Showing posts with label Multistakeholder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Multistakeholder. Show all posts

2019-06-23

News Review | ICANN65 June 24-27: EPDP, AMAZON & ICANN

graphic "News Review" ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2019-06-23) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) ICANN65, Marrakech, Morocco, June 24-27: EPDP, .AMAZON & ICANN, 2) Other ICANN news: New gTLD .AFRICA Litigation Update, 3) a. Voice.com Record Sale Price, b. Website Security & Malware, 4) ICYMI: The Internet Is Changing Africa, 5) Most Read.
•
1) ICANN65, Marrakech, Morocco, June 24-27
ICANN65 Marrakech ©2019 DomainMondo.com (graphic)
Date & Time (24-hour clock) in Marrakech:

The ICANN Policy Forum is the second meeting in ICANN's three-meeting annual cycle, duration is four (4) days, and format is focused on SO/AC/SG/C policy work and outreach, and therefore: • no welcome ceremony; • no public forum(s); • no public board meeting.

ICANN65 Schedule (all times local Marrakech), *Schedule Highlights below:

 *GAC: New gTLDs Subsequent Procedures Discussion 15:15 - 16:15, Mon, Jun 24 [10:15am EDT in U.S.] "Assess progress of PDP WG deliberations on issues of importance to the GAC. Discuss formation and operation of the GAC Focal Group on Subsequent Rounds of gTLDs."

*GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (1 of 2)  8:30 - 15:00, Tue, Jun 25 --Notes & Action Items

 *GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (2 of 2)  8:30 - 15:00, Thu, Jun 27 --Notes & Action Items

EPDP background: CPH comments on Purposes (pdf), SO/AC/SG/C early input, and last week's News Review 2)b. Links to the EPDP meetings' recordings and transcripts (when available) are posted on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP Links: wiki, public mail list, legal memos & mail list, GNSO mail list, worksheets, definitions. Jun 20 meeting notes / action items.

*GAC: DNS Abuse Mitigation and dot Amazon Discussions 8:30 - 10:15, Tue, Jun 25
.AMAZON gTLD vs. Amazon homeland (graphic)
Editor's note: read Amazon wins ‘.amazon’ domain name, aggravating South American region and undermining digital commons | theconversation.com, excerpt:
"... At its inception, the internet was a great equaliser. It meant large and small businesses could compete with one another on a level playing field. ICANN has been entrusted with administering the internet and protecting it. That means protecting its broader purpose in society. ICANN appears to have forgotten that part of its role. It now charges costs USD$185,000 for a top-level domain name like “.amazon”. It’s not surprising that a company whose 2018 profits were reportedly USD$11.2 billion – for which it paid no federal taxes – was able to purchase the domain before an indigenous community in Brazil. The implications for the future of the internet are troubling. What was a global commons may become an exclusive field where those who have the most can acquire more. Those who have the least meanwhile lose even the right to use the name of their homeland." (emphasis added) [See also the author's letter to ICANN Board (pdf)]
The .AMAZON issues illustrate how ill-conceived and corrupt the entire .BRAND new gTLDs program is--a "brand" a/k/a "trademark" is neither a monopoly nor generic, and therefore all ".BRAND gTLDs" fail as "generic top-level domains" (gTLDs), see RFC 1591. The .BRAND new gTLDs program was a way for incompetent, corrupt, unfit ICANN, and some of its contracted parties, i.e., registry service providers, to make money by extorting trademark holders--"apply for a .BRAND new gTLD or ICANN may sell your .BRAND (trademark) gTLD to someone else"-- e.g., see .PING testimony. Most .BRAND gTLDs are primarily a costly expense in trademark defense (instead, ICANN should have given trademark holders a right to block any gTLD application that infringes a legitimate distinctive trademark, and governmental authorities the right to block any gTLD application that is for a recognized or protected geographic term under applicable law). Unsurprisingly, many .BRAND gTLDs have been abandoned and returned to ICANN, while .BRANDs like .GOOGLE (and .AMAZON), in effect, contribute to the splintering of the internet into a few monopolistic platforms, smothering all competitors, undermining the digital commons and the core internet principle that all TLDs are "global public resources"--see U.S. amicus brief in the Weinstein case.
"... ICANN is a corrupt racketeering organization. It's a crime syndicate that advances interests of a few insiders at the expense of the masses and the general good. They have abused their power and their role ..."
The GAC-ICANN Board discussion re: .AMAZON (1:07:50-1:55:00) Wednesday morning via Livestream below:

*Evolving the Effectiveness of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model  17:00 - 18:30, Tue, Jun 25  (Livestream video below)

*Impacts of EPDP Phase 1 Recommendations on Other ICANN Policies and Procedures 15:15 - 16:45, Thu, Jun 27, 2019 (10:15am EDT) slide deck, Livestrean video below:

ICANN Meeting & Media Resources:
  • "A simple way to focus your attention is to listen with the intention of summarizing the other person’s point of view. This stops you from using your mental energy to work out your reply, and helps store the other’s words in your memory as well as identify any gaps in your understanding so you can ask questions to clarify."--fs.blog.
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2) Other ICANN News
graphic "ICANN | Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers"
New gTLD .AFRICA Litigation Update: 
new gTLD .AFRICA (graphic)
DotConnectAfrica Trust, a Mauritius Charitable Trust, Plaintiff, v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California Corporation; ZA Central Registry, a South African non-profit company; and DOES 1-50, inclusive; Defendants:
new gTLD .AFRICA litigation in Los Angeles (case style)
May 21, 2019: "On the Court's own motion, the Trial Setting Conference scheduled for 05/21/2019, and NonJury Trial On Phase I (Estoppel) scheduled for 05/21/2019 are continued to 07/11/19  [July 11, 2019] at 10:00 AM in Department 53 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse ..."
•
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Website Security & Malware
graphic "Names, Domains & Trademarks" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
a. Largest publicly reported all cash domain name sale in history revealed June 18, 2019, the $30 million sale of Voice.com, more than double the previous record of $13 million paid for Sex.com in 2010.

 b. Website Security & Malware: More Than 150,000 Small-Business Websites in the U.S. could be infected with malware at any given moment--in one case, security firm SiteLock (sitelock.com) discovered the hackers had exploited a security hole in a Wordpress plugin--see A Cybersecurity Checklist for the Modern Small Business.  Also: FBI warns users to be wary of phishing sites abusing HTTPS.
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4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 
graphic "ICYMI Internet Domain News" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
The Internet Is Changing Africa: cheap smartphones are flooding Africa, bringing internet access to many for the very first time, but there are problems: gambling, particularly sports betting in Africa's more developed nations, with about 60 million Nigerians aged between 18 and 40 betting daily.  China is investing in infrastructure, but with that comes Huawei equipment, e.g., China built the African Union building in Ethiopia, including installation of tapped networking equipment [the building was built in 2012 by the Chinese, the African Union's IT staff later discovered that the entire content of its servers was being transferred to China.]

WeChat Is Watching: WeChat's data centralization has inextricably linked it to all aspects of daily life in China and made it a cornerstone of the government's social-credit system.
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2019-06-05

IGF 2019 Third Open Consultations and MAG Meeting June 5-7

IGF 2019 Third Open Consultations and MAG Meeting, June 5-7, Berlin
The purpose of the third round of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) open consultations and the Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) meeting is to advance preparations for the IGF 2019 annual meeting 25 to 29 November 2019, in Berlin, and to take stock of the ongoing IGF community intersessional activities and other relevant internet governance related fora.

Draft Agenda:

More info here including online participation. 
On twitter: @intgovforum (embed below) and @sgdickinson.
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2018-11-12

Internet Governance Forum 2018, Paris, France, Nov 12-14

Internet forum aims to build trust, while leaving no one offline

The Internet has become an integrated part of our lives, from accessing an education, to receiving healthcare services and to conducting business. As we move forward, our dependence on the Internet and technologies will grow even further. To address this concern, more than 3,000 representatives from governments, the private sector, technical community and the civil society will gather in Paris on 12-14 November 2018 at the annual global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to look at a range of issues and actions that can be taken to ensure an “Internet of Trust.” UN DESA video above published Oct 31, 2018.

UPDATE: IGF 2018 Chair’s Summary (pdf) and dig.watch final report (pdf).

IGF 2018 - Day 1 - Salle VI

Internet Governance Forum (IGF) "Salle VI" video (via YouTube.com channel), Nov 12, 2018--the ICANN Open Forum begins at 1:57:38.

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global multistakeholder platform that facilitates the discussion of public policy issues pertaining to the internet.

IGF 2018 | Internet Governance Forum 2018, Paris, France, 12-14 Nov 2018
IGF2018
Official website - schedule: https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/igf-2018-schedule/
Highlighted sessions below - all times local Paris time:

Other links:
IGF 2018 Speech by French President Emmanuel Macron

IGF 2018 Address to the Internet Governance Forum by UN SG António Guterres

dig.watch/events/13th-internet-governance-forum

Geneva Internet Platform - Digital Watch Updates from IGF2018

IGF2018 | InternetSociety.org

#IGF2018


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2018-02-26

Global Internet And Jurisdiction Conference 2018, Feb 26-28, Ottawa

Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference 2018 - Day 1

Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network LIVE on Feb 26, 2018, 2:00 pm ET

Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference 2018 - Day 3

Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network LIVE on Feb 28, 2018, 9:00 am ET


The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network addresses the tension between the cross-border nature of the internet and national jurisdictions. Its Paris-based Secretariat facilitates a global multistakeholder process to enable transnational cooperation. Participants in the Policy Network work together to preserve the cross-border nature of the Internet, protect human rights, fight abuses, and enable the global digital economy.

Global Internet And Jurisdiction Conference 2018 | conference.internetjurisdiction.net: Feb 26-28, 2018, Ottawa, Canada.

WORKSTREAM I
DATA & JURISDICTION
How can transnational data flows and the protection of privacy be reconciled with lawful access requirements to address crime?

WORKSTREAM II
CONTENT & JURISDICTION
How can we manage globally-available content in light of the diversity of local laws and norms applicable on the internet?n

WORKSTREAM III
DOMAINS & JURISDICTION
How can the neutrality of the internet’s technical layer be preserved when national laws are applied to the Domain Name System?"

 Background (source: Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network):
The 2nd Global Internet and Jurisdiction Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network will be an important milestone in addressing one of the greatest global governance challenges of the 21st century: how to manage the coexistence of national laws on the internet.

 When they convene in Ottawa, Canada, on February 26-28, 2018, key senior-level representatives from a wide range of stakeholder groups and countries will work toward the development of policy standards and operational solutions to at the same time fight abuses, protect human rights, and enable the global digital economy. This is necessary to preserve the benefits generated by the cross-border nature of the Internet for future generations.

 The 2nd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is organized in partnership with the Government of Canada and institutionally supported by the OECD, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and ICANN.

 Taking stock of the outcomes of the 1st Global Conference in 2016 in Paris, and the intersessional work in the Policy Network’s three Programs Data & Jurisdiction, Content & Jurisdiction, and Domains & Jurisdiction, the 2nd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network will be an important opportunity.

 Stakeholders will decide on concrete focus and priorities, as well as a clear methodology and roadmap for the Policy Network to advance the development of policy standards and operational solutions for submission at the its third Global Conference. It will take place in Berlin in June 2019, and will be, after France (2016) and Canada (2018), organized in partnership with Germany.

 Time has come to accelerate the collective effort to address growing jurisdictional tensions on the internet through joint action. 



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2017-06-14

One World, One Internet? IGF 2017 Preparations: China Has Arrived!

IGF 2017 Second Open Consultations & MAG Meeting | Internet Governance Forum (IGF) | intgovforum.org: The second Open Consultations and Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG) meeting in preparation for IGF 2017 (Geneva, Switzerland, 18-21 December), is meeting 12-14 June at the headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU.int), in Geneva, Switzerland. So far, one thing is clear: CHINA Has Arrived--selected tweets from @sgdickinson--

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2017-02-26

News Review: ICANN Multistakeholder vs Multilateral Internet Governance

News Review | ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly review of internet domain news:

 Features • 1. ICANN Multistakeholder vs Multilateral Internet Governance; 2. Why ICANN Multistakeholderism Is Failing; 3. Private Agreements and Antitrust Liability; 4. How ICANN threatens DNS Security & Stability; 5. Phishers shifting to ICANN's new gTLDs; 6. Bogus DMCA Take Down Notices; 7. TMCH Revised Report; 8. Internet Freedom Report: Malta, Cameroon, China; 9. A 'Digital Geneva Convention'; 10. Trump's Trademark in China; 11. Outlook email for your domain name; 12. SHA1 collision; 13. Hacked ICANN data still sells; 14. ICANN events May 9-15 in Madrid; 15. ICANN Public Comment Periods closing in March; 16. Most popular posts this past week.

1. ICANN Multistakeholder vs Multilateral Internet Governance
"I think if we get rid of that [IANA functions] contract we will be free of the pressures"--ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehade, February 10, 2015.
February 2017: "... The reformed [ICANN] multistakeholder internet governance approach faces significant challenges ... If the multistakeholder model is seen as ineffective in addressing the vulnerabilities that enable cybercrime, or being completely peripheral to the issue, developing economies could question its legitimacy and seek answers in the multilateral system .... "There are also worries that ICANN, the operator of the IANA functions, will abuse its authority and ignore the interests of internet users. In the past, ICANN has been accused of ignoring the views of governments, prioritizing private sector interests, and mismanaging its finances. ICANN recently implemented enhancements to address these and similar concerns. Nevertheless, ensuring that ICANN remains accountable will be critical to demonstrating that the multistakeholder approach works. It will also act as a bulwark against Russian and Chinese efforts at greater intergovernmental control over the internet."--Maintaining U.S. Leadership on Internet Governance | Council on Foreign Relations | cfr.org (emphasis added).

2. Why ICANN multistakeholderism is failing--"industry self-regulation often fails to protect the public"--"lack of transparency, accountability, participation, and representation"--
source: Presentation on DNS and Content Regulation | Electronic Frontier Foundation
source: Presentation on DNS and Content Regulation | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Note re: Public Interest Registry's arbitration process--Systemic Copyright Infringement Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy (SCDRP) | Public Interest Registry | pir.org February 23, 2017--"Given certain concerns that have been recently raised in the public domain, Public Interest Registry is pausing its SCDRP development process to reflect on those concerns and consider forward steps. We will hold [i.e., stop] any further development of the SCDRP until further notice." (emphasis added)
UPDATE: Shadow Regulation Withers In The Sunlight | Electronic Frontier Foundation | eff.org: "... It’s not surprising that a plan developed in secret, without input from Internet users, would disregard users’ rights. As we’ve explained, truly “healthy” Internet governance requires inclusion, balance, and accountability, all of which were absent here. Public Interest Registry did the right thing by hitting the brakes on this proposal. Its brief announcement today acknowledges the importance of good policy-development processes ..."
ICANN's Commercial and Business Users Constituency (BC), Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC), ISPs and Connectivity Providers Constituency (ISPCP) complain about the NonCommercial Users Constituency (NCUC.org) session at ICANN57 "DNS and Content Regulation" (one leading participant was Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF.org)--
15 Feb 2017 Letter from BC, IPC and ISPCP (pdf) to Göran Marby, Steve Crocker, and ICANN Board of Directors, published by ICANN on 21 February 2017:
"... for the Hyderabad meeting, a single sponsor group proposed a HIT (High Interest Topic) session on DNS and Content Regulation. Initially, the sponsoring group was allowed to select panelists and designate the moderator, who was also part of the sponsoring organization. Through persistence by other stakeholders, panel participation was broadened considerably. Still, during the HIT session, the sponsoring organization opened with a presentation of their position. In our view, this did not meet the level of broad participation of the ICANN community to warrant a high-interest session ..."
Response from Göran Marby, ICANN President & CEO (embedded below, highlighting added)--or how ICANN subtly shuts down free speech, participation, and representation that conflicts with powerful private profit-seeking corporate interests such as represented by BC, IPC, and ISPCP, and the other unelected non-governmental special interests that dominate ICANN--



 3.  Private Agreements and Antitrust Liability--Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45 "(a)(1) Unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, are hereby declared unlawful .... (4) (B) All remedies available to the Commission with respect to unfair and deceptive acts or practices shall be available for acts and practices described in this paragraph, including restitution to domestic or foreign victims." (emphasis added)--See Opinion and Order of the Federal Trade Commission (pdf) In the Matter of 1-800 Contacts, Inc., Docket No. 9372 (keyword advertising bidding agreements):
",,, Given that the Complaint alleges liability based only on private agreements that do not constitute government petitioning, 1-800 Contacts’ Third Defense fails .... Because the Complaint alleges that 1-800 Contacts violated Section 5 solely by entering into private bidding agreements, we hold that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine does not apply and 1-800 Contacts’ Third Defense fails as a matter of law. Similarly, because Complaint Counsel need not prove 1-800 Contacts’ lawsuits to be objectively and subjectively unreasonable to establish a Section 5 violation, 1-800 Contacts’ Second Defense also fails. We therefore grant Complaint Counsel’s motion." (emphasis added)

4.  How ICANN threatens Domain Name System Security & Stability:
"In 2015, ICANN's compliance department caused financial harm to a domain name registrant because of a minor, perceived inaccuracy in their domain name's WHOIS records. In this instance, the registrant had a mailing address in Virginia and a phone number with a Tennessee area code. While both details were valid, and the registrant was contactable, a "violent criminal” filed a complaint with ICANN alleging that the details were inaccurate. The complaint was accepted by ICANN and passed along to the domain name registrar. The registrar, fearing a non-compliance notice from ICANN, suspended the domain name without performing any investigation into the claim, resulting in the registrant losing access to their business email account and website."--source infra--
At the NCPH Intersessional, [ICANN] Compliance Concerns Take Centre Stage | circleid.com Feb 23, 2017: ".... as things stand at present, if a domain name can be repossessed from a registrant for any reason at all, without any due process being followed, and in direct violation of Article 1 of the organisation's bylaws, it might well be ICANN that is posing a threat to the security and stability of the Domain Name System" (emphasis added).  See also ICANN Compliance Lends a Hand to a Violent Criminal While Trashing a Legitimate Business | circleid.com.

 Editor's note: never forget that among the real core values of ICANN, as established during the Fadi Chehade-Akram Atallah regime (2012-2016), are dishonesty, incompetence, and cronyism.

5. New study reveals phishers are shifting their sights to ICANN's new gTLDs and the cloud: "A study by cybersecurity firm PhishLabs indicates that the volume of phishing attacks grew by almost one-third last year, with cloud storage brands set to overtake financial services as the top targets. Researchers also found that phishing perpetrators are increasingly turning to new gTLDs to dupe internet users."--WorldTrademarkReview.com (emphasis and link added).

6. Bogus DMCA Take Down Notices: in a comment to the U.S. Copyright Office (pdf), Google reports that 99.95% of URLs it was asked to take down last month didn't even exist in its search indexes. "For example, in January 2017, the most prolific submitter submitted notices that Google honored for 16,457,433 URLs. But on further inspection, 16,450,129 (99.97%) of those URLs were not in our search index in the first place."

7. Trademark Clearinghouse Revised Report | ICANN.org: On 23 February 2017, ICANN published the Revised Report of the Independent Review of the Trademark Clearinghouse (pdf): "...  we find that although trademark holders value access to the Sunrise period and many submit proof of use to become eligible for Sunrise registrations, few trademark holders make [new gTLD] Sunrise registrations. This could be due in part to the expense of Sunrise registrations or because other protections of the TMCH services reduce the need for trademark holders to utilize Sunrise registrations." (emphasis added)

8. Internet Freedom Report: Malta, Cameroon, China:
  • Maltese protest proposed internet news laws: Several thousands people took to the streets of the capital of Malta on Sunday to protest against a new bill that will force Internet news sites to register with the government.--Reuters.com
  • Cameroon must urgently free the internet in Anglophone regions - UN expert | AfricaNews.com: "Cameroon should immediately reverse the ‘‘appalling violation of their (citizen’s) right to freedom of expression,” in its Anglophone regions by restoring internet access, a United Nations expert has said."
  • China Ramps Up Control of Domain Names, Adds New Layer to Great Firewall | rfa.org: "The draft regulations, which were first released for public consultation in March 2016, would require any websites operating in China to register with a Chinese domain name, which is subject to state control and can be used to shut down entire websites within the country-level .cn top-level domain."
Also note: Internet Freedom Festival | 6 – 10 March 2017: The Global Unconference of the Internet Freedom Communities, March 6-10, 2017, Valencia, Spain.

9.  A 'Digital Geneva Convention': "... Just as the Fourth Geneva Convention has long protected civilians in times of war, we now need a Digital Geneva Convention that will commit governments to protecting civilians from nation-state attacks in times of peace. And just as the Fourth Geneva Convention recognized that the protection of civilians required the active involvement of the Red Cross, protection against nation-state cyberattacks requires the active assistance of technology companies. The tech sector plays a unique role as the internet’s first responders, and we therefore should commit ourselves to collective action that will make the internet a safer place, affirming a role as a neutral Digital Switzerland that assists customers everywhere and retains the world’s trust ..."--Brad Smith, Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer, blogs.microsoft.com. See also Bruce Schneier: It's time for internet-of-things regulation | searchsecurity.techtarget.com.

10.  Names, Domains, Trademarks: President Trump wins trademark rights for his name in China | worldipreview.com.

11.  Outlook email for your domain name:
  • Hands-On with Outlook.com Premium | Thurrott.com: "if you sign up now, “your subscriptions will auto-renew annually at $19.95 (Outlook.com Premium) .... This is an affordable option*, and it’s a nice way for a family to get a custom domain and not be stuck with an outlook.com or hotmail.com address."
  • More info:  https://premium.outlook.com/#/Offer  "you can create personalized addresses for up to 5 people and sync everything to your existing Outlook.com mailbox."
  • See also: "the $20 offer is still available, so if you’re looking to save some money, you might want to move quickly: This offer expires March 31, 2017. Note that you still need to pay for your custom domain. You can do that via an outside registrar or through Microsoft"--Thurrott.com

12. Announcing the first SHA1 collision | security.googleblog.com: "For the tech community, our findings emphasize the necessity of sunsetting SHA-1 usage. Google has advocated the deprecation of SHA-1 for many years, particularly when it comes to signing TLS certificates."

13. Hacked ICANN data still sells for hundreds of dollars years after breach | cyberscoop.com: "Three years after hackers used a spearphishing attack to successfully gain access to internal data at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the data is still being passed around and sold on black markets for $300, complete with claims that it’s never been leaked before."

14. ICANN events May 9-15 in Madrid: 1) ICANN GDD Industry Summit May 9-11, 2017; 2) 6th Registration Operations Workshop May 12, 2017; 3) ICANN DNS Symposium May 13, 2017; 4) OARC 26 May 14-15, 2017. Read more at InternetSociety.org.

15. ICANN Public Comment Periods that close in March, 2017:

16.  Most popular posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com:
  1. News Review: China Cyber Sovereignty vs ICANN Multistakeholderism
  2. Three Business Lessons You Can Learn From Airbnb (video)
  3. Splunk $SPLK Helping Companies Make Sense of Machine Data (video)
  4. TechReview | Zuck's Facebook Letter and the Snapchat $SNAP IPO (video)

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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2017-02-19

News Review: China Cyber Sovereignty vs ICANN Multistakeholderism

News Review | ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly review of internet domain news:

 Features •  1. China Cyber Sovereignty vs ICANN Multistakeholderism; 2. ICANN Websites, More ICANN Incompetence; 3. Average Annual Cost of an ICANN Employee; 4. Class Action vs Neustar; 5. Google.com UDRP; 6. GoDaddy Q4 2016 Results; 7. InternetAssociation.org political fundraising; 8. Names, Domains, Trademarks; 9. The Internet's 'Seven Keys'; 10. DOA not a replacement DNS;  11. ICANN CEP & IRP update; 12. Internet Attack Mitigation; 13. ICANN mafia; 14. Verisign 10-K (.WEB); 15. One of ICANN's stupid ideas gets nixed; 16. 3 most popular posts this past week on Domain Mondo.

1. China Cyber Sovereignty vs ICANN Multistakeholderism: What's Next for ICANN in the Absence of U.S. Oversight? An Interview With Kal Raustiala* | Council on Foreign Relations - Net Politics | cfr.org, excerpts:

Q: One central criticism of the multistakeholder model is that it isn’t representative enough ..." How do you respond?
"There is no question there are inequities in participation ..."
Q: Do you think that China’s concept of cyber sovereignty is incompatible with the multistakeholder model? What are the implications?
"... For China, which isn’t a fan of private actor input in almost any decision making, the ICANN model is a problem."
*Kal Raustiala is a Professor of Law at UCLA, and Director of the UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations.

UPDATE March 5, 2017: News Review: China Will 'Vigorously' Promote the Reform of ICANN

 2.  ICANN Websites, More ICANN Incompetence:
ICANN NCPH Intersessional, 14-15 February 2017, Reykjavik, Iceland, Non-Contracted Parties House (NCPH)  meeting transcripts, documents, presentations, recordings--excerpt (NCSG Session with the ICANN CEO):

 Question: "... So the easy one that surprisingly came up first and everybody but a few people asked, it’s been coming up today as well many times, why can nobody ever find anything on ICANN websites other than by Googling sometimes but no search function, there is no organization. It’s impossible to find anything. Why don’t you hire a librarian to sort it out?
ICANN President & CEO Göran Marby: "That’s a very good question. Actually it is a very good question ... The simple answer to that question is that you are right. We don’t have a library function. We don’t have a document management system at all and, even worse than that, we don’t have any system in place on how to store things, how to label things, how to categorize things, how to collect things, and how to sort them together ..."
3. Average Annual Cost of an ICANN Employee almost $160,000 based on "an average headcount of 339.5 which excludes 11.1 average headcount allocated to the IANA ..."--ICANN FY17 Q2 (ending Dec 2016) QUARTERLY REPORT: ICANN personnel costs--an average of $160,000 per employee per year--FY17 (Jul-Dec) $27million ÷ 339.5 x 2), source (pdf) (p. 56 below):

4.  A class action suit has been filed against registry services and technology provider Neustar, Inc. ("Neustar"), [NYSE: NSR | domain: Neustar.biz]--MarketWatch.com--Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. announced it had filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of shareholders of Neustar in connection with the proposed acquisition of Neustar by Golden Gate Capital and its affiliates (collectively, "Golden Gate") announced on December 14, 2016. The Complaint alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against Neustar, its Board of Directors, and Golden Gate, and is captioned Parshall v. Neustar, Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-00060-LPS (D. Del.). More information at MarketWatch link above.

5.  Google.com UDRP:
http://www.adrforum.com/domaindecisions/1710030.htm
6.  GoDaddy $GDDY Q4 2016 Results, LIVE Webcast (Replay)--Feb 15, 5:00pm ET | DomainMondo.com: "2016 Revenue Growth of 15% Driven by 7% Growth in Customers."

7. InternetAssociation.org, a trade group representing internet giants including Facebook and Google, is launching a new online political fundraising platform.--Internet Association Brings Political Fundraising Into The Digital Age With New Crowdsourcing Platform | InternetAssociation.org.

8. Fame Names, Domains & Trademarks--The Designer Formerly Known As…Intellectual Property Issues Arising From Personal Names As Fashion Brands | Ladas & Parry LLP | JDSupra.com--or how to lose your personal name.

9. The Problem with "The Seven Keys" | ICANN.org: "From time to time, articles are published about "the seven people who control the keys to the Internet.” These articles, while probably well-intentioned, are completely incorrect. Let’s be absolutely clear: there are no keys that cause the Internet to function (or not to function) ..." Read more at the link above.

