International Domains Get ICANN Thumbs Up

PC World reports that starting in mid-November, countries and territories will be able to apply to show domain names in their native language, a major technical tweak to the Internet designed to increase language accessibility.

On Friday, the Internet's addressing authority approved a Fast-Track Process for applying for an IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) and will begin accepting applications on Nov. 16.
The move comes after years of technical testing and policy development, said the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which held a meeting in Seoul this week.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/181052/international_domains_get_icann_thumbs_up.html

Future of internet has dangers for privacy, Brussels warns

EUObserver.com reports that according to the European Commission, the future of the internet contains pitfalls as well as possibilities

There is a dark side to some of the impressive new online technologies that are appearing, from social networking to behavioural advertising to RFID smart chips, the European Commission's internet chief has warned.

While such technologies offer great vistas of opportunity, the commission is monitoring their development "closely" for the very real potential threats to privacy they contain, information society commissioner Viviane Reding said on Monday at a debate on the future of the internet in Brussels.

Read the article on EUObserver.com here: http://euobserver.com/9/28792/?rk=1#

Reding: EU to govern Internet of the future

The European Commission will roll out a range of initiatives in the coming months to promote the Internet of the Future, while remaining highly vigilant in protecting citizens and networks, Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding told EurActiv in an interview.

The EU executive identified the following key topics to be addressed by 2009 in to prepare Europe to the new generation of the Internet: the early challenges of the Internet of Things, rolling out Next Generation Access Networks, opening radio spectrum to wireless services, broadband for all, security of critical communication infrastructure, privacy concerns related to the massive deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and Internet governance.

Speaking at the Internet of Things conference organised by the French EU Presidency in Nice on 6-7 October, Commissioner Reding outlined told EurActiv what she expected would be the main challenges ahead.

First of all, Brussels wants to pave the way for possibly the biggest revolution that the Web has ever seen: the emergence of an Internet of Things, whereby objects have a virtual identity and communicate between each other to provide services of every kind, from healthcare to transport security.

At the end of September, the Commission opened a public debate on the main issues related to the Internet of Things, publishing a position document . In November, a recommendation is expected on the privacy and security risks linked to the deployment of RFID tags, the technology at the core of the Internet of Things. Commissioner Reding wants to maintain a fair balance between the promotion of RFID and the new societal risks posed by society (EurActiv 06/10/08).

In early 2009, the EU executive is due to publish definitve guidelines for the roll-out of Next Generation Access Networks, the key infrastructure for a future Internet based on data-hungry services (EurActiv 19/09/08). A review of radio spectrum is also ongoing, so as to exploit the so-called 'digital dividend' which will result from the switch from analogue to digital TV by 2012. The target is to increase the provision of wireless and mobile Internet services and, as a result, broadband penetration in Europe.

Protection of critical online infrastructure, such as networks or key servers, is also high on the Commission's agenda. To avoid cyber-attacks such as that which hit Estonian public Internet services in 2007, the EU executive will propose concrete action at EU level in a document to be published in 2009 (EurActiv 09/04/08).

The global governance of the Internet and its next developments is also considered crucial by Brussels, with Reding explicitly aiming to challenge US control of many key elements of the Net.
To read the full text of the interview, please click here.

Links
European Union
European Commission: Communication on future actions of the Commission on Internet issues (29 September 2008)
European Commission: Working document on the early challenges regarding the Internet of Things (29 September 2008)
European Commission: Draft recommendation on NGANs (18 September 2008)
EU French Presidency: Conference on the Internet of Things, the Internet of the future (6-7 October 2008) [FR]

From euractiv.com