ICANN is currently seeking public comment on the subject of "closed generic" gTLD applications. It asks "whether specific requirements should be adopted corresponding to this type of application". It invites comments on what it defines as an "issue". In particular, ICANN wonders how an applied-for domain can be deemed a "closed generic" TLD, and whether there should be rules governing the way this TLD will be operated. more
A registrar who also engages in domain tasting can inadvertently create ripple effects throughout the domain name industry. Thus, domain name owners must exert pressure on ICANN to reduce this risk. We are now experiencing ripple effects from the subprime market and its repercussions on related markets. ...there can be a problem when registrar functions and domain tasting are conducted by the same entity. Unmonitored coupling of seemingly unrelated markets can be devastating to our industry. more
Register.com has not taken a position for or against WLS. If and when the registry launches this service, Register.com will consider whether to offer it based on the price and conditions attached to the service. We are committed to delivering to our customers the best in class services available. Therefore, the registry's price will be an important factor. Moreover, we are concerned about some of the conditions currently being considered by ICANN - primarily, the "black out period." This is a period of time prior to the final deletion of a name, during which a registrar would be prohibited from selling a WLS subscription on a domain name that it sponsors. We consider this a condition that could confuse consumers and dampen domain name competition. more
The voluntary Public Interest Commitments (PIC) have a long and sad history at ICANN. They were a process never created or evaluated by the Multistakeholder process, thrown together for one purpose and allowed to morph into a mechanism for an almost unlimited number of un-reviewed other purposes. Disputes are delegated to a resolution process which itself was never evaluated for... more
Big news! The official website of the ICANN Independent Objector is now online. Another piece of good news announced at the same time is that the site will also offer a French version, which was under construction at the time. More than a month later, the French version is still under construction. Do we have to wait for eternity? While this situation may not seem critically important on the surface, it must in fact be taken very seriously because it is symptomatic of a far deeper problem... more
Domain name registration is a hot industry. Registrars represent a growing multi-billion dollar industry with the keys to the Internet for any organization hoping to have a web presence. Further, because of their role as one of the gatekeepers to the Internet, registrars have the unique ability and are often asked to take action against illegal activity online. This fact was highlighted in the report released this week by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the 2015 Out-of-Cycle Notorious Markets List. more
As I've written before, the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) - the domain name dispute policy applicable to the new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) - is just not catching on. Whether because of its limited suspension remedy, high burden of proof or other reasons, the URS remains unpopular among trademark owners. However, there's one interesting use to which the URS can be put. more
In pursuit of continued domain name industry success, the Domain Name Association (DNA) is delighted to announce the launch of the next industry resource -- the DNA University. The aim of the DNA University is to establish a dedicated education platform to facilitate the exchange of ideas, best-practice methodologies and continued development of the industry's combined expertise. To this end, the DNA University will offer stakeholders an opportunity to share their experiences, learn from each other and provide a forum to incubate concepts that will advance the domain name industry. more
Attendees at the public ICANN meeting in Brussels today heard from over two dozen companies that have implemented or are planning to support DNSSEC, the next-generation standard protocol for secured domain names. It is clearer than ever before that DNSSEC is becoming a reality. more
A few days ago, Eric Goldman wrote an interesting thinkpiece in CircleID regarding users' feeling about privacy. He seems to conclude that the existent regulations and policies on the matter are unnecessary, since Privacy doesn't "really" matters to the consumer. Eric based his argumentation on a number of surveys, stating that, even when the user expresses concerns about their privacy, on line behavior shows a different reality. We don't want to discuss here the soundness of surveys as a reliable source of information, but the author could be assuming too much in his analysis. more
In cooperation with the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), we are planning a DNSSEC and Security Workshop for the ICANN78 Annual General Meeting being held as a hybrid meeting from 21-26 October 2023 in Hamburg, Germany in the Central European Summer Time Zone (UTC +2). This workshop date will be determined once ICANN creates a block schedule for us to follow; then we will be able to request a day and time. more
A Massachusetts school district was forced to pay a $10,000 Bitcoin ransom to hackers following a cyberattack that blocked access to its system. more
As we increasingly move towards an IoT world, vendors of safety-critical devices will be patching their systems just as regularly as phone and computer vendors do now. Researchers warn that many regulators who previously thought only in terms of safety will have to start thinking of security as well. more
This morning I read a catchy titled article on CircleID "China Closing the Door to New Technologies". I was trying to make sense of what all the fuss is about... So I called up my friends in Ministry of Industry and Information (MIIT) for lunch to find out what's going. more
Completely eradicating malware, botnets, phishing, pharming, and spam from the Domain Name System is not possible. That may be an odd statement from someone who just took the leadership position at the DNS Abuse Institute, but it's meant to underscore the scope of the work ahead of us. There will always be bad actors exploiting the DNS for their own criminal purposes, but working together, we can mitigate their impact. more
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