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                Date: 1998-10-29
                 
                 
                UK: User ueberwachen Ueberwacher
                
                 
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      Die Internet Watch Foundation, eine Körperschaft zur  
Selbstregulierung der IT-Industrie mit unterstürtzung des  
briutischen Handelsministeriums, wird in nunmehr selbst  
einer Überwachung zugeführt. Weniger durch eine  
Körperschaft sondern vielmehr durch ganz einfache User. 
 
29 October, 1998 LEEDS - Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties  
(UK) encourages British Internet users to express their views  
on the review of the Internet Watch Foundation. 
 
Business advisory firm KPMG and City solicitors Denton Hall  
are launching a review of the Internet Watch Foundation  
("IWF") with a confidential Web site - www.kpmgiwf.org -  
encouraging the public to express their views on illegal  
content on the Internet and the work of the IWF. The final  
report by KPMG and Denton Hall will be submitted to the  
Department of Trade and Industry ("DTI") in December 1998.  
(See below for their press release) 
 
Yaman Akdeniz, director of Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties  
(UK) and the author of two "Who Watches the Watchmen"  
reports which were critical of the activities of the IWF said  
that: 
 
"It is good to give a chance to public for comments but the  
review at www.kpmgiwf.org is only limited to the activities of  
the IWF as far as illegal content is concerned. The  
involvement of the IWF as an industry based body with  
important public policy issues such as the development of  
rating and filtering systems are omitted." 
 
"Although the IWF acts as a private self regulatory body, its  
actions directly involve public matters and the IWF is involved  
with the UK government's policy making process. No  
decisions should be taken without proper public consultation  
and an open and transparent environment should be  
established for regulatory initiatives in the field of Internet  
regulation rather than important policies being developed  
behind closed doors in secrecy. The public has a right to  
know from the very early stages of a policy making process.  
So far, both the DTI and the IWF have failed their duties and  
managed to provide as little information as possible on why  
certain policies are preferred without the need for public  
consultation." 
... 
Firstly, the website created by the reviewing firm is rated with  
a PICS label used by the RSACi system favoured by the  
IWF. Secondly, all comments would be made anonymously  
through a secure system (but no information has been  
provided on what sort of technology has been used).  
Therefore, one aspect of the website favours the current IWF  
and DTI policy on rating and filtering systems while the  
anonymous use of the web would be in contrast with the IWF  
and DTI Safety-Net proposals which has seen anonymity as  
a danger." 
 
full text 
http://www.cyber-rights.org/press/
                   
 
related links 
http://www.internetwatch.org.uk
                   
at http://www.kpmgiwf.org/
                   
 
relayed by Yaman Akdeniz lawya@leeds.ac.uk 
 
 
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edited by  
published on: 1998-10-29 
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