2006 in review: Rubbish of all types was hot news

Paedophiles and electrical waste were the driving forces in this quarter

During the third quarter of 2006, there were a number of issues that made those in the technology world hot under the collar.

As we were sweltering in the summer heat, a number of organisations were taking steps to stop child pornography on the internet. Early July saw a coalition of US companies and organisations develop a database as a way to stop the spread of online images depicted child abuse and pornography.

The Technology Coalition, formed of online giants including Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) proposed to collect thousands of child abuse images and give each one a digital fingerprint.

Participating companies could then develop technologies to help identify the victim or the abuser. For example, they could scan user's images for the fingerprint to identify offenders. AOL also promised to check email attachments, which are already scanned for viruses.

This was followed almost immediately by the news that banks had been given the right to take away credit cards from people who had been cautioned for, or convicted of, accessing images of child abuse on the internet.

This came through new powers given to police via the Data Protection Act, which allowed them to pass on information about alleged paedophiles to that person’s card issuer. Banks were then free to cancel or suspend the cards and accounts used to commit the offence. The new powers come into force on 26 July.

However, stamping out rubbish of a different kind did not bring such welcome news. In August it was reported that consumers would soon have to start counting the cost of a European Union (EU) environmental initiative, which would come into effect in July 2007, nearly two years after it was originally supposed to have been implemented.

Although the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive was originally the responsibility of the manufacturer under the 'producer pays' ethos, a new twist in the regulations meant that swapping old electricals for new ones would cost the consumer more than expected.

While it will be illegal for retailers or manufacturers to charge the public to recycle old goods, if the consumer can't get to one of the take-back facilities, companies will be allowed to levy a charge for picking up old devices, thus pushing the costs back to them.

See also:
2006 in review: Post Christmas cheer came with things to fear
2006 in review: Consumers get a spring in their step
2006 in review: Don't forget your MAC this winter