UPDATE: SSAC2 Organizational Review
Adobe Connect Room: https://participate.icann.org/OrgReviews – (upon log-in, please, use the automatic dial-out prompt to connect your phone). More information here.
Editor's note: I have already submitted a comment, view here.
The Assessment Report (pdf).
Comment Deadline Extension - SSAC Review Assessment Report - 2 July 2018 - comments on the report are encouraged and can be sent to mssi-secretariat@icann.org until the new deadline of 23:59 UTC on 27 July 2018.
The ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) advises the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the security and integrity of the Internet's naming and address allocation systems. This includes operational, administrative, and registration matters.
Original Post:
1) Is ICANN Trying To Hijack The Global Internet DNS Root?
ICANN62 Presentation:
ICANN62 Transcript (pdf).
RSSAC037 A Proposed Governance Model for the DNS Root Server System | ICANN.org (pdf).
Editor's note: anything ICANN touches usually does not end well. For that pragmatic reason alone, before there are any other changes to the DNS root servers, I would suggest first that ICANN be prohibited from ever playing any role in the operation or management of the global internet DNS root servers, and that ICANN be required to divest itself from operating the L root server (transfer its operation and management to IETF or another affiliate of the Internet Architecture Board or the Internet Society).
2) ICANN News
a. GDPR, RDS, WHOIS & ePDP Updates:
• European Data Protection Board - Second plenary meeting, Thursday, 5 July, 2018 (pdf) excerpt below:
• 5 July 2018 Letter from European Data Protection Board Chair Andrea Jelinek to ICANN CEO Göran Marby (pdf) embed below, responding to 10 May 2018 letter (pdf) from Göran Marby, in which the EDPB reiterates what it (or its predecessor WP29) had previously told ICANN:
See also ICANN't get no respect: Europe throws Whois privacy plan in the trash | theregister.co.uk.
• It didn't take long for the ePDP process to start going "off the rails"-- Stacking the deck? The ePDP on the Whois temp spec | internetgovernance.org. See also Proposed Temp Spec EPDP Membership Structure 27 Jun 2018 (pdf).
• ICANN.org: ICANN Temporary Specification Model Registry Registrar Agreement Amendment Terms 02 Jul 2018--rra-amendment-terms-temp-spec-02jul18-en.pdf [pdf 58.4 KB]
1) Is ICANN Trying To Hijack The Global Internet DNS Root?
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| source: iana.org |
"Internet overseer ICANN is considering a self-managed governance model for the world's Domain Name System root servers – and one of the outcomes could be a reduction in the number of root servers"--theregister.co.uk.Apparently the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the California "non-profit" corporation known as ICANN, is not content in having:
- wrecked the global DNS by delegating into the global internet root hundreds of new gTLDs that "fail to work as expected on the internet" (see last week's News Review 2)c. SSAC2);
- designed and implemented an ill-conceived new gTLDs program founded upon consumer fraud, a .BRAND extortion racket, exploitative pricing power and greed, and ICANN incompetence (pdf);
- expropriated for itself and its "contracted" third parties, potentially every geographic term and reference in the world--cities, regions, states, etc.--for privatized monetary gain and exploitation (in perpetuity);
- completely bungled its response to the European Union's data protection law (GDPR).
ICANN62 Presentation:
ICANN62 Transcript (pdf).
RSSAC037 A Proposed Governance Model for the DNS Root Server System | ICANN.org (pdf).
Editor's note: anything ICANN touches usually does not end well. For that pragmatic reason alone, before there are any other changes to the DNS root servers, I would suggest first that ICANN be prohibited from ever playing any role in the operation or management of the global internet DNS root servers, and that ICANN be required to divest itself from operating the L root server (transfer its operation and management to IETF or another affiliate of the Internet Architecture Board or the Internet Society).
2) ICANN News
• 5 July 2018 Letter from European Data Protection Board Chair Andrea Jelinek to ICANN CEO Göran Marby (pdf) embed below, responding to 10 May 2018 letter (pdf) from Göran Marby, in which the EDPB reiterates what it (or its predecessor WP29) had previously told ICANN:
See also ICANN't get no respect: Europe throws Whois privacy plan in the trash | theregister.co.uk.
• It didn't take long for the ePDP process to start going "off the rails"-- Stacking the deck? The ePDP on the Whois temp spec | internetgovernance.org. See also Proposed Temp Spec EPDP Membership Structure 27 Jun 2018 (pdf).
