Concerns rise over new data laws

British Internet and mobile phone users are under greater scrutiny after new laws were implemented last week. Under legislation passed by the European Parliament, Internet providers are obliged to store private data including details of web and email traffic as well as Internet phone calls for 12 months. The Data Retention Directive which was passed in 2006, but came into effect on April 6th, also requires mobile phone companies to keep records of where and when phone calls were made [BBC].

State may log phonecalls & email

The content of emails and phone calls will not be recorded, but the details of the communications, such as who was in touch with whom, when and for how long, will be stored. The EU legislation allows countries to choose a retention period of between six and 24 months. ISPs will be forced to retain data on what communications were made from which Internet protocol (IP) address or phone number, what the destination of that communication was, and its duration. In the case of mobile phone calls, the data to be retained will also include information on which cell within a network a call was made from. This will give authorities an indication of the user's location at the time of the call. Reports suggest that addresses of specific web pages do not need to be stored, only the dates and times of a user connecting to the Internet and disconnecting. Although some have described this as a serious erosion of human rights, it is unclear how useful such information would be to authorities. Many Internet users are permanently connected to the web via broadband connections. As such data would be limited [Open Rights Group].

Scheme 'unworkable'

Some small ISPs have said the act may prove unworkable, expensive and give little if any useful information. AAISP.net states on its website that Section 10(1) means that “we do not have to start logging data until we given a notice in writing. We have not been given such a notice.” The statement adds that even if required to comply the legislation was “full of holes.”

Even if, but not stated in the directive, IP addresses of accessed web pages were stored, it would be a mine field of data. And for several reasons it may not be specific to any one individual. A person connected to broadband may share that connection with up to 50 others in what is called a contention ratio. Additionally, wireless users may be susceptible to others piggybacking their Internet access.

Retention of data [Wikipedia] may however not apply to all ISPs since it first requires an order from the Secretary of State. Some ISPs say have yet to be contacted, which begs the question as to how useful this [legislation is to combating terrorism, its supposed and stated purpose.
It may also prove to be problematic especially for small businesses such as Internet cafes which would have to log more data [francisdavey].

Advertisers raise privacy concerns

This week there were fresh concerns raised over the use of Phorm which aims to monitor Internet users’ activity in order to target them with individually tailored advertising.
Ironically it is the European Commission which is raising the biggest concerns and suggested Britain is failing to protect its citizens from secret surveillance on the Internet. Legal action is being brought over the use of the controversial behavioural advertising services which were tested on BT's Internet customers without their consent [The Times / The Independent].
At least one website has already rejected the use of the advertising system. Online retailer Amazon has sent a request to Webwise, Phorm’s marketing name, expressing their wish to opt-out of the scheme [BBC].

However they are the only company to have made any public statement despite request by the Open Rights Group to others not to use the service. Microsoft, Google/Youtube, Facebook, AOL/Bebo, Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay have all been urged to opt-out of Phorm by the human rights group.

China clamps down on Internet & protests

Hu Jintao delivers a speech while soldiers yawn. Pro democracy protests and the internet remain heavily policed.

China has reverted to its old practices of blocking internet sites not seen as favourable to the views of the establishment. The latest victim in the flow of information in the New York Times New York Times. The US newspaper said its site was first blocked on Thursday and access was still unavailable on Saturday. The blocking of foreign websites can often be arbitrary and not entirely effective. One reader from Beijing wrote on the New York Times’ blog “The nytimes is indeed blocked, but only on the top level domain for some reason. the pages like community.nytimes.com and kristoff.blogs.nytimes.com are accessible still”. Others have said the NYT site was accessible if the three w’s were omitted. Using so called proxy servers is another work round, but it can be a frustrating and time consuming affair.

This is just the latest in a series of web restrictions that have been imposed by authorities despite assurances that freedoms allowed during the Olympic games would continue. Other sites that have been blocked in the last few days include the BBC’s Chinese language site and Voice of America website. The Hong Kong-based Ming Pao and Asiaweek have also been affected according to Reporters Sans Frontieres. "Right now, the authorities are gradually rolling back all the progress made in the run-up to this summer's Olympic games, when even foreign websites in Mandarin were made accessible. The pretence of liberalization is now over," a spokesman for RSF said last week.

China has defended its right to restrict access to certain websites. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao speaking to reporters last week argued that other countries also regulate their internet usage.

China, which last week celebrated 30 years of opening up [BBC / CNN], is getting jittery as unrest builds in the country as millions find themselves unemployed despite promises of prosperity and a booming economy. The economy is already slowing in China and factories are closing across the country leaving many people desperate.

In this climate some are beginning to protest. Many have simply demanded their right to work or to be paid [BBC]. But there is a growing number of academics and scholars who are calling for greater democracy. Under the banner of ‘Charter 08’ protesters have attempted to air their grievances but their voice has been stifled by the authorities who are not keen in letting the world know about the increasing dissent in China. Charter 08, which takes its title and inspiration from the "Charter 77" document that demanded rights for Czechoslovakia in 1977, calls for an extensive list of rights in China. Amongst the demands are free speech, freedom to form political parties, an independent legal system and direct elections [Time].

But association with Charter 08 has already led to arrests. Liu Xiaobo, one of the Charter’s signatories and authors, was arrested on 8th December. There has been no news of his condition or whereabouts since.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said last week that Washington was "deeply concerned by reports that Chinese citizens have been detained, interrogated and harassed" since the document's publishing, and was "particularly concerned about the well being of Liu Xiaobo".

