What do Carol Vorderman and David Blunkett have in common?
BT, the European Union, Lycos, Carol Vorderman and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) stood accused on Thursday of hampering Britain’s Internet sector. All five have been shortlisted for the prize of Internet Villain, which will be awarded by the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) next year. Lycos is in the frame for launching its ‘Make Love Not Spam’ screensaver, which directed Internet traffic at the Web sites of spammers in an attempt to disrupt them. Lycos claimed that the tool – which was withdrawn after just a week after creating a storm of controversy – did not create denial-of-service attacks, but the ISPA isn’t convinced. Lycos has been nominated “for encouraging Internet users to participate in denial-of-service attacks”. BT has been slammed on two counts. ISPA is unhappy about its recent wholesale broadband price rises. It also accuses the telco of “greatly exaggerating” the number of people who try to access child pornography, at th