• ICANN.org: ICANN Temporary Specification Model Registry Registrar Agreement Amendment Terms 02 Jul 2018--rra-amendment-terms-temp-spec-02jul18-en.pdf [pdf 58.4 KB]
• Temp Spec's Effects on Registry Agreement (RA) and Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) - ICANN Org Operations and Policy Research 11 June 2018 working draft (pdf) embed below:
See also: Expressions of Interest Sought for Chair of GNSO ePDP on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data--ICANN.org.
Editor's note: follow GDPR, RDS, WHOIS & ePDP updates on the mail lists here and here and on the wiki. Also note: "development of a post mortem on the RDS PDP and the closure of that PDP. Request that Post mortem is completed by end of July so that it can be shared with the Council" --minutes of the GNSO Council meeting on Wednesday 27 June 2018.
b. ICANN's next round of new gTLDs:
Initial Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Overarching Issues & Work Tracks 1-4) } ICANN.org--comment period closes 5 Sep 2018 23:59 UTC.
See also: Expressions of Interest Sought for Chair of GNSO ePDP on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data--ICANN.org.
Editor's note: follow GDPR, RDS, WHOIS & ePDP updates on the mail lists here and here and on the wiki. Also note: "development of a post mortem on the RDS PDP and the closure of that PDP. Request that Post mortem is completed by end of July so that it can be shared with the Council" --minutes of the GNSO Council meeting on Wednesday 27 June 2018.
b. ICANN's next round of new gTLDs:
Initial Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Overarching Issues & Work Tracks 1-4) } ICANN.org--comment period closes 5 Sep 2018 23:59 UTC.
c. Issues Open For Public Comment Closing in July--issue and close date (subject to change):
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
a. Dot COM Is Still King: "Afnic has published its 2017 study on the global domain name market, based on ICANN statistics, registry figures, specialized site information and internal research ... With nearly 135 million domain names, .COM remains the "heavyweight" in legacy TLDs and saw its market share increase from 38.9% to 39.5%, ... The "Other Legacy" TLDs suffered in 2017, losing 2% in stock. Overall market growth was 1.2% in 2017, down from 7.1% in 2016 ... nTLDs came to an abrupt halt in 2018, and saw their market share decrease ... The study of the distribution of domain names at the global level clearly shows a predominance of North America for "Legacy" TLDs with nearly 58% of the .COM names, Europe for ccTLDs (49%), and Asia-Pacific for nTLDs (51%). The domain name market in 2017 was also marked by a phenomenon of change and recomposition. The concentration of players continued at all levels while the financial situation remained tense ..."--Afnic Study: The Global Domain Name Market in 2017 (June 28, 2018) | afnic.fr (emphasis added).
b. Designer Michael Kors is seeking injunctive relief and millions in damages from 150 entities operating in South Florida selling knockoffs online. The 28-page complaint (pdf) was filed June 21, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for Florida's Southern District Miami Division, according to flarecord.com, and alleges the defendants are committing "federal trademark counterfeiting and infringement, false designation of origin, cybersquatting, common law unfair competition and common law trademark infringement."
c. Australia ccTLD .au -- point vs counterpoint -- registry service providers Afilias vs Neustar (Neustar a/k/a ausregistry and ARI Registry Services):
d. Brexit Notice--eurid.eu: "... On 10 April 2018 EURid, the .eu registry manager, received a communication from the European Commission stating the following:
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
a. Top 5 Things you should know about DNS--The Domain Name System, or DNS, could be slowing you down or even exposing you to security issues--techrepublic.com.
b. U.S.: EFF Sues to Invalidate FOSTA, an Unconstitutional Internet Censorship Law--EFF.org.
c. The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping’s internet shutdown--TheGuardian.com 29 Jun 2018--"today the country has the largest and most sophisticated online censorship operation in the world."
See also Freedom segregated--"a proposal of the Hainan government that would enable access to overseas social media platforms that are otherwise censored in China"... "was met with firm criticism when it was released on June 21, on the provincial government website"--hongkongfp.com [Editor's note: as the news story cited indicates, the proposal to allow full access to the internet on China's island province of Hainan has been withdrawn from the website where originally published.]
d. Russian activists turn to UN Human Rights Council about Internet censure--crimerussia.com.
e. Venezuela blocks Tor browser--cnet.com
f. EU: European Parliament to review copyright rules in September--the plenary voted by 318 votes to 278, with 31 abstentions to reject the negotiating mandate, proposed by the Legal Affairs Committee on 20 June. As a result, Parliament’s position will now be up for debate, amendment, and a vote during the next plenary session, in September--europarl.europa.eu.
g. Politically Correct? What Happens When Social Media Censors the News: Facebook apologizes to a Texas newspaper after it initially flagged a post of the text of the Declaration of Independence as "hate speech"--TheHill.com.
h. App Traps: How Cheap Smartphones Siphon User Data in Developing Countries - Tension between privacy and sharing of user data stokes a debate in West, but much less so in developing economies--WSJ.com.
