Showing posts with label gTLDs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gTLDs. Show all posts

2018-05-13

News Review: As GDPR Deadline Looms, Is ICANN Lost in La-La Land?

graphic "News Review" ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2018-05-13) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) As GDPR Deadline Looms, Is ICANN Lost in La-La Land? 2) Other ICANN news: a. .APP & Failing New gTLDs, b. Afilias vs ICANN re .WEB, c. ALAC At Large Review, d. RSSAC,  e. Adobe Connect, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks, $GDDY, $TCX, 4) ICYMI, 5) Most Read.

 WHOIS GDPR Update 17 May 2018: ICANN Board Approves Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data | ICANN.org: Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Approved 17 May 2018; Effective as of 25 May 2018) PDF [735 KB] embed below:

Additional Resources
  • The ICANN Board of Directors' resolution, available here, was unanimously adopted, and may be reaffirmed every 90 days for no more than one year.
Cherine Chalaby, ICANN Board Chair said: "While there are elements remaining to be finalized, the adoption of this Temporary Specification sets us on the right path to maintaining WHOIS in the public interest, while complying with GDPR before its 25 May enforcement deadline."

To ensure compliance with the GDPR, access to personal data will be restricted to layered/tiered access, where only users with a legitimate purpose can request access to non-public data through registrars and registry operators. Until a unified access model is in place, registries and registrars will have to determine which requests are permissible under the law. Alternatively, users may contact either the registrant or listed administrative and technical contacts through an anonymized email or web form available via the registered name's registrar. Registrants may opt to have their full contact information made publicly available. (source: ICANN.org)

Prior UPDATES:
15 May 2018 ICANN Webinar: Proposed Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data
Adobe Connect Replay. Reference Materials:
13 May 2018 Approved Board Resolutions | Special Meeting of the ICANN Board | ICANN.org: "Consideration of the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (Implementation of GDPR Interim Compliance Model)--"Resolved (2018.05.13.11), the Board intends to move to a decision on the adoption of a proposed Temporary Specification on gTLD Registration Data (pursuant to the procedures in the Registry Agreement and Registrar Accreditation Agreement concerning the establishment of temporary policies) on or about 17 May 2018. The Board intends to use this additional time to confirm that appropriate modifications are incorporated into a proposed Temporary Specification prior to considering adoption. Upon adoption, a proposed Temporary Specification would be effective for a 90-day period beginning 25 May 2018, and the Board would reaffirm its temporary adoption every 90 calendar days for a total period not to exceed one year."

 Revised proposed Temporary Specification on gTLD Registration Data (redline):

Original Post:
1) As GDPR Deadline Looms, Is ICANN Lost in La-La Land? 
ICANN's GDPR Train Wreck ©2018 DomainMondo.com
ICANN's GDPR Train Wreck: How Many Days Until May 25?

With the May 25th GDPR deadline looming, has ICANN moved from its previous delusional fantasy world to confronting the harsh reality that ICANN is nowhere ready to comply with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by May 25, less than two weeks away, or is ICANN still lost in La-La Land? ICANN leadership and management essentially wasted most of the last two years instead of properly preparing for the GDPR:
See: UPDATE May 10, 2018: ICANN CEO's Desperate 6-page Letter to WP29 Chair.
"A day late and a dollar short," ICANN is now grasping for straws--see May 5, 2018 Letter from ICANN Board Chairman Cherine Chalaby (pdf), to the Government Advisory Committee (GAC) Chair Manal Ismail re: "ICANN Board Board comment on GAC Advice regarding GDPR" excerpt below:
"... The Board’s current thinking and approach on the proposed Interim Model (May 25) is inconsistent or could be viewed as inconsistent with certain items of the GAC’s advice, and as a result the Board would find great benefit in having an exchange with the GAC on these matters ...  the Board proposes to discuss these matters via a conference call with the GAC during the week of 7-13 May 2018. The Board acknowledges the short notice of this request but given the fast-approaching effective date of the GDPR [May 25] realizes the need to move as quickly as possible to address the GAC advice prior to the Board taking action on an Interim Model (May 25) ..." (emphasis added)
The results from the ICANN Board's confab with the GAC? "... the Board has made a preliminary determination that its current approach on the proposed Interim Model (May 25), to be implemented in a Temporary Specification, is inconsistent or could be viewed as inconsistent with certain items of GAC advice."--11 May 2018 Letter from Cherine Chalaby to Manal Ismail (pdf).

 And then late Friday, May 11, ICANN announced its Proposed Temporary Specification Now Available | ICANN.org: available here [PDF, 625 KB] (Registrants pay particular attention to page 29--Appendix I: Supplemental Procedures to the Transfer Policy) --[Editor's note: see revised redline version above.]

Meanwhile the wreckage from ICANN's GDPR Train Wreck keeps piling up--

 UPDATE: All ICANN GDD Summit 2018 Session Recordings here.
GDD Industry Summit | 14-17 May 2018 | ICANN.org--agenda (pdf) excerpt:

1 May 2018 Letter from Tobias Sattler [CPH] to Akram Atallah [ICANN org] [Published 4 May 2018] Contract Party House TechOps (CPH TechOps) on GDPR Impact on Domain Name Transfers and Registrant Contact Changes.

