Tech Daily Dose

YouTube, Twitter Augment China Earthquake Coverage

From the Silicon Valley Insider:

Want to know what that giant earthquake in China's remote Sichuan looked like? Better yet, want to know what it's like to experience a 7.8 magnitude quake? Someone claiming to be a Sichuan University student posted a video to Tudou, where it's No. 2 on the homepage, and it was reposted on YouTube. The video shows interminable shaking, creaking and groaning of what appears to be a college dorm.

Plus the Insider notes that search engine Summize shows lots of Twittering about the earthquake; unclear how many of the Twitters are actually near quake-affected areas. More coverage: U.K. Telegraph, Poynter Online.

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Global Music Education Effort Launches

Childnet International launched a global awareness campaign on Wednesday aimed at explaining the world of legal and illegal music downloading to teachers and parents. A new pocket-sized guide will be distributed at schools and colleges; libraries; record stores; and Web sites in 21 countries, the U.K.-based group said in a press release.

The booklet, "Young People, Music and the Internet," helps young people use the Internet and mobile phones safely and legally to acquire their favorite tunes. "There are so many wonderful online music services but there are risks to children including breach of copyright the threat of viruses, loss of privacy and security," Childnet's Stephen Carrick-Davies said. Read more about the effort here.

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U.S. Webcasters Have It Easy (Compared To China)

David Oxenford's Broadcast Law Blog pointed out on Tuesday that while U.S. webcasters may think they have legal issues -- the Internet radio music royalties that have been such a concern or the copyright and other liability issues that surround user-generated content -- they face nothing like new administrative rules that were enacted on Jan. 31 for webcasters in China.

According to Oxenford, an attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine who represented small U.S. webcasters in royalty setting proceedings, the new rules require government permits from two separate Chinese government agencies before webcasting operations can begin. In addition, the rules appear to require ownership and control of webcasting operations by state-owned companies. A memo on the rules, prepared by attorneys from his firm's Shanghai office, can be found here.

(Photo Credit: Eschlaik via Flickr)

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China Blocks Web Sites After Tibet Protests

The Chinese government has blocked Internet users in the country from accessing video-sharing site YouTube after clips of a recent government crackdown on Tibetan protesters challenging Chinese rule were posted on the site. The U.K. Guardian and local feeds of broadcasters including BBC and CNN were also censored, according to media reports.

CNN Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz wrote on the In The Field blog that amid the blackout, modern technology created a loophole for disseminating news: "Our intrepid researchers found one Chinese Web log, a local version of Twitter, which collected and disseminated reports from citizen reporters who sent them in by SMS and Internet."

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday issued a statement on his Web site deploring the use of violence by both protesters and the government. He said the region is facing "cultural genocide."

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Google: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea?

Google has joined a consortium of six companies that have agreements to build a high-bandwidth sub-sea fiber optic cable linking the United States and Japan. The construction of the new Trans-Pacific infrastructure will cost an estimated $300 million, according to a Tuesday press release.

The new cable system named Unity will address broadband demand by providing capacity to sustain the growth in data and Internet traffic between Asia and America. The TeleGeography Global Bandwidth Report showed that trans-Pacific bandwidth demand grew by nearly 64 percent annually between 2002 and 2007 and is expected to continue to climb through 2013.

The consortium is a joint effort by Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI Corporation, Pacnet and SingTel. Unity selected NEC Corporation and Tyco Telecommunications to construct and install the system. That work will begin immediately, with initial capacity targeted for the first quarter of 2010.

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U.K. Web Piracy Proposal Raises Concerns

From CongressDaily's AM:

News that Internet service providers in the United Kingdom might be legally required to take action against computer users who access pirated material raised concerns on Capitol Hill Tuesday and among those who track U.S. intellectual property policy. The British newspaper The Times recently reported a leaked proposal that calls for those suspected of downloading illegitimate movies or music to get an initial warning e-mail, followed by a suspension for a second offense, then a termination of their service contract for a third offense. [Read the full story]

A spokesman for the U.K. Internet Services Providers' Association told Tech Daily Dose after deadline that the trade group is "currently in talks with the Motion Picture Association of America and liaises with government on this issue." ISPs are "mere conduits" of information and bear no liability for illegal file-sharing since the content is not hosted on their servers, the official said.

"ISPs are no more able to inspect and filter every single packet passing across their network than the post office is able to open every envelope," the spokesman said. "ISPs deal with many more packets of data each day than postal services and data protection legislation actually prevents ISPs from looking at the content."

