Internet Governance

Anti-Phishing Working Group Proposes Use of Secure Hashing to Address GDPR-Whois Debacle

The AntiPhishing Working Group (APWG) in a letter to ICANN has expressed concern that the redaction of the WHOIS data as defined by GDPR for all domains is "over-prescriptive". more

European Data Regulators Throw ICANN Back to the Drawing Board for a Third Time on Whois Privacy

In a letter to ICANN, the chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) makes it plain that even the organization's "interim" plan is fundamentally flawed, reports Kieren McCarthy in the Register. more

Cuban “Technological Sovereignty” - a Walled Garden Strategy?

ToDus, a messaging application described as a "Cuban WhatsApp" and Apklis, a distribution site for Android mobile apps, were featured at the First Computerization Workshop held recently at the Universidad de Ciencias Informáticas (UCI). One might ask, why do we need a Cuban WhatsApp and Apklis when we already have WhatsApp itself and the Google Play Store? more

Andrew Sullivan Selected as the New President & CEO of Internet Society

The Internet Society announced today that it has selected Andrew Sullivan as the organization's new President and Chief Executive Officer. more

Access to Safe and Affordable Prescription Medications Online is a Human Right

I recently served on a panel at the Toronto RightsCon 2018 conference (Making Safe Online Access to Affordable Medication Real: Addressing the UN Human Rights resolution for access to essential medicines), where I represented the perspective of Americans struggling to afford their daily medications and desperate to have safe, affordable Internet access to their prescriptions. more

Heading Into Panama for ICANN62

Well amazingly, it's that time again. Next week, individuals from around the world with a keen interest in Internet policy will head to Panama City, Panama for the second ICANN meeting of the year. As always, Brandsight will be attending to follow all of the important policy work being carried out by the community. Before I head off to the meeting (which based on my research will actually be my 32nd ICANN meeting!), I'd like to share a preview of the major topics slated for discussion. more

EURODIG Tbilisi 2018: Positioning in the New Complexity of the Global Internet Governance Ecosystem

Early June 2018 the European Internet community traveled into the Caucasian Mountains to participate in EURODIG 11. On its way into the digital age, Europe is, as EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said, at another crossroad. In cyberspace, Europe risks becoming sandwiched between US and Chinese Cyberpower policies. Social networks, search engines, smartphones, eTrade platforms - key sectors of today's digital economy - are dominated both by the US and Chinese giants: Alibaba and Amazon, Google and Baidu, Facebook and Weibo, Apple and Huawai. more

Internet Society Announces New Partnership with Consumers International

The Internet Society today announced a new working partnership with Consumers International, the membership organization for consumer groups around the world. more

Have You Had Your GDPR Training Today?

The suggestion was recently put to the GNSO Council: anyone who becomes a member of a proposed new Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) must be able to demonstrate that they have basic knowledge of privacy and data protection. This makes a lot of sense: Would you trust a lawyer who had never been to law school? Or a doctor who had never studied medicine? Of course not. Recently I asked members of our ICANN Community: have you had any GDPR training, classes, or certification? more

A Trebuchet Defence in the Age of the Augmented Reality Cyberwarrior

I've been ruminating on this for a while, this follow-up that was a decade in the offing. My article Trench Warfare in the Age of The Laser-Guided Missile from January 2007 did pretty good in terms of views since I wrote it. Less so in terms of how well the ideas aged or didn't, but that's the nature of the beast. Everything gets worse, and simultaneously, better, and so here we are: Using embarrassingly ancient approaches to next-generation threats. Plus ça change. more

GDPR, ICANN, and Registrar WHOIS

On Friday I was on a surprisingly interesting session at Rightscon 2018 in Toronto about GDPR and WHOIS. The panel consisted of Eleeza Agoopian from ICANN staff; Avri Doria who was recently appointed to the ICANN board; Elliot Noss who runs large registrar Tucows; Stephanie Perrin who has done a lot of privacy work for the Canadian government and as an ICANN volunteer, and me; Milt Mueller, who is now at Georgia Tech, moderated. more

A Short-Term Suspension of GDPR Enforcement on WHOIS May Be Necessary, Says U.S. Government

Implementation of European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is a major concern of our government, said David Redl during a meeting held on Thursday in Washington DC. more

Human Rights in the Digital Age, Online Pharmacies, and the “Brussels Principles”

"Human Rights in a Digital Age" is the theme of this year's RightsCon conference in Toronto. An essential human right is access to safe, affordable prescription medications. The Internet makes this possible, our organization has proven it's achievable and sustainable over an extended period of time, and our proposed "Brussels Principles" provide the framework to take our proven success internationally. Across the Globe, to people everywhere. more

ARIN and Antigua & Barbuda Government to Hold Workshop on Internet Resilience

The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is collaborating with the government of Antigua and Barbuda to strengthen the technical capacity of local network operators. ARIN is one of five registries responsible for coordinating Internet number resources worldwide. Its service area includes Canada, the United States, and several Caribbean countries. The collaboration with the Antigua and Barbuda government comes as part of a broader thrust by ARIN to support the development of the Internet across the region. more

Policymakers to Discuss Data Privacy at Caribbean Internet Governance Forum

Data privacy will be among the items topping the agenda at an upcoming Caribbean Internet Governance Forum to be held by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) in Suriname this month. The meeting is part of an effort by several Caribbean countries to establish and strengthen policies to ensure that Internet users' personal information is collected, shared and used in appropriate ways. more