1) ICANN63, Barcelona: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
THE GOOD, THE BAD
a. EPDP Working Group meetings at ICANN63 Highlights: at #ICANN63, we are debating what Whois data needs to be collected to establish the rights of a registrant in a domain name. The Policy chief of @GoDaddy says he doesn't believe registrants have any rights.— Milton Mueller (@miltonmueller) October 20, 2018
Who's your registrar?
How ironic You did not write this alone, and you were responsible for replacing the word "rights" with "benefits" in the title (but not the rest of the document, probably an oversight)— Milton Mueller (@miltonmueller) October 20, 2018
We emphasize the GAC consensus advice from ICANN62 that urged ICANN to take all steps necessary to ensure the development and implementation of a unified access model that addresses accreditation, authentication, access and accountability, and applies to all contracted parties. We welcome ICANN’s efforts to facilitate the necessary community discussion through the Unified Access Model papers and emphasize the need to drive these discussions towards concrete and timely results.--ICANN63 GAC Communique (pdf)In fact, they use automated string searches that produce tons of false positives and spam registrars with requests for private data #Whois https://t.co/bv319tBTy6— Milton Mueller (@miltonmueller) October 21, 2018
For more on EPDP & GDPR at ICANN63 see last week's News Review: ICANN63 Meeting Oct 20-25, ICANN's Tipping Point?, but if you want ICANN's 'sanitized' version, here it is:NCSG reps tell #ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee: Don't get your heart set on a Unified Access Model - it may not be compatible with #GDPR pic.twitter.com/RpliRMHKbF— IGP Alert (@IGPAlert) October 21, 2018
THE UGLY
b. ICANN Dysfunction
- Exhibit 1: 23 Oct 2018 email to RPM-WG Public Mail List from WG Co-Chair Phil Corwin (RySG - Verisign) "Note to Mr. Kirikos Regarding His Characterization of URS Sub-team Recommendations as 'Wishlists'";
- Exhibit 2: 23 Oct 2018 reply email from Mr. Kirikos;
- Exhibit 3: 21 Oct 2018 GNSO Council meeting transcript (pdf) pp. 23-36;
- Exhibit 4: 23 Oct 2018 Letter from Kirikos's Attorney (pdf);
- Exhibit 5: 25 Oct 2018 RPM PDP Complaint referral.
c. Slides (pdf) from ICANN63 Session 24 Oct 2018: What Issues and Challenges are Registrants Having Managing Domain Names?
d. GAC Communique (pdf):
"The GAC is not in a position to approve or reject the [CCWG WS2 on ICANN Accountability] recommendations on jurisdiction. Some GAC members support the recommendations. Other GAC members consider that they fall short of the objectives envisaged for Work Stream 2 and only partly mitigate the risks associated with ICANN’s subjection to US jurisdiction. The reasons why these members object to approving the recommendations are documented in the dissenting statement [pdf] submitted to the CCWG by Brazil." (emphasis and links added)The GAC will next meet at ICANN64, Kobe, Japan, 9-14 Mar 2019.
e. ICANN63 pre- and post-meeting reports | ICANN.org.
f. That sad Public Forum 2 at ICANN63--note particularly Amadeu Abril I Abril and Marilyn Cade's comments about ICANN's 'revolving door' and public perceptions of an unethical ICANN and its leadership--transcript (pdf) pp. 20-22, 29-31, 47-49.
Editor's final ICANN63 note: kudos to
- The Non-Commercial Stakeholders Group, Stephanie Perrin, Milton Mueller, and the entire NCSG's EPDP delegation, for standing up for registrants and registrants' rights;
- Paul Foody for exposing the dysfunctional and corrupt foundation of ICANN's new gTLDs program at ICANN63's Public Forum 1, see transcript (pdf), pp.50-54.
Lastly, holding ICANN accountable: my comment (pdf) embed below, submitted Oct 21, 2018 (during ICANN63) re: Draft Final Report of The Second Security and Stability Advisory Committee Review (SSAC2). The public comment period closes 3 Dec 2018 23:59 UTC (subject to change by ICANN org).
2) Other ICANN News
a. ICANN Board of Directors Report (pdf):
ICANN CEO Goran Marby: "... We continue to make significant progress in identifying a permanent solution for bringing ICANN and its contracted parties into compliance with the GDPR. With the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data now in full effect, the org has shifted its focus towards developing a proposed unified access model. Please follow updates [here] ...." [p.3 of 87](emphasis added)
....
