...from: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6055378.html?tag=nl.e622

By Will Sturgeon, Silicon.com Published on ZDNet News: March 29, 2006, 8:32 AM PT

Australia, which already has antispam legislation in place, has introduced a code of practice that will force Internet service providers to be more proactive in stamping out unsolicited bulk e-mail. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is building on the relative success of the country's 2003 Spam Act to ensure that businesses and consumers are protected from a deluge of unwanted e-mail. "The phenomenon of spam...continues to materially impact on e-mail as a communications medium," states the conduct code document, released on Wednesday. Although many countries have recognized spam as an issue, few have been able to react to it effectively. However, it's long been suggested that Internet service providers, which carry much of the e- mail, could solve the problem of spam overnight. "Since senders of spam require the services of service providers in order to send their spam, enlisting the support of those service providers has the potential of being an efficient and also a more proactive way of addressing the spam problem," according to the code document. As such, ISPs serving the Australian public must proactively scan traffic for open relays and botnets, networks of compromised PCs used for sending spam. In addition, spam filters must be offered and clearly advertised by each Australian ISP. ISPs must include clauses in all contracts that allow them to disconnect a user if they are knowingly or unwittingly relaying spam, once the ISP has taken "reasonable steps to notify the subscriber of the breach and (provided) reasonable assistance," the code says. They must also restrict inbound connections to any service that allows forwarding of e-mail on behalf of third parties.

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========================== ...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/business/worldbusiness/31soft.html? th&emc=th

U.S. Asks European Union to Be Fair in Microsoft Case By PAUL MELLER Published: March 31, 2006 BRUSSELS, March 30 — The United States government has intervened in Microsoft's antitrust dispute with the European Commission, urging it and the 25 national governments in the European Union to be fair to the company, American diplomats and European officials said on Thursday.

Microsoft has complained frequently in recent months that it has been denied the right to a fair defense in the continuing antitrust case with the European Commission. It has also accused the commission of collaborating with its rivals in the software industry and denying it access to what it contends are vital documents it needs to prepare its defense.

A memo written by unidentified government officials in Washington stated that Microsoft's complaints raise "substantial concerns" about the way Microsoft is being treated, according to a person close to the commission who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the memo. The memo was distributed this week through embassies in Europe and through the United States mission to the European Union in Brussels.

United States diplomats visited the offices of three European commissioners earlier this week. Jonathan Todd, the spokesman for the competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, confirmed that her close aides met American diplomats this week and received the memo. He declined to comment on its content.

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