INTERNET
Europeans: No ICANN Without Representation
Record Industry Changing Tune On Internet
The Hot New Field of Cyberlaw Is Just Hokum, Skeptics Argue
Cable Firms Faulted For Restrictions On Internet Service
ADVERTISING
Group Returns to Wartime Mission
INTERNET
EUROPEANS: NO ICANN WITHOUT REPRESENTATION
Europeans and others are speaking out and refusing to pay membership dues to
the U.S.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
in an effort to gain more autonomy from ICANN. William Black, chairman of
the company operating the ".uk" domain name said, "Some of us feel that we
should stand up for our reasonable rights and not give in to a U.S.
corporation." ICANN's authority comes from a 1998 agreement with the U.S
government, which retains control of the Internet's master directory. Right
now, out of 240 assigned codes only Japan, Australia, Burundi, and Malawi
have signed contracts with ICANN. In response to their critics, the ICANN
reform committee has proposed the national registries have their own
supporting organizations, thus giving them more influence over ICANN
policies. However, critics believe that the proposal does not address the
friction between ICANN and the national registries that has blocked
productive agreements.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/06/28/icann-independence.htm)
RECORD INDUSTRY CHANGING TUNE ON INTERNET
Listen.com added the music library of Universal Music Group to it's
streaming-music catalog making it the only subscription service to include
music from the five major record labels. Another deal signaling a change in
the record industry's acceptance of the online music industry was between
FullAudio and Warner Music. The deal allows consumers to purchase any of
25,000 tracks and burn them to CD for 99 cents. Phil Leigh, vice president
of equity research for Raymond James & Associates said, "We've seen a really
seismic shift in the record label industry." Chris Gladwin, CEO of Full
Audio agrees, "The music industry is taking steps to really make digital
distribution happen in the right way. This is like the beginning of the
music industry at large embracing digital music and saying this is a part of
my future..."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News. AUTHOR: Dawn C. Chmielewski]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3578189.htm)
THE HOT NEW FIELD OF CYBERLAW IS JUST HOKUM, SKEPTICS ARGUE
Boom Town columnist Lee Gomes discusses the popularity of the
"cybercitizens" identity and the perceived need to develop new "cyberlaws".
Law schools are adding cyberlaw courses to their schedules and
"cyberlawyers" are often quoted in the media regarding online disputes.
However, there is a group of legal experts Gomes calls "cyberskeptics" who
challenge the idea of cyberspace and maintain that online events should be
treated the same as those in the offline world. While the topics may vary,
nearly all the skeptics draw on the idea that the Internet is not a unique
thing requiring new laws and is no more real than a "phone space". In his
article "Against Cyberlaw", Joseph H. Sommer, counsel at the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York wrote, "The steam engine...probably transformed American
law, but the 'law of the steam engine' never existed."
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Lee Gomes]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1025481262421276800,00.html?mod=technolo
gy%5Ffeatured%5Fstories%5Fhs)
(Requires subscription)
CABLE FIRMS FAULTED FOR RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNET SERVICE
The Ad Council, the public service advertising organization established in
1942 to rally support for the national effort during World War II, is
returning to its original mission with a campaign that begins today. The
idea for "Campaign for Freedom" - whose tagline is "Freedom. Appreciate it.
Cherish it. Protect it." - arose after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Freedom is our strength. However, freedom is also at risk," explains Peggy
Conlon, president and chief executive of the Ad Council, said. "The
`Campaign for Freedom' recognizes that it is every American's responsibility
to protect the foundation of our nation, and this is the heart of the
strategy." Some advertising industry experts praised the campaign's intent
and execution, but others were less than impressed. Mark Crispin Miller, a
professor of media studies at New York University called the campaign
"inappropriate because these ads are not thought-provoking but emotionally
manipulative...The Ad Council is merely giving us a kind of feel-good
blather for the nation's couch potatoes."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58542-2002Jun27.html)
ADVERTISING
GROUP RETURNS TO WARTIME MISSION
A coalition of high-tech companies has complained to federal regulators that
some cable providers have imposed "troubling" restrictions on how their
high-speed Internet networks can be used by consumers and businesses. In a
filing with the Federal Communications Commission, the companies say that
major cable Internet providers have placed restrictions on
bandwidth-intensive activities, including prohibitions on the use of private
corporate networks that allow employees to work from home. The High Tech
Broadband Coalition, a group of trade associations with members that include
heavyweights Microsoft, Dell, Intel, and IBM has generally supported the
FCC's deregulatory approach to broadband deployment, but it wants the FCC to
ensure that cable companies don't unilaterally prohibit any type of Internet
use. The group identified nine provisions in subscriber agreements of at
least two major cable companies that it said could "limit innovation and
consumers' freedom, which have been the engines of the information age."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jane L. Levere]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/01/business/media/01ADCO.html)
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