"DNS Engineering: As a security measure to mitigate Spectre/Meltdown vulnerabilities, all IMRS (ICANN Managed Root Servers) have a newly patched kernel and have been rebooted. Several new IMRS hosts were brought online. We completed testing of IANA domain moves from GoDaddy to CSC (IETF Trust). We implemented templates for better management of ICANN domains with ICANN domain registrars."[p.29 of 87](emphasis added).
f. is for FAILING new gTLDs: Minutes of ICANN Board Finance Committee (BFC) Meeting 3 Oct 2018: "The BFC further noted that the operations funding for FY18 was US$600,000 lower than the FY17 actuals and US$8.8 million lower than the FY18 adopted budget. During the course of FY18, there was a significant drop in the funding forecast against the adopted budget mainly due to the slower-than-anticipated growth of new gTLD registrations.
g. ICANN Board of Directors: Approved Board Resolutions 25 Oct 2018 | Organizational Meeting of the ICANN Board: no major organizaitonal changes. ICANN Annual Report for period July 1, 2017 - June 30 2018 (pdf). The ICANN Board adopted the Independent Review Process Interim Supplementary Procedures and other Board Resolutions at a Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board 25 Oct 2018, including Deferral of Transition to Thick WHOIS Consensus Policy Implementation for .COM, .NET, and .JOBS, and Replenishment of the Reserve Fund:
i. GNSO Council Leadership: Keith Drazek (RySG - Verisign), Pam Little (RrSG - Alibaba Group), Rafik Dammak (NCSG - NTT Communications):
Editor's note: Pam Little is "first class" and a great choice! Someone at Alibaba Group also made a brilliant move in hiring her!
....
"DNS Engineering: As a security measure to mitigate Spectre/Meltdown vulnerabilities, all IMRS (ICANN Managed Root Servers) have a newly patched kernel and have been rebooted. Several new IMRS hosts were brought online. We completed testing of IANA domain moves from GoDaddy to CSC (IETF Trust). We implemented templates for better management of ICANN domains with ICANN domain registrars."[p.29 of 87](emphasis added).
b. FY18 Annual Report (pdf) of Expense Reimbursement and Other Payments to ICANN Directors for the Period 1 July 2017 Through 30 June 2018.
c. Summary of RDS PDP Organizational Lessons Learned (pdf). Editor's Note: Another Story of ICANN Dysfunction--the RDS PDP. Stephanie Perrin's recent (Oct 22, 2018 pdf) take at ICANN63:
d. EPDP Meetings this coming week:
EPDP Meetings' start time this week: 13:00 UTC (9am EDT). Observers: Adobe Connect, or audio cast (browser or app). See also GNSO Council EPDP page and updates. Links to all EPDP meetings' transcripts and recordings are on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP links: wiki, mail list, action items, Temp Spec, EPDP Charter (pdf), Data Elements Workbooks (pdf).
Thursday Nov 1 (wiki page, documents) agenda, meeting transcript (pdf), Adobe recording, MP3, Nov 1, 2018, EPDP draft Initial Report (pdf) prepared by ICANN staff. Notes and action items are here, chat transcript (pdf) embed below:
Tuesday Oct 30 (agenda, documents, recordings); Editor's note: see this, this, this, and this on the mail list. High-level Notes/Actions here. Meeting transcript (pdf)l chat transcript (pdf) embed below:
e. More ICANN Dysfunction: Interim Supplementary Rules for the Independent Review Process (IRP):
d. EPDP Meetings this coming week:
Thursday Nov 1 (wiki page, documents) agenda, meeting transcript (pdf), Adobe recording, MP3, Nov 1, 2018, EPDP draft Initial Report (pdf) prepared by ICANN staff. Notes and action items are here, chat transcript (pdf) embed below:
Tuesday Oct 30 (agenda, documents, recordings); Editor's note: see this, this, this, and this on the mail list. High-level Notes/Actions here. Meeting transcript (pdf)l chat transcript (pdf) embed below:
e. More ICANN Dysfunction: Interim Supplementary Rules for the Independent Review Process (IRP):
- 23 October 2018 Letter from Chairs of Non-Contracted Parties to ICANN Board;
f. is for FAILING new gTLDs: Minutes of ICANN Board Finance Committee (BFC) Meeting 3 Oct 2018: "The BFC further noted that the operations funding for FY18 was US$600,000 lower than the FY17 actuals and US$8.8 million lower than the FY18 adopted budget. During the course of FY18, there was a significant drop in the funding forecast against the adopted budget mainly due to the slower-than-anticipated growth of new gTLD registrations.
