The verdict is in: Telenor, Norway’s largest ISP, will not be legally obligated to block The Pirate Bay as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) had been hoping to compel via legal action.

A Norwegian district court ruled yesterday that Telenor is not facilitating copyright infringement when its users access The Pirate Bay; the court could find no legal grounds on which it could order the torrent website blocked on Telenor’s lines as a result.

The IFPI’s threat of legal action in March was dismissed by Telenor CEO Ragnar Kårhus saying, “[it] would be the same as demanding that the postal service should open all letters, and decide which ones should be delivered.”

“Obviously we are pleased that the District Court has arrived at this conclusion. At the same time it is important for us to emphasize that this case is not about being in favor of or opposed to copyright, but about whether or not it is reasonable to saddle Internet service providers with a censorship role in respect of content on the Internet,” Kårhus said yesterday in the wake of the ruling.

With legal precedent established, the recording industry can no longer rely on the blacklist as a viable strategy in Norway. Though it is not yet clear if the IFPI will appeal the decision, it does seem likely.

Finnish citizens have been granted the legal right to 1Mb broadband access starting in July of 2010.

The decision comes on behalf of the nation’s Ministry of Transport and Communications; it is the first of many steps designed to graduate the nation’s five million eligible residents up to the legal right to 100 megabits by 2015.

The Ministry’s definition of “access” has taken a bit of criticism, however. Many believe that the 1Mb promise will follow the same distribution model that’s planned for 100Mb deployment, which defines access as living within two kilometers of a connection capable of delivering 100Mb. Some are also worried that about 2200 homes in remote areas will also go unserved, as is planned for the 2015 100Mb target.

While 1Mb may seem unremarkable given the capabilities of today’s broadband, it must be considered relative to the United States where .76Mb is considered broadband and the country still struggles to connect its citizens.

The idea that kids need to be forced to leave the house, go outside, and do some sort of physical activity is nothing new. However, after a recent report it may be more important now than ever.

A survey of 16 to 24 year olds has found that 75% of them feel they “couldn’t live” without the internet. [...] About one third added that they felt no need to talk to a person face-to-face about their problems because of the resources available online.

Think that’s bad? When the group of kiddos was asked about Internet security and phishing, 76% of them thought the internet was a safe place “as long as you know what you’re doing.” Yeah, we haven’t heard that before.

Now please excuse us as we go unplug our siblings’ 360s and take them bowling. And no, not on the Wii.

If someone charges you for SEO, you have been conned. (this x100)

US Dept of Homeland Security wants to hire 1,000 cybersecurity experts over 3 years. Cringley says they don’t exist.

Suspicious and familiar politics were at play last Monday when a Michigan Chamber of Commerce forum bankrolled by two of the United States’ largest telecom companies tapped Glenn Beck for the keynote address. This would hardly be noteworthy but for recent Democratic efforts to bust several of telecom’s outstanding oligopolistic practices. Landing a Republican icon as a keynote speaker is not only a nod to the GOP’s recent fetish with telecom protectionism, but a sign that the industry will not accept the Democrats’ populist pill.

The ghost of telecom past

Disagreement over how best to regulate telecom in the US is a surprisingly recent event. For the entire 20th century, oversight of the burgeoning industry could easily be characterized as bipartisan. Indeed, Democrats and Republicans worked in concert during the Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations to realize two landmark initiatives: The Bell System Divestiture of 1982 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (more…)

Want to support the translation of Moby Dick into Japanese emoji icons? Here you go.

It’s faster to send your data by carrier pigeon than transfer it across the ‘net in South Africa. Sorry, Winga.

Internet distractions, in order of importance. [via]

The Great Firewall of Australia is on the skids as opposition to Communications Minister Stephen Conroy continues to mount.

The project is by no means six feet under, but critics are working hard to place it on the DNR list.

Australian Senate Opposition Leader and shadow Comms Minister Nick Minchin has spoken out against Conroy for failing to release results of the trial and for failing to detail what constitutes success or failure for the trial program.

“Almost two years after coming to office with a plan to censor the internet, Senator Conroy has not even managed to release results for long overdue filtering trials, let alone come close to actually implementing this highly controversial policy,” he said.

“Previous trials of filtering technology have exposed serious problems with both the over-blocking and under-blocking of content, and concerns also remain about the adverse impact a national filtering regime could have on internet speeds.”

Objections over the program’s transparency are the most recent in a list that includes finances and efficacy. Australian citizens are understandably wary of the government’s motives, politicians worry about the pricetag, and some of the nation’s largest ISPs have expressed concerns about network performance.

The filtering program began last October as the brainchild of Communications Minister Stephen Conroy. His party developed the initiative as a way to stem the tide of illicit content whilst catering to the large constituency of outrage manufacturers.

It remains to be seen if the program will be officially nationalized, but it is looking less likely by the day.

Today John Graham-Cumming blogged about his experience logging into his Network Solutions account. Instead of the familiar terms such as “domain” and “web site”, John was presented with new terms designed to make it easier to understand the services Network Solutions offers.

Of course the term “web site” is confusing. Nobody knows what that is! But “nsSpace”, now that is pure genius. E-mail? What is this moonspeak? nsMail makes much more sense!

In order to “help support your business even more effectively,” Network Solutions has clearly done all of their customers a huge favor by clarifying these esoteric terms.  New Name, Same Great Service!

Laughingstock of the registrar business in 3… 2…

According to their daily spam, all Barnes & Noble stores now have free wifi.