News Review | ICANN62 Panama City, Policy Forum, 25-28 Jun 2018

Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-06-24) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) ICANN62 Panama City, Policy Forum, 25-28 Jun 2018, 2)Other ICANN news: a. UPDATE ICANN v. EPAG (Tucows), b.ICANN Handbook for Registry Operators, c. ICANN FY17 Revenue Sources, and more, 3) Names, Domains & TMs: MMX + XXX et al, and more, 4) ICYMI, 5) Most Read.

1) ICANN62 | Panama City | Policy Forum 25-28 Jun 2018

Twitter hashtag #ICANN62  | Time in Panama: 

ICANN62 schedule (subject to change), schedule times are local Panama (24-hour clock)--highlighted sessions below mostly about GDPR / WHOIS and the upcoming EPDP (Expedited Policy Development Process):

Monday:

• GAC: Opening Plenary and Overview of Weekly GAC Sessions 9-10:15, Mon, Jun 25

• GNSO: NCSG - GNSO Board Members Meeting 9-10:15, Mon, Jun 25- GDPR and accreditation model - The future of Temp Spec and its effect on privacy of domain name registrants 

• GNSO: NCSG - Policy Committee 10:30 - 12:00, Mon, Jun 25

• GAC: GDPR Overview 11:00 - 12:00, Mon, Jun 25

• GNSO Working Session 12:15 - 15:00, Mon, Jun 25

• High Interest Session: High Interest Session: Community Input to GNSO Expedited PDP Charter Development RDS-WHOIS2 Review 17:00 - 18:30, Mon, Jun 25

Tuesday:

• GAC: Discussion on GDPR 8:45 - 9:45, Tue, Jun 26

• WHOIS & GDPR GNSO EPDP on Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data - Initiation Request and Charter DT meeting 9:00 - 15:00, Tue, Jun 26

• Cross-Community Session: WHOIS/RDS Policy: Post-GDPR Development and Next Steps 15:15 - 16:45, Tue, Jun 26 video replay below:

• Cross-Community Session: Accreditation  and Access to Non-Public WHOIS Data Post-GDPR 17:00 - 18:30, Tue, Jun 26 [Editor's note: ICANN's Livestream replay of this session has no audio- now fixed after complaint filed]: embed below--

Wednesday:

• GNSO - RrSG - GDPR: Tucows' Lessons from 1 Month into Tiered Access 9:00 - 10:15, Wed, Jun 27

• GAC: Discussion on GDPR 9:15 - 10:15, Wed, Jun 27

• Joint Meeting: ICANN Board and GAC 10:30 - 11:30, Wed, Jun 27

• Community Dialogue: A Proposed Governance Model for the DNS Root Server System 13:30 - 15:00, Wed, Jun 27 - Editor's note: see RSSAC037: A Proposed Governance Model for the DNS Root Server System (pdf)

• GNSO: CSG - Open Meeting 15:15 - 16:45, Wed, Jun 27, 2018 [Editor's note: agenda]

Thursday:

• GNSO: CPH/NCSG - GDPR session 8:30 - 9:00, Thu, Jun 28

• GNSO: CPH - GDPR Discussion Group 9:00 - 10:15, Thu, Jun 28

• GNSO Council Wrap-Up 12:15 - 13:15, Thu, Jun 28

• High Interest Session: RDS-WHOIS2 Review 17:00 - 18:30, Thu, Jun 28:

 See graphic below from the GNSO pre-ICANN62 webinar on June 18:

For more background info see last week's News Review 2)c. ICANN WHOIS & GDPR: EPDP (Expedited Policy Development Process).

See also:

• 22 June 2018 Letter from Heather Forrest, Donna Austin, and Rafik Dammak to Cherine Chalaby re: Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) in relation to the Temporary Specification. ICANN Chairman's response here (pdf) and earlier response here. 
• the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data and the FAQ for implementing the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data at ICANN.org.

• An Access Model for Whois Data that Respects Registrants Rights--internetgovernance.org.
• The ICANN discussion draft on UAM: Another railroad?--internetgovernance.org.

