Digital Angel (or Digital Devil, if you prefer) Privacy from Companies8/14/2000; 12:31:31 PM Privacy Digest today did a great job on collecting links about the Digital Angel, which is a small device that can be implanted in a human body to confirm who and where you are, which a collection of obvious and not-so-obvious implications in privacy and religion.Start with the large words "Big potential for misuse!!", which is an understatement.

Legal Tips For Your 'Sucks' Site Free Speech 8/14/2000; 8:51:40 AM 'Wired News interviewed a number of legal experts who offered general legal tips for would-be sucks site operators:' Also a couple of good tips for weblogs, such as proving that what I do here is fair use, which is nice to see.

EPA's Web Environment Unsafe Misc.8/14/2000; 8:48:48 AM 'How can the Environmental Protection Agency take care of the planet when it can't even protect its own computer network? That's the question raised by a General Accounting Office report released Friday that concluded that the EPA's information security measures are "ineffective" and "riddled with security weaknesses."' ...'In a statement, the EPA said that it takes information security seriously, and that it has already instituted policies to bolster its network.

How to Halt Nazi Sales in France? Country Watch: France8/14/2000; 8:36:59 AM 'A Paris judge ordered independent experts to investigate how to bar French Web surfers from tapping into online sales of Nazi memorabilia on websites accessed using the giant Internet portal Yahoo.'I find myself wishing I could get at the original court documents... and read them well enough to understand the intentions of the judge. There's a couple of interesting things in the article, though:'The judge rejected one of Yahoo's main contentions, which was that the English-language Yahoo.

Yahoo! reprieve over Nazi auctions Country Watch: France 8/11/2000; 12:32:50 PM 'A French judge has ordered more technical advice before deciding whether to force internet portal Yahoo! to block French users from the sites that violate national laws against promoting racial hatred. Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez also refused to fine the firm which he had ordered on 22 May to make it "impossible" for French users to access the sites.'

TheStandard.com: Federal Judge Overturns Net Porn Law Free Speech8/11/2000; 9:34:03 AM 'A federal judge has ruled that a Virginia law aimed at blocking children's online access to adult material violates First Amendment free-speech protections and the constitutional interstate commerce clause. The opinion by U.S. District Judge James H. Michael Jr. marks the latest in a string of defeats for activists trying to apply historical standards for adult material to the Internet.

Preventing an e-book Napster General IP Issues 8/10/2000; 9:54:10 AM 'If there’s one thing the book publishers want to avoid as they move into the digital realm, it’s a repeat of the Napster controversy that has plagued their e-music counterparts.' Hey, they can learn!

Chinese govt. seeks control of Web Country Watch: China8/9/2000; 7:07:07 PM 'Chinese leaders are keen to promote the Web's economic benefits and use it, as they do the entirely state-run traditional media, to rally public opinion. But they are nervous that the Web gives Chinese access to uncensored news and information, and are trying to block its use in spreading opposition to communist rule.'It's worth watching the Chinese... I expect them to pioneer techniques of controlling the usage of the Internet, as Communism can't tolerate truth, or for that matter, lies other then its own.

RIAA's documents Music & MP38/9/2000; 6:41:56 PM I explicitly looked for these when this issue was more topical but could not find them. Perhaps they've moved or become more prominent, or perhaps the RIAA was just slow putting them up? At any rate, see the RIAA's Napster Lawsuit Documents, most notably their reply (in PDF form) to Napsters request to stay the injunction shutting the service down.There are some good points.

AOL MP3 Search Service Music & MP3 8/9/2000; 6:32:51 PM Yesterday, Scripting News broke the story that WinAmp, owned by AOL, had a hosting service that allowed you to upload your own MP3s and allow others to download them, which in fact was far worse then Napster is. This is especially interesting in light of the fact AOL is aiming to aquire Time-Warner, one of the big members of the RIAA, Napster's mortal foe.