March « 2006 « Australian Technology and IP Business

March 30, 2006

Australia’s e-government strategy

Special Minister of State the Hon Gary Nairn MP has launched the Australian Government’s e-Government strategy Responsive Government, A New Service Agenda.

Minister Nairn said the 2006-10 strategy is to deliver a coordinated and citizen-driven focus to the government’s e-Government initiatives.

A key element is the development of a single framework whereby individuals need only log
in once to a government Web site to access e-government services provided by a range of agencies.

Minister Nairn said that the new strategy would cut down red tape, with agencies and departments operating in a collaborative, connected manner, rather than in isolation from each other.

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Posted 30th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Web/Tech

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March 29, 2006

Internet Industry Spam Code Of Practice

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has registered a code of practice for internet service providers and email service providers on countering spam. The code was developed in support
of the Spam Act 2003 by the Internet Industry Association in conjunction with the internet associations from Western Australia and South Australia.

The new code, Internet Industry Spam Code Of Practice – A Code For Internet And Email Service Providers
(pdf)requires internet service providers and email service providers to provide spam filtering options to their subscribers. It also requires internet service providers and email service providers to give end-users information about how to deal with spam and to have in place a process for handling complaints from subscribers.

The code sets out how internet service providers and email service providers will address the sources of spam within their own networks, including actual spammers, misconfigured customer email
servers and the virus-infected computers used to spread spam (known as ‘zombies’).

The code includes a range of suggested technical best practices for hardening the network against spam and related threats such as zombies. These are consistent with the technical best practices
being promoted by global internet service provider and email service provider associations.

The code applies to all of the 689 active internet service providers in Australia, as well as those global email service providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo providing services in Australia. The code obligations will come into force on 16 July 2006.

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Posted 29th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Web/Tech

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March 27, 2006

Online contracts: the current state of ecommerce in Australia

Last year there was a surprising amount of interest when Dell’s Australian website advertised the wrong price for a hard drive. It turned out that hundreds of customers had ordered the 250GB hard drive for $A8.80 – almost $A600 less than their usual price. Whilst Dell had to weather some publicity, its conditions of sale covered the situation.

According to the August 2005 Sensis® e-Business Report (pdf) 83 per cent of Australian households reported having a computer of some description, with 72 per cent of households being internet enabled and 31 per cent having broadband connections. Overall, 42 per cent of Australians had made purchases online.

The recent release of The Australian Guidelines for Electronic Commerce has prompted me to revise and update my paper on online contracts (13 pages, pdf, free download).

According to the DCITA Current State of Play report issued in November 2005 most SMEs are active in Internet banking and e-commerce. Internet banking remained the most popular financial activity online in 2005, while 50% receive payments online and 41% take orders online.

In April 2005, 59% of Internet users performed online buying/selling activities. Buying and selling online included:
- buying/selling/renting property;
- buying/selling stocks;
- buying PC software/hardware;
- buying books;
- buying recorded music/video;
- buying travel plus related;
- buying clothing/accessories;
- buying tickets;
- buying food/grocery items;
- buying other items; and
- paying bills online.

If you have a website that sells products or services online, besides understanding how online contracts are formed you also need to understand the risks and legal issues: have at look at my compliance guidelines.

UPDATE: Webmonkey offers a list of ecommerce issues to help you plan your ecommerce site.

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Posted 27th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Web/Tech

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Should we be more worried about offline privacy breaches than online privacy?

beSpacific linked to two stories today: the first is the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s updated Chronology of Data Breaches Reported Since the ChoicePoint Incident and the second is a Newsweek article on Why Privacy Won’t Matter (about advertising on Google and Yahoo).

Whilst both chronicle the ease with which personal data can be obtained, the data breaches chronology shows that physical offline security (eg lost or stolen computers and backup tapes) is more prevalent than hackers. Perhaps we should be starting with real world awareness of the importance of security while we are giving away our information online.

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Posted 27th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Privacy

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March 24, 2006

Kazaa update

The Australian reports on the decision of the Full Federal Court to allow contempt proceedings to proceed in Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd v
Sharman Networks Ltd [2006] FCAFC 41 and Sharman’s response.