g. ICANN Board of Directors: Approved Board Resolutions 25 Oct 2018 | Organizational Meeting of the ICANN Board: no major organizaitonal changes. ICANN Annual Report for period July 1, 2017 - June 30 2018 (pdf). The ICANN Board adopted the Independent Review Process Interim Supplementary Procedures and other Board Resolutions at a Regular Meeting of the ICANN Board 25 Oct 2018, including Deferral of Transition to Thick WHOIS Consensus Policy Implementation for .COM, .NET, and .JOBS, and Replenishment of the Reserve Fund:
Resolved (2018.10.25.22), the Board directs the President and CEO, or his designee(s), to take all actions necessary to increase the Reserve Fund through annual excesses from the operating fund of ICANN organization by a total amount of US$32 million over a period of seven to eight years, starting with FY19.
Resolved (2018.10.25.23), the Board directs the President and CEO, or his designee(s), to take all actions necessary to allocate US$36 million of [new gTLD] auction proceeds to the Reserve Fund, as soon as technically feasible.h. ICANN Public Comment Periods closing in November here.
i. GNSO Council Leadership: Keith Drazek (RySG - Verisign), Pam Little (RrSG - Alibaba Group), Rafik Dammak (NCSG - NTT Communications):
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
b. ICYMI: Verisign $VRSN Q3 2018 Earnings, LIVE Webcast Oct 25: Verisign has "entered into an agreement with NeuStar, Inc. (“Neustar”) to sell the rights, economic benefits, and obligations, in all customer contracts related to its Security Services business." Verisign's Chairman, President & CEO James Bidzos also said:
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
Almost 50% of the world is online, but getting the rest of the world online will be far more difficult--theguardian.com.
Growth in global internet access dropped from 19% in 2007 to less than 6% last year--new data suggests the digital revolution will remain out of reach for billions--theweek.co.uk.
EU, US, China: There May Soon Be Three Internets. America’s Won’t Necessarily Be the Best. A breakup of the web grants privacy, security and freedom to some, and not so much to others.--Editorial, NYTimes.com.
5) Most Read Posts this past week on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo
a. Fair Use vs. EU Copyright Directive:
“This [EU] Legislation Poses A Threat To Both Your Livelihood And Your Ability To Share Your Voice With The World.”YouTube CEO says EU regulation will be bad for creators--‘Article 13 threatens hundreds of thousands of jobs’--theverge.com. Editor's note: many "creators" are domain name registrants.
b. ICYMI: Verisign $VRSN Q3 2018 Earnings, LIVE Webcast Oct 25: Verisign has "entered into an agreement with NeuStar, Inc. (“Neustar”) to sell the rights, economic benefits, and obligations, in all customer contracts related to its Security Services business." Verisign's Chairman, President & CEO James Bidzos also said:
"To update you on our discussion about the Cooperative Agreement, we are mindful of the upcoming expiration and are progressing with the NTIA to amend the Cooperative Agreement by mutual agreement. When we are able to provide more information, we will do so. I will tell you that we are confident that an amended agreement can be executed before the expiration of the current term which is the end of November. However, until that process is complete, there is nothing more that we can disclose at this time."--transcript via SeekingAlpha.com (emphasis added).
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
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| source: statista.com |
EU, US, China: There May Soon Be Three Internets. America’s Won’t Necessarily Be the Best. A breakup of the web grants privacy, security and freedom to some, and not so much to others.--Editorial, NYTimes.com.
5) Most Read Posts this past week on DomainMondo.com:
1. News Review: ICANN63 Meeting Oct 20-25, ICANN's Tipping Point?
2. 2018 Q3 Replay $AMZN $GOOGL $VRSN $TWTR $TSLA
2. 2018 Q3 Replay $AMZN $GOOGL $VRSN $TWTR $TSLA