ICANN

While Cyberspace Is Entering an Era of Warring States, There Remains a Chance to Make a Difference

For the non-state actors who are making efforts to approach cybersecurity issue in a different and creative way, the state actors, however, have given clear signs that they have exhausted their patience and insisted on doing things alone by bringing traditional old tricks back into cyberspace. This is exemplified in the bilateral meeting of two cyber sovereigntists - the Chinese and U.S. presidents on April 6-7, and in the multilateral G7 Declaration on Responsible States Behavior in Cyberspace on April 11. more

ICANN 58 Copenhagen: What to Expect

I don't know much about Copenhagen, except that Princess Mary of Denmark is really 'our' Princess Mary from Tasmania, Australia. The other thing I know is that it will be really cold. In terms of the ICANN meeting, there continues to be an element of dismay over the scheduling for this meeting, most notably reflected in a letter to ICANN's CEO from the GNSO Commercial Stakeholder Group. While it's good to get these issues on the table ... community should take ownership... more

ICANN Drifting Toward Online Content Regulation, Says Law Professor

In a paper for the Washington & Lee Law Review, University of Idaho College of Law Professor Annemarie Bridy, depicts ICANN's ambivalent drift into online content regulation through its contractual facilitation of a "trusted notifier" copyright enforcement program between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and two registry operators for new gTLDs, Seattle-based Donuts and Abu Dhabi-based Radix. more

Must IETF, ICANN Stop Meeting in the U.S.?

With Trump's "extreme vetting" extending to Pakistan and others, nearly all U.S. institutions with a global reach will be cut off from some members. Internet Society Board Member Walid Al-Saqaf, from Yemen, can't attend the IETF meeting next month in Chicago. Board Member Alice Munyua from Kenya may also have to skip the event. "There is a high threat from terrorism in Kenya," the British government reports. Kenyans likely will require extreme vetting. ICANN board member Kaveh Ranjbar, born in Iran, has also been appointed to the IETF Administrative Oversight Committee. more

Internet Governance Outlook 2017: Nationalistic Hierarchies vs. Multistakeholder Networks?

Two events, which made headlines in the digital world in 2016, will probably frame the Internet Governance Agenda for 2017. October 1, 2016, the US government confirmed the IANA Stewardship transition to the global multistakeholder community. November 2, 2016, the Chinese government announced the adoption of a new cybersecurity law which will enter into force on July 1, 2017. more

Court Dismisses .Web Lawsuit, Says Agreement Not to Sue Is Enforceable

"Judge Percy Anderson of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California has granted ICANN's motion to dismiss in a lawsuit brought by a subsidiary of new TLD company Donuts," reports Andrew Allemann in Domain Name Wire. more

How Did We Get Here? A Look Back at the History of IANA

October 2016 marks a milestone in the story of the Internet. At the start of the month, the United States Government let its residual oversight arrangements with ICANN over the operation of the IANA lapse. No single government now has a unique relationship with the governance of the protocol elements of the Internet, and it is now in the hands of a community of interested parties in a so-called Multi-Stakeholder framework. This is a unique step for the Internet and not without its attendant risks. How did we get here? more

Breaking Nonsense: Ted Cruz, IANA Transition and the Irony of Life

Harvard Professor Karl Deutsch, the late nestor of political science, described world history as the "history of side effects". Political actions, according to his theory, always have side effects which go out of control and constitute new history. The history of the Internet is full of side effects. But this time, we could have special unproductive side effects. A failure of the IANA transition could trigger a process towards a re-nationalization of the borderless cyberspace... more

Transition of Oversight of the IANA Functions: What is at Stake

As the expiry date of the current IANA Functions contract approaches (October 1st, 2016), some in the US Congress are challenging the validity of the proposal to transfer (or "transition") the ovesight role currently exercised by the US Administration, to a multistakeholder system equipped with checks and balances. A letter was sent to the President of the United States of America. Similar letters were sent to the Speaker and Leadership of the House of Representatives, as well as to the President pro tempore and Leadership of the Senate. more

.brand Delegated? Now Comes the Fun Part

A little over a year ago I wrote a series of articles to help guide those with a .brand TLD through the delegation process. After ICANN's recent push for .brands to delegate, the majority are now across the line. There would be many organizations out there currently feeling like first time parents who've just brought a newborn home from the hospital -- it's been a long process already, and the hard work hasn't even begun. more

The .Corp, .Home & .Mail Quandary

On 24 August, fifteen applicants for the .corp, .home, or .mail (CHM) new gTLDs sent a letter to the ICANN Board asking for action on the stalled process of the their applications. This points to the answer for the question I asked in march of this year: Whatever happened with namespace collision issues and the gTLD Round of 2012. As the letter from the applicants indicates, ICANN has done little to deal with issues concerned with namespace collisions in the last 2 years. Is it now time for action? more

Why Registry Service Providers Should be Accredited by ICANN

The merits of a Registry Service Provider accreditation programs have been debated across the Domain Industry since the most recent round of Domain Name Registries were introduced starting in 2012. This post discusses the early reasoning in support of an accreditation program; changes in the policy considerations between 2012 and now; the effects of competition on the landscape; a suggestion for how such a program might be implemented; and why such a program should be introduced now. more

TMCH Review Recommends Status Quo

On July 25th ICANN announced the publication of the Draft Report of the Independent Review of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). This study was coordinated for ICANN by the Analysis Group, in conjunction with researchers from the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford as well the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School... while public comments on the draft report will be accepted through September 3rd, this Report was triggered by GAC concerns expressed before the Applicant Guidebook for the new gTLD program was even completed, and is not the work product of a GNSO-created working group and therefore will not directly result in the establishment of any new ICANN policy. more

ICANN Sued in an Attempt to Block .WEB Auction

Controversy over .WEB auction takes a new turn as various sources today pointed to a lawsuit filed against ICANN by Ruby Glen LLC, a subsidiary of Donuts Inc. -- the largest registry for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). more

IANA Transition Under Further Attack, Now Officially Blocked by Republican Policy

"Handover of US internet control to ICANN now officially blocked by Republican policy," Kieren McCarthy reporting today in The Register: "The planned transition of the internet's critical technical functions from the US government to a technical body may come under further attack after the Republican Party officially agreed to block it on Monday. more