7 May 2018 Letter from Tobias Sattler to Akram Atallah [Published 10 May 2018] Contracted Party House (CPH) TechOps on GDPR Impact on Domain NameTransfers and Registrant Contact Changes: "Unfortunately, the alternative proposal put forth by ICANN is not feasible for implementation in advance of 25 May 2018." 

10 May 2018 Letter from Dean Marks & Steve Metalitz [COA] to Akram Atallah & Cyrus Namazi [ICANN] [Published 11 May 2018] Coalition for Online Accountability (COA) opposes the RrSG (Registrar Stakeholder Group) request to halt implementation of privacy/proxy accreditation.

Accred-Model Version 1.5 May 11, 2018: version 1.5 [pdf] Accreditation and Access Model.--"A few skeptical thoughts in a tweet thread. https://twitter.com/qirtaiba/status/995071967572062214 These may not qualify as "constructive", but I wouldn't want to have silence interpreted as assent." -- Jeremy Malcolm, Senior Global Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation eff.org.

 Editor's note: ICANN Board Chair Cherine Chalaby said this week that accreditation guidance from the EU will not come until late summer, seemingly dashing the hopes of the lawyers and lobbyists pushing their "version 1.5" above. It's just one more aspect of ICANN's GDPR Train Wreck. Send your 'Thank You' notes to ICANN CEO Goran Marby & the ICANN Management Team.

2) Other ICANN news
graphic "ICANN | Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers"
a.  Google's (purchase price $25,001,000) new gTLD .APP launched (General Availability) this past week, achieving a total of  191,447 registrations by Friday May 11, 2018, according to  ntldstats.com, but even .APP was unable to stanch the overall hemorrhaging of new gTLDs' domain name registrations:
New gTLDs domain name registrations, including .APP, Apr 30 - May 11, 2018, source: ntldstats.com
This is what happens when you design and implement a new gTLDs program founded on consumer fraud, .BRAND extortion racket, exploitative pricing power and greed, and ICANN incompetence:
New gTLDs domain name registrations, April 2017 - May 11, 2018, source: ntldstats.com
ICANN's failing new gTLDs are also impacting ICANN's finances--ICANN FY18 Q3 Presentation (pdf)--excerpt:
See also: ICANN's new gTLDs increase online child sexual abuse imagery--"New gTLDs being used for the distribution of child sexual abuse imagery continues to be a rising trend in 2017"--IWF.org.uk: Internet Watch Foundation: Annual Report 2017 (pdf) (The IWF Annual Report is a record of its actions against online child sexual abuse imagery during 2017).

b. Afilias vs ICANN et al re: new gTLD .WEB: see latest correspondence between counsel for Afilias and counsel for ICANN.

c. ALAC--At-Large Advisory Committee--ICANN's perennial "problem child":
"... all the recommendations have been either flatly rejected or modified. Furthermore, if the proposal is adopted by the OEC and ICANN Board without ALAC first properly dealing with the concerns from the wider ICANN community, this would set an alarming precedent for any future ICANN Review. If critical opinions and recommendations, particularly those that are broadly supported within the ICANN community, are perceived as ultimately being ignorable, ICANN Reviews will lose credibility"--CPH to ICANN Board, infra
Letter from Graeme Bunton [Contracted Party House (CPH)] to ICANN Board Chair Cherine Chalaby | ICANN.org: Statement of concern for At-Large Review Implementation Overview Proposal, excerpt:
".... The CPH believes the Organizational Effectiveness Committee of the ICANN Board should not consider ALAC’s proposal until such time as a detailed response is provided by ALAC that addresses criticism raised by the At-Large Review report, and the questions helpfully put together by ICANN staff. This response should be presented to the whole ICANN community, so that any further input from, or discussion with, the community can be arranged, to see the Review through to an appropriate end."--bunton-to-chalaby-07may18-en.pdf [59.5 KB]

d. RSSAC034 | Report from the RSSAC May 2018 Workshop | ICANN.org: "The purpose of this workshop was to finalize the proposed governance model (the Model) for the DNS Root Server System (RSS). At the workshop, the RSSAC reviewed the Model, discussed scenarios and implementation, and planned next steps." More info: 09 May 2018 rssac-034-09may18-en.pdf [63.5 KB]

e. Adobe Connect Update | ICANN.org: "Based on your overwhelming sentiment, over 75% of you asked in one way or another for Adobe Connect, we are carefully moving ahead with attempting to restore Adobe Connect"--Editor's note: my input via email to ICANN April 20, 2018 (cc EU antitrust & WP29, David Redl (NTIA), ICANN CEO, Board Chair & Ombudsman):
"This is a "no-brainer"--restore the Adobe Connect ASAP (until you find a better or equal solution for less cost)--Adobe Connect should have NEVER been taken offline, particularly in the middle of ICANN61, as you report the only known exploit of the vulnerability was by the same "researcher" who "discovered" and reported the vulnerability. By that same logic, the entire DNS, with all of its KNOWN and UNKNOWN vulnerabilities, including the Public WHOIS, should be taken offline immediately. But since ICANN org has no respect nor regard for the vast majority of the world's domain name registrants, we all know where ICANN org stands on that issue. As members of the global internet community, none of us have a choice, we are continuously assaulted and burdened by the poor decisions made by overpaid and incompetent ICANN org management and the dysfunctional, self-selected "ICANN community" dominated by "special interests"--trademark lawyers, corporate lobbyists, and contracted parties--registrars and registry operators. Maybe the European Union can help us with the "privatized" ICANN global monopoly, since the U.S. government abandoned its "stewardship" role in 2016."

