Russian Government is planning to introduce new legislature that will force users of internet in Russian Federation to provide full details such as passport numbers and other documents before they can connect to the net.

Else where, today (Jan 31, 06), the UK High Court has ordered 10 internet service providers to hand over information of 150 customers accused of illegally sharing and downloading desktop software on the Web

The illegal file-sharers were identified after a 12-month covert investigation by the Federation Against Software Theft called Operation Tracker.

The federation, a software industry group that fights piracy, said it also suspects that some of the individuals were using their employers' corporate networks for trading the software illegally.

The individuals all use false names but the federation has now secured the court orders that will force the Internet service providers to hand over personal details, including names, addresses and dates of birth, of the 150 individuals.

BT, NTL, Telewest and Tiscali are among the ISPs named in the court order. The presiding judge said there is "an overwhelming case" for ordering such customer details to be released.

The federation will work with the police and Crown Prosecution Service once the individuals have been identified.

John Lovelock, director general at the federation, hailed it as a landmark case for the software industry in the battle against piracy but warned it is only the beginning.

[source: Cnet - News.com]

This week Google has totally capitulated under its thirst to enter China and has voluntarily offered to censor its search results to the fullest satisfaction of the Beijing Mandarins. Yuck!

Internet search giant Google Inc. will block politically sensitive terms on its new China site, bowing to conditions set by Beijing in return for access to the world's number-two Internet market.

The voluntary concessions laid out on Tuesday by Google, which is launching a China-based search site as it officially enters the market, would parallel similar self-censorship already practised there by most multinationals and domestic players.

Homegrown giants like Sohu.com Inc. and Baidu.com Inc., along with China sites operated by Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft, all routinely block searches on politically sensitive terms such as the Falun Gong spiritual movement and Taiwan independence.

"In order to operate from China, we have removed some content from the search results available on Google.cn in response to local law, regulation or policy," Andrew McLaughlin, Google's senior policy counsel, said in a statement.

"While removing search results is inconsistent with Google's mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission."

Google, known for its "Don't do evil" mantra, is developing its China approach as it seeks to strike a balance between the freedom of information it champions and the censorship demanded by Beijing, which controls access to China's 111 million Internet users.

The company added that at least for now, it will stay away from e-mail and blogging in China, which have been the source of recent controversies after Beijing demanded information on an e-mail user from Yahoo, and Microsoft pulled down a politically sensitive posting from its China-based blog service.

Google said it will also stay away from chat rooms, another popular form of expression over the Internet.

[source: Reuters]