Tech Hearings Thursday: FinTech, Virtual Currency, Comey, NTIA Nominee

Disrupter Series: Improving Consumer's Financial Options With FinTech

Scheduled for Thursday, June 8, 2017, at 10am EDT #SubDCCP -- The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on financial technology (FinTech), part of its Disruptors Series on how emerging technologies are disrupting various industries.

Witnesses:

Ms. Jeanne Hogarth
Vice President, Center for Financial Services Innovation
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Mr. Javier Saade
Managing Director, Fenway Summer Ventures
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Ms. Christina Tetreault
Staff Attorney, Consumer Union
Witness Statement

Mr. Peter Van Valkenburgh
Research Director, Coin Center
Witness Statement and Truth in Testimony and CV

Documents: Hearing Notice and Hearing Memo

Also on Thursday, June 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. EDT:

• Hearing entitled “Virtual Currency: Financial Innovation and National Security Implications” | House Committee on Financial Services. This will be a one-panel hearing with the following witnesses: • Jerry Brito, Executive Director, Coin Center • Scott Dueweke, President, The Identity and Payments Association • Kathryn Haun, Lecturer, Stanford Law School • Jonathan Levin, Co-Founder, Chainalysis • Luke Wilson, Vice President, Business Development-Investigations, Elliptic. This hearing will explore terrorists and illicit use of financial technology (FinTech), the national security implications of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, and the use of “blockchain” technologies to record transactions and uncover illicit activities. Witnesses will provide testimony about the exploitation of virtual currency by terrorists and transnational criminal groups, as well as provide risk assessments and policy considerations to mitigate illicit financing but not to impede the development of FinTech innovations.

• US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing
UPDATE June 8, 2017, video--President Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz (kasowitz.com) responds to Comey testimony:

Streamed live June 8, 2017: President Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz holds a press conference following the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing: Former FBI Director James Comey testifying:

WATCH LIVE: Fired FBI Director James Comey testifies about alleged Russian hacking and interference in the U.S. election--this is the media circus extravaganza upon which all of Washington, D.C. and most of  "liberal media" (e.g.,Washington Post, New York Times, et al) has been obsessed--Comey is a real prima donna with a grudge against President Donald Trump who fired Comey after receiving a recommendation from the U.S. Attorney General that Comey be terminated due to his violations of U.S. Department of Justice protocols and policies in the course of the investigation of Hillary Clinton last year. Expect fireworks! But be prepared for a complete lack of actual evidence on "Russia interfering with the 2016 election" that would stand up in a court of law--actual facts supporting the hysteria, innuendo, anonymous source "leaks," rumors, and other #FakeNews published by the Washington Post, New York Times, et al. [Editor's tip: If you're not obsessed with the "Washington D.C. media circus over Russia and Trump," you might want to skip this and catch the highlights via Twitter]. Here's Comey's opening statement (pdf)(no 'smoking gun' there either).

• Committee Chairman: Richard Burr (R-NC) 
• Vice Chairman: Mark Warner (D-VA)
• Other members of the Senate Intelligence Committee  

• Senate Commerce Committee hearing on nominee David Redl to be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce. If confirmed, Redl will be in charge of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and serve as President Trump's top telecom adviser, including how to expand the nation's broadband infrastructure. Trump has mentioned broadband buildout in his fiscal 2018 budget proposal, as part of infrastructure spending. Redl is currently chief counsel at House Committee on Energy and Commerce, advisor to Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and panel Republicans on communications and technology matters, and previously was a registered lobbyist and director of regulatory affairs at CTIA, a trade association representing wireless companies such as AT&T, Dish and Verizon. Redl sees the top three challenges facing the NTIA as maximizing how agencies effectively use spectrum, improving broadband reliability – particularly in rural places, and better addressing the needs of the U.S. digital economy.

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

President Trump Fires FBI Director Comey, Markets Rally, Media Shocked!

Photo of the Charging Bull in New York City's Financial District by Sam valadi (CC BY 2.0)

UPDATE  May 15, 2017:  Trump's Bulls Charge, Bears Trapped!  The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed at records Monday and the Dow industrials snapped a four-session losing streak to finish higher, the TRUMP Rally continues:

See  also Trump agenda getting delayed would be biggest risk to the market | CNBC.com.

