Nominations Open for 2023 Internet Society Board of Trustees

Are you (or someone you know) passionate about protecting the global, open Internet? And ensuring that it is available to everyone? Do you have leadership experience in business, government, philanthropy, and/or the nonprofit sector? If so, please consider submitting a nomination for a seat on the Internet Society Board of Trustees to help guide the future of the organization. more

The Missing Link in Dotless Domains

Well more than a year ago, ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee published SSAC 053, its paper on single-label domain names - now referred to in the community as "dotless" domains - advising against their use. In a robust comment period, the community weighed in on the utility and safety of dotless domains, with some in favor and some opposed. To address the matter, ICANN has commissioned further study of the issue with an eye toward resolving the issue for new gTLD applicants. more

EU Privacy Case Could Backfire, Turn EU into Data Island, Say Experts

Experts fear European Union court case attempting to keep personal data private could backfire and prove damaging to Europe. more

Emerging Markets Tech Watch 2012

2011 has been a significant year for the technology sector globally. Information technology is touching more people in more ways than ever before. Developed markets will be considering a 2012 in which business innovation, competitiveness, and service differentiation are built on ubiquitous broadband, cloud computing, smarter mobile computing, and an increasing plethora of Internet-connected devices. By contrast, securing the technology future for developing markets demands that attention be placed on more fundamental issues. more

VeriSign-ICANN Proposed Settlement Discussed in Vancouver

Unfortunately I cannot be in Vancouver for the conference. I write this from Cape Town, venue of last years fall ICANN. I want to disclose a couple of things upfront. Those who know me will know I am nothing if not strongly independent in my views. However disclosure helps those of a more suspicious mind know my associations and if they choose to, take them into account in interpreting my opinions. ...I am somewhat disappointed by the reaction to the proposed settlement. I feel that most of the discussion fails to take into account the actual conditions under which the settlement has been negotiated. more

All Aboard… the IDN Fast Track

In addition to Egypt, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia which had successfully completed the second phase of the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Fast Track Process earlier this year, ICANN announced today that China, Hong Kong, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Tunisia have also successfully completed the second phase. more

The Top 10 .Brand Moments of 2017

Each year in December, I sit down and take a moment to reflect on how the .brands space has progressed in the previous 12 months. Most folks will understand that starting a movement to create the next evolution of the internet with 'digital superbrands' was a little slow at first. Slowly but surely, that has started to change and especially in 2016, it really felt like people were starting to 'get it' -- both in terms of brands themselves, and the media and consumers. more

Addressing Anticompetitive Behavior in Internet Standards Bodies

A significant focus is emerging today on the anticompetitive behaviour of Silicon Valley companies directed at dominating critical sectors of the on-line marketplace, and a U.S. Congressional hearing is scheduled. Such practices can be pursued in many ways. One of the more elusive, but very effective anticompetitive playbooks - known legally as the "antitrust conspiracy" - can occur in internet standards bodies. more

California Senate Passes Bill to Restore Net Neutrality Regulations

The California Senate has voted to approve a bill to restore net neutrality regulations repealed by the Federal Communications Commission in December. more

Generic Top Level Domain Insights for Q3 2015

Participants in the recently released Global Consumer described new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) as being "innovative", "trustworthy", "interesting", "informative", and "cutting edge". With such impressive descriptions, it appears that the industry has made significant progress in reaching the tipping point. Although Q3 reflects growth, it also highlights the varying degrees of performance and need for further advancement in developing consumer awareness and in turn, the health of the industry. more

The Design of the Domain Name System, Part II - Exact and Approximate Name Matching

In the previous installment, we looked at the overall design of the DNS. Today we'll look at the ways it does and does not allow clients to look up data by name. The most important limitation of the DNS, compared to other databases, is that it only does exact match lookups. That is, with a few minor exceptions, the name in the query has to match the name of the desired records exactly. more

The State of the Internet During the Anti-Government Protests in Cuba

On Sunday, July 11, thousands of Cubans, took to the streets in anti-government protests triggered by COVID, the faltering economy, and an overwhelmed healthcare system. In three days, 110 protests took place across the island. The following is a snapshot of an interactive, crowd-sourced map showing the locations of 118 large and small demonstrations (94 reported on the 11th, 14 on the 12th, seven on the 13th and three on the 17th). more

Businesses and Intellectual Property Owners Discuss GDPR and WHOIS Issues With ICANN and Community

On January 24, 2018, ICANN's Business Constituency (BC) and Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC) co-hosted an event to discuss the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its implications on access to the WHOIS database. ICANN's CEO and General Counsel joined the discussion, as did stakeholders from across the ICANN community. The event was timely and well attended with over 200 participants attending in-person or virtually. more

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Globally Protected Marks List (GPML)

At first blush, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Globally Protected Marks List (GPML) do not seem to have anything in common. The first is a politician of debated repute that is seeking to quell disputes over the legitimacy of his election. The second is a recommendation that seeks to protect trademark owners and consumers from an explosion of infringement and source confusion that could be wrought by the introduction of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs). However, upon a closer analysis, they do share one common flaw: both have arguably failed to appropriately prioritize the right to free speech... more

Google Domains: Give Me More

The Buzz seems to be about Google Domains at the moment: Google is launching as a Registrar and will soon offer plenty of fantastic things to do with domain names. But... is there anything new with Google Domains? I checked the features but... I found nothing that other Registrars do not already offer and I admit I expected to be a little more impressed. more