Around nine out of 10 broadband users don’t understand the limitations on their service, research conducted by YouGov for price comparison website uSwitch.com has found. While ‘unlimited’ broadband services tend to have fair-usage policies enabling service providers to penalise heavy users by, for instance, restricting their bandwidth during peak hours, the majority of UK broadband consumers remain unsure about exactly how limited their ‘unlimited’ service really is.

Source: ZDNet

The European Parliament cast an overwhelmingly positive vote today on the report drafted by MEP Roberta Angelilli which supports the launch of a new EU Safer Internet programme. The 5-year programme (2009–13), proposed by the European Commission last February, will have a budget of € 55 million to combat illegal online content but also to tackle illegal and harmful conduct such as grooming and cyberbullying.

“Today’s children and teenagers face new challenges when they use Web 2.0 services. The EU will coordinate actions to empower children and protect them”, said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media in response to the positive outcome of the vote in Parliament. “I am particularly glad that the Parliament addressed the Commission’s proposal so promptly and strongly endorsed our proposals to make the Internet safer for children. I am convinced that the new Safer Internet programme will play an important role in our understanding of the challenges regarding online risks for young people and children, and will provide concrete help to many young internet users and their parents.”

Today’s vote during the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg followed a debate on the Commission’s proposal, which was applauded by all political groups. Some MEPs even considered the programme as “one of the best things Europe could do”. The new Programme is now expected to be approved by the Council before the end of 2008.

The Safer Internet programme 2009-2013 builds on the success of the previous Safer Internet programme started in 2005 and will also encompass recent communications services from the Web 2.0, such as social networking. The proposed new programme will co-fund projects to:

* Ensure awareness of children, parents and teachers, and support contact points that are providing them with advice on how to stay safe online.
* Provide the public with national contact points for reporting illegal and harmful content and conduct, in particular on child sexual abuse material and grooming.
* Foster self-regulatory initiatives in this field and stimulate the involvement of children in creating a safer online environment.
* Establish a knowledge base on the use of new technologies and related risks by bringing together researchers engaged in online child safety at European level.

Of the € 55 million budget for the new Safer Internet Programme, 48% should serve to ensure public awareness, 34% to fight against illegal content and tackle harmful conduct online, 10% to promote a safer online environment and 8% to establish a knowledge base.

Source:EUROPA Press Release

Speaking today at the Biometrics Conference 2008, identity minister Meg Hillier said there was “nothing to stop” drivers’ licences or other documents from being designated to work as ID cards. “In time it is possible to designate the driving licence or other documents to be counted as an ID card,” she said.

Source: ZDNet

The European Union’s Data Retention Directive was not procedurally flawed and should not be repealed, an Advocate General to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said. Ireland’s argument that the law was wrongly adopted has been rejected. The Data Retention Directive orders all EU member states to pass laws telling telecoms companies to keep records of phone and internet use for between six and 24 months. Though it has not objected to the substance of the Directive, Ireland objected to the way in which it was adopted and asked the ECJ, Europe’s highest court, to repeal it. An Advocate General’s opinion is only advisory, but is followed in around 80% of cases by the ECJ itself.

Source: OUT-LAW

Government plans to build a giant database holding information about every phone call, email and internet visit were last night dealt a major blow after the man in charge of prosecuting terrorism in England and Wales warned of the dangers posed by a “Big Brother” security state. Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), told ministers not to “break the back of freedom” by creating irreversible powers that could be misused to spy on individual citizens and so threaten Britain’s hard-won democracy.

Source: The Independent

Departing head of Ofcom Lord David Currie has indicated in a lecture that he believes regulation of the internet is an increasing necessity. This corresponds with recent comments made by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham to the same effect.

According to Andy Burnham, the introduction of a ratings system for internet content would not be “over-burdensome”. We have asked the Ministry of Truth (aka Department for Culture, Media and Sport) on several occasions how such a system might work and how its Minister’s view that such regulation would be easy to implement could be squared with general consensus that it would be unworkable. Or, as one expert put it: “bonkers”. We asked again last week.

Source: The Register 

Stephen Carter, Gordon Brown’s old PR supremo now moved to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, will spearhead an action plan to put the UK at the forefront of the digital and communications industries, it was announced today. Carter, who is the first minister for communications, technology and broadcasting and was previously head of Ofcom, will produce a report that will look at the state of broadband, digital radio, spectrum, IT skills, digital broadcasting and intellectual property in the UK.

Source: Computing

Woman’s Hour today majored on Contactpoint today, with yours truly trying to correct some of the misinformation that is flying around. A shame that the new Under Secretary didn’t seem to realise that Contactpoint will contain a great deal more than a simple name and address, and I didn’t have the opportunity to correct that. Still, the item is first on the menu here.

Source: Terri Dowty on the Action on Rights for Children Blog

[Lib Dem community spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy] asked: “How much more control can they have? How far is he prepared to go to undermine civil liberties?” Mr Hoon interjected: “To stop terrorists killing people in our society, quite a long way actually. If they are going to use the internet to communicate with each other and we don’t have the power to deal with that, then you are giving a licence to terrorists to kill people.” He added: “The biggest civil liberty of all is not to be killed by a terrorist.”

Source: BBC

The government is drawing up plans to give the police and security and intelligence agencies new powers to access personal data held by internet services, including social network sites such as Facebook and Bebo and gaming networks. The move, heralded in this morning’s speech on international terrorism by Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, is prompted by concern that criminals and terrorists are using websites as a way of concealing their communications, according to Whitehall security sources.

Source: The Guardian