.
1) a. US Gov NTIA Rebukes ICANN Board of Directors over its interference with SSR2:
For background read on Domain Mondo:
Present status of SSR2 Review Team work? Still SUSPENDED (another team member just quit) (source: SSR2 mail list).
[Editor's note: I don't think the ICANN Board actually intended to sabotage the Security and Stability Review (SSR2) by taking the unilateral (and unprecedented) action of suspending the SSR2 Review Team's (SSR2-RT) work, but the effect may have been the same, with the suspension now approaching two months in duration (since Oct 28). Nor is it clear what, if anything, the acquiescing AC/SOs' "leadership" is doing to re-start the review. I wouldn't be surprised if more members of the Review Team resign before the end of the month. They were clearly trying to do a thorough, conscientious job, for the global internet community, before being undercut by the ICANN Board and AC/SOs leadership. I, like many others, still do not really understand why anyone was feeling so threatened by the SSR2 Review Team work plan, particularly compared to all of the obviously dysfunctional and incompetent ICANN Working Groups and Review Teams whose work ICANN regularly funds, accepts, and implements.]
1) b. Internet Governance Forum, IGF 2017, Geneva, Dec 17-21
IGF 2017 | Geneva 17-21 Dec 2017 | Internet Governance Forum
UPDATES: (1) My IGF 2017 lesson learned: remote participation wasn’t a viable alternative way to participate | LinguaSynaptica.com
(2) IGF 2017 day 2 session: “ICANN – Looking ahead: Challenges and Opportunities”
Internet Governance Forum 2017 (IGF 2017) video above streamed LIVE on Dec 19, 2017 (session starts at 12:42).
Local Time GenevaThe Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a global multistakeholder platform that facilitates the discussion of public policy issues pertaining to the internet.
Full Schedule: https://igf2017.intgovforum.org/ (note: 'day zero' is Dec 17);
- Online participation. UPDATE: better consult this guide first.
- Daily news and updates: Internet Governance Forum | GIP | dig.watch.
- 17 December 15:00–16:30 How Digital activists are shaping the evolution of the Internet: the voice of civil society in ICANN
- 17 December 16:30–18:00 The DNS and Emerging Identifiers (including DOA)
- 19 December 09:00–10:30 [3am-4:30am ET] Multistakeholder governance of the Domain Name System, lessons learned for other IG issues (WS76) – CCWG IG Session.
- 19 December 16:10–17:10 [10:10-11:10 ET] ICANN Open Forum “ICANN – Looking ahead: - Challenges and Opportunities” (OF50): "This Open and Interactive Session will consider a range of areas ICANN is addressing including ongoing accountability work; the work of the Community in preparing for a potential new application process for gTLDs; the on-going work with respect to emerging Data Protection (DP) and privacy developments including the implementation of new DP legislation in Europe (GDPR) ..." Scheduled speakers include ICANN President & CEO Goran Marby and the ICANN Board Chair Cherine Chalaby.
- The ever-expanding universe of Internet events and initiatives: "... NETmundial Initiative ... funding dried up not too long after its initiator and main champion ICANN CEO Fadi Chehade, left ICANN. This is possibly the only initiative in the Internet governance space ever to have been allowed to die, with pretty much nobody mourning its loss ..." (emphasis and link added)
2) ICANN news
a. VeriSign o.com proposal (pdf) cleared for auction:
For more information see Proposal 2017038 from Verisign on this "buried" ICANN.org webpage.
b. ICANN Board Members' Conflicts of Interest ICANN.org: ICANN Officers and Board Members Statements of Interest Summary relating to ICANN matters Dec 13, 2017. [Editor's note: for background read News Review Nov 26, 2017 | ICANN Board Executive Committee, Conflicts of Interest | DomainMondo.com]
c. Self-Serving: ICANN Organization Publishes Reports on the Review of the Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) Process | ICANN.org: "The findings will be considered by the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee (BAMC) when the BAMC reviews the remaining pending Reconsideration Requests as part of the Reconsideration process."
d. Almost Totally Useless: ICANN Publishes Updated gTLD Marketplace Health Index | ICANN.org: "statistics and trends related to generic top-level domains (gTLDs)." [Editor's note: the word "robust" should be banned from use by anyone at ICANN.]
e. GDPR Data Protection & Privacy Update: ICANN org published info on how to submit a proposed model for providing registration directory services and meeting other data retention requirements while remaining compliant with EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
f. Overstaffed & Overpaid: ICANN Management Organization Chart | ICANN.org: 01 Dec 2017 management-org-01dec17-en.pdf (pdf 1.92MB)
g. ICANN.org announced that Kim Davies, Director of Technical Services, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), has been appointed to the position of Vice President, IANA Services and President, PTI.
h. is for holiday--ICANN Holiday Closure Schedule | ICANN.org--"... all ICANN offices will be closed as of 20:00 UTC on Friday 22 December, and will re-open on Tuesday, 02 January 2018. During this time, the processing of New gTLD Applications and service requests for gTLD Registries and Registrars will be suspended ..."