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
graphic "Names, Domains & Trademarks" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
a. Trademarks: Flood of Trademark Applications From China Alarms U.S. Officials | WSJ.com: "... applications that officials say appear to be rife with false information. .."

b. $GDDY: GoDaddy's Ray Winborne, Chief Financial Officer, and Mike McLaughlin, Chief Customer Officer, will present at the 46th Annual J.P Morgan Technology, Media and Communicaitons Conference in Boston on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. A live audio webcast of the event will be available on GoDaddy's investor relations website. Following the presentation an audio replay will be available at investors.godaddy.net. See also: Q1 2018 results reported this past week by GoDaddy $GDDY  and Tucows $TCX.

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 
graphic "ICYMI Internet Domain News" ©2017 DomainMondo.com
a. Victory! Georgia Governor Vetoes Short-Sighted Computer Crime Bill | Electronic Frontier Foundation | eff.org

b. How to Trace an Email Message | SecurityBoulevard.com

c. In a Desperate Move to Squash Internet Freedom, Iran Blocks Telegram | Center for Human Rights in Iran | .iranhumanrights.org

5) Three Most Read Posts & Readership Stats this past week on DomainMondo.com: 
graphic "Domain Mondo" ©2017 DomainMondo.com



Readership geolocation stats, top 4 this week (based on page views): 
1) U.S., 2) China, 3) Germany, 4) France.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


DISCLAIMER
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2017-10-29

News Review | ICANN60, Abu Dhabi, ICANN Board Suspends SSR2 Work

News Review | ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2017-10-29) with analysis and opinion: Features •  1) ICANN60, Abu Dhabi, ICANN Board Suspends SSR2 Work, 2)Other ICANN news: a. WS2 Plenary re ICANN Jurisdiction, ... e.Will Puerto Rico Be Ready for ICANN61, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Verisign $VRSN Q3 2017 results,  Blockchain & Domains, ccTLD .AU, 4) ICYMI: Apple, China and Internet Censorship, 5) Most Read Posts.

1)  ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi | Annual General Meeting 28 Oct - 3 Nov 2017
graphic: ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi ©2017 DomainMondo.com

 ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi meeting schedule--mobile: https://schedule.icann.org/mobile/#page:page-schedule--highlighted sessions (times shown are local Abu Dhabi unless otherwise indicated):
  • Sunday, Oct 29, 13:30 - 14:00 GAC Meeting with Amazon.com "The GAC will be meeting with the Amazon Company in order to discuss the Independent Review Process (IRP)"
  • Tuesday, October 31 • 12:15 - 13:15 Internet Governance Public Forum "This Public Session will explore and discuss the global Internet Governance agenda making reference to the outcome of the ITU WTDC and looking forward to the 2017 IGF and GCCS conference. It will also consider trends in the Internet Governance Ecosystem post the IANA Transition."
  • Wednesday, Nov 1, 14:00 - 15:00  ICANN GDD: Update on ICANN Domain Name Registrant Work: "This session will provide the community with an update on the Domain Name Registrant work being carried out by GDD, including how information from registrants' contact with ICANN Global Support Center is used to inform the work, the registrants educational series, as well as engagement with the community."
ICANN60 Oct 28, 2017: ICANN Board Suspends Work of SSR2 Review Team
UPDATES:
Nov. 3: SSR2-RT Face-to-Face meeting in Abu Dhabi (see session link above for more info)

Nov 2: ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi: Joint Meeting: ICANN Board & SSR2 Review Team (closed meeting) Thursday, November 2 • 13:45 - 15:00.

Oct 30: Transcript--ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi--ccNSO/GNSO Joint Council Meeting, Monday, 30 October 2017 12:15 GST (pdf) embed below, highlighting added starting at page 21:

Oct 29: reaction to the Board's letter of October 28 (below) at ICANN60, ranges from shock (SSR2 Mail List) to befuddlement at the ICANN GNSO session today, as apparently no one at ICANN60 knows the specifics (other than the Board and SSAC--and so far neither is talking specifics) which caused the ICANN Board to take this unprecedented and questionable action. A key video replay from an ICANN60 session today has been hidden from the public behind a VPN sign-in which forced this complaint to be filed today.--Update Oct 30: the issue has now been fixed per ICANN Complaints Office, and I reviewed Sunday's Adobe Connect replay of the SSR2 outreach public session, but no information was disclosed relating to the Board's or SSAC's issues with SSR2. Co-Chair Denise Michel told GNSO on Sunday that the SSR2-RT had received no "actionable information" from either the Board or SSAC.