Original post:

S&P 500 (5 day chart as of May 10, 2017)

Opinion and Analysis

Let’s look at the way US equity markets responded on Wednesday [May 10] to the Tuesday [May 9] news of President Trump firing FBI Director James Comey:

On Wednesday, the next day, the S&P 500 rallied 0.11% (see above chart), the NASDAQ was up 0.14%, and the CBOE VIX Index barely moved back over 10, to close at 10.2. In the words of one seasoned Wall Street analyst: "If you hadn’t read the headlines for 24 hours, you wouldn’t have known anything unusual had happened in Washington or anywhere else."

Conclusion: The media's 'Trump Derangement Syndrome'  so prevalent within the reality distortion field known as "Washington, D.C.," hasn't infected Wall Street (nor Main Street). Most Americans, thankfully, are immune and are either ignoring or laughing at the mainstream media circus which has now reached unprecedented proportions.

Bottomline: Comey should have been fired by Obama last year after the stunt Comey pulled in connection with the Clinton email investigation. The last thing the U.S. needs is another rogue FBI director like J. Edgar Hoover. Trump did the right thing in following the advice and recommendation (pdf) of the Deputy Attorney General and the Attorney General of the United States, respectively.

To the disbelief and dismay of the liberal media, the Dems and elitists, Trump owns this market and the Trump Bull Rally is still running on Wall Street:

The TRUMP Rally

Photo courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Stanford GSB Professor David Brady: A Look at the 2016 Elections (video)

"As for Mainstream Media [MSM] bias: Bernie [Sanders] was fortunate to only be blacked out, Soviet style; Trump has zero MSM newspaper endorsements and has been subjected to MSM bias that is laughably ham-handed, reminiscent of old-style Communist "running dogs of Imperialism" propaganda ... With the rise of the Internet and social media, broadcast propaganda is now competing with narrowcast: blogs, Twitter and Facebook enable self-organizing tacit tribes ... with their own networks of communication, narratives and agendas ... In terms of finance and communications, politics as usual--political candidates and narratives mandated by the parties' Ruling Elites and the MSM--is dead. We will all look back in 2026 and wonder why the recognition of this reality took so long."--Charles Hugh Smith

David Brady: A Look at the 2016 Elections:

Whatever your political leanings or anxieties about this year's Presidential election, you will be enlightened after listening to Professor Brady's talk in the video above. He explains what, in his view, is really happening, what makes this election year different than others, not just in the U.S., but in Europe and elsewhere, with humor and insight. 

One caveat: much has already changed (or been revealed) since the video above was recorded on October 14, 2016, as part of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB) Fall Reunion/Alumni Weekend.

Topics covered include globalization and immigration. The 2016 Presidential Race has had a polarizing effect on many voters, with the 2 major candidates each having high unfavorable ratings. See, e.g., Clinton’s unfavorable rating hits new high in poll | Trump targets Democratic states in final sprint | MarketWatch.com (Oct. 31, 2016).

New polling indicates voters are shifting in view of the late-breaking Wikileaks disclosures, the FBI re-opening its investigation of Hillary Clinton (email scandal) together with revelations about the Clinton Foundation and its tie-ins ("pay-to-play") with Teneo and Hillary Clinton during her tenure as Secretary of State. Trump 47.8% now leads Clinton 42.4% in the USC Dornsife / LATimes.com tracking poll as of November 2, 2016.

The YouGov.com poll referenced in Professor Brady's talk, as of November 1, 2016, shows Trump has a clear path to victory (270 electoral votes) by winning YouGov's "toss-up" states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Nevada, and Pennsylvania (in all of which Trump narrowly leads or is close according to YouGov). Even without Pennsylvania, Trump could still win by picking up another 10 electoral votes somewhere else, such as Wisconsin. One BIG problem with the YouGov methodology is that it estimates patterns of 2016 voter turnout using the 2012 Obama-Romney general election--which YouGov admits is "a key place where we might get things wrong if there is a large change in turnout patterns" in 2016--many experts say 2016 voter turnout patterns will differ from 2012. See also The U.S. Stock Market Isn’t Going Clinton’s Way | Bloomberg.com Nov. 1, 2016: "S&P 500 down 3.2% since Aug. 8, a good sign for challenger Trump. Market correctly signals outcome 86 percent of time since 1928." 

Just as the Brexit vote was the global macroeconomic event of the first half of 2016, the U.S. Presidential election has the potential to be the global macroeconomic event of the second half of 2016. U.S. voting will conclude the evening of Tuesday, November 8.

Speaker in the video: David Brady
Professor of Political Economy, Stanford GSB 
Davies Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution 
Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Domain: gsb.stanford.edu

See also:

• Election 2016: An odd blip or a fundamental shift in American politics? | Bloomberg Government | bgov.com: Professor Brady says. “I can’t tell you based on past experience [what the undecided voters will do] because we’ve never had candidates as unpopular as these [Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump].”
• CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Rips Donna Brazile's 'Disgusting' Dealings With Clinton Campaign | HuffingtonPost.com:  CNN Chief Jeff Zucker blasts Donna Brazile in Tuesday editorial call, describing her interactions with Clinton campaign as “unethical” and “disgusting.”
• That secret Trump-Russia email server link is likely neither secret nor a Trump-Russia link | The WashingtonPost.com: "On Monday night, Slate published a [bogus] lengthy story written by Franklin Foer ... "
• Entrepreneur and VC Peter Thiel speaks at The National Press Club (video)

Unedited auto-generated YouTube.com transcript (pdf) embedded below:

Tweets by StanfordBiz

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

US vs Apple, House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Encryption, Video

US House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing: The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy, Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. ET (US) time converter

US House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Encryption (press release): On Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing titled “The Encryption Tightrope: Balancing Americans’ Security and Privacy.” The House Judiciary Committee previously held member briefings on encryption, which included a briefing from technology companies and a classified briefing from the government.  As encryption has increasingly become much more widespread among consumers, there is an ongoing national debate about the positive and negative implications it poses for consumers’ security and privacy. Encryption is used to strengthen consumers’ privacy but it also has presented new challenges for law enforcement seeking to obtain information during the course of its criminal investigations. For example, following the December 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California, investigators recovered a cell phone belonging to one of the terrorists responsible for the attack. After the FBI was unable to unlock the phone and recover its contents, a federal judge recently ordered Apple to provide “reasonable technical assistance to assist law enforcement agents in obtaining access to the data” on the device. (emphasis added)

Witnesses for the hearing are:
Panel I
The Honorable James B. Comey, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (fbi.gov)
Comey Written Testimony.pdf (65.9 KBs)
Panel II
Mr. Bruce Sewell, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Apple, Inc. (apple.com)
Sewell Written Testimony.pdf (86.7 KBs)
Ms. Susan Landau, Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Landau Written Testimony.pdf (259.0 KBs)
Mr. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York County
Vance Written Testimony - updated.pdf (177.4 KBs)

Tweets about Apple, encryption
Tweets about Apple, encryption

Below is a statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) on this hearing.

“The widespread use of strong encryption has implications both for Americans’ privacy and security. As technology companies have made great strides to enhance the security of Americans’ personal and private information, law enforcement agencies face new challenges when attempting to access encrypted information. Americans have a right to strong privacy protections and Congress should fully examine the issue to be sure those are in place while finding ways to help law enforcement fight crime and keep us safe ... the House Judiciary Committee will continue its examination of encryption and the questions it raises for Americans and lawmakers. As we move forward, our goal is to find a solution that allows law enforcement to effectively enforce the law without harming the competitiveness of U.S. encryption providers or the privacy protections of U.S. citizens.”

This Committee hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building before the Full Committee and will be webcast [see video above].

See also on Domain Mondo: Apple vs US Government: Terrorism, Security, Privacy, Freedom, Liberty:"... The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge..." --Tim Cook, Apple CEO, Customer Letter

Background: "On Tuesday, Apple will face one of the biggest corporate challenges in its history, when it tells a US House of Representatives committee why it has refused to help law enforcement officers break into the iPhone of Syed Farook – one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino shooting in December that left 14 dead and 22 wounded. The technology giant will be represented by its top lawyer, Bruce Sewell; making the case against it will be FBI boss James Comey. Apple, the world’s most valuable private company, has come under fire from many in politics and law enforcement after refusing to comply with the 16 February court order..." --The Guardian.

