Unfamiliarity and Unpreparedness in Proceedings Under the UDRP

There is a difference, of course, between asserting a claim that cannot possibly succeed in an administrative proceeding under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and being unprepared to prove a claim that may have merit with the right evidence. Still, there is also an overlapping similarity in that complainants are either shockingly unfamiliar with UDRP procedures and jurisprudence... more

Setting a Higher Bar: Our .gay Commitment Is an Industry-First

Eight years ago, we made the decision to apply for ".gay" with encouragement from Clyde, my gay brother-in-law, among other passionate members of my family. Although we lost him recently, his memory has only increased our determination to see it through. I know Clyde would be proud of our vision for .gay, and all of the planning and community engagement that has gone into making sure we get this right. more

ICANN Defends Plans for New TLDs But Launch Date to Likely Slip

On September 23, ICANN's Chief Operating Officer, Doug Brent was asked by ranking members of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee why they were continuing to move forward with the launch of new gTLDs when they had not yet been able to resolve complaints. Brent stated that Internet users have long called for the expansion of new gTLDs and that winners of new gTLDs would have to abide by a lengthy set of rules. Brent went on to say that "ICANN did not casually think this plan up." more

It’s Official: Value Moving to Edge

It's official. A team of market analysts from Oppenheimer are saying [PDF] what I've been saying since 1997, that the apps are separating from the network, and this is driving a wave of "explosive innovation." more

Asia-Pacific Job Opening: Join Internet Society Deploy360 Programme to Promote IPv6, DNSSEC, More

Do you live in the Asia-Pacific region and are interested in accelerating the deployment of key technologies such as IPv6, DNSSEC, TLS or secure routing mechanisms? If so, my Internet Society colleagues involved with the Deploy360 Programme are seeking a "Technical Engagement Manager" based somewhere in the AP region. Find out more information about the position, the requirements and the process for applying. more

Watch LIVE: Edward Snowden at HOPE-X Today at 2:00pm EDT (18:00 UTC)

Whether you view Edward Snowden as a criminal or a hero, or somewhere in between, you cannot dispute that his revelations about pervasive surveillance have changed the discussions about the Internet on both technology and policy levels. If you are interested in hearing what Edward Snowden has to say himself, he is scheduled to speak today, Saturday, July 19, 2014, at 2:00pm US EDT at the HOPE-X conference in New York City. more

Financial Times on Telecoms Separation

I've written that a Network Neutrality law needs a Network Management Exception, and I've laid out how this exception is likely to become a giant vacuum-cleaner-fish loophole. The way out is the separation of infrastructure from service, so infrastructure operators can have no financial interests in the services they carry, hence no motive to discriminate in anti-competitive ways. Now today's Financial Times has an editorial on the EC telecom regulator, Viviane Reding's proposal to beef up national telecom regulatory authority within European countries and create a Europe-wide so-called super-regulator. more

Flipping the Kill Switch: Internet Restrictions Becoming the New Normal

The Internet was built on the promise that everyone, everywhere could create, share information and ideas without frontiers. Yet, Internet restrictions are increasing to the point they are becoming the norm. And it's happening fast. In its 2016 Freedom on the Net report, Freedom House revealed that Internet freedom declined for the 6th year in a row. The report notes that more governments have been blocking social media and communication apps than ever before. more

Google Discloses Rising Number of Government Requests

In the spirit of shining more light on how government actions could affect users, Google Inc. in early 2010, began periodically sharing number of government requests received in what it calls the "Transparency Report." more

Has Real “Change” Come to ICANN? (How to Repair Trust Part I.5)

Just under 4 years ago and fresh from his world celebrated election win of the White House and the US Presidency on a platform of "Change Has Come To America", newly elected US President Barak Obama packed his bags and headed to Cairo on a strategic vision and mission that included delivering a speech from Cairo University aimed at winning the trust of Arabs and Muslims worldwide... This morning in Toronto, Canada new ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé will also attempt a similar feat that is no less important to the world than that of Obama's 4 years ago. more

Is the Passion Over Net Neutrality Misguided? A New Paper Offers a Fresh Technical Approach

"Net neutrality" is implicitly framed as a debate over how to deliver an equitable ration of quality to each broadband user and application. This is the wrong debate to have, since it is both technically impossible and economically unfair. We should instead be discussing how to create a transparent market for quality that is both achievable and fair. In this paper I propose an alternative approach that (potentially) meets the needs of both consumer advocates and free market proponents. more

Report on the Eve of WCIT

Hello, from Dubai where the WCIT (World Conference on International Telecommunications) - under the auspices of the United Nations agency, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) - is set to get underway... There is a great deal of jockeying for position taking place, and it is interesting to walk through the corridors and listen to what is going on. more

FCC Vote Results: We the People Won

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just voted to open up the so called TV Whitespaces for UNLICENSED use. This is incredibly good news for rural America in particular but actually for all of America. It's not as important as the election the rest of us in the US voted in today -- but this action is a very, very big deal. Just a few of the benefits... more

ICANN TMCH: The Haunted Trademark Clearance House

When the fantasy of a universal trademark clearance house was floated in the name of protecting existing trademark owners by the opposing lobbies against the global domain name expansion, particularly the gTLD programs, the domain name industry and ICANN quickly accepted the idea. A universal trademark clearance house is perhaps a greatest idea but in reality a fantasy. Today, at ICANN, the best minds are teamed-up and struggling to get the TMHC (Trademark Clearance House) constructed. more

Hyperconvergence, Disaggregation, and Cloud: The Foggy Future of Network Engineering

The world of networking tends to be bistable: we either centralize everything, or we decentralize everything. We started with mainframes, passed through Lotus 123 hidden in corners, then to mini's and middleware, then to laptops, and now to the cloud, to be followed by fog. This particular cycle of centralization/decentralization, however, has produced a series of overlapping changes that are difficult to decipher. You can somehow hear someone arguing about disaggregation and hyperconvergence through the fog -- but just barely. more