In the United States, ISPs also have "a strong record of responsibility and cooperation when it comes to protection of intellectual property online," said Dave McClure, president of the U.S. Internet Industry Association. He pointed out that American laws differ from those abroad. "Here in the U.S., we must balance our desire to support content companies with the mandates of fair use, state and federal privacy laws, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act," McClure said.

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Olympic Promises Not Fulfilled?

Six months from now, the Beijing Summer Olympics will begin and Reporters Without Borders is concerned that Chinese authorities have not made good on promises they made to improve human rights conditions there and grant "total press freedom" before and during the festival.

About 80 journalists and Internet users are currently imprisoned in China and some have been detained since the 1980s, the watchdog group said this week. The government also blocks access to thousands of Web sites and the cyber-police watch Internet users closely. Meanwhile, 180 foreign reporters were arrested, attacked or threatened in China in 2007.

"The repression is continuing without any let-up, sidelining all those who dare to call for concrete improvements before the start of the games," the group said in a statement. Blogger Hu Jia, for example, is being held on a charge of "inciting subversion of state power" despite global protests.

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Music Industry Cracks Down On Piracy In China

The recording industry on Monday took a series of steps to try to develop a music business in China based on respecting intellectual property rather than blatant violation of copyright laws, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

After months of negotiations, legal proceedings were filed against the country's biggest Internet firm, Baidu. Separate actions were taken against Sohu and its associate company Sogou. Yahoo China also faces fresh proceedings, IFPI said.

The firms involved operate similar services based on delivering music to their users via "deep links" to hundreds of thousands of infringing tracks on third party sites, with the aim of driving their own advertising revenue, the group said.

"The music industry in China wants partnership with the technology companies - but you cannot build partnership on the basis of systemic theft of copyrighted music and that is why we have been forced to take further actions," IFPI Chairman John Kennedy said.

China has potentially the largest online music-buying public in the world with as many broadband connections as the United States, the organization noted. But right now, more than 99 percent of all music files distributed there are pirate. China's total legitimate music market ($76 million) accounts for less than one percent of global music sales.

Read more about the smackdown here.

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Facebook, Wikipedia Off Limits At AFP?

Social networking site Facebook and user-generated encyclopedia Wikipedia are off limits to reporters at Agence France Presse, according to the news agency's bureau chief.

"We have internal rules that are regularly updated [on this matter]. Wikipedia for example, we have a written rule inside the company that forbids any journalist using Wikipedia," Pierre Lesourd told the Lord's Committee on Media Ownership and the News. "We have the same thing, updated last week, for Facebook because of the incident with Bilawal Bhutto in Oxford."

Speaking to Journalim.co.uk, Lesourd clarified the policy, stating that reporters working for the international company could not pick up information from these sites for news without referring to other, more reliable sources for factual clarification.

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Georgetown Unveils New Competitiveness Journal

Georgetown University on Tuesday launched the Journal of Globalization, Competitiveness and Governability -- a collaborative project with Universia.net, an online portal for universities in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.

The Web journal will be published three times a year and will be stocked with "rigorous thinking, creative ideas and innovative proposals to improve the competitiveness and governability of companies and governments in an increasingly globalized world."

"Georgetown University is the best partner we could possibly have for this project, since we share the same goal which is to improve cooperation and dialogue among cultures and countries," said Universia President Emilio Botín said in a press release.

The journal will be available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. It's inaugural issue features articles on topics including tax reform; budget surpluses and deficits; and multinationals in Latin America.

Jose Maria Azner, former prime minister of Spain; Roberto Danino, former prime minister of Peru; Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico; and others were scheduled to attend the journal's unveiling.

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It's "@" Baby

A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, a government official told Reuters on Thursday. According to the article, the name stands out especially in Chinese, which uses tens of thousands of multi-stroke characters to represent words.

Deputy chief of the State Language Commission, Li Yuming, told reporters that the name was an extreme example of citizens' increasingly adventurous approach to Chinese, as commercialization and the Internet break down conventions. Li did not say if officials accepted the "@" name.

Incidentally, the Chinese couple isn't the first to have that idea. For years, I have signed my e-mails with "@," rather than my full name -- and have been given a collection of "@" tchotchkes to prove it (potholders, magnets, bookends, etc).

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Lucky & Flo Sniff Out Stinky Piracy Ring

Malaysian investigators, with the assistance of the world's first optical disc sniffing dogs, Lucky and Flo, have raided a suspected piracy outfit in Kuala Lumpur. Three disc replicating machines (capable of producing millions of discs per year) were seized.

