Information Policy

Network Neutrality Is Law In Chile

An anonymous reader writes "Chile is the first country of the world to guarantee by law the principle of network neutrality, according to the Teleccomunications Market Comission's Blog from Spain. The official newspaper of the Chilean Republic published yesterday a Law that guarantees that any Internet user will be able to use, send, receive or offer any content, applications or legal services over the Internet, without arbitrary or discriminatory blocking."

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/29/2245246/Network-Neutrality-Is-Law-In-Chile

ICANN Publishes Draft Agreement on .XXX With 30 Day Comment Period

by author David Goldstein

ICANN has published a revised proposed registry agreement with ICM, the controversial applicant for the .XXX Sponsored Top Level Domain (.XXX sTLD) as well as documentation submitted by ICM Registry in connection with the expedited due diligence conducted at the direction of the Board are being posting today for public comment. There is a 30 day public comment period that closes on 24 August.

The .XXX sTLD has been kicking around since 2004 when ICM submitted an application in response to an ICANN Request for Proposals to create new sTLD registries. A first proposed registry agreement for .XXX was posted on 16 April 2006. In May 2006, the Board voted not to approve the agreement as proposed, and two revisions to the proposed registry agreement were posted for public comment in January and February of 2007.

On 30 March 2007, the Board rejected the proposed agreement. After ICM sought an independent review of the Board’s denial of ICM’s application for the .XXX sTLD, the Independent Review Panel issued a declaration. On 25 June 2010, the Board determined to accept and act in accordance with some of the Panel’s findings and directed ICANN staff to conduct expedited due diligence of ICM and to proceed into draft contract negotiations with ICM. On 5 August 2010, the Board directed staff, upon receipt of ICM’s application documentation, to post ICM’s supporting documents and proposed registry agreement for public comment for a period of no less than 30 days.

Some of the major changes between the 2007 versions and the current proposed versions are:

* The agreement is revised to reflect changes to address DNSSEC handling and current technical specifications, as well as links to current ICANN processes

* The agreement is revised to be consistent with most sTLD agreements in the renewal terms

* The termination, assignment and subcontracting provisions have been revised and clarified

* Modifications to further define the sTLD community and to provide the requirements of ICM in developing and implementing policy for the TLD through IFFOR, consistent with the ICM/IFFOR Sponsoring Organization Agreement and the sTLD charter.

* It is almost certain that there will be comments submitted opposing .XXX from the adult industry that has long opposed the sTLD’s introduction.

One such organisation that has opposed the .XXX sTLD in the past is the Free Speech Coalition. They have previously said that the proposal is “not of the industry and that the proposal does not have the community’s support” in a letter to ICANN.

Another to oppose the .XXX sTLD has been Fiona Patten, CEO of the Eros Association, Australia’s national adult retail and entertainment association, who is also vehemently opposed to the .XXX proposal.

“I can see no positive outcome from the introduction of .xxx,” Patten told DomainPulse.com in April, 2010. She also said she believes nothing has changed since the ICANN meeting in Wellington in March 2006 where the Government Advisory Committee, where governments give advice to ICANN, opposed the approval of .XXX. This included the Australian government who Patten says has indicated they are still opposed to the introduction of .XXX.

Patten also says it is her “understanding of the TLD process [that] industry support is a fundamental requisite and ICM does not have that.”

“In the past the arguments for a TLD such as .XXX was that it would prevent child pornography and stop children from accessing adult material,” Patten wrote in a recent blog posting.

“It will do neither. There will still be plenty of adult material on the .com domain and frankly child pornographers are criminals and they will not be concerned about NOT using a .XXX domain.

“I agree we need new domain names due to the enormous of the WWW but why not a .KIDS or other names that could create on line walled playgrounds for children?”

http://www.domainpulse.com/2010/08/25/icann-publishes-draft-agreement-on-xxx-with-30-day-comment-period/

Swedish Government Reveals Plans to Cut TeliaSonera Stake

The government plans to sell a portion of its 37.3% stake in the incumbent to help fund sweeping economic and social reforms.

The Swedish government revealed plans back in 2008 to divest its remaining stake in the incumbent, but the unstable global economic climate has meant this has been put on hold.

France Telecom remains a key potential buyer for the government stake, but the minority nature of the holding may well deter many of the major European players.

TeliaSonera is a world leader in 4G, recently announcing significant investment in LTE as demand for mobile broadband services across its regions explodes.

The Swedish government has announced a series of sweeping reforms in its economic and social policies, including a planned reduction of its ownership in the country's incumbent operator TeliaSonera. The proposed reforms, worth some 32.7 billion Swedish kronor (US$4.4 billion) over the next four years, will be partially funded by a shake-up of public finances, including a sale of government shares in TeliaSonera, mortgage lender SBAB, and bank Nordea, of which the state owns stakes of 37.3%, 100%, and 19.9% respectively.

The announcement is part of the ruling coalition's manifesto ahead of the general election next month. Sweden was largely unscathed by the recent global economic downturn, boasting the strongest public finances in the European Union (EU) as exports boomed, meaning the country does not need to adopt the austerity measures seen elsewhere in the bloc.

The Swedish government has held its 37.3% stake in TeliaSonera since 2008, when it sold an 8% stake in the incumbent for 18 billion kronor to institutional investors. The government indicated at the time that it planned to divest the remaining stake, as part of pledges to reduce the state's involvement in running companies, attracting a bid from European giant France Telecom and interest from fellow Nordic player Telenor. However, the France Telecom bid of US$46 billion was deemed to be too low, and the unstable global economic climate has meant divestment plans have been put on hold.

https://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/41370?7649

German law bans Facebook research for hiring decisions

Employers in Germany will be allowed to enter job applicants' names into search engines and professional networking sites but must not look at their profiles on Facebook, under a draft law that was approved by the Federal Cabinet yesterday.

The law on the regulation of employee privacy is said to establish "an equitable balance between the interests of employees in protecting personal data and the legitimate interests of employers," according to a translation of a statement on the Federal Cabinet's website.

The law clarifies the questions that can be asked during a job application process. It is acceptable for an employer to request an applicant's name, address, telephone number and email address, according to the law; but certain internet searches are forbidden.

According to a translation of the draft law, employers may collect data in the public domain as a means of researching a job candidate, except where the legitimate interests of the employee in that data outweigh the legitimate interests of the employer.

It specifies that social networks that are used for electronic communication may not be used for research, except for social networks that exist to represent the professional qualifications of their members.

Official guidance that accompanies the law cites Facebook as an example of a service used for communication, which must not form part of a "private fishing expedition" and LinkedIn as a service used to represent professional qualifications which can be explored.

The bill also regulates phone, email, internet and video surveillance in the private sector.

http://out-law.com/page-11336

Tasmania's Innovation Strategy, 2010

Tasmanian Government, Department of Economic Development, Tourism and the Arts, August 2010. "... Tasmania is leading the implementation of the Australian Government's National Broadband Network roll-out, enabling innovation in education, health, tourism and other industries. In this way Tasmania will lead the country in connecting to the global digital economy. The Innovation Strategy is designed to make sure we make the most of this opportunity. Through the Innovation Strategy we will build on Tasmania's reputation and capacity as a producer of clean and renewable energy. We will invest in a vibrant, creative and innovative Tasmania built on its lifestyle advantages, both in the capital city, Hobart, and expanding our regional communities. In turn we will benefit from our investments in innovation to build our tourism industry. Small business will be a key target group for many of these initiatives. Tasmania has come a long way. It is an exciting future – and innovation is its centre..."

http://www.egov.vic.gov.au/focus-on-countries/australia/australian-states-and-territories/tasmania/government-initiatives-tasmania/business-and-industry-tasmania/tasmania-s-innovation-strategy-2010-in-pdf-format-5110kb.html