UPDATE via Public Forum #1 Oct 30, 2017:
Steve Delbianco:  "Thank you, Steve Delbianco with the Business Constituency within ICANN … I was troubled this week when the Board under that mandate decided to pause one of the reviews, the SSR2 review, and Rinalia Abdul Rahim [ICANN Board member] today explained that in your obligation to cause a review, you certainly would want to hit pause if you had any reason to believe the review wouldn't happen according to the bylaws.  And I appreciate a heads-up, if that's the case. But my question for you is: having hit pause, does the community need to come back to the board to hit the play button, to hit the resume button again?  Or can we exercise the authority I think the bylaws give us to pay attention to your heads-up, your alert, but it's up to us to resolve any considerations with respect to the scope, composition, or structure and it's up to you in the ACs and SOs to determine we're going to go ahead and resume or hit the play button after you hit the pause button?  So I'd love to hear your answer on this so we can get past this and move on.  Thank you."
Cherine Chalaby, ICANN Board Vice Chair:  "Steve, thank you very much for the question. The answer is very simple.  It's really the Board is backing the community's hand and it's up to you to resume when you want to resume.  It's not for the board to tell you when.  All we did is we fulfilled our fiduciary responsibility.  We saw something wasn't working well.  We raised it to you.  We asked for a pause.  And you then -- it's up to you to decide when you want to resume and how you want to resume."
Later comment at the Forum from Jonathan Zuck (Innovator's Network): "... following on Steve Delbianco's comment,  I guess I fear that he let the Board off the hook maybe a little too easily in his presentation  and I really want to bring to the surface the notion that the optics of how this all went down with the SSR2 are not good ..."  
Response from Steve Crocker, ICANN Board Chair: "... The current situation is that the issues have been identified, we can spend time here if we want to go into it a little bit more.  We wrote a letter a couple of hours ago laying out more background and so forth, that's intended to be the beginning of a consultation process that the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees are intended to partake in.  The Board does not like -- I can absolutely assure you that we took no relish in this.  We don't view it as a comfortable situation  and we absolutely are not trying to either stop it or control it in detail.  And we have no stake for ourselves for sure in any of the issues and we're not particularly trying to protect the organization, but we do care a lot about the use of the resources, we do care a lot about whether there is a sensible, organized process and that the internal dynamics are effective.  So I'll stop there, unless you want to press further.”
Oct 30 Update: Editor's note: the "letter" identified by Steve Crocker above was published late today (pdf) by ICANN, embed below (highlighting added):


[Editor's note: Like most domain name registrants, I will not be in Abu Dhabi, and like most in North America, I will be fast asleep during most ICANN60 sessions. Next week's News Review will have an ICANN60 recap drawn from various sources, including some of those shown below.]

 ICANN Meeting Media Resources:
ICANN FY17 Audited Financial Statements [PDF, 212 KB]--p.27: "ICANN’s President and CEO, Göran Marby, has an employment agreement with ICANN through May 2021. Pursuant to that employment agreement, Mr. Marby is entitled to an annual base salary of $653,846 and at-risk compensation of up to $196,154 – not to exceed a total of $850,000 annually per year based on the President’s and CEO’s achievement of the established performance goals."
PTI FY17 Audited Financial Statements [PDF, 124 KB].
Payments to ICANN Directors (1 Jul 2016 - 30 Jun 2017) highlighting added:

ICANN60, Abu Dhabi (click on image below to go to Google Map of ICANN60 venue):
وكالة أنباء الإمارات - TRA hosts ICANN’s 60th Public Meeting | wam.ae: "The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, will host the 60th International Public Meeting, ICANN60, of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ADNEC, from 28th October to 3rd November 2017." 

 2) Other ICANN news
a. ICANN Jurisdiction: CCWG-Accountability WS2 Plenary, Friday Oct 27, Abu Dhabi | DomainMondo.com: links to recordings, documents, chat, transcripts. The Jurisdiction Subgroup Draft Recommendations passed a successful second reading at the WS2 Plenary on Oct 27, 2017.

b. DNSSEC Root Key Operations and the Infineon Smartcard Bug | ICANN.org: "... we believe that the DNSSEC KSKs are not subject to this vulnerability. However, no system is perfect ..."  (emphasis added) [Editor's Note: comforting words from ICANN?]

c. ICANN Public Comment periods closing in November at  23:59 UTC on closing date indicated (subject to change):

 d. IANA Transition costs through Sep 2017? $33.4 million of which lawyers grabbed $15 million:

 e. ICANN61 | San Juan: Will Puerto Rico be ready by 10-15 Mar 2018? See status.pr and FEMA.gov. 17 Oct 2017: "Over the next several months, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Department of Energy, and private industry will unite to restore emergency power to Puerto Rico’s electric grid, which was heavily damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Currently, only 14 percent of Puerto Rico has electricity ...."--FEMA.gov. 

 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
•  Verisign $VRSN Q3 2017 results:
  • Financials: revenue of $292 million for the third quarter of 2017, up 1.7 percent from the same quarter in 2016. Verisign reported net income of $115 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $0.93 for the third quarter of 2017, compared to net income of $114 million and diluted EPS of $0.90 for the same quarter in 2016. The operating margin was 61.9 percent for the third quarter of 2017 compared to 60.8 percent for the same quarter in 2016.
  • .COM and .NET: At the end of September, 2017, domain name base registrations in .COM and .NET totaled 145.8 million, consisting of 130.8 million .COM domain name registrations, and 15 million .NET. The .COM and .NET domain name base increased by 1.47 million net names during the third quarter after processing 8.9 million new gross registrations which benefited from continued strength from U.S.-based registrars.
  • Renewal Rate: Verisign projects renewal rate for third quarter of 2017 will be 74.3%.
  • Q4 2017 guidance: Verisign expects increase to the .COM and .NET domain name base during Q4 2017 between 0.4 million to 0.9 million registrations, consistent with a full year 2017 growth rate of 2.8% to 3.1%.
  • New gTLD .WEB update: no new news, although there is activity, the process is ongoing. "We are continuing to cooperate with the Justice Department regarding the CID ..."--James Bidzos, Verisign CEO, October 26, 2017.

•  Blockchain & Domains? Undeveloped.com Oct 20--The Future Of The Domain Industry Lies In Blockchain--"... Domains are currently illiquid assets. We can change that. Anyone will be able to invest in premium domains and entire domain portfolio’s after we introduce fractional domain ownership. This can lead to the inception of the first stock exchange for domains. And that’s just the start ..."

 •  ccTLD .AU: auDA welcomes Federal Government review of .au domain | auda.org.au. The next step is Australia's Department of Communications and the Arts will shortly release a discussion paper seeking input from interested industry and community stakeholders with the review expected to be finalized by early 2018.--Terms of Reference for a review of the .au Domain Administration | Department of Communications and the Arts.

 4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 
  • Apple, China & Internet Censorship--US Senators Cruz, Leahy Probe Apple’s Stance on Chinese Internet Censorship:"Cruz was a lead opponent of the U.S. government’s 2016 handover of technical internet oversight to a nonprofit—out of concerns that such a move could open the door to online censorship. Cruz had questioned the role of Fadi Chehadé, former CEO of the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), in the China-organized World Internet Conference and whether that made ICANN complicit in China’s censorship practices."--BNA.com. See also: Senators press Apple to explain removal of apps in China | TheHill.com.
  • Sky Views: China has won the internet's future | news.sky.com: "... We're edging closer to the Chinese model. Perhaps because we've realised, with the original freewheeling dream of cyberspace gone, there's not much to choose between the Chinese approach and Facebook, Google and the rest. Both models of sovereignty - rule by an authoritarian state or rule by digital platform - rely on surveillance, whether in the service of political control or of free-market capitalism. For a long time, the Chinese approach to the internet appeared to be a relic of a repressive past. These days, depressingly, it looks like the future."
5) Top 4 Most Read Posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com: 
     1. News Review (Oct15)| ICANN Pays Senior VP Sally Costerton Secret Contract $$$

     2. News Review (Oct22)| Brazil Opposes Draft Report re: ICANN U.S. Jurisdiction

     3. Q3 2017 Earnings Webcasts Oct 26: $TWTR, $GOOGL, $VRSN, $AMZN


-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


DISCLAIMER
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2017-10-26

Q3 2017 Earnings Webcasts Oct 26: $TWTR, $GOOGL, $VRSN, $AMZN

Q3 2017 Earnings Webcasts Oct 26:
This post will be updated after each release of the Q3 2017 results.

********
$GOOG shares up almost 20% YOY as of midday Oct 25, 2017
Alphabet/Google 2017 Q3 Earnings Call

Alphabet Inc. (a/k/a Google NASDAQ: GOOG  NASDAQ: GOOGL) quarterly conference call LIVE webcast (and replay) to discuss third quarter (Q3 2017) financial results on Thursday, October 26, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time). Earnings release prior to the conference call on October 26, 2017, at abc.xyz/investor. See also Alphabet SEC filings.

Q3 2017 earnings release (pdf)--"We had a terrific quarter, with revenues up 24% year on year, reflecting strength across Google and Other Bets," said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet. "Our momentum is a result of investments over many years in fantastic people, products and partnerships." --excerpt:

*******
$VRSN shares up almost 36% YOY as of midday Oct 25, 2017
Verisign, Inc.(NASDAQ:VRSN) Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results: Q3 2017 earnings news release will be available at approximately 4:05 p.m. (EDT) October 26, at investor.verisign.com.
"... Third Quarter GAAP Financial Results VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $292 million for the third quarter of 2017, up 1.7 percent from the same quarter in 2016. Verisign reported net income of $115 million and diluted earnings per share (diluted “EPS”) of $0.93 for the third quarter of 2017, compared to net income of $114 million and diluted EPS of $0.90 for the same quarter in 2016. The operating margin was 61.9 percent for the third quarter of 2017 compared to 60.8 percent for the same quarter in 2016 .... Business Highlights • Verisign ended the third quarter with 145.8 million .com and .net domain name registrations in the domain name base, a 1.2 percent increase from the end of the third quarter of 2016, and a net increase of 1.47 million during the third quarter of 2017. • In the third quarter, Verisign processed 8.9 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, compared to 8.3 million for the same quarter in 2016. • The final .com and .net renewal rate for the second quarter of 2017 was 74.0 percent compared with 73.8 percent for the same quarter in 2016. Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter ..."
VeriSign's (VRSN) CEO James Bidzos on Q3 2017 Results - Earnings Call Transcript | SeekingAlpha.com: "... Gross additions [in .COM and.NET registrations] during the quarter benefited from continued strength from US based registrars. Although renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter, we believe that the renewal rate for the third quarter of 2017 will be 74.3%. This preliminary rate compares to 73.0% achieved in the third quarter of 2016. We expected increase to the domain name base during the fourth quarter of between 0.4 million to 0.9 million registrations, which is consistent with the full year 2017 domain name base growth rate of 2.8% to 3.1%. .... The [new gTLD .WEB] update is really the same, there's no new news, although there is activity, the process is ongoing. We are continuing to cooperate with the Justice Department regarding the CID that you asked about. There's an ongoing constructive dialogue. We're producing documents and information. But beyond that there's nothing new to say at this point. Of course, as soon as there is we'll let you know." (link added)
Verisign LIVE webcast of the Q3 2017 earnings call: Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at 4:30pm EDT, also accessible by direct dial at (888) 676-VRSN (U.S.) or (323) 701-0225 (international), conference ID: Verisign. Replay will be available at investor.verisign.com/events.cfm.

Verisign is the registry operator of the world's 2 largest gTLDs (generic top-level domains)--.COM and .NET--as well as other TLDs, and also provides internet security services. Verisign operates 2 (A and J) of the world's 13 internet DNS root zone authoritative name servers, and serves as root zone maintainer (RZM) pursuant to a contract with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Verisign's Security Services include Distributed Denial of Service Protection and Managed DNS. More info at Verisign.com. See also Verisign SEC filings, including VeriSign, Inc. - Quarterly Report: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2017 [Legal Proceedings and Risk Factors].

*********
$AMZN shares up almost 17% YOY as of midday Oct 25, 2017
Amazon | Investor Relations: Q3 2017 Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Earnings Conference Call:
Thursday, October 26, 2017 2:30pm PT / 5:30pm ET  LIVE Webcast Presentation

The audio and associated slides will be available for at least three months at amazon.com/ir.

Amazon Q3 2017 results (pdf) excerpt: "... Net sales increased 34% to $43.7 billion in the third quarter, compared with $32.7 billion in third quarter 2016. Net sales includes $1.3 billion from Whole Foods Market, which Amazon acquired on August 28, 2017. Excluding Whole Foods Market and the $124 million favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 29% compared with third quarter 2016. Operating income decreased 40% to $347 million in the third quarter, compared with operating income of $575 million in third quarter 2016. Operating income includes income of $21 million from Whole Foods Market. Net income was $256 million in the third quarter, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $252 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in third quarter 2016." Conference Call Slides (pdf)

*********
$TWTR shares down almost 1% YOY as of midday Oct 25, 2017
Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) conference call to discuss Q3 2017 financial results, 5:00 a.m. PT / 8:00 a.m. ET, Oct 26, 2017.
Twitter's Q3 2017 revenue of $589.6M tops estimates; MAUs grew 4% YoY to 330M, DAUs grew 14% YoY;
net loss down to $21.1M; shares rise in early trading Oct 26, 2017
To have your questions considered during the Q&A, Tweet your question to @TwitterIR using #TWTR. . Twitter has used, and intends to continue to use, its Investor Relations website and the Twitter accounts of @jack, @twitter and @TwitterIR as means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. See also Twitter SEC filings and Twitter investor relations: investor.twitterinc.com.


feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


DISCLAIMER
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2017-09-24

News Review: ICANN Interactive Webinar, Editor's Comment on DNS Abuse

News Review | ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly internet domain news review (NR 2017-09-24) with analysis and opinion: Features • 1)  ICANN Interactive Webinar on DNS Abuse Sept 25, 2)Other ICANN news a. Editor's Comment on DNS Abuse in gTLDs, b.Latest on Spain vs .CAT, c. ICYMI RegistrarSG to ICANN Letter, 3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Please No Emoji in Domains, 4) ICYMI Internet Domain News: Internet Censorship, 5) Most Read Posts.

1) ICANN Interactive Webinar on DNS Abuse September 25
ICANN WEBINAR: Compliance & Consumer Safeguard Overview | ICANN.org: ICANN will host an interactive webinar on 25 September 2017 to discuss Compliance and Consumer Safeguard matters within ICANN’s remit, including:
  • Review and discuss existing safeguards within ICANN’s contracts and By-laws.
  • Identify types DNS abuse that may fall within ICANN’s remit.
  • Discuss voluntary efforts to address abuse within the DNS.
  • Consider possible topic(s) for discussion during a session at ICANN 60.
"This webinar will allow for an open discussion on these topics as well as any other related issues raised by members of the community. Hosted by ICANN’s Contractual Compliance and Consumer Safeguards team, the webinar will also include representatives from ICANN’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the Global Domains Division."--ICANN

