Never mind that President Clinton and the nation's governors agreed to hold back on Net taxes for the time being - Virginia Gov. James Gilmore, perhaps the staunchest governor against taxing the Net, has blasted Vice President Gore as a likely candidate to sneak a Net tax into effect. Gilmore says the Clinton Administration is pro-tax and Gore can't place himself against Net taxes because some in the Clinton Administration want to find ways to charge fees. "The Clinton administration is for taxation on the Internet," Gilmore told news reporters during the Global Internet Summit, being held in Fairfax. Meanwhile, the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce, which has been studying the Net tax issue, meets again next week in Dallas. Gilmore says they're still divided even-up between his faction, which opposes Net taxes, and the faction led by Utah Gov. Michael Leavitt, which says Net taxes are needed to level the field between e-commerce and brick and mortar retail as well as restore "lost" revenues to states.
WASHINGTON - Uncle Sam wants you…to pay up in fines if your Web sites doesn't protect children's privacy online, and the fines could amount to $10,000 per violation. And it starts next month, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. But it won't exactly be easy. The COPPA mandates parental consent for information collecting on children under 13, and some companies have a hard time of it getting that consent. Ben Isaacson of the Association for Interactive Media says companies aren't really sure what they can or can't do, never mind how to get the parents involved. And "(i)n terms of what the Federal Trade Commission has prescribed, it's left to interpretation -- and loosely described." One solution seems to be what Email.com, an NBC Internet service, did - they quit serving 13 and under Netizens altogether to comply with the regulations. Another is the one used by the FreeZone Network, which caters outright to children: kids have to have their parents fill out an offline form and fax or mail it in if they want to register.
SEATTLE - A date rape-advocating Web site was yanked March 13 after heavy feminist complaints. DateRape.org was deactivated by Web host MyInternet.com. The site promoted itself as "a one-stop shop for all your date rape needs," but MyInternet says the site violated its service policy terms. They "prohibit content which is of offensive nature or solicits criminal activity," spokesman Eric Woodward tells Wired. "DateRape.org vows to bring you the latest and greatest in date raping techniques," said one statement on the site's home page. The site also provided instructions on the "proper" use of date rape drugs. "If you want there to be free speech there's always going to be content that's shocking or demeaning," says Feminist.com president Marianne Schnall. "But rape's a crime and so is drugging someone." But Schnall and Woodward also admit DateRape.org's owner could just move to another Web host if they choose. And unless law enforcement can prove a direct link between the site and an actual date rape case, DateRape.org can't be prosecuted.
--- Compiled by Humphrey Pennyworth