ICANN Meeting & Media Resources:

• Remote Participation via Adobe Connect etc.

• ICANN pre- and post-meeting reports | ICANN.org

• ICANN62 Selected Sessions (LIVE & Replay) on Livestream.com 

• Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) Advice Consideration Process (pdf)

• On Twitter: Samantha Dickinson @sgdickinson 

• ICANNnews | YouTube.com

2) Other ICANN news

a. UPDATE: ICANN v. EPAG Domainservices, GmbH (Tucows)--18 June 2018 Letter from Regional Court of Bonn asking EPAG to comment on ICANN's Immediate Appeal (attaching ICANN's Immediate Appeal papers) (in German) [PDF, 444 KB]--English translation:

Above: English Translation of Letter from Regional Court of Bonn asking EPAG to comment on ICANN's Immediate Appeal (attaching ICANN's Immediate Appeal papers) [PDF, 93 KB] (Unofficial; provided for information purposes only--personal identifiable information has been redacted by ICANN).  ICANN published the above on its website June 22 (UTC) and announced:

"On 13 June 2018, ICANN appealed the Regional Court's initial decision to reject ICANN's application for an injunction, in which ICANN sought a court order requiring EPAG to reinstate collection of administrative and technical contact data for new domain name registrations. Upon receipt of an appeal, the Regional Court has the option to re-evaluate its decision that is being appealed, or affirm its decision and immediately forward the matter to the Higher Regional Court for consideration of the appeal. In this instance, the Regional Court has decided to revisit its initial decision and has asked EPAG to comment on ICANN's appellate papers within two weeks."

More background information at News Review | GDPR Effect: ICANN Sues German Domain Name Registrar.

b. ICANN Global Domains Division (GDD) General Operations Handbook for Registry Operators 01 Jun 2018 | ICANN.org (pdf) [540 KB] Version 1.0:

Full embed below:

See also Registry Services Evaluation Policy (RSEP) Request (pdf).

c. ICANN FY17 Revenue Sources--didp-20180326-1-bopanna-response-01jun18-en.pdf [602 KB] embed below [Editor's note: almost half comes from Verisign + GoDaddy]:

d. SSAC [Security and Stability Advisory Committee] Bios and Disclosures of Interest 15 June 2018 | ICANN.org.

e. ICANN Announces Calls-to-Action for Community Participation in ICANN Reviews | ICANN.org 19 June 2018.

f. CEP and IRP Status Update 20 June 2018 irp-cep-status-20jun18-en.pdf [122 KB].

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks

a. Minds + Machines Group Limited ("MMX") (AIM: MMX) (domain: mmx.co), registry operator  of new generic Top-Level Domains ("new gTLDs"), announced approval from ICANN allowing the acquisition of ICM Registry LLC (domain: icmregistry.com) which operates 4 gTLDs: .XXX, .SEX, .PORN, .ADULT, which will be added to the MMX portfolio. More info here.

b. Domain name registrar Web.com Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WEB), including its affiliate registrars Network Solutions and Register.com, announced a pending all cash sale of itself for $1.24B to a private-equity affiliate of Siris Capital (siris.com), shortly after activist investor Starboard Value LP reported a 9.4% stake in Web.com. Under the terms of the pending deal, the Siris affiliate will acquire all of Web.com’s outstanding common stock for $25 per share in cash. More information here.

c.  GDPR & WHOIS: OpenSRS’ Tiered Access Directory (Gated Whois) | OpenSRS.com.

d. Domain Name Registrars Scam: The Federal Court in Australia has ordered that domain name registrars Domain Corp Pty Ltd and Domain Name Agency Pty Ltd (also trading as Domain Name Register) pay combined penalties of $1.95 million for breaching the Australian Consumer Law--accc.gov.au, 15 June 2018.

e. Domain Registry Operators and Registrars: Notices of Breach, Suspension, Termination and Non-Renewal | ICANN.org (2013-2018).

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 

Must-Read: The Failure of Internet Freedom by Jack Goldsmith (pdf) and The De-Americanization of Internet Freedom | Lawfareblog.com.