Webinar Date & Time: 25 September 2017, 1500-1600 UTC | time convert 11am EDT (US)
Join via Adobe Connect: https://participate.icann.org/safeguardsandcompliance/
Dial-In Conference Number(s)--Participant Code: 1941584829:
  • US (Toll): 1-605-475-5603
  • US (Toll): 1-712-770-4202
  • US (Toll Free): 1-888-619-1583
  • Canada, Montreal (Local): +1 514 669 5944
  • Canada, Toronto (Local): +1 647 426 9168
  • Additional access numbers: here
The webinar will be conducted in English. Recordings will be published here. More info:

 2) Other ICANN news
a. DomainMondo.com Editor's comment (pdf) re: Statistical Analysis of DNS Abuse in gTLDs (SADAG) Report, submitted 19 Sep 2017 (comment period now extended to 27 Sep 2017), excerpt:

"Conclusion: With its 2012 round of expanding gTLDs from just 22 to more than 1200, ICANN has made a mess of the DNS and given multistakeholderism a bad name. And it’s not as if ICANN wasn’t warned, repeatedly, as noted hereinabove. No, this disaster wasn’t any force majeure, but a disaster of ICANN’s own making, founded upon a mixture of arrogant power and greed:
"I really can’t see a legitimate upside where new benefits [of the new gTLDs] outweigh costs, and everyone I mention this to feels the same way. People just shake their heads. It’s all about the money. They [ICANN] are creating these extensions because they can."--University of Pennsylvania Wharton School marketing professor Peter Fader, co-director of the Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative (source: Knowledge@Wharton May 21, 2014).
"ICANN’s new gTLDs program is a systemic failure of both the organization and the “ICANN community”—they need to own it and be held accountable. It is as important to understand “how we got here” as “what happened.” The failed ICANN leadership that got us into this mess includes Peter Dengate Thrush (former ICANN Board Chairman), Steve Crocker (ICANN Board member and Chairman), ICANN ex-CEOs Rod Beckstrom and Fadi Chehade, former ICANN Chief Strategy Officer Kurt Pritz (“architect of ICANN's new gTLD program”), and lastly but not least, Akram Atallah, interim ICANN CEO (twice) and President of ICANN’s “Global Domains Division.”" (emphasis added)

Full comment embedded below. Other comments submitted may be read here.


b.  Latest on Spain vs .CAT--gTLD .CAT domain names judicial seizure warrant
.CAT statement 22 Sep 2017: Our Director of Innovation and Information Systems has been released | fundacio.cat: "... Pep Masoliver, has been released on September 22, after more than 60 hours of detention, accused with charges of embezzlement, prevarication and disobedience ..." (emphasis added)

Background: Intervention at Fundació puntCAT's headquarters | fundacio.cat 20 Sep 2017: "Fundació puntCAT wants to express its utmost condemnation, indignation and reprobation for the actions that it has been suffering lately with successive judicial mandates, searches and finally the arrest of our Director of Innovation and Information Systems, Pep Masoliver ..." (emphasis added)

 See also 17 September 2017 Letter from Fundació puntCAT CEO Eduard Martin Lineros to ICANN CEO Göran Marby (pdf) published by ICANN 20 September 2017, embed below:
See also: Spain and Catalonia Wrestle Over .Cat Internet Domain - The New York Times: "Given the web’s rich cat history, you’d think that domain names ending in .CAT would be another online feline gold mine."--For the love of god, not everything is about cats | theoutline.com: "The foundation that administers the .CAT domain for Catalonians just got raided by the Spanish police, but all the media wants to talk about is cats."

 UPDATE--Catalonia Police Reject Madrid Orders: Barring Invasion, the Vote Will Take Place October 1st--"Given the importance of the story, Western media is amazingly silent. Stories are few and far between."--MishTalK.com.

c.  ICYMI: ICANN’s “Proposal Regarding Feasibility Analysis of Cross-Field Address Validation Services.”--Letter from Graeme Bunton to Jennifer Gore | ICANN.org embed below, highlighting added:
(Editor's Note: Graeme Bunton is manager of public policy at Tucows, and was elected as Chair of the Registrar Stakeholder Group in July 2016. Jennifer Gore is ICANN Director, Registrar Services & Engagement since July, 2016; prior to that she was employed by Web.com.)

3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
•  Emoji in Domains? Don't, just don't: Worth Repeating Again--SAC 095 | SSAC Advisory on the Use of Emoji in Domain Names | ICANN.org--Advisory from the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) 25 May 2017 (pdf): "... the practical implication is that domain names with emoji will not be accepted or processed consistently by applications ... Currently, it is already difficult to get people to accept the new labels that have appeared with IDNs and the new generic TLD (new gTLDs) program. Adding emoji to domain name labels will only make this problem worse ... Recommendation 1: Because the risks identified in this Advisory cannot be adequately mitigated without significant changes to Unicode or IDNA (or both), the SSAC recommends that the ICANN Board reject any TLD (root zone label) that includes emoji. Recommendation 2: Because the risks identified in this Advisory cannot be adequately mitigated without significant changes to Unicode or IDNA (or both), the SSAC strongly discourages the registration of any domain name that includes emoji in any of its labels. The SSAC also advises registrants of domain names with emoji that such domains may not function consistently or may not be universally accessible as expected ..." (emphasis and link added)

