Read more at: http://www.out-law.com/.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) took action this week to stop illegally imported Marlboro, Virginia Slims and Parliament cigarettes from entering the United States. The ITC issued a General Exclusion Order requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to deny entry of these illegal goods, which infringe on Philip Morris USA's (PM USA) trademarks.

...If enacted, the PACT Act would make it a felony if appropriate state taxes on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are not paid. It would also limit underage access to cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products by requiring remote sellers to establish age verification processes; prohibit remote sellers from shipping cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products through the U.S. Postal Service; and place significant restrictions on other package delivery carriers.

Read more at: http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Business/47941_International_Trade_Commission_Blocks_Illegal_Internet_Cigarette_Sales_/.

Maine COPPA Expansion Law is Unconstitutional
PFF Fellows Says State Statute Creates Slippery Slope to Online Age Verification

WASHINGTON D.C. - A lawsuit filed yesterday seeks to block enforcement of a new Maine marketing law that would expand upon the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.  Like COPPA, the Maine statute requires "verifiable parental consent" before certain online sites or services may collect, or enable the sharing of, personal information from children under 13. But the Maine law would expand this requirement to adolescents, to offline activity, and for the collection of any "health related" information, while also banning all marketing based on such information.

Read more at: http://www.pff.org/.

In breaking news from Capitol Hill, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) will introduce legislation to license and regulate online poker in the United States on Thursday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

During National Poker Week, which occurred from July 19th to 25th, it was revealed that Menendez would likely drop legislation during the festivities or the following week. Then, Poker News Daily learned that a bill similar to last Congressional session’s S 3616 would likely be introduced this week. Poker Players Alliance (PPA) Executive Director John Pappas stated during a working dinner to open National Poker Week, “Pushing poker will be an immediate lift and will be easier than [legalizing] other things.” He also reminded over 30 of the PPA’s State Directors, a handful of poker pros, and media in attendance, “Poker has always been played in people’s homes. We are the Poker Players Alliance. We aren’t the Roulette Alliance. We love the Menendez bill because it focuses on our core beliefs.”

Read more at: http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/.

Online retailers will create an age-verification tool to allow shoppers to prove their age, the UK's online retail trade body has said. The solution is likely to involve asking the payment industry for extra information.

The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) said that it intends to bring major retailers together to help find a solution to the problem of proving customers' ages online.

"Online shopping is an international marketplace in which traditional forms of age verification do not work," said an IMRG statement. "A new age verification solution is required that is inclusive, widely available, easy and quick to use, cost efficient, provides a high degree of surety without blocking legitimate customers, and is capable of operating across national borders."

Against this backdrop, a Private Member's Bill introduced by MP Margaret Moran requiring online retailers to verify the age of customers buying age-restricted goods or services has recently had its second hearing in the House of Lords.

The Bill requires online retailers to take ‘all reasonable steps' to avoid selling age-restricted products to those underage. It also requires annual advice from government to retailers setting out what constitutes ‘all reasonable steps'...

Read more at: http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/news/2372.asp.

WASHINGTON - After coming up short in a first effort, a Democratic lawmaker has again introduced legislation that would roll back a ban on Internet gambling enacted when Republicans led Congress.

The legislation, introduced this month by Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, would allow the Treasury Department to license and regulate online gambling companies that serve American customers. Under the current law, approved by Congress in September 2006, financial institutions are banned from handling transactions made to and from Internet gambling sites...

Read more at: http://www.nytimes.com.

Children's charities are backing a plan to make web retailers ensure young people cannot buy age-restricted goods.

A private members bill going through the House of Lords is calling for it to be mandatory for web retailers to adopt age verification systems.

The bill on age-checking has the backing of charities who say it is too easy for children to buy alcohol, knives and violent video games online.

A check on twelve sites found that thorough checks were not being done.

Read more at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/.

Back in March, Second Life operators Linden Lab announced plans to create a new segregated area for adult content in their popular virtual world, and announced plans to solicit feedback from Second Life users, content creators, and business operators to work out the details. Now, the Lindens have a plan to deal with adult-oriented content in Second Life, which includes a three-tiered rating system, search filtering capabilities, and a separate "adult continent" the the virtual world's most explicit content. The move makes Second Life a more appealing place for businesses, educational institutions, organizations, and others (including many residents) who want to take advantage of virtual world capabilities without being (sometimes literally) pelted with adult-oriented content; however, viewed another way, Linden Lab's policy makes Second Life essentially the only virtual world that specifically welcomes adult content...and that's very much in keeping with Second Life's open-ended, diverse, individualistic style.

"From the beginning, Linden Lab has led the way in the development of virtual worlds and has set the standard on many cultural and social issues involved with virtual communities," said Linden Lab CEO Mark Kingdon, in a statement. "Preferences and community standards vary tremendously across industries, countries and cultures; our goal is to retain as much of the freedom as possible while continuing to push the medium and our platform forward."

Read more at: http://news.digitaltrends.com/.

IT is every parent's nightmare. We saw it in the news a few weeks ago - a 15-year-old girl runs off to France with a 49-year-old she met on the internet. The reality is that this generation is growing up with internet access in the classroom, the living room and the bedroom and are now conducting their social lives online.

Guidance is available on how to encourage responsible use if you look hard enough, but surely there is also a legal framework in place to make the companies offering these online services protect youngsters on-line? Not as much as you might think.

In January we saw the Online Age Verification Bill, presented to parliament demanding that the provision of "age restricted" goods and services is dealt with as rigorously in the virtual world as it is in the real world...

Read more at: http://news.scotsman.com/.