10. Digital Object Architecture (DOA) not a replacement DNS--Letter to ICANN Board from Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers Constituency [ISPCP] | ICANN.org--holmes-to-icann-01feb17-en.pdf (pdf 256 KB)--
"... At the recent ITU World Telecommunications Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) held in Tunisia in November 2016 DOA dominated much of the discussion. It placed those countries that support the initiatives being pursued within the ITU (referred to above) in direct opposition to those who are currently fiercely opposed to that approach from both technical and political perspectives ... Although the subject of much discussion, both from a technical and political standpoint, there is clear evidence that in many cases there is a lack of understanding of what DOA really represents. Some people even speak of DOA as a replacement DNS, which it certainly is not ... The ISPCP bring this issue the attention of the ICANN Board with a request that the Board considers how best to work with its involved stakeholders and the technical community to raise awareness of DOA and ensure that the community has a true, factual understanding of the situation and its relationship to ICANN ..."
11.  ICANN CEP (Cooperative Engagement Process) and IRP (Independent Review Process) Status Update – 14 February 2017  – irp-cep-status-14feb17-en.pdf [426 KB] (embed below, highlighting added):


12. Internet Identifiers Attack Mitigation:  Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology (pdf, 876 KB)--"this effort addresses Recommendation #12 of the Security, Stability & Resiliency (SSR) Review"--excerpt: "ICANN is proposing a new Identifier System Attack Mitigation Methodology to: • Identify, prioritize, and periodically refresh a list of top Identifier System attacks; • Develop guidance on actual high-impact attacks and emerging high-risk vulnerabilities; • Describe corresponding attack mitigation practices that are commonly considered useful; and • Encourage broader adoption of those practices via contracts, agreements, incentives, etc. This document represents the first component of this methodology ...."

 13. The ICANN mafia has taken my site hostage for 2 days now | levels.io and ICANN has taken my site hostage | Hacker News | news.ycombinator.com.

14. Verisign 10-K 

 •  Geographic revenues disclosed by Verisign 10-K:
"Revenues for our Registry Services business are attributed to the country of domicile and the respective regions in which our registrars are located, however, this may differ from the regions where the registrars operate or where registrants are located. Revenue growth for each region may be impacted by registrars reincorporating, relocating, or from acquisitions or changes in affiliations of resellers. Revenue growth for each region may also be impacted by registrars domiciled in one region, registering domain names in another region. Although revenues continued to grow in the more mature markets of the U.S. and EMEA during 2016, China saw the highest growth rate due in part to the increased volume of new registrations during the second half of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016."
•  .WEB in Verisign 10-K:
Note 4. Deposits to Acquire Intangible Assets: "As of December 31, 2016 , the Company has paid $ 145.0 million for the future assignment to the Company of contractual rights to the . web gTLD, pending resolution of objections by other applicants, regulatory review, and approval from ICANN. Upon assignment of the contractual rights, the Company will record the total investment as an indefinite-lived intangible asset."
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS:
On January 18, 2017, the Company received a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) from the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice requesting certain material related to the Company becoming the registry operator for the .web gTLD. We are in the process of responding to the CID. It is not possible at this time to estimate a range of potential financial and non-financial outcomes in connection with this matter.

15. One of ICANN's many stupid ideas gets nixed at the public comments stage:
Names of ICANN "diseases"
Report of Public Comments | Identifier Technology Health Indicators: Definition | ICANN.org: "... several expressed concerns over the proposed use of Latin-like medical-based terminology [Datamalgia, Abusitis, Magnitudalgia, Perfluoism, Datafallaxopathy] to identify Internet health conditions. Since this feedback was so clear, ICANN is dropping the Latin terminology as the project goes forward." For background read: News Review: ICANN Busy Proving IANA Transition Was A Terrible Mistake: "8. ICANN is this a joke OR is ICANN the joke? ..." (01 Jan 2017).

16.  3 most popular posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com:
  1. Alphabet Inc at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Conferences 2017
  2. TechReview | What's Really Wrong With Twitter & Why Trump Lost in Court
  3. News Review: Who Needs a Domain Name and Website Anymore?

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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