CyberLaw Blog

Archive for January 25th, 2010

CA – Web Filters Cause Name Change for a Magazine: (New York Times)
In 1920 the Hudson’s Bay Company, which owed much of its early fortune to the trade in beaver pelts, began publishing a magazine for its 250th anniversary, The Beaver. This evolved into a respected magazine about Canadian history, and last week Canada’s National History Society, the nonprofit group that now publishes it, decided that the Internet required the magazine to undergo a name change. To be more precise, the title was doomed by a vulgar alternative meaning that causes Web filters at schools and junk mail filters in e-mail programs to block access to material containing the magazine’s name.

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

E-commerce Regulations updated to exempt ISPs from hate speech charges: “The Government has published Regulations that will absolve internet service providers (ISPs) and other digital service providers of responsibility for religion or sexuality-related hate speech transmitted over their networks.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

ISP anti-disconnection petition clocks up 30,000 supporters: “A petition set up by internet service provider TalkTalk at the Prime Minister’s website has received over 30,000 signatures in opposition to the Government’s proposal to cut off internet connections used by suspected file sharers.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Nominet gives registrars right to cancel names on allegations of criminality: “The body in charge of the UK’s domain names, such as those ending in .co.uk, has given domain name registration companies the power to suspend any name if it is presented with evidence of suspected illegal activity.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

German court finds parent liable for child’s file-sharing: “Parents can be legally responsible for the unlawful behaviour of their children using home internet connections, a German court has ruled. It said that a woman had a duty to monitor the use to which her internet connection was put.”

(Via OUT-LAW News.)