Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »February 13, 2009 — IDG News Service —
A Google spokesman Friday warned that a proposed new law that would force Italian Internet providers to block access to Web sites that incite or justify criminal behavior could threaten freedom of expression and prove unworkable in practice.
The new rule was proposed by Senator Gianpiero D'Alia, of the centrist UDC party, after newspapers reported that the social-networking site Facebook was hosting fan groups for imprisoned Mafia bosses Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.
The bill, which gives the interior ministry the power to order Internet providers to block criminal content within 24 hours or face fines of between €50,000 (US$64,000) and €250,000 (US$321,000), was given initial assent in the Senate last week.
"The order is not directed at the content creator or the person running the platform but at the company that provides Internet connectivity," Marco Pancini, the head of institutional relations for Google Italy, said in a telephone interview. "Those companies are not in a position to remove a single item, so they would have to black out the entire platform."
The measure, originally aimed at Facebook, could also have dire consequences for YouTube, the video-sharing site owned by Google. "The law concerns all the Internet hosting platforms that host user-generated content. Our worry is about its possible effect on the entire Internet ecosystem," Pancini said.
The Google spokesman said the new rule was being rushed into law in response to the furor over the Mafia-praising Facebook sites without consultation with Internet operators and users. Pancini added he was worried that the law didn't specify who would conduct the monitoring of potentially illegal content or how it should be done.
"I have no idea what will happen if this bill is approved. There are already Europe-wide regulations governing online trade, which were introduced after consultation with the interested parties. This bill won't solve the problem and its consequences are difficult to predict," Pancini said.
D'Alia's bill calls on the interior ministry to consult with the ministries of economic development and public administration to define the technical requirements for filtering controversial content. "It's rather worrying that the filtering systems are not clearly defined in the law. Self-policing by the community, using the wisdom of the masses, is a better solution," Pancini said.
Facebook has also expressed anxiety about the new legislation. It was "akin to shutting down the country's entire railroad network because of some objectionable graffiti in one train station," Facebook spokeswoman Debbie Frost told the Bloomberg news agency Friday.