Australian eDemocracy

This report describes a pilot project commissioned by the NSW Minister for Youth (The Hon Graham West MP) and the NSW Department of Community services to explore and test the use of online social networking technologies for the purpose of engaging young people in civic affairs.  It was conducted in the Central Coast and North Coast of NSW.

The Berkman Center for Internet and Society has released the final version of their report, Next Generation Connectivity: A Review of broadband transitions and policy from around the world.  The report is for the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to review existing broadband deployment through the world in order to inform the FCC’s efforts in developing the National Broadband Plan.  The report was released in draft format in October 2009, after which hundreds of pages of comments were submitted.  This is the final version as submitted to the FCC.

Google has launched a new social networking site, called Buzz.  This feature allows Gmail users to post messages, known as buzzes, which are then integrated directly into a person’s Gmail inbox.  Private updates are automatically added to a user’s profile page, while public updates will also be available to search engines.  A user will see updates within their Gmail account in real time.

This report, Online risk and safety in the digital economy, is the third and final annual report to the Minister for Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy on measures for promoting safety in the online environment.  These reports are designed to investigate developments in Internet filtering technologies and other safety initiatives to protect Internet users.

In the case of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) against iiNet, the Australian Federal Court has found in favour of the ISP.