•  IT Contractor Convicted of Wire Fraud for Defacing Website of Arizona Company | USAO-AZ | US Department of Justice | justice.gov: "... According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, [Defendant] Tso provided information technology (“IT”) services for a company located in Phoenix, Ariz. Tso subsequently used the company’s account information to make changes to the company’s website. These changes prevented the company’s employees from using their email accounts and redirected the company’s homepage to a blank page. Tso then offered to return everything to normal for $10,000. When the company refused to pay the requested amount, Tso redirected the company’s homepage to a pornographic website. Visitors to the company’s website were redirected to the pornographic website for several days before the website was returned to normal ..."

•  IP in the Digital Age: Protecting Against Domain Name and Social Media Infringement | New Jersey Law Journal | njlawjournal.com

•  Don’t Fall for a Scam: Trademark Owners Targeted | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP - JDSupra.com: "These scamming organizations, which often use names that resemble government agencies, will obtain freely accessible information regarding a registration or application ... and then create an official-looking letter or invoice seeking payment regarding the referenced trademark."

4) ICYMI Internet Domain News 
•  Internet Censorship: The Terrifying Power of Internet Censors | NYTimes.com: "Because of the precise nature of Cloudflare’s business, and the scarcity of competitors, its role censoring internet speech is not just new, it’s terrifying."

 Iceland authorities weighing options after neo-Nazi site registers there | ArsTechnica.com: “What we worry about is the reputation of the .is domain,” ISNIC CEO Jens Pétur Jensen told the Reykjavik Grapevine. “ISNIC does not want to have the reputation that we’re a safe haven for criminals.”
See also: ​Why many Russians have gladly agreed to online censorship | osu.edu and Iran: Policing the Internet and Social Media | AEI.org.

  • China's Great Firewall: Chinese man jailed for helping others break Internet firewall | newsbytesapp.com. See also U.S. seeks partners to help Internet users evade foreign censors--bgov.com: "The Office of Internet Freedom (OIF), part the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors, is looking for vendors that have systems and software to counter internet censorship by foreign governments, according to a notice published Sept. 6."--helping dissident groups set up web proxies and secure email.

•  Net Neutrality: FCC Chair’s “chat” with tech execs draws protest | Electronic Frontier Foundation | eff.org .See also: "... the FCC blatantly ignored the evidence that the agency had in its possession throughout its push to scrap the vital consumer protections established by the Open Internet Order," NHMC Policy and Legal Affairs Director Carmen Scurato said in a press release last week."  See also Technology is outsmarting net neutrality | AEI.org.

•  EFF Resigns from W3C over EME: An open letter to the W3C Director, CEO, team and membership | Electronic Frontier Foundation | eff.org: ".... The W3C process has been abused by companies that made their fortunes by upsetting the established order, and now, thanks to EME, they’ll be able to ensure no one ever subjects them to the same innovative pressures. So we'll keep fighting to keep the web free and open. We'll keep suing the US government to overturn the laws that make DRM so toxic, and we'll keep bringing that fight to the world's legislatures that are being misled by the US Trade Representative to instigate local equivalents to America's legal mistakes. We will renew our work to battle the media companies that fail to adapt videos for accessibility purposes, even though the W3C squandered the perfect moment to exact a promise to protect those who are doing that work for them. We will defend those who are put in harm's way for blowing the whistle on defects in EME implementations. It is a tragedy that we will be doing that without our friends at the W3C, and with the world believing that the pioneers and creators of the web no longer care about these matters. Effective today, EFF is resigning from the W3C. Thank you"--Cory Doctorow, Advisory Committee Representative to the W3C for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (emphasis added).

•  Internet Freedom: How supporting internet freedom in Cambodia makes America great | R Street Institute | RStreet.org

• Internet Regulation: FEC Dems renew bid to regulate Internet, Drudge, 'not done fighting' | washingtonexaminer.com

 •  Internet Shutdowns: Togo latest country to lose web access as regimes increasingly shut down Internet to control protests | theglobeandmail.com

•  China Connecting The Unconnected: "... as new players enter the race to connect the 4 billion people who remain offline, new questions are emerging about who is providing that connection and what their agenda is. As China’s interest in global development has grown, so too has its influence in the telecommunications sector, with two companies in particular — the privately owned Huawei and state owned ZTE — making up the majority of China’s efforts to connect the unconnected."--China's role in the race to connect the next billion | Devex.com.

5) Most read posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this past week on DomainMondo.com: 
1.  News Review: ICANN New gTLDs Declining, But Other Domains Growing
2.  Hurricane Maria: 2017 Hurricane Season, Satellite Views .... LIVE Feeds
3.  EU Antitrust & Competition Policy, EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager
4.   MacroView: Election in Germany (video), ECB, EU, Spain, IMF & Greece
5.  Jeff Bezos Empire: Amazon $AMZN, Blue Origin, WaPo, Bezos Expeditions

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo


DISCLAIMER
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Domain Mondo archive