CRTC New Media Decision: Hands Off The Internet. . . For Now Michael Geist
The CRTC has released its 2009 new media decision (full decision here) and it looks not unlike the 1999 new media decision. Days of hearings, thousands of pages of submissions and the Commission has side-stepped the pressure to “do something,” by maintaining its hands-off approach. It concluded that regulatory intervention would get in the way of innovation and that a compelling case was not made that additional support through an ISP levy was needed. Indeed, the decision notes that “the Commission is of the view that parties advocating repeal of the exemption orders did not establish that licensing undertakings in the new media environment would contribute in a material manner to the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in the Act.”

Canadian Govt Set To Consult On Copyright Act Billboard
The Canadian government is expected to start a consultation process on changes to the country’s Copyright Act in mid-June, with the goal of introducing a new bill by the end of the year, sources say. The consultation process is expected to allow written submissions from interest groups on what the law should accomplish, with the potential for only a handful of in-person hearings on the matter. A new bill would be introduced before Christmas, but it could still take several months from that point before it becomes law. The Copyright Act, which the entertainment industry says is outdated and does not provide adequate protection for music and movies in the Internet age, has been a highly contentious issue pitting reformers against those worried that Canada’s law could follow the American Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Why phishers love Facebook MSNBC
Facebook is the new playground for phishers. Why? The social networking site has made things relatively easy for computer criminals. So far, the consequences have been relatively mild — mostly, some annoying emails. But if Facebook and other social networking sites don’t get a handle on security issues soon, a serious outbreak could occur. Behind every successful criminal computer hack a simple two-step process: gain trust, then exploit that trust with an attack. Computer criminals will tell you that gaining trust is the hard part. Consider a real-world parallel: Breaking into a bank is difficult. But if you befriend a guard, he`ll eventually let you walk right in through the front door. That’s why Facebook attacks are so easy, says Mary Landesman, senior researcher at computer security firm ScanSafe. “Facebook users assume a level of trust they just should not assume when using the site,” she said.

Google responsible for economic ruin The Inquirer
Gigantic vole Microsoft’s advertisement for its new Bling, er Bing, search engine seems to be blaming Google for the collapse of the world economy. The advert implies that the US was buried under and distracted by link overload and therefore failed the notice that the financial system was collapsing about its ears. “While everyone was searching, there was bailing. While everyone was lost in the links, there was collapsing. We don’t need queries and keywords if they bring back questions and confusion. From this moment on, search overload is officially over,” the advert says.

Tweet Your Vacation Status. Get Robbed? Information Week
Any of us who regularly use the micro blogging site Twitter do it all of the time: we broadcast our whereabouts in real time. It’s kind of the point of the entire Twitter experience. Yet, this video podcaster believes he may have been robbed because of his Tweeting his vacation status. Israel Hyman, known as @izzyvideo on Twitter, came home with his family from a vacation in the midwest to find the house had been burglarized. Hyman believes the trouble started as a result of a Tweet that stated he and his family were away from home, and on vacation.

For the last time: Spamming P2P networks doesn’t make you Google P2P blog
Here we go again: Canada-based P2P company Peermatrix published a press release today touting itself as “the Google of P2P ads”. I’ve previously written about the fact that most forms of P2P advertising are much more like spam than like Google, and Peermatrix is no exception. Here’s how the company’s product works, taken straight from the press release: “The software works similarly to Google AdWords, creating ads that match whatever a file sharer is searching for. Say, for example, an advertiser has a video ad for a car named CarAd.mpg. If a P2P user searches for The Fast and the Furious the PeerMatrix software will return a search result to the user indicating that a video file called The Fast and the Furious.mpg is available regardless of the actual name of the video file.” Of course, that’s not at all how Google Adwords works. Peermatrix injects “ads” into search results without telling people that they’re in fact downloading an ad. Google on the other hand has always been very clear about separating search results from ads. That’s the reason the company came up with that whole don’t be evil slogan.

Google launches new search tool Australian IT
Google, already the king of internet search, rolled out an experimental new search product on Wednesday called “Google Squared.” Google Squared does not provide a list of links to web pages, like with a traditional Google search, but presents information derived from a query in a spreadsheet-like grid called a “square.” Users of google.com/squared can then build, modify and refine their “square” through further web searches.

YouTube to premiere movie to up ad revenues: report Reuters
Google Inc’s YouTube will premiere a movie, the first simultaneous Internet and theater debut, as the popular video-sharing site aims to lure advertisers and reach profitability, Bloomberg reported. YouTube would premiere “Home,” a film about the environment produced by Luc Besson, the agency said.

CBC refuses to air Tories anti-Ignatieff ads Montreal Gazette
The Conservative party was unable to get television commercials aimed at Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation because the attack ads violated the network’s long-standing ban on political advertising. The Tories approached CBC officials before the launch of the “Michael Ignatieff: just visiting” campaign and were told that an internal policy prevented the network from accepting political ads outside of times of elections. One Conservative source, speaking on background, said the party thought it was odd CBC would turn down its advertising dollars at a time when the network was struggling under financial pressures. CBC has had to reduce staff and programming as advertising revenues have plunged.

Targeted Ads, More Choices in [Verizon] FiOS TV’s Future PCWorld
Communications wants to give customers of its FiOS TV service a choice of how to buy and view video, while the carrier focuses on how to keep that customer watching the screen and using information about them to sell targeted advertising. This will require a delicate approach to collecting customer information and using it to improve advertising plans, he said. Consumers are used to information about their Web behavior being collected and used,…

Tony La Russa Sues Twitter Over Fake Profile TechDirt
Video Savant has sent in the news that St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Tony La Russa is suing Twitter, claiming that the company is guilty of trademark infringement, cybersquatting and misappropriation of likeness and name, because someone set up a fake Tony La Russa profile. [Comment: LOL this is like someone on IRC whining, "he stole my nick". Get a clue.]

Can Washington Charge Unauthorized Downloaders With Tax Evasion? TechDirt
A bunch of states have been pushing forward with plans to add taxes on digital downloads. The state of Washington apparently passed just such a law, which is scheduled to go into effect on July 26th. Nate sent in a note, pointing out that under a strict reading of the details of the bill you could see how the state could go after unauthorized downloaders as “tax evaders.” [Comment: Ok this is hype right? Are they saying each download is a lost sale and you are now a tax evader? This propaganda is out of control. May as well toss the world in jail, starting with themselves.]

Microsoft offers patch to Mozilla users The Inquirer
Still pretty complicated – MICROSOFT HAS ISSUED a patch to remove the Firefox add-in which it installed on the rival browser without asking users for permission.

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June, 2009