Internet Governance

National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Cautions ICANN on .INC, .LLC, .LLP, .CORP TLDs

Michael Berkens reporting in TheDomains.com blog reports: National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) is an organization whose members include Secretaries of State and Lieutenant Governors of the 50 U.S. states and territories send a letter to ICANN in late July that was just published today, that the new gTLD's .INC, .LLC, .CORP and .LLP.should only be allowed to be registered by 'entities that are appropriately registered and in good-standing with the Secretary of State or other appropriate state agency." more

Would You Like Your Private Information to be Available on a VHS or Betamax Tape?

When I was a young child growing up in the late 1980s, my parents were lucky enough to be able to afford to have both a VHS-tape video-recorder in the living room and a Betamax tape recorder in their bedroom. This effectively meant that to me, the great video format wars weren't a decade-defining clash of technologies, but rather they consisted mainly of answering the question "in which room can I watch my favorite cartoons?". more

The Next International Policy Battlefield Will Be ICT Policy

I am currently in Hyderabad, attending the Internet Governance Forum, IGF. With hours before the official opening, it might be worth reflecting a bit on Internet Governance and the general discussion on the role of international policy and ICT (information and communication technologies). I have several times before said, and written, that the real difference that governments could make (assuming that Governance is in relation to Governing) in Internet policy is close to their traditional roles.  more

Washington Post: How the U.S. Plans to Avoid a U.N. Vote on the Future of the Internet

Nancy Scola reporting in the Washington Post: "The latest battle over who should run the Internet will be waged in the South Korean port city of Busan over the next three weeks. For U.S. officials headed to the United Nation's International Telecommunication Union's Plenipotentiary Conference, the goal is simple: prevent a vote. In short, the State Department's approach is this: Convince the representatives of the other 192 member countries attending the conference that the 150-year-old U.N. technical body is the wrong forum for existential questions about how the Internet should work." more

What Should the ICANN Board Do About the .org Registry Sale?

Two and a half months ago, shortly after the ICANN66 meetings in Montreal, the ICANN stakeholder community was jolted by the announcement that the Internet Society (ISOC) had entered into an agreement to sell the wholly owned PIR non-profit that holds the .org registry contract. The sale was to be for $1.13B USD to the hastily assembled venture capital company Ethos Capital. The sale was presented as a done deal awaiting approval by the ICANN Board. more

GNSO Council: Attend the .ORG Protest!

Tomorrow EFF, NTEN, Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, and other organizations will hold a rally outside of ICANN HQ from 9-11 am. You know about the rally, and you should all attend this event! Whatever your feelings about the sale of .ORG, you are leaders of the GNSO, the body that makes gTLD policy. This is a gTLD event, and registrants are trying to talk with ICANN, and they are trying to talk with YOU. more

European Commission Seeking Greater Governmental Control Over the Internet

Kieren McCarthy reporting in .nxt: "An extraordinary series of policy papers drawn up by the European Commission and seen by .Nxt have called for greater governmental control over the Internet's domain name system. ...the measures would provide governments with de facto control over the Internet's naming systems and bring an end to the independent and autonomous approach that has defined the Internet's domain name system since its inception." more

AI, Human Rights and the Rise of the Global South

As the current global geopolitical space becomes less friendly to Human Rights1, are there potential offsetting trends supporting them? Yes, but... it will require initiatives from the Global South for AI data-driven policies supportive of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), demonstrating the value of SDGs and Human Rights combined. more

Internet Governance and ICANN: Emerging Policy Issues, June 18th Conference Hosted by CEPS, TPI

Amy Smorodin writes: The Technology Policy Institute and the Centre for European Policy Studies are co-hosting "Internet Governance and ICANN: Emerging Policy Issues," scheduled for June 18th at CEPS in Brussels. The conference will feature discussion on issues stemming from ICANN's newly established operating structure under the Affirmation of Commitments. more

If Code Is Law, Then Protocols Are Good Manners That Help Us Get Along

The Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP) is a product developed by Project Liberty, an international non-profit founded by Frank McCourt, with the goal of transforming how the Internet works, who owns and controls personal data, and who benefits from the digital economy. The McCourt Institute, as the research and digital governance arm of Project Liberty, aims to support the development and management of DSNP. more

More Petition by Google for Greater Transparency

Google reported today that it has filed an amended petition in the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The company, in a blog post, reports: "This petition [PDF] mirrors the requests made to Congress and the President by our industry and civil liberties groups in a letter [PDF] earlier this year. Namely, that Google be allowed to publish detailed statistics about the types (if any) of national security requests we receive under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including Section 702." Request has also been made by Google for the court to hold its hearing in open rather than behind closed doors. more

China Calls for Global “Governance System” to Regulate Internet, Activist Warn Threat to Free Speech

Speaking at the the Second World Internet Conference, a government-organized conference attended by executives of global and Chinese Internet companies, Xi called for the creation of a global "governance system" to reflect the "wishes and interests of all countries." more

Report on Governments Involved in Edited DNS Responses

Earl Zmijewski reporting in Renesys Blog: "There's been sudden interest recently in a Chinese route hijacking incident that occurred way back in April, brought about by a new report to the US Congress that highlighted the event. A second Chinese event, also in the report, has received almost no attention despite being much more interesting (technically, anyway). A Chinese DNS censorship incident occurred just one month earlier, in March..." more

Governments Divided Over Management of Core Internet Functions

Monika Ermert reporting in IP Watch: "Amidst rising voices that time is of essence to finalize the oversight transition for core internet functions from the United States government to the community of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), governments are divided over what their role should be." more

Iraq Shuts Down Internet Once Again to Combat Cheating

Earlier this morning, the national fiber backbone of Iraq was taken offline in an effort to combat cheating on 6th grade placement exams. more