DomainMondo.com Directory:

▼

2014-03-10

The Internet Is Already Balkanized

Supporters of an open and free internet often voice their concerns in terms of "balkanization of the internet." Interesting that ICANN has already declared the internet "balkanized" --

Read this:
The 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement – What You Need to Know

now read this:
Update on 2013 RAA and Data Retention Waiver Process particularly --  "ICANN recognizes that laws vary from country to country and that some of the new data retention requirements in the 2013 RAA may conflict with certain European data protection and privacy regulations. To be clear, governing laws take precedence over the terms of the RAA."

Got it? Governing laws -- if you have a .co domain name, that means the laws of the nation Colombia, or .sy, Syria, etc. Not only that, but if your registrar is located or domiciled in a nation other than the US, that nation's laws also apply and govern, not US laws, nor ICANN policies. Finally, the internet you get in places like China is NOT the same internet you get in most of the world. Welcome to the balkanized internet!