FreeLists / networknewsletters / EDUPAGE> Edupage, April 30, 2003

[Gleason Sackmann <gleason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Date:         Wed, 30 Apr 2003 17:06:49 -0600
From:         EDUCAUSE@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Edupage, April 30, 2003
To:           EDUPAGE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association
whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting
the intelligent use of information technology.
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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2003
   States Oppose Federal Spam Legislation
   Virginia Makes Fraud-Based Spam a Felony
   Proposed Bounty for Spam Whistleblowers
   Bush Signs Tough Internet Porn Law
AND
   Music Swappers to Receive Warning from RIAA
   Federal Judge Rules in Favor of File-Sharing Services
   House Looks More Closely at E-Rate Program


STATES OPPOSE FEDERAL SPAM LEGISLATION
Attorneys general from 40 states and the District of Columbia have
raised objections to two recently proposed federal anti-spam laws. The
CAN-SPAM Act and the Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act, said the
states, would result in more spam, not less, because the federal
statutes would overrule state laws, many of which are already more
restrictive than the proposed federal laws. Twenty-seven states have
already enacted anti-spam legislation. Federal lawmakers argue that a
federal anti-spam law is needed to avoid the confusion and difficultly
in enforcing a patchwork of laws that vary from state to state. Robert
Wientzen, president of the Direct Marketing Association, which supports
the CAN-SPAM Act, said, "The Internet is not a place to make a states'
rights argument."
Washington Post, 30 April 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60659-2003Apr30.html

VIRGINIA MAKES FRAUD-BASED SPAM A FELONY
Lawmakers in Virginia this week approved legislation that makes sending
"fraudulent" e-mail a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison
and loss of revenues and assets connected to the e-mail activity.
Fraudulent e-mails are those that deceive consumers, either with bogus
return addresses or that are sent through hijacked servers, masking
their true source. The law applies to spam that is sent either to or
from Virginia. Because the state is home to many of the largest
Internet providers, including America Online, legislators hope the law
will significantly improve the problem of spam. Mark R. Warner, the
governor of Virginia, said that many spammers consider the civil fines
to be "just a cost of doing business" and that he hopes the criminal
penalties will discourage spammers from continuing to send unwanted
e-mail.
New York Times, 30 April 2003 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/30/technology/30SPAM.html

PROPOSED BOUNTY FOR SPAM WHISTLEBLOWERS
Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) plans to introduce the Restrict
and Eliminate Delivery of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (REDUCE) Spam
Act to address the growing problem of unsolicited e-mail. REDUCE
differs from recently introduced bills in that it would pay a bounty to
persons who report spammers. Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford University law
professor and cyberlaw author, is so certain that the bounty approach
will help reduce spam that he's betting his job on it. Lessig believes
bounty-based legislation will work "because prosecutors have better
things to do than tracking down spammers." Bounties, however, will make
sending spam too costly. With a reward of 20 percent of the civil fine
levied by the Federal Trade Commission against the spammer or up to $10
per e-mail, those who report spam violations could net thousands of
dollars. To avoid fines, the bill would require spammers to label spam
as "ADV:" or "ADV:ADLT" for adult content, provide a valid opt-out
feature, cease sending e-mail when a person opts out, and refrain from
sending e-mail with deceptive routing information or subject headings.
PCWorld, 29 April 2003
http://www.idg.net/ic_1311151_9676_1-5122.html

BUSH SIGNS TOUGH INTERNET PORN LAW
President Bush has signed legislation that outlaws "virtual child
pornography"--computer-generated images of children engaged in sexual
acts--and the use of misleading domain names to lure children to adult
Web sites. A provision in the Children's Internet Protection Act that
outlawed virtual child pornography was struck down as unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court. The two provisions were part of a larger bill,
called the Amber Alert bill, that addresses a range of issues related
to abuse and exploitation of children. Some lawmakers expressed concern
that these provisions could criminalize sexually oriented art or
certain safe-sex Internet resources. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), one of
the sponsors of the misleading domain name provision, said he tried to
write the law in such a way as to ban false advertising rather than
restrict speech.
Washington Post, 30 April 2003
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59301-2003Apr30.html

AND
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MUSIC SWAPPERS TO RECEIVE WARNING FROM RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that it
will begin sending warning messages directly to millions of users of
popular file-sharing programs. Targeting users of Kazaa and Grokster,
RIAA will use a program that scans databases of material available
through the two file-sharing services, looking for artists' names and
titles of popular songs. The program then employs instant-messaging
features to deliver warnings that inform file sharers of the illegal
nature of distributing or downloading copyrighted material and warn of
possible legal consequences. RIAA plans to deliver more than a million
such messages weekly, and college students, as heavy users of
file-sharing programs, will likely receive many of these warnings. RIAA
President Cary H. Sherman said the messages are neither intended
specifically four students nor do they portend legal action (RIAA
recently sued for college students for illegal file sharing). Sherman
said, "This is not an evidentiary thing. This is just an educational
outreach."
Chronicle of Higher Education, 30 April 2003
http://chronicle.com/free/2003/04/2003043001t.htm

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF FILE-SHARING SERVICES
U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Wilson has issued a summary judgment
in favor of Grokster and StreamCast, saying the companies are not
responsible for copyright violations users commit using software
distributed by the companies. ***This story appeared in the April 28
issue of Edupage with the wrong URL. The following is the correct URL
for the source of this story.***
Nando Times, 25 April 2003
http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/868046p-6060196c.html

HOUSE LOOKS MORE CLOSELY AT E-RATE PROGRAM
Just a week after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enacted
new rules to guard against fraud in the E-Rate program, the U.S. House
of Representatives has subpoenaed records from the program, which
provides schools and libraries with subsidies to gain Web access. The
House Committee on Energy and Commerce is currently investigating the
program amid ongoing complaints from groups including the Center for
Public Integrity that the program is riddled with fraud. The Universal
Service Administration Company (USAC), which regulates the E-Rate
program for the FCC, has already turned over thousands of pages of
documentation to the committee but with parts omitted due to concerns
over confidentiality. The new subpoena requires that the ommitted
material be turned over. Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the
committee, said the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will
begin a series of hearings this summer to eliminate "fraud and abuse in
the E-Rate program."
Internet News, 30 April 2003
http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2198881

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