DIGITAL DIVIDE
Groups Lobby on Funding to Bridge U.S. Digital Divide
TELECOM
FCC Chief Urged to Shift View
INTERNET
ACLU Pushes for Open Access
ICANN Board Member Wins Ruling
White House Sounds Call For New Internet Standards
Saudis block 2,000 Web Sites
DIGITAL DIVIDE
GROUPS LOBBY ON FUNDING TO BRIDGE U.S. DIGITAL DIVIDE
Representatives of civil rights and educational groups gathered at a
congressional briefing in Washington D.C. last week to argued against the
proposed elimination of two federally funded programs that help provide
technology in underserved communities. At Friday's briefing -- co-sponsored
by the Congressional Hispanic, Black and Asian Pacific Caucuses on Capitol
Hill -- the groups discussed a recent report by the Benton Foundation and
the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).
The report, "Bringing a Nation Online: The Importance of Federal
Leadership," found that a lack of technology skills plays a significant role
in furthering economic and social divisions across the country. While 55
percent of white Americans have Internet access in their homes, only 32
percent of the Hispanic population and 31 percent of African Americans are
connected at home. The report quotes statistics from a U.S. Department of
Commerce report issued in February. "This issue of access [to internet
technology] is a major one, and it is a matter of civil rights and economic
development," said Johnny Villamil-Casanova, executive vice president of the
Aspira Association, a nonprofit organization devoted to the education and
leadership development of Latino youth.
[SOURCE: Yahoo.com, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Allen, OneWorld US]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/oneworld/20020729/wl_onewor
ld/1032_1027972881)
TELECOM
FCC CHIEF URGED TO SHIFT VIEW
Several Democrats on a Senate panel yesterday urged Federal Communications
Commission chairman Michael Powell to take a more active role in guiding the
telecommunications industry out of financial turmoil. Senator Max Cleland
(D-GA) and others urged Powell to reassess his view that less regulation of
the marketplace, not more, would be in the best interest of consumers.
Powell stood by his approach, telling senators that the consolidation of key
players is inevitable and would relieve the competitive pressure that has
caused marginal-cost pricing. Gene Kimmelman, director of the Washington
office of Consumers Union, expressed frustration at Powell's continued
deregulatory path. "His solution for the current telecommunication implosion
was to raise consumers' telephone rates, allow more mergers and continue
deregulation. It's a recipe for disaster."
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23447-2002Jul30.html)
INTERNET
ACLU PUSHES FOR OPEN ACCESS
While a recent study by The Yankee Group indicated that cable Internet
providers are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries of broadband growth,
the FCC has voted to allow cable companies to keep their networks closed to
smaller competitors -- while at the same time the cable industry is becoming
more consolidated. "We're at a pivotal moment here," American Civil
Liberties Union associate director Barry Steinhardt said. "I think it's
inevitable that as the choice (of Internet providers) decreases, it will
limit the choices of content that people can access."
For the short term, the suggested solutions would require only minor repair
and maintenance and not any major upgrading or building. Cable companies
have claimed that immense technical and financial burdens make it unfeasible
to open networks to competitors. A report commissioned by the ACLU, however,
examines current cable network systems and offers technical solutions for
cable companies to open their networks to competing Internet service
providers. The report finds that opening the networks is both feasible and
low-cost. The ACLU and consumer advocacy groups are concerned that if cable
companies are not forced to open their networks, American consumers may face
fewer ways of getting to the Internet -- and once on the Internet may find
that their content is limited.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Troy Wolverton]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1033-947274.html?tag=fd_top)
ICANN BOARD MEMBER WINS RULING
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled Monday that under
California law, a board member of ICANN must be granted access to sensitive
information about how it operates. Karl Auerbach, who is on the board of
ICANN, went to court to gain access to private ICANN documents. Auerbach was
one of five at-large board members chosen through an online voting process
and sees his role as prompting more openness and disclosure in the future,
even after he's no longer on the board. Fellow board member Andy
Mueller-Maguhn welcomed the court ruling, although somewhat cautiously. "It
looks like transparency at ICANN is going to improve," he said. "After
everything that has happened in the last months, indeed I am surprised to
hear about a decision that sounds reasonable coming from a U.S. court."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Steve Kettmann]
(http://wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,54199,00.html)
WHITE HOUSE SOUNDS CALL FOR NEW INTERNET STANDARDS
The Bush administration's cyber security czar, Richard Clarke, said it might
be time to replace the "creaky, cranky" 20-year-old protocols that drive the
Internet with standards better able to accommodate a flood of new wireless
devices. Wireless devices, it is feared, may introduce large security holes
to the network. The White House is working with the private sector to draft
a national plan to secure the country's most vital computer networks from
cyber attack. The plan, expected to be released September 18, will include
several policy recommendations for wireless security. Clarke stated that the
administration had an obligation to take an active role in ensuring the
security of the Internet, especially since nearly 81 percent of major
businesses today use, or plan to use, wireless networks.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22535-2002Jul30.html)
SAUDIS BLOCK 2,000 WEB SITES
A Harvard Law School report has found that the Saudi government has blocked
approximately 2,000 Web sites. Most of the blacklisted sites were sexually
explicit or about religion, but the government also blocked sites about
women, health, drugs and pop culture. "We found blockage of quite a bit of
content beyond political content and pornography," said researcher Ben
Edelman. Unlike other countries the researchers tested, Saudi Arabia was
willing to allow tests of their proxy servers. Different, too, from many
other countries, is the Saudi openness about their censorship of the Web. If
a site is blacklisted, the user is directed to a page that explicitly states
that access to the site has been denied. "It comes as no surprise that the
same countries that would be concerned about certain books and newspapers
crossing their borders would also be concerned to find similar information
crossing their borders electronically over the Internet."
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2153312.stm)
----------------------------------------------------------------------