June 2001

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Disabled Access Now, More or Less (Wired)
Building Web Pages, Not Campfires (Wired)

INTERNATIONAL
Global treaty--threat to the Net? (ZDNet News)

JOURNALISM
Study Predicts Black Skies Ahead For Newspapers (WP)
High Court Sides With Freelance Writers in Electronic Rights Case
(NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

DISABLED ACCESS NOW, MORE OR LESS
Issue: Digital Divide
New standards requiring the federal government to make its websites
accessible to the disabled will be enforced beginning Monday, and agencies
that are not in compliance with the new rules can be sued. It is rumored
that millions of government Web pages are still incompliant, then many
agencies just entered a new universe of legal jeopardy. The new
accessibility standards also apply to all new computer and software
purchases as well, ensuring that the 122,000 disabled federal workers can
use any new equipment. Since the federal government is such a huge customer,
manufacturers are likely to change their standard products rather than
develop a customized version for the government alone. The prospect of
commercial vendors competing with one another to see which can make their
standard products most accessible is great news for the entire disabled
community.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Benner]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44724,00.html)

BUILDING WEB PAGES, NOT CAMPFIRES
Issue: Digital Divide
IBM offers summer EXITE camps to girls to train them how to use and install
computers and build Web sites. EXITE stands for Exploring Interests in
Technology and Engineering, and that's what over 600 sixth- and
seventh-grade girls who attend one of the 21 camps around the world will be
doing for one week. Women working in technology at IBM will lead the
pre-teen girls in collaborating over the Internet with girls around the
world. IBM wants to encourage girls who often lose interest in math and
science at this age, and will expose them to robotics, laser optics and
animation.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44683,00.html)

INTERNATIONAL

GLOBAL TREATY--THREAT TO THE NET?
Issue: Internet Policy
An international treaty on online trade and commerce was debated over the
last two weeks by policy-makers, but divisions threaten to delay the
agreement. If approved, the little-known international treaty called the
Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments would have broad
implications on copyright, free speech and electronic commerce. The treaty
would require the 52 member nations to enforce each others' laws on various
issues, even if those laws prohibit action legal under local laws.
Currently, international trade law allows states to require businesses doing
business in their borders to comply to local laws, but because trade can
occur without entering or leaving physical national boundaries it is
becoming increasingly difficult to determine what state has jurisdiction
over the transaction. Critics in the United States and elsewhere warned that
the treaty threatens free speech and has the potential to turn the Internet
service providers into "content police." "In a nutshell, it will strangle
the Internet with a suffocating blanket of overlapping jurisdictional
claims, expose every Web page publisher to liabilities for libel, defamation
and other speech offenses from virtually any country, (and) effectively
strip Internet service providers of protections from litigation over the
content they carry," reported the director of the Consumer Project on
Technology Jamie Love.
[SOURCE: ZDNet News, AUTHOR: Lisa M. Bowman]
(http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5093109,00.html?chkpt=zdnn_tp
_)

JOURNALISM

STUDY PREDICTS BLACK SKIES AHEAD FOR NEWSPAPERS
Issue: Journalism
According to a study by Content Intelligence Group that will be released
next week, the Internet poses a long-term threat to newspapers because of
the way people use the Web to obtain information. The study found that
nearly 60 percent of people expect their Web usage to increase either
"somewhat" or "substantially." Fewer than half of respondents expect their
usage of newspaper Web sites to increase. The study also showed that, over
time, people with the most Internet experience used the Internet more. "The
Internet is stealing audience from all media, including TV, radio, magazines
and newspapers," John McIntyre, managing editor for Content Intelligence
said. "Those with the most [Internet] experience rely on the newspaper the
least."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Michael Bartlett]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167200.html)