However China continues to brush aside such statements with disdain. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told journalists on 16th December that the U.S. position was another example of an unwelcome "interference of other nations in China's internal affairs".
Like it or not, China is now a part of the world community. As such China should begin to understand that adherence to human rights is as important as its playing the rules of international trade. The issues are likely to become ever more divisive as the global downturn worsens. And there is further concern too as China nears another historical landmark anniversary. June 2009 marks 20 years since the pro-democracy rallies in Tiananmen Square which was violently broken up leading to the deaths of many hundreds.

Microsoft releases patch for IE

Microsoft has finally released its security patch for Internet Explorer. It will be a relief for fans of the most popular browser, but there may still dangers lurking under the hood of millions of computers users.

Even before the security hole became widely publicised, hackers were already exploiting the vulnerabilities and launching attacks on unsuspecting IE users [FT blog]. The holes in IE security weren’t widely publicised and many people may still be open to attack from the unscrupulous hackers phishing for information. Sky News and the BBC made only scant mention of the risk associated with the web-browser. CNN made a small mention of the story but in the main most would have learnt of the risk via the internet itself as word of mouth spread around the globe. Even after the release of the patch the Fox News website was still informing readers that the risk continued and advised internet users to avoid IE.

For those who have updated their browser it is advisable to run anti-virus software after installing any available updates. The update may need to be initiated by some users by going to update.microsoft.com and clicking the ‘check for updates’ button on the window. The updates may only be accessible by using Internet Explorer and security in the program might also need to be reduced to ‘Medium’ in some cases.

Microsoft ready to launch security patch

Microsoft is set to launch an emergency patch to repair a large security hole that has become evident in all versions of Internet Explorer. While internet users wait to patch up their security many have turned to other browsers. There are several alternatives to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, but while most offer a secure browsing environment, all have their own faults, glitches and bugs.


Google Chrome, which recently came out of beta, has cleaned up some of the problems that existed in earlier versions but many users remain unsatisfied with the program. While fast, there are few of the features that users of other popular browsers will be familiar. There is no Google Toolbar which can provide quick shortcuts to regularly visited sites and there are bizarre anomalies when attempting to copy links from the address bar into documents. While attempting to copy and paste a link into Microsoft Works Word Processor a message greets the user: “The information you copied exceeds the size limit for pasting into the Word Processor. Try reducing the size of your selection and then copy and paste again”. However pasting the same into Microsoft Word does work, but many users of Microsoft’s new operating system Vista will find themselves without this much used programme.


Mozilla’s Firefox has gained a large user base, though still well below that of Internet Explorer, but not everything works swimmingly. Many websites simply won’t open properly in the browser, and web publishing through Firefox can cause problems in other browsers. Foreign language support is a particular issue that is failing in the browser. But in its favour Firefox is relatively fast, though start-up is still slightly slower than IE, and the browser does come with many of the familiar add-ons seen in IE. Some though remain unavailable including the ‘download video’ facility for the popular Realplayer.


Flock is perhaps not as well known but is popular amongst those who participate in a great deal of so called social networking. However, there are similar issues, as with Google Chrome, of copying and pasting links, even into the compose pages of blogger. The layout can also appear very complicated and perhaps overwhelming to many.


Safari and Opera are perhaps the least used of the Internet browsers. Safari, which started life as a Mac specific browser, has spawned its Windows version but has yet to be taken up in vast numbers, despite claims of being the fastest of all the available browsers. Opera is mostly seen in mobile phones and while it has achieved a positive reception amongst desktop users there remains a number of compatibility issues. It remains the 5th most popular browser after Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome.
In usage terms Internet Explorer is the most popular browser with over 71% using the program. Firefox is second but only shares 20% of the market. Safari has a small but loyal 6% of Internet users though many are only on Macs. Both Opera and Chrome have less than 1% of the market share while other browsers fall well below that figure.


Despite the problems plaguing Microsoft’s browser, and with many making temporary use of other browsers, most will probably return to IE. There will be some who find Firefox fires up better, and some may find Chrome more shiny than expected. There may even be some who flocked to Flock and feel sheepish about returning to IE. Some might also start singing the praises of Opera. But most will return to where they feel most comfortable and where the surroundings are familiar. The next dilemma is whether to uninstall the half a dozen or so browsers that some have placed on their PCs [Mashable].

Microsoft is set to release the security patch at 18:00 GMT/UTC [13:00 EST] via all the usual routes [BBC / CNN / Sky News]

Wikipedia blocked in child porn row

A row has broken out over the cover of a 1970s rock album depicting a naked girl. The album cover of Virgin Killer, by the German rock group the Scorpions, was displayed on the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia and was brought to the attention to the FBI in America by World Net Daily in May 2008. The image, which depicts a prepubescent girl with her genitals obscured by cracked glass, then found itself under the scrutiny of Concerned Women for America. A spokesperson for the Christian advocacy group is quoted as saying “By allowing that image to remain posted, Wikipedia is helping to further facilitate perversion and paedophilia”.

The issue finally came to a head when the Internet Watch Foundation, a UK based NGO, added the article Virgin_Killer to its blacklist. The result was that people using many of the UK’s major ISPs found themselves blocked from viewing the page. But Channel Four News also reported that many users found themselves blocked from editing pages on the site and in some cases from accessing any pages altogether. That is because the IWF's system adds both the URL of an image and of a page containing the image to its "blacklist" of pages to be blocked. "Illegal sites often hide images in pages," said Sarah Robertson, director of communications for the IWF.

Despite the block the image is widely available on the Internet and even appears on Amazon.com. But moves may now be made against the online retailer which could have a disastrous affect as Christmas approaches. But the IWF declined to say whether Amazon would be the next to be blocked despite acknowledging that a complaint had been received [Guardian / Sky News / BBC].