6 7 July 2004

News:

Premium rate services regulator ICSTIS is struggling to maintain its credibility as thousands of consumers complain of scams using internet dialler software.

Industry figures have urged the government not to tighten up data protection legislation in response to growing pressure from the European Commission to force the UK to follow the stricter data protection regimes adopted in most EU countries

FOI practitioners will join data protection managers and lawyers at a half-day seminar in London on 9 September which focuses on ‘Getting ready for Freedom of Information’.

Features:

The Office of the Information Commissioner and ICSTIS, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services, have both featured in the press in recent days.

Cybercrime Convention enters into force 01 July

New Regulations give businesses the right to block ‘cold calling’

Broadcasters reject Ofcom web code

ISPs may be forced into mandatory data protection

Review of new regulatory framework for e-communications delayed

Dates for your diaries

The impact of the implementation of EU E-money Directives will prove a critical consideration for the development of mobile commerce throughout Europe as the telecommunications industry develops content-based solutions delivered over 3G networks, according to research from mobile industry analysts the ARC Group. This article reports on the research findings.

Recent press headlines have suggested that many UK websites routinely break the law. This article looks at what companies need to do to make sure that their website is compliant with the range of legislation that now applies to online business.

The Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, sitting in Strasbourg, in the case of Von Hannover v Germany (Application No. 59320/00) delivered on 24t June 2004 will undoubtedly have a material effect on the attitude and approach of the British media with regard to the publication of photographs of celebrities, and on privacy law in general.

On May 1 2004, ten countries joined the European Union as new Member States. While the media focused mostly on the radical transformation of the EU’s geographical boundaries, the impact on the EU’s data protection regime was no less significant.

It has been reported that David Beckham has 111 registered domain names in his name. With the significant amount of media attention he has attracted following his arrival onto the international football stage during EURO 2004, Wayne Rooney has been quick off the mark and already registered his name in 10 different domains. These footballers, along with all other European sports people, celebrities and brand owners should be preparing themselves for the launch of the new top level domain (TLD), the .eu domain name, and considering how it may be used as part of their brand protection policies.

For the best part of the last year, the music industry has been waging war on file-sharers who it believes are the main cause of diminishing record sales. This article looks at how the struggle is shaping up.