HIGH COURT SIDES WITH FREELANCE WRITERS IN ELECTRONIC RIGHTS CASE
Issue: Copyright
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that compilation in an electronic database is
different from other kinds of archival or library storage of material that
once appeared in print. The decision means that big media companies such as
The New York Times need to get free-lancers' permission before posting their
work online. Six free-lance writers sued The New York Times, Newsday, Time
Inc. and other publishers over inclusion of their work in electronic
databases, some of which require the user to pay a fee, such as LEXIS/NEXIS,
while others are available free over the Internet. The case turned on
whether electronic reproduction of a newspaper or periodical constitutes a
revision of the original print edition. Under copyright law, publishers do
not need authors' permission to produce a revised version of the original
edition.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Scotus-Free-Lance.html)

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INTERNET & SOCIETY
Getting a Handle on the Internet's Choose-Nots (SJM)
Net Changing The Ways Young People Connect (SJM)
E-Asean Group To Address Regional Digital Divide (Bangkok Post)

POLICY
GOP High-Tech Agenda Emphasizes Government 'Don'ts' (Newsbytes)

INFRASTRUCTURE
Global Crossing Completes Fiber Network (Newsbytes)

WIRELESS
F.C.C. Says Competition Thriving in Wireless Industry (NYT)

INTERNET & SOCIETY

NET CHANGING THE WAYS YOUNG PEOPLE CONNECT
Issue: Internet & Society
The Internet is fundamentally changing the way young Americans handle
personal relationships, define their culture and learn about the wider
world, according to comprehensive new survey of online usage by teens. The
report by Pew Internet & American Life Project, released Wednesday,
estimates about 17 million Americans ages 12 to 17 use the Internet, or 73
percent of that age group. By comparison, 56 percent of adults are online.
Among the most striking findings is the degree to which the Internet is
beginning to challenge the telephone as a means of communicating among
teens. Three of four online teens use instant messaging technologies that
allow real-time conversations over the Internet. The study also found that
the Internet has created a new area for dispute between parents and their
teens. Two-thirds of parents think content on the Internet is at least as
worrisome as that on TV.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Mary Anne Ostrom and Contact Tracy
Seipel]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svtop/teens062101.htm)

E-ASEAN GROUP TO ADDRESS REGIONAL DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), an alliance of 10 Asian
nations, is addressing digital divide issues and promoting the use of
information technology in their countries through its the e-Asean working
group. The e-Asean initiative is fostering cooperation in IT agreements
between Asean members Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Former director of the
Secretariat Office of Thailand's National Information Technology Committee
(NITC) Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj will be appointed the new chairman of
e-Asean. Pichet is expected to emphasize the success of e-Thailand projects
-- such as SchoolNet, which provides free Internet for education -- to other
Asean members.
[SOURCE: Bangkok Post, AUTHOR: Karnjana Karnjanatawe]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167092.html)

GETTING A HANDLE ON THE INTERNET'S CHOOSE-NOTS
Issue: Digital Divide
A much talked about new survey by the international research firm Ipsos-Reid
has taken a first step in identifying the have-nots and choose-nots of the
digital age. The study, released a week ago, found about one-third of the
people in the developed world who could use the Internet choose not to.
"They see no compelling reason to be on the Web. The hype and the promise of
the Internet clearly hasn't impressed them -- not yet, at least,'' said
Brian Cruikshank, who heads
Ipsos-Reid's global technology practice. Overall, the Ipsos-Reid study found
only 6 percent of the world's population is currently on the Net. In
developing regions the lack of telecom infrastructure and the prohibitive
cost of online access are still major barriers.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: David Plotnikoff]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/docs/modem21.htm)

POLICY

GOP HIGH-TECH AGENDA EMPHASIZES GOVERNMENT 'DON'TS'
Issue: Policy
The Republican political agenda "e-Contract with High-Tech America" was
renewed today by the House Republican leadership, pledging less government
intervention than in prior e-Contracts. House Majority Leader Dick Armey
(R-TX) said, "Sometimes the best thing for the government to do when the
private sector is prospering is for the government to stay out of the way
and reduce government barriers to change." Armey and other GOP leaders
outlined priorities in their agenda, including making K-12 education more
modern, granting trade promotion authority to the president and extending
the Internet tax moratorium. Armey took a neutral position on the
Tauzin-Dingell broadband deregulation bill which is threatened by defeat in
Senate committee. "One of the principles of the contract is we should always
be prepared to be slow and careful and thorough, that we always risk a
situation where the harm from the wrong decision can outweigh the possible
benefits of the right decision," said Armey. "So we will take our time and
work our way through that, but understand there are merits on both sides of
the broadband issue."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167073.html)

