DAVID CANTON – For the London Free Press – August 13, 2005

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Internet control. It should be no surprise that the Internet requires some sort of co-ordination to make it function.

We take it for granted, but someone has to control how it works. That someone is a U.S.- based non-profit organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). In simple terms, if the Internet was a postal system, ICANN ensures that the addresses on the letters work.

Some are concerned about a U.S.-based organization managing the Internet. Developing countries are concerned with the monopoly of U.S. power regarding Internet governance. They maintain that the Western countries that had earlier Internet access took all of the available addresses required for connection and have left a limited number for developing countries to share.

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Wired has an article about a fellow who has created furniture from Fedex boxes and set up a web site to show them. Fedex was not amused, and sent him a letter claiming all sorts of legal reasons why he should not have done that.

Of course, the letter is now posted, along with comments from various people as to why Fedex’s claims are groundless.

I understand the need to protect one’s brand – but really….

Read the Wired article
Look at the furniture site

Yesterday’s press carried stories about Microsoft’s $7 million settlement in one of its suits against a spammer.

I believe the way to reduce spam is to make the risk/reward ratio unattractive to spammers.

So the big question is whether actions like this increase the risk and create enough publicity to deter other spammers.

Techdirt has a post that questions whether such amounts are a drop in the bucket, and whether it just alerts potential spammers as to how lucrative it can be.

Only time will tell – but we should applaud the efforts of those that at least try to combat spam.

Read the Techdirt article

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision that said the Canadian copyright levy cannot be collected on MP3 players, Apple has announced that it will refund the levy it collected to consumers. That decision has raised some question about the legality of copying one’s purchased music onto MP3 players. CRIA has pledged not to sue consumers who do that.

Michael Geist suggests that with unclaimed money Apple should fund a public interest group to fight for a fair use provision under Canadian copyright law so that all iPod users can use their devices without fear of legal liability. Sounds like a good plan to me.

Read Michael Geist’s post
Read an Engadget post
Read an earlier post of mine

Wired has an article entitled “Brit License Plates Get Chipped” that talks about a British plan to include RFID chips in car license plates to make them trackable electronically. Apparently US officials are watching the experiment with interest.

This raises significant privacy issues. While I certainly support government and police efforts to battle terrorism and crime – we can’t simply assume that these kinds of measures are the right thing to do. In my view the advantages are often marginal compared to the personal invasion. And the cost/benefit may also be shaky. (The Canadian gun registry is a case in point.)

While we are at it, why don’t we just inject chips in everyone when they are born – and keep tabs on everyone in a giant database – bringing together info about location, travel, spending habits, social habits, video diaries, etc. Let whatever government ( or anyone else for that matter) monitor that and mete out punishment by remote control whenever we falter from their then currently acceptable norm.

We are the Borg – resistance is futile!

Read the Wired article

DAVID CANTON – For the London Free Press – August 6, 2005

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Recently passed U.S. “fair and accurate credit transactions” legislation requires credit agencies to provide consumers with a free copy of their credit report every 12 months to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent activity.

The chief executive of Equifax, one of the major U.S. credit-reporting agencies, said the legislation is unconstitutional and unAmerican. He told reporters his company felt it was wrong to cause a public company that has a fiduciary responsibility to return profit to shareholders to give away the product.

In my view, one solution to reducing identity theft and fraud is to allow consumers frequent no-cost access to their credit reports.

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The Alberta Privacy Comissioner just released a decision saying that while it is OK for retailers to ask for photo ID when people return merchandise – the retailer can’t keep copies of it.

For more details take a look at David Fraser’s post in his Canadian Privacy Law Blog.

Read David’s post

Info-Tech Research Group’s most recent Info-Tech Advisor has an article that is a reminder that the IT department has access to everything electronic – and thus poses risks for compromising that data.

It has some practical tips for dealing with thise risks that take into account the size of the IT department.

Since this is a subscription based service, the article is reproduced here with permission.

For more information about Info-Tech

Take Steps to Prevent IT Staff Fraud

IT staff enjoy unique and often unfettered access to critical corporate information assets. Watch the watchman and put internal controls in place to keep your IT staff honest.

A Good Bunch of Guys, But…

IT staff is responsible for all corporate data, applications, infrastructure, and, in some cases, intellectual property. A compromise to any of these IT assets can cost the company thousands of dollars because it must:

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ITBusiness.ca has an article about a survey that shows that 79% of Americans, and 85% of Canadians support using biometrics (eg fingerprints or retinal scans) on government issued documents like passports.

Those numbers are surprising as it has generally been thought that the public oppose such measures.

One of the biggest concerns expressed is cost.

I believe biometrics are indeed the answer for not only ID like passports – but to replace our over-reliance on passwords and PIN numbers for access to just about everything.

My biggest concern is that of privacy. Biometrics must be used in a way that does not create databases or files of biometric information that could be misused or copied.

The best of intentions and efforts to protect such records are not enough. We have seen far too many times where information has been published or lost for reasons ranging from criminal malice to the slip of a keystroke.

And unlike a password or credit card number that can be replaced, our biometric identifiers are permanent.

Read the ITBusiness.ca article

Not content to merely subject their own country to intellectual property laws that many see as overreaching and overprotective – the US is now exporting those laws. It is including a requirement for other countires to pass similar laws within free trade agreements.

Take a look at these comments on the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Read a Techdirt post
Read a Cnet article