ADVOCACY ONLINE
New Audience for Advocacy Groups on the Internet (CyberTimes)
INTERNATIONAL
Europe's Internet Lag: An American Fabrication? (CyberTimes)
China to ban Internet investors (SJM)
E-COMMERCE
CEOs Lobby For E-Commerce (WP)
Plan for Self-Rating of Web Sites Assailed (WP)
ADVOCACY ONLINE
NEW AUDIENCE FOR ADVOCACY GROUPS ON THE INTERNET
Issue: Advocacy Online
Many traditional advocacy groups face a problem as their donor base grows
older, and new younger contributors seem hard to attract. Some of these
organizations are looking towards the Internet for help. A study that is
scheduled to be released on Tuesday indicates that about 25 percent of
adults in the United States who have gotten involved in social causes are
online. This groups of Internet users are younger and more diverse in their
political views than traditional donors, according to the study
commissioned by the political consulting firm Craver, Mathews, Smith. While
74 percent of direct-mail donors -- polled in a separate survey --
considered themselves liberal, the Internet activist were evenly split
between liberals and conservatives. Many nonprofit groups are still slow to
take advantage of the Internet to spread their messages and raise money.
"People are looking for ways to engage," said Rob Stuart, who directed an
online campaign to save national forests. "In order to survive, groups that
want to be active have got to be online and giving the public an
opportunity to get involved."
[ Source: CyberTimes, Author: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/articles/14donate.html)
INTERNATIONAL
EUROPE'S INTERNET LAG: AN AMERICAN FABRICATION?
Issue: Internet/International
Is Europe behind the U.S. with respect to the Internet? Internet executives
in Europe say the size of the gap has been exaggerated to make it look as if
Europe is years behind. But analysts say it could be because American
companies are not being accepted as quickly there. The European Internet
scene may not have the overnight billionaires of Silicon Valley, but it has
other elements that characterize the industry. According to the investment
bank Broadview International, 155 European technology companies went public
on Europe's stock markets last year, compared with 147 American companies.
Europe is ahead of the U.S. in on-line banking and mobile phones. Europe has
turned out to be a tough market for U.S. companies to unlock is as many
companies have underestimated the importance of local conditions. "Here you
will have to think locally in each of the national markets," said Fabiola
Arredondo, a native of Spain who leads Yahoo's operations in seven European
countries. American businesses are less prepared for different currencies,
tax regimes and trade regulations, as well as cultural and practical
differences. Things like registering an Internet domain name or privacy
protections on sites can cause problems unseen by U.S. companies ever must
be approved by different regulatory authorities. Marketing is another
pitfall a lot of American companies because Europeans, unlike Americans,
are not used to aggressive marketing.
[SOURCE: Cybertimes, AUTHOR: Bruno Giussani]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/eurobytes/14eurobytes.html)
CHINA TO BAN INTERNET INVESTORS
Issue: E-commerce/International
Minister of Information Industry, Wu Jichuan, said that since 1993, Chinese
regulations have "clearly stipulated that no foreign investment is allowed
in the operation of telecoms networks and services.'' However, the Chinese
government has not actively enforced the regulations. But today, the
government announced that it would enforce its ban on foreign investment in
operating Internet and other telecommunication services. Several major
Chinese Internet companies are part owned by foreign Internet or media
firms. Foreigners are also involved in operating Web sites and other
Internet-related companies based in China. Jichuan did not respond to
questions about how the government would enforce its ban on foreign
investment in telecoms or Internet-related businesses. The Ministry of
Information Industry, which runs China's telecommunications and postal
networks, wants to shut foreign competitors out of markets it views as
strategically important. The number of Internet users in China surged past 4
million in June, up from 2.1 million at the end of last year, according to
the China Internet Network Information Center. China's long-sought entry
into the World Trade Organization could force it to open its market.
[Source: San Jose Mercury News, Author: Elaine Kurtenbach]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/849006l.htm)
E-COMMERCE
CEOS LOBBY FOR E-COMMERCE (WP)
Issue: Electronic Commerce
The Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce, composed of CEOs of
the world's leading technology companies, want governments to allow for the
unfettered development of electronic commerce on the Internet. The group
supports a continued moratorium on Internet taxes, the end of restrictions
on security exports, the adoption of a "seal of approval" for sites that
protect consumer privacy, and third-party arbitration of e-commerce
disputes. "When you take the number of companies involved there," US
Commerce Secretary William Daley said in an interview, "you're really
talking about an International Chamber of E-Commerce," noting that there is
no equivalent global government organization for Internet issues. The group
intends to lobby governments, collect the views of smaller Internet
commerce companies and consumer organizations, and work to get its
principles adopted by the industry. The findings of the group represented
wide consensus among numerous Internet players from different countries,
although some conflicting opinions stemmed from European and Asian
countries where governments uphold the idea that regulation and state
involvement in the Internet will help develop the Internet rationally and
protect consumers from fraud. The consensus of the group predominantly
reflected the business perspective of the United States, which has mostly
left the market to regulate itself.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, E3, AUTHOR: Victoria Shannon]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/sept99/internet14.htm)
PLAN FOR SELF-RATING OF WEB SITES ASSAILED
Issue: Internet/Content
A "Memorandum on Self-Regulation of the Internet" that came out of the
Internet Content Summit hosted in Munich, Germany last week included a
proposal for Web site operators to voluntarily post ratings that they think
match the content of their sites. The ratings would automatically be read
by "filtering" software that parents use to block certain sites, including
pornography, from their children's view. Civil liberties groups however,
fear that the ratings system might become the basis for mandatory
government ratings. The summit was hosted by the Bertelsmann Foundation,
funded by the German media giant Bertelsmann AG. The new proposal is an
attempt to pick up on a previous self-regulation effort by a group now
called the Internet Content Ratings Association which has resulted in
120,000 sites providing ratings. The Munich proposal hopes to extend the
earlier effort worldwide. Supporters of the original plan include
Bertelsmann, International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., AOL
Europe, and telecommunications firms British Telecommunications PLC and
Cable & Wireless PLC. Opponents of the plan fear it will eventually evolve
into the adoption of government regulation. Other critics contend that the
system could result in small Web site creators getting filtered out if they
refuse to adopt the rating system being devised by the big technology
companies.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, E3, AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a57737-1999sep14.htm)
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