INFRASTRUCTURE

GLOBAL CROSSING COMPLETES FIBER NETWORK
Issue: Internet
The core structure of a fiber optic cable network 100,000 miles long
stretching around the globe to reach 27 countries and four continents has
been completed by provider Global Crossing Ltd. Over 200 cities in Europe,
North American, South America and Asia are networked. The company remains
fully funded for its efforts, which took less than four years to complete,
due income of $3 billion in after-tax proceeds on the sale of the Incumbent
Local Exchange Carrier and recovery of expenses from sales contracts.
Currently, Global Crossing is extending the core network to Asian countries,
connecting Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines to the global network,
which is due to be completed early next year.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167106.html)

WIRLESS

F.C.C. SAYS COMPETITION THRIVING IN WIRELESS INDUSTRY
Issue: Wireless
According to a report issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
on Wednesday, competition in the wireless telecommunications sector is
thriving, while costs continued to fall, dropping 25 percent last year. Now
more than 90 percent of consumers have a choice of at least three wireless
carriers, up from 78.3 percent in 1997. "Competition and deregulation have
resulted in lower prices and increased diversity of service,'' said Tom
Sugrue, the head of the FCC wireless bureau. At the same time, the industry
and FCC is grappling with a rise in complaints ranging from consumers not
being able to place a call to calls being dropped in the middle of a
conversation, Sugrue said.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-telecoms-wireles.html)
(requires registration)

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
Broadband For All - Canada's 'New National Dream' (Newsbytes)
The Push to Push Women Higher (Wired)

POLICY
Michael Powell: The Great Deregulator (WP)
Senate Commerce Committee To Talk Telecom Competition (Newsbytes)
Hollings Announces Hearings on Local Telephone Competition (Senate)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

BROADBAND FOR ALL - CANADA'S 'NEW NATIONAL DREAM'
Issue: Broadband
The Canadian National Broadband Task Force recently acclaimed universal
access to the broadband Internet as Canada's "new national dream," and has
estimated it will cost $4 billion Canadian dollars to deploy broadband to
all Canadians by 2004. Industry Minister Brian Tobin, who pledged to adhere
to the 2004 deadline, compared this commitment to Canada's "original"
national dream to link its coasts by railway in the late 1800s. Tobin
remarked that around 4800 of its 6000 communities lie outside of urban or
suburban areas, and said that "Without appropriate government involvement,
many rural and remote communities might not have access to the private
sector's (infrastructure)." Canadian internet service providers warned about
the impact of government subsidies on encouraging monopolies in the
technology and of companies. "While we applaud the goal of extending
broadband access to all Canadian communities by 2004," said President of the
Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) Jay Thomson, "Canadians
living and working in those communities will only see the real benefits
broadband can offer if multiple suppliers are able to compete for their
business."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166964.html)

THE PUSH TO PUSH WOMEN HIGHER
Issue: Digital Divide
Fortune magazine named Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, the most
powerful woman in technology, but only 12 percent of technology
professionals recognized her by name, compared to 98 percent who recognized
Microsoft's Bill Gates and 59 percent who recognized Apple's Steve Jobs.
According to a study called Women in Technology Leadership released by
Deloitte & Touche, women executives in the technology industry are not
nearly as well known as their male counterparts because male executives
maintain high profiles. "There are a lot of the same obstacles and
challenges in existence in the technology industry (as in the old economy),"
said Sue Molina, director of Deloitte & Touche's Initiative for the
Retention and Advancement of Women. The Women in Technology International
(WITI) Professional Women's Summit this week will launch a new initiative to
network prominent women executives with other business leaders and CEOs.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Kendra Mayfield]
(http://www.wired.com/news/women/0,1540,44519,00.html)