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
• Domain Names:
• GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY): Capital International Investors disclosed on December 8, 2017 a 10.9% stake in the world's largest domain name registrar GoDaddy.
• China Watch: Impact Of Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law On Advertising And Marketing In China | Mondaq.com
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
• Censorship, Internet Freedom:
5) Five Most Read Posts this past week (page views Sun-Sat) on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo
For more information see Proposal 2017038 from Verisign on this "buried" ICANN.org webpage.
b. ICANN Board Members' Conflicts of Interest ICANN.org: ICANN Officers and Board Members Statements of Interest Summary relating to ICANN matters Dec 13, 2017. [Editor's note: for background read News Review Nov 26, 2017 | ICANN Board Executive Committee, Conflicts of Interest | DomainMondo.com]
c. Self-Serving: ICANN Organization Publishes Reports on the Review of the Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) Process | ICANN.org: "The findings will be considered by the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee (BAMC) when the BAMC reviews the remaining pending Reconsideration Requests as part of the Reconsideration process."
d. Almost Totally Useless: ICANN Publishes Updated gTLD Marketplace Health Index | ICANN.org: "statistics and trends related to generic top-level domains (gTLDs)." [Editor's note: the word "robust" should be banned from use by anyone at ICANN.]
e. GDPR Data Protection & Privacy Update: ICANN org published info on how to submit a proposed model for providing registration directory services and meeting other data retention requirements while remaining compliant with EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
f. Overstaffed & Overpaid: ICANN Management Organization Chart | ICANN.org: 01 Dec 2017 management-org-01dec17-en.pdf (pdf 1.92MB)
g. ICANN.org announced that Kim Davies, Director of Technical Services, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), has been appointed to the position of Vice President, IANA Services and President, PTI.
h. is for holiday--ICANN Holiday Closure Schedule | ICANN.org--"... all ICANN offices will be closed as of 20:00 UTC on Friday 22 December, and will re-open on Tuesday, 02 January 2018. During this time, the processing of New gTLD Applications and service requests for gTLD Registries and Registrars will be suspended ..."
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
"Always prefer .com, unless you are going for a country-specific site like selling products only in India (.in) ... So, if you cannot find .com and you are being offered a different extension .org, .in, .net, etc., then change the name and start the search again."--techfactslive.com.• ccTLD .au: Review of Australia’s .au domain management | gov.au: consultation period ends December 18, 2017 17:00 AEDT.
• GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY): Capital International Investors disclosed on December 8, 2017 a 10.9% stake in the world's largest domain name registrar GoDaddy.
• China Watch: Impact Of Amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law On Advertising And Marketing In China | Mondaq.com
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
- Dozens of Activists, Including British Journalist, Deported Ahead of WTO meet in Argentina | NewsClick.in: "Sally Burch, involved with JustNet Coalition, has been actively working on WTO, digital monopolies, Internet freedom, and autonomous weapons."
- News Review | FCC Votes To Kill U.S. Internet Net Neutrality, Video Replay, in a 3-2 vote, negating Title II net neutrality rules.
- FCC, FTC announce partnership to police internet after net neutrality repeal | TheHill.com
- The Net Neutrality Debate Hinges on Defining the Internet | IEEE Spectrum | ieee.org: telecommunications service OR information service
- New web browsing security tool arrives: DNS over TLS | ZDNet.com: "Tenta DNS, an open-source DNS over TLS resolver, will help preserve users' privacy after the fall of net neutrality."
5) Five Most Read Posts this past week (page views Sun-Sat) on DomainMondo.com:
1. Bitcoin Futures $XBT Start Trading Sunday, 6pm ET, on Cboe's CFE (video)
2. News Review | FCC Votes To Kill U.S. Internet Net Neutrality, Video Replay
3. Tech Review | Bitcoin Futures Start Trading On CME Globex Monday Dec 18
4. Numerai: A Hedge Fund Built By Data Scientists & Artificial Intelligence
5. Federal Reserve FOMC Interest Rates Announcement & Press Conference
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo