Circle ID has a post that refers to a Wall Street Journal article on Whois privacy. ICAAN and CIRA are now trying to figure out how to deal with this issue.

Now, one can do a whois inquiry and find out the name and contact information for the owner of any domain name. That has raised privacy concerns. Some feel that information should not be made public.

Even though I support privacy principles in general, and advise clients on privacy issues, I disagree with a total ban on the ability to find that information.

First, privacy concepts apply to individuals, not corporations or other other non-human entities. So at the most any publication ban should be only for individuals that own domains.

Second, I have a real problem if I as a lawyer can’t look up the owners of domain names. It is often necessary to know who a site owner is to deal with situations where a site has, for example, violated trade-mark or copyright or has defamed a client. Or a client may simply want to contact a domain owner to see if they are interested in selling a site.

The Wall Street Journal article mentions how the Red Cross used whois information to shut down sites that were fraudulently trying to collect money for Katrina victims.

Read the CircleID post

Yahoo news has a story about 2 teenage girls that have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder after 15 students and teachers became the subject of online threats. A charge of assault with a weapon has also been laid, which suggests that a physical attack occured as well.

The article quotes an expert at length, including: In researching various types of Internet crime and online harassment, it’s become clear that technology has enabled many people – including teenagers – to act out with more confidence and aggression… Because kids are behind a computer monitor and keyboard they’re a lot more willing and free from normative and social and cultural constraints to say hurtful things and say malicious things.

At the same time, however, it can make it easier to do something about the bullying. Whenever people use the Internet to perpetrate their bullying or other crimes, they leave a trail of evidence that makes it easier to both catch and convict them.

We have seen this same thing recently where MySpace posts have lead to arrests.

Read the Yahoo News article

As stated by the Director General of WIPO: World Intellectual Property Day is an occasion to reflect on how human creativity and innovation help provide a better world for everyone. Our message this year, Think, Imagine, Create, is directed particularly towards young people..

Its fitting then, that several major Canadian recording artists just announced that they have formed the Canadian Music Creators Coalition following the pullout of several Canadian labels from CRIA.

Note their 3 copyright reform principles:

1. Suing Our Fans is Destructive and Hypocritical

2. Digital Locks are Risky and Counterproductive

3. Cultural Policy Should Support Actual Canadian Artists

Can’t argue with that. See Michael Geist’s blog for more detailed info.

Look at WIPO’s web page for World Intellectual Property Day

Read Michael’s post on the CMCC

Thats the title of a site by a coalition of dozens of groups that have banded together to promote Network Neutrality. The list of supporters is impressive.

It is aimed primarily at influencing US legislation.

It is relevant to Canadians though for several reasons. The issue affects our Internet use as well. Our own government should get the same message. And of course, given the international, borderless nature of the Internet, net neutrality is not just a one country issue.

It is noteworthy that the home page of the site gives 2 examples of problems that arise where net neutrality is not observed – both of them Canadian. Telus for blocking a Web site by employees (and if I recall correctly, others as unintended collateral damage), and Shaw cable for charging an extra $10 per month to give better service to those who use independent VoIP providers, and not Shaw’s own service.

The site is a good read for anyone that wants to better understand the issues.

Go to the Save the Internet site

Read a CNet article

Read an article I wrote on the topic

David Canton – for the London Free Press – April 25, 2006

Read this on Canoe

Director Steven Soderbergh recently decided to release his latest movie, Bubble, simultaneously in theatres and on DVD.

His intention was to see if audiences would be receptive to the choice between seeing a film in the theatre or buying it for home viewing.

Unfortunately, the experiment never got off the ground. Major North American theatre chains decided to boycott Soderbergh’s film. Their rationale was that if the film was released to DVD alongside its theatre release, no one would go to the theatre to see it.

This is an example of the interplay between new “disruptive technology” and established business practices.

This tension is nothing new. The VCR was seen as a threat to the movie industry. Recently, online file-sharing has been seen as a threat to the music, software, film and video-game industries.

There is some rationale for this reaction. No company with a successful business model wants to see it disrupted. In nearly every situation described above, disruptive technology has made an aspect of an industry redundant. Only those that adapted have survived.

Theatre owners say that simultaneous DVD release is such a threat, it could lead to the end of their industry.

It wasn’t that many years ago that the movie industry tried to kill the VCR. The reality is that VHS and DVD movies have made the industry huge amounts of money, in addition to — not at the expense of — theatre sales.

Some smaller theatres reacted to Soderbergh’s new film by adapting their approach. Some decided to sell the DVD at the theatre, while others offered a package deal combining the DVD with the admission ticket.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, says people still go to sport events when they can watch them on TV, still go to restaurants when they can cook at home and still go to stores when they can buy online.

“The business of the Mavericks was not selling basketball, it was selling a fun night out and creating a favourable brand identification with our team and our players, with the hope that people would be excited to buy merchandise, products and services from us.”

In other words, movie theatres, like any industry facing disruptive technology, will be most successful in the long run if they embrace new technology and give people the experience they want.

In the movie-theatre example, the successful ones will think beyond the traditional approach of one price per person per movie, along with expensive snacks. All business has to adapt to survive and think out of the box — or in this case, out of the multiplex.

ITBusiness.ca has an article about optimizing Microsoft licensing. The gist of the article is that there is money to be saved if a business takes a bit of time to sort out the software it actually does have, what it actually needs, and compares that to the various licensing programs to determine the right one.

This is true for all software, but more so for vendors like Microsoft that offer different licensing models.

The article is based on recent presentations made by the Info-Tech Research Group in various locations in Canada and the US. I was at the one in London on Friday. It was an excellent, practical presentation on both Microsoft licensing optimization, and VoIP implementation.

Read the ITBusiness article

Go to the Info-Tech Research Group site

Apparently some drivers are so reliant and trusting of their GPS that they have driven over flooded roads and bridges closed for repair – because their GPS said that’s where they should go.

Please note: A GPS is a sophisticated map, not an autopilot, and doesn’t give your car superpowers.

Read details on Techdirt

Read details on engadget

I have long maintained (as has David Fraser) that printing full debit or credit card numbers on store receipts – both customer and store copies – is a bad idea, and a violation of privacy laws.

Thanks to David for pointing out on his Canadian Privacy Law Blog a recent decision of the Alberta Privacy commissioner that supports this.

An Edmonton company printed full card numbers, then disposed of them in a dumpster. They were then obtained and used for fraudlent purposes.

The commissioner found a number of things wrong – including the printing of the numbers.

The decision is a good read for any retailer as it sets out proper practices for handling credt and debit card information.

Read David’s post

Read an earlier article of mine on the topic

An article on SecurityFocus entitled Stop the Bots is a good read. It explains what bots and botnets are, and why they are a major source of Internet evil.

Essentially this is about code that gives control of a computer to another. Large numbers of controlled computers are then used maliciously. The article states:

Botnets also do much more harm than just send out spam and phishing scams, however. In aggregate they are often used for denial-of-service attacks and extortion against legitimate companies, Google and Yahoo advertising click fraud, and more – such as hosting phishing sites.

Read the article

There are several reports about a Phillips patent application for technology that would prevent TV viewers from changing channels during ads, or from fast forwarding through ads when watching a DVR recording.

It was even suggested that one could defeat that by paying for the priviledge.

As Techdirt says: What will they work on next? A couch that won’t let you stand up and walk away during commercial breaks?

Read the Techdirt post