5) Three Most Read posts this past week on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo
- Draft Community Travel Support Guidelines 16 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Open Data Initiative Datasets and Metadata 27 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Proposed Renewal of .COOP Sponsored Registry Agreement 27 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Draft Proposal of the New Fellowship Program Approach 27 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Short-Term Options to Adjust the Timeline for Specific Reviews 31 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Long-Term Options to Adjust the Timeline of Reviews 31 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
- Initial Report on the Protections for Certain Red Cross Names in all gTLDs – Policy Amendment Process 31 Jul 2018 23:59 UTC
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
b. Designer Michael Kors is seeking injunctive relief and millions in damages from 150 entities operating in South Florida selling knockoffs online. The 28-page complaint (pdf) was filed June 21, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for Florida's Southern District Miami Division, according to flarecord.com, and alleges the defendants are committing "federal trademark counterfeiting and infringement, false designation of origin, cybersquatting, common law unfair competition and common law trademark infringement."
c. Australia ccTLD .au -- point vs counterpoint -- registry service providers Afilias vs Neustar (Neustar a/k/a ausregistry and ARI Registry Services):
Afilias: ".au Completes Historic Transition to Afilias, 3.1M Domain Names Transferred to New Infrastructure"--circleid.comMeanwhile auDA's share of .au domain name fees raises eyebrows--afr.com: auDA used to take "$2.66 a year from every domain fee, with $7.70 going to Neustar. The new breakdown, auDA told us, is a staggering $6.13 to auDA per domain per annum. Which presumably gives $2.54 per annum to Afilias ..."
vs
Neustar: "Setting the story straight: Neustar’s role in auDA’s Registry Transformation Project"--ausregistry.com.au
d. Brexit Notice--eurid.eu: "... On 10 April 2018 EURid, the .eu registry manager, received a communication from the European Commission stating the following:
“The revocation of existing holders’ rights and the prohibition for registrars from processing any more requests for registrations or renewals for .eu domain names whose holders are no longer eligible must be prepared so that the necessary measures are effective as from 1 January 2021 or, in case that there were no withdrawal agreement in force before 30 March 2019, as from 30 March 2019.”"Upon request of the Commission, we drafted a high-level plan to implement the domain name revocation scenario(s). At the same time, we highlighted several pending matters that should be communicated to the registry manager before we can enforce any measure. Among them:
- What is the earliest date on which the European Commission will be able to inform EURid of the chosen option?
- What domain names are affected by the decision of the European Commission? For example, will there be any difference of approach where the registrant is from Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar or other British overseas territories?
- What will happen to domain names reserved by the UK government as listed in the Annex of EC Regulation 874/2004?
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
b. U.S.: EFF Sues to Invalidate FOSTA, an Unconstitutional Internet Censorship Law--EFF.org.
c. The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping’s internet shutdown--TheGuardian.com 29 Jun 2018--"today the country has the largest and most sophisticated online censorship operation in the world."
See also Freedom segregated--"a proposal of the Hainan government that would enable access to overseas social media platforms that are otherwise censored in China"... "was met with firm criticism when it was released on June 21, on the provincial government website"--hongkongfp.com [Editor's note: as the news story cited indicates, the proposal to allow full access to the internet on China's island province of Hainan has been withdrawn from the website where originally published.]
d. Russian activists turn to UN Human Rights Council about Internet censure--crimerussia.com.
e. Venezuela blocks Tor browser--cnet.com
f. EU: European Parliament to review copyright rules in September--the plenary voted by 318 votes to 278, with 31 abstentions to reject the negotiating mandate, proposed by the Legal Affairs Committee on 20 June. As a result, Parliament’s position will now be up for debate, amendment, and a vote during the next plenary session, in September--europarl.europa.eu.
g. Politically Correct? What Happens When Social Media Censors the News: Facebook apologizes to a Texas newspaper after it initially flagged a post of the text of the Declaration of Independence as "hate speech"--TheHill.com.
h. App Traps: How Cheap Smartphones Siphon User Data in Developing Countries - Tension between privacy and sharing of user data stokes a debate in West, but much less so in developing economies--WSJ.com.
5) Three Most Read posts this past week on DomainMondo.com:
1. News Review | ICANN Brought Its GDPR Train Wreck To ICANN62 Panama
2. Tech Review | Digital Advertising's Disruption and Data Addiction (video)
2. Tech Review | Digital Advertising's Disruption and Data Addiction (video)
-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo