legislation
which, if adopted, could strangle the use of the Web
In South Korea, the Government has directed its citizens not to use the
Web to contact North Korea, and is looking at ways to restrict access to web sites elsewhere which contain information about the North.
In the United States, in a two-week period ending June 9, the following items were reported in
Washington:
* The Federal Trade Commission held two days of hearings to decide
how to regulate web sites that collect personal information about
children.
* Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA) announced at a Senate investigations
subcommittee hearing that his suspicions of evil cryptohackers
lurking on the Net mean the CIA and NSA must be permitted to
snoop domestically, a practice long prohibited by law.
* The Clinton administration responded to Congressional attempts to
liberalize export controls on strong encryption with a "Clipper
III" white paper, and a blue-ribbon NRC report recommended only
minor changes in U.S. crypto export policy.
* The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings where witnesses from
the Hollywood copyright lobby testified that copyright thieves
plague the Net.
* A House Judiciary subcommittee is planning a final markup of
HR2441, a terribly restrictive online copyright bill similar to
one the Senate is considering, this Wednesday.
* The Defense Information Systems Agency released a report claiming
that hackers tried to break into Pentagon systems 250,000 times in
1995.
* The 1997 Defense Authorization Bill will give the White House six
months to report on "the national policy on protecting the
national information infrastructure from strategic attack."
* At the first-ever "CyberCongress" hearing held by a House
committee, representatives complained about being flamed through
anonymous remailers and said there should be accountability online.
* Today's Sunday Washington Post featured an article by Richard Leiby
on the first page of the Outlook section bashing "self-indulgent
dross" and "crap" on the Net: "I took out the Internet trash
and found there wasn't much left."
* Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chair of Senate Judiciary, held a hearing
on June 4 where family values activists testified in support of
Hatch's bill that gives you 15 years for creating or viewing a
GIF that "appears to be" or is said to be kiddie porn -- even if
it's actually a morphed photo of an adult.
* Journalist Lew Koch unearthed an alarmist speech by Deputy
Attorney General Jamie Gorelick slamming not just nonescrowed
crypto but the "social problems" of the Net -- and calling for a
new "Manhattan Project" and even a new Federal agency to start
"devising and implementing solutions."
(With thanks to: Declan McCullagh / declan@well.com / Redistribute freely)
In Australia, APRA has made an ambit claim in ISPs for an annual
licence fee of $1 per subscriber to cover music sound files supplied via the www to them.
Despite protestations, the Georgia legislation has passed into law.
The New US Copyright Legislation continues its passage through the house.
The Digital Future Coalition, which is providing up to the minute information on this issue, has moved to a new website at http://www.ari.net/dfc/
This legislation, if enacted, will make it illegal to browse the web, thwart distance education, make various hardware and software illegal, and make
ISPs liable for copyright violations.
Negotiations in Australia between Copyright owners and Universities
regarding electronic closed reserve materials remain stalled.
The Questions Remain...
Another constraint is Fear
Electronic Discussion Lists
Government Submissions
Use Media Contacts - radio, tv, newspapers
Workplace Information Sharing
Lobby Politicians
Don't forget Parents