POLICY

MICHAEL POWELL: THE GREAT DEREGULATOR
Issue: FCC
Michael Powell, the new head of the Federal Communications Commission, is
emerging as a deregulatory chairman, and not surprisingly the commercial
broadcasters like him. Recently, he voted for rules that will allow the four
major television networks - ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox - to buy one of the smaller
ones - UPN or the WB. Critics see this as another step toward corporate
consolidation. "He has a disappointingly narrow view of the role that
government has played in creating the marketplace and the diversity that is
in the marketplace and in the mass media," says Andrew Schwartzman,
president of the Media Access Project, a Washington telecommunications
watchdog group. Regarding the role of government Powell said: "I believe
government has the role and duty of proving the merits of intervention
rather than the other way around. If I can't demonstrate with rigor the
necessity of intervention, then the obligation of the government is to stay
out."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Frank Ahrens]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/10574-1.html)

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE TO TALK TELECOM COMPETITION
Issue: Competition
The Senate Commerce Committee's new Democratic chairman Ernest "Fritz"
Hollings (SC) has scheduled three panels to testify on local telephone
market competition at the launch his first hearing. The first panel will
include as a witness Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), chair of a House
subcommittee on telecommunications. The second panel will represent on the
one side the AT&T chairman and the BellSouth Corp. Vice President, and on
the other side two leading competitive local phone carriers. Concluding the
series on the third panel will be former Pennsylvania Public Utilities
commissioner David W. Rolka, Illinois state senator Dave Sullivan and
co-director of the Consumers Union Gene Kimmelman. Hollings has taken a
strong position against the Tauzin-Dingell bill to allow Baby Bell
incumbents to enter the broadband market without first proving that they
have opened up their local markets to competition, and is expected to
harshly criticize incumbent carriers for resisting against opening up their
local markets.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Staff]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166972.html)
See also:
HOLLINGS ANNOUNCES HEARINGS ON LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION
On Tuesday, June 19, the Committee will hold a hearing on the status of
competition in the telephone marketplace. Examining the goals and objectives
of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the Committee will hear testimony
regarding the current state and future prospects of local telephone
competition as governed by the landmark legislation.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/107-64.html)

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INTERNET
Free Speech Advocates Laud Decision On Student Web Site (NYT)
Study: Net Users Mirror Nation's Gender Breakdown (Newsbytes)
Billions Have No Need For The Internet, Survey Says (Newsbytes)
In your face! MS open source attacks backfire (WSJ Online)

INTERNET

FREE SPEECH ADVOCATES LAUD DECISION ON STUDENT WEB SITE
Issue: Internet
Civil liberties experts are applauding the decision of County district
attorney Jeanine F. Pirro to forego prosecuting two high school students who
were arrested for making a Web site that contained names, telephone numbers
and alleged sexual exploits of dozens of their female classmates. The site,
which has been shut down, not only commented on the alleged sexual
preferences or activities of more than 30 girls, but also included comments
on their looks, eating habits and their parents' marital problems, according
to the news accounts. The two male students had been charged with aggravated
harassment, which is defined as annoying or harassing communication that is
transmitted directly to an unwilling listener, thus violating her peace and
privacy. But because the Web site did not include direct communication to
the victims, Pirro determined that "there is not sufficient evidence to
support a criminal prosecution."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/15/technology/15CYBERLAW.html)

STUDY: NET USERS MIRROR NATION'S GENDER BREAKDOWN
Issue: Internet
The ratio of women to men online reflects the gender statistics of the
current American population, according to a Nielsen/NetRatings study. In the
last month, there were 53.33 million women actively using the Internet
compared to 49.83 million men. Women spent an average of nearly 9 hours a
day online, where men spent about 10 and