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TechnologyDaily Mobile
China Considers National Fingerprint Database
by Danielle Belopotosky
When China's legislature met earlier this month for its annual nine-day session, a handful of technology-related proposals were introduced.
During the 10th National People's Congress session, Liu Litao, the deputy and public safety bureau chief for the city of Xinyi, proposed the establishment of a national fingerprint database, according to the China Internet Information Center. Liu, a former police officer, said the existing databases are too limited.
While every Chinese province maintains a fingerprint database, they are not connected to a national network. Liu also said the information in those databases is limited to criminal suspects.
She said now is the time to expand the database because the government is introducing national identity cards. Under current Chinese law, fingerprinting is only mandatory for criminal suspects.
A proposal by the Health Ministry, meanwhile, would ban pharmaceutical and medical advertisements in an effort to ensure the safety of such medications. Health Vice Minister Gao Qiang said unauthorized ads for pharmaceutical drugs and medical services commonly posted on the Internet, television commercials and in print media are "improper."
Over the past three years, annual spending on such ads reached $480 million, according to China's office of general administration for industry and commerce. If the proposal is approved, regulations to govern the operation of advertising companies would be drafted.
Another proposal aims to improve coal-mine safety through the use of quality-control measures and safety equipment. Zhang Baoming, a member of the National Committee of the National People's Political Consultative Conference, called for a new agency to oversee the coal industry, as well as for partnerships with private companies to improver worker safety.
More than 6,000 people were killed last year in coal-mining accidents throughout China, according to the State General Administration of Work Safety. In his address to the Congress, Zhang said the issue is heightened by the increasing demand for energy, forcing mines to produce beyond their capacity and neglect worker safety.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao recently announced a government plan to spend $361 million to upgrade safety technologies this year.
Advisory groups or standing committees will review the proposals for further consideration.
European Piracy Battles Are Brewing
The German government has approved an anti-piracy law that authorizes two-year prison terms for individuals who illegally download music and movies from the Internet, the TimesOnline reported last week.
The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2007, will be one of the toughest in the European Union. Illegal downloading will be a felony. The measure focuses on illegal file-sharing; individuals still can make personal copies of purchased music or movies.
Opposition to a French copyright law, meanwhile, is mounting in the United States. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez backed Apple Computer's protests against the measure, which would require the company to open its iTunes online music service to other firms and let consumers play iTunes songs on digital devices made by other companies.
The copyright proposal was approved last week by the National Assembly and is expected to be considered by the French Senate in May.
Appearing on the CNBC cable news program, Gutierrez said, "Any time that we believe that intellectual property rights are being violated, we need to speak up."
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said in an e-mail that the French law would "result in state-sponsored piracy." She added that if the law is passed, "legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers."
The measure aims to prevent any single company from dominating the market for digital music applications. But opponents of that provision say governments should not be able to dictate how companies use their technologies.
"France has sent another signal that it is not going to be the home of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship," Ronald Cass, chairman of the Center for the Rule of Law, said in a statement. "In keeping with its historic hostility to American intellectual property rights, France would let anyone steal Apple's content if only they are clever enough."
The Digital World Down Under
The Australian government is moving forward with a plan for digital television. The Communications, Information Technology and Arts Ministry last week released reports on digital programming, spectrum allocation and broadcasting licenses for digital TV.
"The reviews of the digital television regulatory framework raised a number of issues," Sen. Helen Coonan said in a statement. Under review is whether a ban on free-to-air broadcasters offering other services, such as pay-television channels, should be modified.
Also under consideration are the legislative provisions related to under-served TV markets and requirements for high-definition television. Coonan said the government will weigh the reports when it develops a digital action plan.
Coonan's office last week released another report on ways to improve telecommunications services to indigenous Australian communities. To meet that need, the Australian government has proposed a $25.8 million investment to provide telephone, Internet and videoconferencing services in rural and remote areas.
"Telecommunications is an enabling technology, which plays an increasingly important role" in the government's strategic approach to delivering services to diverse populations, she said in a statement. The government has issued a call for public comment on the plan. The deadline to submit comments is May 12.
The Australian government also announced on Monday that it has selected a Sydney-based consultancy to conduct outreach to promote government telecom services for the deaf and hearing- or speech-impaired. Beginning July 1, WestWood Spice will work with the Australian Federation of Deaf Societies to provide outreach.
The relay service provides such individuals with telephone access designed to let them communicate with other Australians using a standard service. Relay officers assist calls made through the relay service, where individuals can type messages via a teletypewriter or similar device. The officers then read the messages to the people on the other end of the calls.
In other news, the State Department on Monday signed an agreement to include New Zealand in a regional passport alert system, effective March 31.
The Regional Movement Alert List, which was soft-launched in September by the United States and Australia, aims to improve border-security management systems. The automated system sends alerts about lost, stolen or invalid passports.
According to State, the system will be able to identify as many as 3 million lost or stolen passports across the Asia-Pacific region. The alert list was initiated under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's counter-terrorism program. Chile also participates in the initiative.
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