January 27, 2010

The Public Domain Manifesto

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Das Public-Domain-Manifest | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1675] A new public manifest called the Public Domain Manifesto was launched on 25 January 2010, as a document developed within COMMUNIA, the European Thematic Network on the Digital Public Domain, during the last two years. According to the network, The Public Domain ensures that […]

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February 10, 2010

ENDitorial: Undead WIPO treaty resurrected in Council of Europe

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [ENDitorial: Europarat belebt untotes WIPO Abkommen wieder | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1706] On January 28 and 29, the Council of Europe held a consultation meeting on the launch of work on a new international instrument that would create neighbouring rights for broadcasting organisations. The purpose of this initiative is to take […]

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February 24, 2010 · Blogs

French Court says an IP address is not enough for a user's identification

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Französisches Gericht: IP-Adressen reichen für die Identifikation eines Users nicht aus| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1726] The Paris Appeal Court has recently ruled that an IP address does not allow the identification of an Internet user and therefore needs no prior authorization from CNIL (National Commission for Information Technologies and Civil Liberties) […]

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March 24, 2010

Four strikes in the Belgium draft copy of the French Hadopi law

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Vier Treffer in der belgischen Nachahmung des französischen Hadopi-Gesetzes | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1795] On 17 March 2010, Belgian senator Philippe Monfils presented a new version of his proposition for a law that would implement in Belgium the graduated response system in illegal downloading cases, as the one introduced by the […]

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May 19, 2010

Two Digital Agendas, but one European Union

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Zwei Digitale Agenden, aber eine Europäische Union | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1928] The European Parliament (EP) passed on 6 May 2010, with a large majority, a resolution adopting the report on a new Digital Agenda for Europe: 2015.eu by MEP Pilar del Castillo Vera. The report outlines the Internet policy for […]

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November 3, 2010

Is YouTube back online in Turkey?

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Ist YouTube in der Türkei wieder online? | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2326] After almost three years of blocking, Turkey has finally lifted its ban on YouTube. Google’s site was blocked in 2007 for videos considered insulting to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the country’s founder. In 2007, Turkey’s parliament adopted a law allowing […]

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November 3, 2010

Belgian Court upholds Creative Commons licence

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Belgischer Gerichtshof bestätigt Creative Commons Lizenz | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2329] A local court in Nivelles, Belgium upheld in a case decided 26 October 2010 on the validity of the Creative Commons licence in a copyright infringement case when a music group published its music under CC BY-NC-SA. In this case […]

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December 15, 2010

Rule of law in the hands of private companies.Wikileaks is just the start.

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Das Prinzip der Rechtsstaatlichkeit in den Händen der Privatwirtschaft: WikiLeaks ist erst der Anfang | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2437] Private-sector attempts to undermine and attack the ability of WikiLeaks to function on the Internet have attracted much attention. Their domain name (wikileaks.org) was was taken out of service by EveryDNS, their […]

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January 26, 2011

Sarkozy wants a "civilised" Internet

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Sarkozy wünscht sich ein “zivilisiertes” Internet | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2555] With France at the Presidency of the G20 group in 2011, Nicolas Sarkozy has recently announced the intention to convene a G20 meeting to discuss Internet and copyright issues, before the full G20 summit of heads of state and government […]

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March 9, 2011

Avalanche of intellectual property initiatives on the way in EU

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [EU steht vor einer Flut von Gesetzesinitiativen in Sachen geistiges Eigentum | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.5_Flut_an_Initiativen_f%C3%BCr_geistige_Eigentumsrechte] In the course of the next few months, the European Commission will be launching a flood of intellectual property initiatives, some aiming at repression, some at restricting access to culture and some at feeding uncreative […]

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March 9, 2011 · Blogs

Turkey adds popular blogging platform to blocking list

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Türkei setzt beliebte Blogger-Plattform auf die Sperrliste | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.5_Netzsperren_in_der_Tuerkei] Although they lifted the ban against Google’s YouTube at the end of 2010 and despite the strong criticism and pending cases at the European Court of Human Rights, Turkish authorities continue to block access to websites. Recently, following the […]

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March 23, 2011

Privatised online enforcement series: A. Abandonment of the rule of law

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Serie: Privatisierung der Online Strafverfolgung – Teil A | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.6_Privatisierung_der_Online-Strafverfolgung_Abkehr_vom_Prinzip_Rechtsstaatlichkeit] This is the first in a series of articles looking at the development of processes for cajoling, obliging or coercing online economic operators to police the Internet. This first article examines the scale of this trend. Most western […]

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