Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-03-04) with analysis and opinion: Features • 1) Privacy & Cyber Sovereignty: US vs. Microsoft,
2) ICANN news:
a. ICANN61, b. GDPR & WHOIS Proposed Interim Model, and more, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks:
It's Not ALL About The Money, and more, 4) ICYMI Internet Domain News,
5) Most Read.
1) Privacy & Extraterritorial Cyber Sovereignty: Supreme Court Hears U.S. vs. Microsoft
Bloomberg.com video above published Feb 27, 2018: Christopher Calabrese,
Center for Democracy and Technology (domain: cdt.org) VP of policy, and Bloomberg's Dina Bass discuss the Supreme Court hearing a case centering on how a decades-old law,
Stored Communications Act of 1986, applies to
data on the cloud. They speak with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on
Bloomberg Technology.
UPDATE: Amicus Brief filed by Brennan Center, ACLU, EFF,
et al
United States vs. Microsoft is a case now pending in the U.S. Supreme Court involving the U.S. government's
extraterritoriality law enforcement in seeking
electronic data under the 1986 Stored Communications Act. The issue has been framed and litigated in the light of modern computing and internet technologies such as data centers and cloud storage. Microsoft challenged a warrant by law enforcement in 2013, to turn over email of a target account that was
stored in Ireland, arguing that the warrant issued under Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act could
not compel American companies to produce data stored in servers outside the United States. Initially Microsoft lost in the District Court, the judge stating that the nature of the Stored Communication Act warrant, as passed in 1986, was
not subject to
territorial limitations. Microsoft appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which reversed in favor of Microsoft and invalidated the warrant in 2016. The United States Department of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in October 2017.
Carpenter v. United States is another Supreme Court case (2017–2018 term) on the Stored Communication Act, dealing with privacy of mobile phone communications.
Issues: Internet, Privacy, Cyber Sovereignty, Cyber Security, Extraterritoriality, Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, and Jurisdiction--see also on
Domain Mondo:
2) ICANN news
a. ICANN61 | San Juan
ICANN61 | San Juan kicks off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next Friday with
CCWG-Accountability WS2 Session 8:30 - 17:00, Fri, Mar 9, 2018.
Saturday's (March 10) schedule here (including remote participation). More info
here. Next week's
News Review will have additional info and links.
See also:
ICANN61 GNSO Remote Participation Details Open and Public Meetings.
Pre-ICANN61 Policy Report | ICANN.org 26 February 2018: (embed below):
See also
GNSO Policy Briefing ICANN61 Edition (pdf)
See also on
Domain Mondo:
b. GDPR & WHOIS:
Data Protection/Privacy Update: Seeking Input on Proposed Interim Model for GDPR Compliance | ICANN.org 28 Feb 2018:
"We're now much closer to settling on a final interim model to use until the community adopts new policies to guide our work."--Göran Marby, ICANN President and CEO. See
Proposed Interim Model for GDPR Compliance-- Summary Description (pdf) (The “Calzone Model”, 28 February 2018) Prepared by: ICANN Org
--a high-level summary of the proposed interim model, including a proposal for an accreditation program for continued access to full Thick WHOIS data for accredited users/entities [accreditation program to be developed in consultation with the GAC].
The legal justification for collection and use of the WHOIS data included in the interim model is not included in this summary document, but will be based on legitimate interests of the controllers or third parties, and will be detailed in an analysis accompanying the final model.--excerpt below:
See also: a
comparison [XLSX, 21 KB] of ICANN organization and community-proposed models based on various elements of registration data against the proposed interim model.
- Chair's Blog: A Preview of the Puerto Rico [ICANN] Board Workshop | ICANN.org: "... On the morning of Sunday, 11 March, I will lead a discussion on planning for Workstream 2 implementation, followed by a lengthy session on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), led by Becky Burr and Göran Marby. We will be focusing on the emerging recommended interim model and next steps for ensuring compliance and implementation. We will also be holding a session, led by Chris Disspain, where we will discuss the implications for the ongoing policy work related to WHOIS in light of the latest updates on GDPR ..."
- More info: Data Protection/Privacy Issues | ICANN.org.
c. Decline in new gTLDs' domain name registrations continues into 2018 for second straight month (source:
ntldstats.com):
The net loss in
new gTLD domain name registrations in just
2018 is now
more than one million registrations through February 2018. More info
here and
here (under
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks)..
d. ICANN Root Server System Advisory Committee: RSSAC2 Review: Assessment Report Published | ICANN.org:
Report (pdf) -
Executive Summary (pdf) excerpts:
- The RSSAC’s ability to serve as a shared space for RSO–ICANN communication and cooperation is complicated by a persistent legacy of distrust of ICANN by some of its members.
- Because RSSAC members do not agree on who its stakeholders should be, it is not clear for what and to whom it should be accountable.
- The relative roles and responsibilities of the RSSAC, the RSSAC Caucus, the RZERC, and the SSAC are unclear to both outsiders and insiders.
e. ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) 27 February 2018:
SSAC Operational Procedures Version 5.1 (pdf).
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
a. Domain Names: It's Not ALL About The Money--
Forbes.com reports WNYC, a public radio station in New York, is using donations to acquire the
Gothamist.com domain name and its archives and social media assets, shut down by billionaire owner Joe Ricketts, who had indicated the website, and companion website
DNAInfo.com,
never made any money. Similarly, two other public radio stations, KPCC in Los Angeles and WAMU in Washington, will respectively acquire
LAist.com and
DCist.com.
b. GoDaddy tones down its 'sexy' (or sexist) side to target Aussie businesses | afr.com
c. What's in a name? Approximately everything | heraldtribune.com
d. GoDaddy (
NYSE:GDDY) announced a public offering of 16,916,000 shares of common stock by certain shareholders. GoDaddy will
not receive proceeds from the sale.
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
a. Google search algorithms are not impartial. They can be biased, just like their designers | nbcnews.com: "Search patterns matter because sites like Google are becoming increasingly powerful arbiters of public information." See also:
Bias already exists in search engine results, and it’s only going to get worse | MIT TechnologyReview.com:
"artificial intelligence might make things worse."
