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U.S. Government Denies that ACTA Mandates Filtering or Three Strikes, But Questions On its Contents Remain Public Knowledge
On Monday, the New York Times added to the increasing media scrutiny of ACTA, the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. This proposed international agreement, which has the potential to drastically change the landscape of copyright law and policy, still remains hidden from the public eye. Given this lack of transparency, it’s no surprise that the substance of the agreement can only be discussed by way of leaks, speculation, and warring sound bites. Among the suppositions on ACTA’s contents was the following: “E.U. negotiators, for example, are said to have balked at a U.S.-backed proposal to require Internet service providers to take tough steps against digital piracy. Under such a structure, leaked papers from the Union show, Internet providers might be required to filter out illegally copied songs and films from their networks or to sever copyright violators’ Internet connections.” This was especially alarming news to us. Mandatory filtering and 3 strikes proposals are minefields of technical and due process problems. More than that, it was a worry that only added to existing concerns.

Wikileaks and Iceland MPs propose ‘journalism haven’ BBC
Iceland could become a “journalism haven” if a proposal put forward by some Icelandic MPs aided by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks succeeds. The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI), calls on the country’s government to adopt laws protecting journalists and their sources. It will be filed with the Althingi – Iceland’s parliament – on 16 February. If the proposal succeeds it will require the Icelandic government to consider introducing legislation. Julian Assange, Wikileaks’ editor, told BBC News that the idea was to “try and reform Iceland’s media law to be a very attractive jurisdiction for investigative journalists”. He has been in Iceland for a number of weeks and is advising MPs on the IMMI. The hope is that journalist-friendly laws will encourage media businesses to move to Iceland. “If it then has these additional media and publishing law protections then it is likely to encourage the international press and internet start-ups to locate their services here,” Mr Assange said.

Wi-Fi Turns Rowdy Bus Into Rolling Study Hall New York Times
Students endure hundreds of hours on yellow buses each year getting to and from school in this desert exurb of Tucson, and stir-crazy teenagers break the monotony by teasing, texting, flirting, shouting, climbing (over seats) and sometimes punching (seats or seatmates). But on this chilly morning, as bus No. 92 rolls down a mountain highway just before dawn, high school students are quiet, typing on laptops. Morning routines have been like this since the fall, when school officials mounted a mobile Internet router to bus No. 92’s sheet-metal frame, enabling students to surf the Web. The students call it the Internet Bus, and what began as a high-tech experiment has had an old-fashioned — and unexpected — result. Wi-Fi access has transformed what was often a boisterous bus ride into a rolling study hall, and behavioral problems have virtually disappeared.

European parliament rejects SWIFT deal for sharing bank data with US Deutsche Welle
The European Parliament has voted against a controversial deal that would have led the EU and US to share bank transfer data, something Washington has said is crucial for counter-terrorism investigations. The US says the data-sharing is for investigations into terrorist activity, but many European politicians expressed concern that it failed to protect the privacy of EU citizens. “The majority view is that the correct balance between security, on the one hand, and the protection of civil liberties and fundamental rights, on the other, has not been achieved,” European Parliament head, Jerzy Buzek, said in a statement after the vote. European Parliament head Jerzy BuzekBildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The decision was an historic moment for Parliament head Buzek SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, facilitates trillions of dollars in financial transactions across the world each day. Until recently, some of its servers were located on US soil, giving American authorities the jurisdiction needed to access the information on them. But at the end of 2009, the servers were moved to Europe.

Pirate Bay legal battles continue across Europe V3.co.uk
An attempt to force the sixth largest telecoms company in the world to block the Pirate Bay web site has failed after a Norwegian court refused leave to appeal the original verdict. Telecoms operator Telenor was sued last year by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and others for refusing to block access to the popular torrent search engine. “You cannot sue a ladder manufacturer because someone used one of his ladders to commit a burglary,” Atle Lessum, a spokesman for Telenor, told the Verdens Gang newspaper at the time. “We therefore reject imposed censorship like this.” Telenor won the case, but Norway’s performing rights society appealed. Today that appeal was turned down by the Oslo court.

Google acquires social search engine Aardvark CNet News
Google has acquired social-search provider Aardvark, right on the heels of the company’s Google Buzz announcement. Google declined to share financial terms of the deal, but TechCrunch reported that Google paid $50 million for the start-up. “We have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aardvark, but we don’t have any additional details to share right now,” a company representative said in a statement.

Top military MD buys $1.5M virtual reality lab Ottawa Citizen
Canadian soldiers injured in Afghanistan will soon have the benefit of a virtual reality simulator to help them recover from amputations, brain injuries and post-traumatic stress. Canadian Forces Surgeon General Commodore Hans Jung signed a deal Thursday with The Ottawa Hospital that will see the military purchase a $1.5 million state-of-the-art simulator. The machine, which will be the first of its kind in Canada, is to be installed later this year in The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre. The simulator can recreate almost any environment or terrain. It means injured soldiers and other patients in the rehab centre will be able to practice walking on uneven ground, standing on a moving bus, or hiking uphill, all while safely harnessed in the machine. The simulator is officially known as a rehabilitation virtual reality lab.

Shaw to buy control of Canwest TV operations Reuters
Debt-laden Canwest Global Communications Corp, Canada’s biggest media company, said on Friday that Shaw Communications Inc has agreed to acquire a 20 percent equity stake and 80 percent voting interest in its television business.

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi

February, 2010

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