• Apple's Motion to Vacate Brief and Supporting Declarations
• Apple - Press Info - Amicus Briefs in Support of Apple

See also: New York judge: FBI can't force Apple to unlock iPhones - Business Insider: On Monday, Federal Judge Orenstein ruled in Apple's favor in a case in New York. From the ruling: "I conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the government has failed to establish either that the AWA (All Writs Act) permits the relief it seeks or that, even if such an order is authorized, the discretionary factors I must consider weigh in favor of granting the motion.... As explained below, after reviewing the facts in the record and the parties' arguments, I conclude that none of those factors justifies imposing on Apple the obligation to assist the government's investigation against its will. I therefore deny the motion." --See Order below--


Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Apple vs US Government: Terrorism, Security, Privacy, Freedom, Liberty

Apple to Oppose Judge's Order to Unlock iPhone - Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company will oppose a federal judge's order to help the Justice Department unlock a phone used by a suspect in the San Bernardino attack, which killed 14 people. Video published on Feb 17, 2016

UPDATE: Apple Gains Silicon Valley's Backing in Government Fight - Bloomberg Business: “This is a classic legislative function, the courts aren’t really equipped to weigh the policies in the forum of a democratic society -- what’s more important, protection against terrorists or protections against your privacy?”--Robert Cattanach, a lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney who practices in areas of regulatory litigation including cybersecurity.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a customer letter in response to, and opposing, a US District Court Order (embedded below) requiring Apple help the FBI break into the iPhone 5C used by San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Federal Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym said that Apple must provide "reasonable technical assistance" to the FBI, which would require Apple:

"Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession." -- Apple Customer Letter, infra

Customer Letter - Apple: (February 16, 2016)--excerpt (read the full letter at the foregoing link)-- ".... A Dangerous Precedent - Rather than asking for legislative action through Congress, the FBI is proposing an unprecedented use of the All Writs Act of 1789 to justify an expansion of its authority. The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.

"The implications of the government’s demands are chilling. If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data. The government could extend this breach of privacy and demand that Apple build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your health records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.

"Opposing this order is not something we take lightly. We feel we must speak up in the face of what we see as an overreach by the U.S. government. We are challenging the FBI’s demands with the deepest respect for American democracy and a love of our country. We believe it would be in the best interest of everyone to step back and consider the implications.

"While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect."--Tim Cook, Apple CEO (emphasis added)

Embedded below is the US District Court Order Apple is challenging:

The following is from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
EFF to Support Apple in Encryption Battle | Electronic Frontier Foundation:
FEBRUARY 16, 2016 | BY KURT OPSAHL
EFF to Support Apple in Encryption Battle

"We learned on Tuesday evening that a U.S. federal magistrate judge ordered Apple to backdoor an iPhone that was used by one of the perpetrators of the San Bernardino shootings in December. Apple is fighting the order which would compromise the security of all its users around the world.

"We are supporting Apple here because the government is doing more than simply asking for Apple’s assistance. For the first time, the government is requesting Apple write brand new code that eliminates key features of iPhone security—security features that protect us all. Essentially, the government is asking Apple to create a master key so that it can open a single phone. And once that master key is created, we're certain that our government will ask for it again and again, for other phones, and turn this power against any software or device that has the audacity to offer strong security.

"The U.S. government wants us to trust that it won't misuse this power. But we can all imagine the myriad ways this new authority could be abused. Even if you trust the U.S. government, once this master key is created, governments around the world will surely demand that Apple undermine the security of their citizens as well.

"EFF applauds Apple for standing up for real security and the rights of its customers. We have been fighting to protect encryption, and stop backdoors, for over 20 years. That's why EFF plans to file an amicus brief in support of Apple's position." (emphasis added)


Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

Will FBI Probe Mean Game Over for Fantasy Sports, Fantasy Football?

Will FBI Probe Mean Game Over for Fantasy Sports? (video above): Seth Berenzweig, managing partner at Berenzweig Leonard (berenzweiglaw.com), and Bloomberg's Joshua Brustein discuss probes of online fantasy sports leagues by the FBI and U.S. Justice Department and the extent of charges potentially faced by operators of online fantasy sports sites. They speak on "Bloomberg Markets," on October 15, 2015.

