Icann rejects .xxx registry

A longstanding proposal to create a specialised .xxx suffix for sex-related entertainment Web sites received a final rejection yesterday by the agency governing the Internet address system, reports the New York Times.

The plan, first introduced seven years ago by ICM Registry, was rejected by a vote of nine to five by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), at a meeting in Lisbon.

The issue will not be brought for further discussion by Icann. However, ICM Registry, the Florida company that was applying to manage the address, said it would continue to pursue the issue.

Music giant EMI is removing software locks from its digital music sold via download sites such as iTunes, reports BBC UK.

The "premium" versions of EMI tracks will lack the digital locks common to songs available via many online sites. The tracks without locks will also cost more and be of higher quality than those it offers now.

The move is significant because most download sites try to limit piracy by restricting what people can do with music they buy.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hopes to prevent data burglaries with a set of new regulations for phone companies aimed at preventing the fraudulent practice called pretexting, reports CNET News.

On Monday, the FCC issued an order designed to strengthen its privacy rules by requiring telephone and wireless operators to adopt additional safeguards to protect personal telephone records from being disclosed to unauthorised people.

The new regulations come as lawmakers have already outlawed the practice of "pretexting", which encompasses any technique used to fraudulently obtain personal information. Congress is now looking to impose stricter regulations on phone companies to protect customer data.

The UK government is considering changing child pornography laws to include cartoon or computer-created pictures, reports The Register.

It is an offence to possess indecent photographs or "pseudo-photographs" of children, but indecent cartoons, computer-animated scenes and drawings are legal.

The Home Office says evidence from police and children's organisations is that the availability of such images is growing. The document states such images could be used to "groom" children for acts of abuse.