Policy & Regulation

US Senator Wyden Proposes Bill That Could Jail Executives Over Repeated Data Privacy Violations

U.S. Democratic Senator Ron Wyden released an early draft of a bill today that would subject company CEOs and senior executives to tough penalties including 10 to 20 years of imprisonment for failing to protect consumer data.

Berners-Lee Warns About the Danger of Concentration Regarding Growing Dominance of Tech Giants

World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee speaking during an interview this week, warned Silicon Valley technology giants have grown so dominant they may need to be broken up.

US Copyright Office Expands Security Researchers’ Ability to Hack Without Going to Jail

The Librarian of Congress and US Copyright Office has updated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act extending some essential exemptions ensuring that computer security researchers won't be treated like nefarious criminals for their contributions to society.

Amazon Gets the Green Light for .Amazon TLD Following Intense Negotiations Involving South America

ICANN has lifted the stop on delegating the .amazon top-level domain, allowing the delegation of the domain to the company Amazon Inc. over the South American region.

NTIA Chief Suggests “Cooling Off Periods” for ICANN Staff Before Moving On to Outside Jobs

In a statement delivered during the ICANN63 in Barcelona, David Redl,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information (NTIA) said that while the community has greatly improved ICANN's accountability there is still room left for improvements.

Easy Access to ICANN, IP Address Data Beats Info on Encrypted Data, Says Telstra Cybersecurity Head

When it comes to fighting cybercrime, "being able to easily access ICANN and look up IP addresses is a lot more important than accessing the minutiae of encrypted data communications," says Jacqueline McNamara, head of cybersecurity at Telstra.

Most Government Domains in the US Have Adopted Email Authentication Program to Prevent Fake Emails

According to reports, the majority of the U.S. federal domains have met the deadline to adopt an email authentication program to prevent fake emails from being sent.

First Round of GDPR Fines Coming by the End of the Year, Says EU Data Regulator

The EU's privacy regulator is predicting that the first round of enforcement actions under the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be exercised in the coming months.

US Department of Justice Sues California Over Its New Net Neutrality Law

The U.S. Department of Justice on Sunday night filed a lawsuit against California over the new net neutrality law after just an hour the bill was signed.

Internet Will Split Into Chinese-Led and US-Led Versions Within the Next Decade, Says Eric Schmidt

Speaking at a private event hosted by Village Global VC, tech luminary and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that the internet will split into Chinese-led and US-led versions by 2028.

Trump Administration Says US Will Start Using Offensive Strategy Towards Cyberattacks

The Trump administration today announced that the U.S. will begin a new strategy to deter and respond to cyberattacks with offensive actions against foreign adversaries.

“Seven Dirty Words” Restriction Policy Lifted from .US Domain Name Registrations

Neustar, the registry operator of the .US domain and NTIA have reversed course, allowing the inclusion of previously restricted "seven dirty words" from future .US domain name registrations.

New Zealand’s Domain Name Commission Wins Injunction in a Lawsuit Against DomainTools

New Zealand's Domain Name Commission today won a motion for preliminary injunction in a US lawsuit against the company DomainTools.

EU Authorities to Give Internet Companies 1 Hour to Take Down Extremist Content or Face Hefty Fines

European authorities proposed new laws today subjecting internet companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook to big fines if the extremist content is not taken down within one hour.

Toughest State-Level Net Neutrality Bill in the US Approved by California Senate

The California Senate on Friday voted to approve the toughest state-level net neutrality bill in the U.S. and now with both legislative houses having approved the bill, California Governor Jerry Brown has until September 30 to sign it into law.