Kim Weatherall discusses the problems in the form of the original orders.

Mandatory injunctions (whereby people are to ordered do something rather than prevented from doing something) are notoriously difficult to enforce and this case is a good example. From a practical viewpoint the situation may have been different if Sharman , having been found to infringe, were ordered to make a payment into court until the situation was finalised.

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Posted 24th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal

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March 23, 2006

New Australian Guidelines for Electronic Commerce

The Australian E-commerce Best Practice Model (BPM) was released in May 2000. A review of the Australian E-commerce Best Practice Model commenced in November 2003. The BPM has been updated and replaced by The Australian Guidelines for Electronic Commerce, which were released by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer on 17 March 2006.

Treasury has also released a fact sheet covering issues when engaging in business-to-consumer e-commerce:

• Does your business follow ‘fair business practices’?
• Do consumers need specialised software or hardware to trade with you?
• Have you taken reasonable steps to ensure the goods and services you supply are accessible to people with a disability?
• Is all advertising material clearly identifiable, so it cannot be confused with other content?
• Are procedures in place to ensure that any marketing messages you send do not constitute spam?

• Have you taken reasonable steps to avoid entering into transactions with minors?
• Can consumers easily fi nd all key information about your business, including contact details?
• Are contract terms for purchases clear, accurate and easily accessible by consumers?
• Have you taken appropriate steps to protect consumers’ privacy?
• Have you provided consumers with payment mechanisms that are easy to use and offer appropriate security?
• Have you clearly explained to consumers the security and authentication methods you use so they can assess any risks?
• Do consumers have easy access to, and clear information about, dispute resolution procedures?
• Are consumers informed about any specific laws or jurisdiction applicable to transactions with your business?

See my guidelines for website compliance

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Posted 23rd March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Privacy, Web/Tech

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March 19, 2006

ACIF consumer credit management code of practice

The Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) represents stakeholders in the telecommunications industry including carriers/carriage service providers, business and residential consumer groups, industry associations and individual companies.

ACIF has released a credit management code which specifies requirements for credit management procedures and provides guidance on the provision of information regarding credit management policies. The code requires suppliers to credit assess customers if their service expenditure or usage is not limited, to require the use or provision of credit control tools for the management of customer expenditure and for the development of a policy for customers experiencing financial hardship.

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Posted 19th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Web/Tech

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March 17, 2006

Online financial services security

Security and authentication issues are the prime concerns for online banking users.

This article from ZDNet discusses proposed changes by ANZ and concerns about Westpac’s new keyboard log in.

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Posted 17th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Web/Tech

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March 16, 2006

Who can access your Google search records?

The New York Times reports that at a hearing in the California Federal District Court, the US government is now requesting a sample of 50,000 Web site addresses in Google’s index instead of a million, which it was demanding until recently. And it is asking for just 5,000 search queries, compared with an earlier demand for an entire week of queries, which could amount to billions of search terms.

The government says it intends to use the data in a study to measure the effectiveness of software that filters out pornographic Web sites. The government says it is not seeking information that would "personally identify" individuals.

"It is my intent to grant some relief to the government," Judge Ware said, "given the narrowing that has taken place with the request and its willingness to compensate Google for whatever burden that imposes."

He said he was particularly concerned about perceptions by the public that Web searches could be subject to government scrutiny, "so I’ll pay particular attention to that part of it." The judge said that he would issue a full decision shortly, but did not give a date.

UPDATE 20 March: The Judge has issued his decision which is analysed here at Concurring Opinions.

Although the Judge did not rule on the original subpoena he was critical of the government’s approach and did not give it access to the search queries at all, only the URL’s.

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Posted 16th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Privacy, Web/Tech

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March 14, 2006

Digital technology and reform options for Australia ‘s media industry

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan, has released a discussion paper on reform options for Australia ‘s media industry.

The paper deals with digital broadcasting and new services by broadcasters, foreign ownership of media and cross-media transactions.

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Posted 14th March 2006 by David Jacobson in Legal, Web/Tech

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