GDPR emails going unopened | cnbc.com: "The GDPR requires companies to send emails to people on their mailing list who have never bought anything, asking permission to keep emailing them. Most Americans are not opening those emails, and some are using them to unsubscribe. As a result, some email marketers stand to lose 80 percent of their marketing lists -- or face huge fines from the EU if they keep trying to email these people without permission."

5) Four Most Read Posts this past week on DomainMondo.com: 

1. News Review | The State of the Domain Name Industry Q1 2018

2. Tech Review | Netflix $NFLX Shaking Up Disney & Other Media Companies

3. Tech Review | Media Disruption, Mergers & Fear of the Future (video)

4. Rise of the Chief Data Officer (CDO) and Data Protection Officer (DPO)

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
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DISCLAIMER

News Review | EU GDPR & ICANN WHOIS, What's Next? Timeline

Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-03-18) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) EU GDPR & ICANN WHOIS, What's Next? Timeline, 2) Other ICANN news: ICANN 61, ICANN62, 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference,  and more, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Starting A Business, Logo, Name & Brand, 4) ICYMI: United Internet, Malware, Human Rights Online, 5) Most Read.

1) EU GDPR & ICANN WHOIS, What's Next? "Timeline needed by March 23, 2018"

source: ICANN.org presentation March 15, 2018, at ICANN61 (see embed below)

Editor's note: The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted on 27 April 2016, and after the two-year period allowed for transition, will become enforceable 25 May 2018. Sanctions for violations include substantial penalties. In my 12 Questions for 2018 (published 31 Dec 2017) I asked:

"6.  Will ICANN be ready for EU GDPR compliance on 25 May 2018?"

 Short answer: "No," based on ICANN's 15 March 2018 presentation referenced above and below.

Who Is Afraid of More Spams and Scams? | KrebsOnSecurity.com March 18, 2018: “Asked for his take on the chances that ICANN and the registrar community might still be designing the [WHOIS] vetting system this time next year, [ICANN SSAC Chair Rod] Rasmussen said '100 percent'."

From ICANN61 session ICANN GDD: Registry & Registrar GDPR Compliance Model Thursday, March 15, 2018, 12:30-1:30 pm EDT:

More information:

• Data Protection/Privacy Issues Update: ICANN-proposed Interim Model | ICANN.org 

• GDPR Models/Analyses | Purpose Statement | ICANN-Proposed Compliance Models 15 Mar 2018: gdpr-purpose-statement-appdetex-et-al-icann-proposed-compliance-models-15mar18-en.pdf [pdf 522 KB]

• Data Protection/Privacy Issues | ICANN.org

• Data Protection/Privacy – Latest Announcements, Updates & Blogs | ICANN.org

• Legal Analyses, Proposed Compliance Models, & Community Feedback | ICANN.org

• Statement of the Noncommercial Stakeholders Group on the 8 March 2018 Model for GDPR Compliance (pdf) 11 March 2018: "... It is critical that the entire system of WHOIS – if it should exist at all – is redesigned to protect domain name registrants. The privacy and protection of registrants, the customers who fund ICANN’s activities, must be of primary importance. ICANN has a duty of care to protect its registrants ..." (emphasis added)

• ICANN's Whois reforms are on a path to failure | Internet Governance Project | internetgovernance.org March 13, 2018 by Milton Mueller: "ICANN’s community, in short, is asking for lawsuits and fines."

• News Review | ICANN WHOIS & EU GDPR: Points of View (video) | DomainMondo.com: "Editor's note: ... On Thursday, Feb 22, 2018, I asked ICANN CEO Goran Marby (who is a citizen of Sweden and the EU): '1) When did you first become aware of the ramifications of the EU GDPR for ICANN, and 2) what caused ICANN to be so late in preparing for the May 25, 2018 effective date?'..."

Lastly, the ICANN61 GAC advice was not what ICANN wanted to hear--excerpt:

2) Other ICANN news

a. ICANN61 | San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 10-15, final wrap-up:

• ICANN61 San Juan, Puerto Rico: GAC Communique & ICANN61 Tweets

• ICANN61 pre- and post-meeting reports | ICANN.org

• News Review | ICANN61, ICANN's FY19 Budget, Extortion Racket, [Consumer] Fraud

• Editor's note: I had to ask my question more than once (via two different ICANN61 sessions), but it was finally answered by ICANN GDD President Akram Atallah: 

Question to ICANN: Where's the ICANN data showing geographic distribution, by country and ICANN region, of (a) domain name registrations, and (b) domain name registrants? Where are you publishing this data specifically on your website?

Answer (paraphrased): ICANN doesn't have or collect this data, although it could.

In other words, ICANN is clueless when it comes to the geographic distribution of domain name registrations and registrants, ICANN's true "customers" who directly, and indirectly, fund ICANN. Next time ICANN says some area is "underserved,"  ask, "where's the data" that supports that statement. Because ICANN does not have the data, it often confuses "lack of demand" with "underserved." Many areas have little demand, in total or per capita, for gTLD domain names, for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with ICANN's remit, including economic, cultural, government censorship and internet shutdowns, unaffordable or unavailable internet connectivity, etc. The data in the Domain Mondo post Domain Name Registrations and the Global Internet Population is dated 2011-2013, but even then was enlightening: "The majority of domain names (78%) are registered in Europe or North America (US alone has about 33% of all registrations); Asia has 13%, Latin America 4%, Oceania 3%, and the Middle East and Africa combined 2%." ICANN is willfully data ignorant for a reason--incompetent ICANN management mostly hired or promoted by the former ICANN CEO whose primary criterion was cronyism (see "Now hiring"). Without the accountability of data, it is easy to become an empire-builder and justify all kinds of wasteful spending while rationalizing cuts to the organization's core mission, particularly when you are a new CEO:

• Whatever Happened to SSR2? See 13 Mar 2018 Letter from SO/ACChairs to Khaled Koubaa,  SO/AC Chairs SSR2 Facilitator, excerpt: "We ask further that this be prioritised by the OEC so that the facilitator's appointment - and thus the re-start of SSR2-RT - can take place as soon as possible, and no later than 1 May for scheduling to take full advantage of face to face time at ICANN62."  [Editor's note: Follow-up on SSR2 maillist and SSR2 wiki.]

Finally, as a follow-up to my previous (Feb 11) post, News Review | ICANN61 & Puerto Crypto, San Juan, Puerto Rico, not everyone packed up and left San Juan after ICANN61 ended--here's a video of Damaris Rivera, Puerto Rico Advantage, at Blockchain Unbound 2018 this past week in San Juan:

SiliconANGLE.com video  published Mar 17, 2018: Damaris Rivera, Puerto Rico Advantage (domain: PRAdvantage.com), talks with John Furrier at Blockchain Unbound 2018 held at San Juan, Puerto Rico March 14-16  (Blockchain Unbound was formerly called Puerto Crypto). More info: Puerto Rico lures blockchain industry to help fund its comeback | cnbc.com 16 March 2018.

b. Next up: 

ICANN62 | Panama City | Policy Forum 25-28 Jun 2018.

c. 11 March 2018 Letter from ICANN CEO Göran Marby to ITU's  Houlin Zhao re 2018 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference:

d. 10 March 2018 Letter from Brian Winterfeldt to Cherine Chalaby, Manal Ismail, Göran Marby, and Rod Rasmussen re: "Critical RAA Violation; GoDaddy Port 43 Whois Masking & Throttling Programs."

e. Webinar on ccNSO Rejection Action Guideline: Recordings and Slide Deck | Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO) | ICANN.org: ccNSO Procedure for the Exercise of the Empowered Community's rights to Reject Specified Actions explained and discussed, to ensure ccTLDs are aware of their own roles and responsibilities, those of the ccNSO as a whole and of the ccNSO Council. See the recording and the slide deck used during the webinar.

f. New gTLDs .LLC, .INC, .LLP, .GAY, .MUSIC, .CPA, .HOTEL, .MERCK: Roadmap for Consideration of Pending Reconsideration Requests Relating to Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) Process That Were Placed On Hold Pending Completion of the CPE Process Review 15 Mar 2018: roadmap-reconsideration-requests-cpe-15feb18-en.pdf [pdf 30 KB]

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks

a. How to Start Your Own Small Business - Women Small Business Owners | cosmopolitan.com: "... And lock down a URL [domain name]. Typically, [brand name]+[industry] setups work well (for example, MILKmakeup.com) ..." [Editor's note: I generally recommend getting a .COM domain name and do this before registering your name with a government office or making public your name, and by all means, do your 'due diligence' before registering the domain, avoid trademark infringement, etc.]. See also: Branding and Trademark Series: Building a Brand | Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP | JDSupra.com.

b.  Is the logo still the most important part of a brand's image? | designweek.co.uk: "... Perhaps the name now has a bigger role in defining a brand. It’s not just how a brand looks but also how it sounds ... Market research company ComScore estimates that 50% of all searches will be completed by speaking by 2020. If people can’t pronounce the name, then how can they possibly request it from a voice assistant like Alexa or Siri?"

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 

a. United Internet AG ETR: UTDI: Ralph Dommermuth, billionaire founder and CEO of United Internet (subsidiaries include 1and1.com, uniteddomains.com, internetx.com, sedo.com), challenging Deutsche Telekom to team up on German fiber broadband reports Reuters.com.

United Internet AG brands

Sedo | United Internet AG | united-internet.de: "Sedo operates in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States with its own branches and serves around 2 million customers from these locations."

b. Malware: Potent malware that hid for six years spread through routers | ArsTechnica.com: "Nation-sponsored Slingshot is one of the most advanced attack platforms ever."

c. Protecting human rights online: new guidelines on internet intermediaries | coe.int: "The Council of Europe today adopted policy guidelines addressed to its 47 member states on the roles and responsibilities of internet intermediaries such as search engines and social media."

d. Sri Lanka communal clashes: US urges Colombo to unblock internet services; China calls Emergency 'internal matter' | Firstpost.com

5) Four most read posts this past week (Sun-Sat) on DomainMondo.com: 

1. News Review | ICANN61, ICANN's FY19 Budget, Extortion Racket, Fraud

2. Benchmark VC Bill Gurley on the VC Landscape and Uber (video)

3. New gTLD .WEB: Afilias vs ICANN, Verisign $VRSN & Nu Dot Co?

4. How a Steel Box Changed the World: A Brief History of Shipping (video)

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
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DISCLAIMER

New ICANN Meeting Strategy, 2016 and Beyond, Thursday Session

Video above published on Oct 21, 2015: Learn about the new ICANN Meeting strategy that takes effect from ICANN55 in Marrakech.

What’s the New ICANN Meeting Strategy? from ICANN

The new "ICANN Meeting Strategy" for 2016 is explained in the slides above. A "New Meeting Strategy Update" will be the topic of a session at ICANN 54 in Dublin on Thursday, 22 October 2015:

2016 Meeting Strategy Planning Session | ICANN Public Meetings:
Date: Thursday, 22 October 2015 - 09:00 to 10:15 IST
Room: L4 Foyer (online remote participation link to be provided 24 hours prior to the start of the session on the session webpage)

Background: After two years of extensive, cross-community work, on November 17, 2014, the ICANN Board of Directors approved a new ICANN Meetings Strategy for implementation in 2016, as well as proposed meeting dates and geographic rotation through 2020:

2016 ICANN Meeting Schedule (per the new ICANN Meeting Strategy):

• ICANN55 5-10 March 2016 (Mtg. A) Marrakech, Morocco AF
• ICANN56 27-30 June 2016 (Mtg. B) Panama City, Panama LAC
• ICANN57 (18th AGM) 29 Oct - 4 Nov 2016 (Mtg. C) San Juan, Puerto Rico NA

ICANN Meeting Strategy graphic (source: icann.org)

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DISCLAIMER

ICANN 54 concludes Thursday, October 22, 2015, with the Public Forum and ICANN Board of Directors Public Meeting--more info:

• ICANN 54, Dublin (Oct 18-22), schedule links, info, and twitter feeds here. 
• Livestream ICANN 54 Thursday videos here.