It took more than 22 officials from the Ministry of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs and the Motion Picture Association to break down the factory doors. Authorities detained four suspects for questioning, according to a press release.

The bootlegging business had been running out of the building for three months, masquerading as a fertilizer plant. Hundreds of sacks of the stinky stuff were piled outside the premises. Lucky and Flo saw through the ruse.

About 18,000 illegal discs were confiscated including copies of "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Spiderman-3," and "The Simpsons Movie."

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Aussie Gyms Fight Music Licensing Hike

While the feud over Internet radio royalties plays out in the United States [see Technology Daily's PM Edition for details], a different kind of musical war is being waged in Australia.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, health clubs down under could be forced to play cover versions of popular tunes as they try to avoid a 30-fold hike in license fees for playing copyrighted music in fitness classes.

The possible rate increase follows a ruling by the country's copyright tribunal that said nightclubs and dance parties should pay $1.05 and $3.07 per patron respectively. Fitness Australia's Lauretta Stace said the change could raise class license fees from $0.92 to $31.67 a class.

An typical health club that offers 40 classes per week would have to pay annual license costs of $65,000, up from $1,900. Smaller independent gyms could also close, Stace said.

Facilities could look into playing other musicians' versions of songs to avoid the rate hike. "Whether it's [Abba tribute band] Bjorn Again or the real thing, we don't think it's going to affect the class," Stace told the newspaper.

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EU Official Reacts To New Data Deal

Following news Thursday that European negotiators had reached a provisional deal with the United States on how to share information about trans-Atlantic air passengers that Washington says is necessary to fight terrorism, the European Union released a statement on what has transpired.

The EU said the U.S. has addressed its members' data protection concerns and set conditions concerning the handling of personal data originating from the European Union.

European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini welcomed the move. "The EU and its most important strategic partner in the fight against terrorism, the USA, have to join forces in this fight… These activities should be done in full respect of fundamental rights, including notably data protection rights and the right to privacy of EU citizens," he said.
-- Winter Casey

Clarification: The quote from Franco Frattini below was included in a release concerning a separate deal the European Union made with Washington for using bank-transfer data in terrorism investigations. However, an EU spokesman said Frattini's comment would apply to how he views the passenger agreement, too.

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Techie Albanians Greet President Bush

(AP Photo via Washington Times)
Looking at this photograph, Tech Daily Dose wonders which interested the Albanians more: touching President Bush during his weekend visit to their country or capturing his photo on their cellular phones. Say cheese!
-- Theresa Poulson

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Copyright: Stayin' Alive?

Robin Gibb, best known as a member of the disco trio the Bee Gees, told BBC News that he plans to campaign for a change to copyright laws on behalf of musicians in the United Kingdom. Performers there receive royalty payments for 50 years, at which point their work enters the public domain.

"Artists should be getting royalties for the records that they make for life," Gibb said in an interview. The singer has just been named president of CISAC, a group representing creative artists around the world.

The 57-year-old singer wants to launch a record label for U.K. artists, giving them easier access to digital download stores like iTunes. "There are still many major writers who still don't own their catalogue," he said. "It's a moral issue that people should get a bigger piece of the pie."

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U.S.-China Trade Progress In Trouble

The United States doesn't expect significant progress on the trade front with China this year, the U.S. Treasury attaché to Beijing told China Daily. David Loevinger said that "now is not the time for bold economic reform, now is not the time to take on strong domestic vested interests."

"Because of a strong political calendar this may be the year that we may be less able to deliver, for us," Loevinger is quoted as having told a news conference in Shanghai. He said that private discussions with Chinese officials are more beneficial than public pressure from the U.S. government.

Also on Wednesday, South Korea's Foreign Minister Song Min-Soon reportedly said that if the United States seeks changes to the proposed free trade agreement between the countries -- currently waiting approval from legislative bodies -- the deal will not be re-negotiated, according to Agence France-Presse. AFP also reported that South Korea and Australia may be considering a possible free trade agreement. -- Winter Casey

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Banking With PayPal?

Online payment service PayPal on Tuesday announced it was granted a banking license for the European Union by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, effective July 2. The San Jose, Calif.-based firm also said it planned to move its European headquarters to Luxembourg.

"Our goal is to give European consumers more places to shop securely and conveniently across the web by making PayPal available on virtually every retail website in Europe," PayPal Europe Vice President Brent Bellm said. PayPal has more than 35 million accounts and is offered on more than 100,000 Web sites in Europe.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the eBay-owned firm is fighting off competition from Google, which launched a rival system last month.

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