Trainings for new technologies for lobbying, advocacy and raising public awareness about causes
Article 29: Reduce the storing period of Google Street View's imagesAlex Turk, the head of EU Article 29 Working Party (WP) sent a letter on 11 February 2010 asking Google company to warn people about the arrival of its Street View vehicles and to reduce the retention... ЕДРИ | 15.3.2010 |
Internet restrictions curtail human rights, says USMany governments have used the internet to curtail freedom of expression at home, the US state department says in its latest annual human rights report. Свет | 12.3.2010 |
World Day Against Cyber CensorshipReporters Without Borders will celebrate World Day Against Cyber Censorship on 12 March. This event is intended to rally everyone in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to... Свет | 10.3.2010 |
China to punish hackers, says no Google complaintChina has pledged to punish hackers who attacked Google if there is evidence to prove it, but said it has yet to receive any complaint from the world's top search engine. Свет | 8.3.2010 |
France's Parliament pursues its goal to censor the InternetOn 16 February, the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, passed the first draft of the so-called Loppsi 2 bill allowing the authorities to control the Internet under the pretex... ЕДРИ | 5.3.2010 |
Germany's President signs an Internet bill against his own governmentDespite the fact that the German Government had decided not to apply the internet censorship law (Zugangserschwerungsgesetz) proposed by the former Government in April 2009, the new bill was signed on... ЕДРИ | 3.3.2010 |
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More in: EDRI, World, Macedonia
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| Consumers: EU clampdown on ring-tone scams |
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EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva today announced the results of an EU-wide investigation into websites offering mobile phone services such as ring-tones and wallpapers.
The enquiry, which was carried out on more than 500 websites across the 27 Member States, Norway and Iceland, found that 80% of the sites checked need to be further investigated for suspected breaches of EU consumer rules. Many of the websites target children and young people.
The breaches vary in the degree of seriousness. More than 495 million mobile phones are owned by Europeans. Ring-tones alone were estimated to make up 29% of the overall "mobile content" market in Europe in 2007 (about 10% higher than 2006). The value of European ring-tone sales in 2007 was estimated at €691 million. Seven countries Norway, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Iceland, Romania, Greece) are publishing the names of the websites which they found to have irregularities (see MEMO/08/516).
But we need to get a clear message out particularly to teenagers and children – be on your guard! It's all about the small print! There are many reputable traders out there, but to be safe buying these services, check the fine print every time and make sure you are not signing up for more than you bargained for." |