The supposedly private yet very public execution of Saddam Hussein has given us the first big cyberlaw story of 2007. The story can be tackled from a wide range of angles: Who owns the video? Can (and should) it be banned? Is there any law that could be applied to Read more
I may be the only UK-based technology and IP blogger that has not yet mentioned the Gowers report. Because I’m in Costa Rica, I’ve been tempted to ignore writing about the report because so many people have already commented intelligently on it. Perhaps my only take is to stress again Read more
This week the IP and Technology blogosphere has been set aflame by the report from the BBC stating that copyright terms for sound recordings will be left as they are. From IPKat to Copyfight, everyone seems to find this is a delightful outcome to the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property Read more
Common sense tells us that the Internet is for porn, but latest research does not reflect this. A report from Berkley statistician Philip B. Stark on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice indicates that only 1% of websites searchable by Google are porn, and that search engine filters manage Read more
As we spend more and more time online, we are (wittingly and unwittingly) leaving behind vast amounts of personal information. Dodgy poems, bad pictures, posts in the Pokémon forum, that Céline Dion fan website… you may have several things rattling online of which you’re not particularly proud. Personally, I do Read more
There are 200 gambling websites operating from Costa Rica employing a calculated 10,000 people. There was serious concern that the sites would be seriously affected by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. I will not be ashamed to admit that I’m considerably worried about the law’s impact on Costa Rican Read more
It seems like after YouTube has been purchased by Google, it has managed to attract a large number of news stories, particularly with calls to regulate the site. The first news item comes from a potential crack-down of YouTube in the UK, as it has been noticed by ministers that Read more
Dire warnings about the future of the Internet from Nitin Desai, chair of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). According to Mr Desai, the web could be splintered in the not-so-far future into national firewalls, high-speed fiefdoms and limited consumer choice. We have become used to the world-wide network where everyone Read more
Unless you are living under a rock (or don’t care about these sort of things), you will know that Google has purchased the popular video website YouTube for a staggering $1.65 billion USD (about £880 million GBP in real money). Only The Guardian has picked up on one of the Read more
The U.S. Congress has voted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the latest piece of legislation that attempts to put a leash on objectionable internet behaviour. As far as online regulation goes, this bill looks like the real thing. The Act makes sure that some existing criminal activities apply to Read more