"Online fantasy sports are a multi-billion dollar industry, and fantasy NFL football is by far the most popular fantasy sport." -- Yahoo Finance

Below: Google Trends - Interest over time, search word trend, worldwide, 2015 (this same trend occurs every year with Fantasy football peaking every year in late August-early September:
fantasy sports=blue line;   fantasy football=red line 


See also on Domain Mondo: 

• Yahoo, Fan Duel, Draft Kings: Fantasy Sports, Daily, Weekly Contests
• YHOO, Q3 2015 Earnings Call LIVE Replay, Oct 20 (video)
• Scott Galloway: Yahoo! $YHOO, Amazon $AMZN, Facebook $FB (video)

See also: 

• Nevada Says It Will Treat Daily Fantasy Sports Sites as Gambling - NYTimes.com
• Nevada Gaming Control Board Letter re: Daily Fantasy Sports Websites (pdf)
• Colorado casinos want fantasy sports leagues regulated — and taxed - Denver Post

Follow @DomainMondo

DISCLAIMER

ICANN 54, Dublin (Oct 18-22), schedule links, info, and twitter feeds here

FBI and FTC Join ICANN, GAC, PSWG: ICANN 53 Review, Part Two

ICANN 53 RySG meeting with FBI (middle) and FTC (left) reps;
Far right: Keith Drazek, Verisign, Chairman of the RySG

This is the second in a series on ICANN 53 which just concluded its meeting in Buenos Aires. Find Part One here: IANA Transition and ICANN Accountability. UPDATE: Part 3: ICANN is NOT a new gTLDs Marketing Agency.

It became clear to Domain Mondo during the course of ICANN 53, that the US government is already participating in ICANN meetings as if the IANA stewardship transition is finished--which is a good thing--representatives of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FBI attended ICANN 53 in Buenos Aires and met with the RySG (Registry Stakeholders Group -Registry Operators of all gTLDs) and the Registrar Stakeholder Group and others. They explained their involvement in the newly created Public Safety Working Group (PSWG), a sub-group under the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), to engage and interact with the ICANN community, how they will be participating in ICANN in the future, and "potential areas of interest" as of June 2015 (see below):

Above: slides from GAC-PSWG presentation by representatives of the FTC and FBI at ICANN 53

Note the "potential areas of interest"--

• WHOIS
• Contract Compliance
• Implementation of new gTLDs
• Internationalized Domain Names

Domain Mondo has a list of several more "potential areas of interest" to suggest to the FBI, FTC, and PSWG, including the serious problem of domain name theft. Now all domain name registrants, globally, have a resource for dealing with registrant issues involving registrars, registry operators, ICANN and others. As Domain Mondo noted some time ago: For Domain Name Registrants, ICANN Is Useless. So Domain Mondo says to the FTC, FBI, and PSWG: Welcome, glad you now have a seat at the ICANN table!

For legitimate domain name registrants, this is all very good news. Domain name registrants have had little, if any, representation within ICANN (e.g., there is no Registrant Stakeholder Group). For others, both within and without ICANN, this may not be good news. For example: who receives the "proceeds" from domain name registrations used by cyber criminals, cybersquatters, child pornographers, and other bad actors? Answer: Registries, Registrars, and ICANN itself. Notable Quote: "ICANN has a conflict of interest in pursuing the global public interest since its own financial interests are at odds with keeping costs down for Internet users and businesses." 

What "costs" are we talking about? Not only the costs of domain name registrations, but the increased friction costs of doing business online which actually strangles "innovation," and other "costs" caused by ICANN programs and policies--having to engage in "defensive domain registrations" (e.g., brand gTLDs, new gTLDs, etc.), trademark registration defense costs--as well as the "costs" to society due to online drug-trafficking, child pornography, etc. ICANN has admitted it is incompetent to deal with illegal activity. Heck, it is even debatable whether, after 16 years, ICANN is even capable of running the DNS competently, which is supposed to be its core competency.

