Archive for May, 2008

NY Times on Net Neutrality

The NY Times runs an editorial supporting net neutrality legislation.

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May 20, 2008 Comments are Disabled News

UK Prime Minister Launches Online Question Period

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched an online question period and promised to respond to video clip questions submitted via his office's YouTube page.

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May 19, 2008 1 comment News

Senate Spam Bill Important First Step After Years of Inaction

The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly scourge that raises criminal concerns would seem like a no-brainer, successive Industry Ministers have failed to prioritize the issue.   The need for Canadian anti-spam legislation was the unanimous recommendation of the 2005 National Task Force on Spam, which included members from the Internet, marketing, and consumer communities (I was a member of the task force).  The final report, which was received with approval from the current Conservative (then Liberal) Minister David Emerson, noted that Canada was quickly becoming one of the only Western countries to neglect the issue and was at risk of developing into a haven for spammers seeking refuge in countries with lax anti-spam regulations.

While a government-backed anti-spam bill is still nowhere to be seen, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the fact that earlier this month Senator Yoine Goldstein quietly stepped into the policy void by introducing the Anti-Spam Act (ASA).  Modeled after widely lauded Australian anti-spam legislation, the ASA is the most comprehensive Canadian anti-spam proposal floated to date and even if it languishes in the Senate (private member's bill rarely become law) it promises to place additional pressure on the government to reveal its own anti-spam plan.

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May 19, 2008 3 comments Columns

Senate Spam Bill Important Step After Years of Inaction

Appeared in the Toronto Star on May 19, 2008 as Senator's Anti-Spam Bill is Welcome News The Canadian government's lack of action against spam has been one of the most puzzling policy failures in recent years.  While addressing a problem that has grown from a mere nuisance to a costly […]

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May 19, 2008 Comments are Disabled Columns Archive

Who Needs Copyright, Anyway?

John Degen's Globe and Mail essay declares that there is no copyright crisis.  Degen is the head of the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

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May 18, 2008 4 comments News