"We can enforce the terms and conditions of our contracts with registries [and registrars], but it is the responsibility of governmental regulatory agencies, law enforcement and the courts to police illegal activity."--Allen Grogan, Chief Contract Compliance Officer, ICANN (emphasis added)

Put another way, in the U.S., if you are a landlord and knowingly allow tenants or others to use your property to engage in unlawful, criminal activity such as illegal drug-trafficking, you can lose your property to government seizure (forfeiture). For years, the Internet was known as a lawless Wild West--it was only a matter of time before the Sheriff showed up.

ICANN's primary jurisdiction pre- and post-transition is the United States, and the presence of the PSWG, FTC, and FBI, "at the ICANN table" has the potential of having a profound effect upon both ICANN processes and outcomes, which will benefit domain name registrants who have never had an equal voice within ICANN, as compared to the special vested-interest stakeholders (e.g., new gTLDs lobbyists). Domain Name Registrants worldwide can now contact the FTC or FBI directly with any complaint that involves US-based ICANN, its directors, officers, staff, or contractors, incuding registry operators and registrars. This is the kind of ICANN accountability which the CCWG-Accountability work, though commendable, is completely missing.

For those outside the US and not familiar with the FTC or FBI, here is a brief description of each:

Federal Trade Commission (FTC): domain name - ftc.gov
The FTC is a bipartisan federal agency with a unique dual mission to protect consumers and promote competition. The FTC protects consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace. "We conduct investigations, sue companies and people that violate the law, develop rules to ensure a vibrant marketplace, and educate consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. We collect complaints about hundreds of issues from data security and deceptive advertising to identity theft and Do Not Call violations, and make them available to law enforcement agencies worldwide for follow-up. Our experienced and motivated staff uses 21st century tools to anticipate – and respond to – changes in the marketplace." Promoting Competition: "Competition in America is about price, selection, and service. It benefits consumers by keeping prices low and the quality and choice of goods and services high. By enforcing antitrust laws, the FTC helps ensure that our markets are open and free. The FTC will challenge anticompetitive mergers and business practices that could harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, fewer choices, or reduced rates of innovation. We monitor business practices, review potential mergers, and challenge them when appropriate to ensure that the market works according to consumer preferences, not illegal practices." (source: FTC)

Note comments of FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in her letter to ICANN in the dotSUCKS case:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): domain name - fbi.gov
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States, which simultaneously serves as the nation's prime Federal law enforcement organization. Operating under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes. (source: Wikipedia)
Internationally, the FBI is probably most recently known for its involvement in the 2015 FIFA corruption case: "Near the end of May 2015, fourteen people were indicted in connection with an investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) into wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering." (source: Wikipedia)

Also note the position of the US Department of Justice in the Silk Road case:

"... Ulbricht claims to be, in essence, untouchable. He was merely the “operator of a website,” he asserts, and cannot be held responsible for the conduct of its users. He himself was not directly involved in buying or selling drugs or malicious software, he argues, and therefore he cannot be charged under the narcotics and computer hacking laws. Further, Ulbricht contends, the money laundering laws have not kept pace with the times and do not cover transactions with Bitcoins, the exclusive form of payment on Silk Road, so he cannot be charged with money laundering either. He moves to dismiss the Indictment against him in its entirety. The arm of the law, however, is far longer than Ulbricht imagines it to be. In particular, Ulbricht misunderstands the law of conspiracy, which extends to anyone who enters into a joint venture with others to commit crime – regardless of whether their role in the crime is large or small, direct or indirect. The conspiracy laws easily apply to Ulbricht, who played a central, organizing role in running Silk Road and in facilitating the countless illicit sales executed through the site. And it hardly matters that Ulbricht’s conduct took place on the Internet. The federal criminal laws are expansive and adaptable, and readily reach his conduct online to the same extent as if it occurred on the street ..." (source: United States of America v. Ross Ulbricht, a/k/a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a/k/a “DPR,” a/k/a “Silk Road)(emphasis added)

For related posts on Domain Mondo:

• Domain Name Registrar Network Solutions Settles FTC Charges
• New gTLD Domain Names, Defects, ICANN Liability, FTC Complaints
• Dot SUCKS: FTC Lectures ICANN On How To Protect Consumers
• The dot SUCKS Conundrum: ICANN, FTC, OCA, New gTLD Domains
• ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade's View of the IANA Transition is Shortsighted and Naive

Follow @DomainMondo