UPDATES:
March 8, 2019, Reminder: Next EPDP Team meeting at ICANN64, Kobe, Japan, Saturday, 9 Mar 2019, 11:00-18:30 JST, (Friday 9:00 pm EST in US); agenda here, more info further below. Links for Adobe Connect and audio here. Slides here.
March 7, 2019: GNSO Council EPDP Vote Aftermath
- WHOIS Reform, at Last--internetgovernance.org, by Milton Mueller (NCSG EPDP member): "Discussion of this issue has been distorted for years by ICANN’s propensity to cater to special interest groups (mainly trademark interests but also law enforcement agencies) who conflate their interest in getting access to Whois data with the actual purpose for collecting it. The temporary specification‘s discussion of Whois purpose was especially awful (See section 4, page 5). It is amazing how much progress was made having started from that baseline. The need to comply with GDPR, however, gave privacy advocates and the contracted parties a hammer with which to pound away illegitimate constructions of Whois purposes."
- GNSO Council Meeting March 4, 2019, transcript (pdf) p. 16, Marie Pattullo, GNSO Councilor (BC), after voting "no" on the March 4th motions: "The EPDP’s work is incomplete. This is just Phase 1, and the report is a step backwards for BC members’ interests compared to the temp spec especially as the legitimate purposes for collecting and processing data in the report are insufficiently precise and don't include consumer protection, cyber clients, DNS abuse and IP protections."
March 4, 2019: GNSO Council approves the motions re: EPDP Final Report (Phase 1). The vote approving was unanimous in the Contracted Parties House (CPH) and split in the Non-Contracted Parties House (NCPH) with "No" votes from the Business Constituency (BC) and Intellectual Property Constituency (IPC). Planning for EPDP Phase 2 work was then discussed, excerpts from the presentation:
See also the "mind map" (pdf) prepared by ICANN staff.
1) GNSO Council Votes on EPDP Final Report March 4, EPDP Phase 2 Next
Agenda Item 3: COUNCIL VOTE - Adoption of the Final Report (pdf) on Expedited PDP on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data (45 minutes)
Agenda Item 4: COUNCIL DISCUSSION - Expedited PDP on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data - Phase 2 Work (45 minutes)
GNSO Council March 4 agenda (pdf) embed below:
Next EPDP Team meeting: Saturday, 9 Mar 2019, 11:00-18:30 JST, (9:00 pm Friday EST in US) at ICANN64 in Kobe, Japan--agenda--"for Phase 2 planning, and a discussion on how to manage the coincident Implementation and Phase 2 efforts" according to an email from the EPDP leadership team. Links for audio and Adobe Connect on the "EPDP Team meeting" link above. EPDP Links: mail list and wiki; EPDP Final Report (pdf); EPDP Charter (pdf); Bird & Bird legal memos; EPDP legal mail list, ICANN's controllership legal memo (pdf).
EOI for EPDP WG Phase 2 Chair (reformatted from the original for ease of reading):
EPDP Related: ICANN and GDPR – nowhere near compliance | edri.org 27 Feb 2019: "... while the [EPDP] Initial Report proposes a strong reliance on “legitimate purpose of the controller” as a legal basis for most of the data processing practices, it at no point shows that it has balanced those purposes with the interests of the data subjects. This lack of proportionality was an explicit concern of the WP29 opinion in 2003, and the Initial Report falls far short of the balancing tests as described in WP 29 Opinion 05/2014. Furthermore, the Initial Report doesn’t acknowledge the principle of data minimisation ..."
See also:
2) Other ICANN News
a. ICANN64 9-14 March 2019, Kobe, Japan: ICANN64 Schedule.
Date and time in Kobe, Japan:
Meeting resources:
b. ICYMI this past week on Domain Mondo:
c. ICANN org publishes Charter on Government Engagement Approach--icann.org. See
draft charter (pdf).
EPDP Final Report voting threshold: Supermajority, ICANN Bylaws, Section 11.3(i)(xix): A "GNSO Supermajority" shall mean: (A) two-thirds (2/3) of the Council members of each House, or (B) three-fourths (3/4) of the Council members of one House and a majority of the Council members of the other House.
 |
| Rafik Dammak, EPDP Acting Chair |
"The GNSO Council and the EPDP team leadership are currently working to develop a plan for addressing Phase 2 and we need to know if there will be changes to the composition of the group."--email from Rafik Dammak, March 1, 2019.
"... When I initially committed to join the group, my intention was to participate in the entirety of the ePDP but the Phase 1 commitment was extremely taxing so I’d like to get a little bit of an understanding of how the leadership group thinks the timing in Phase 2 will compare."--Matt Serlin
"Both Hadia and I plan to continue. That of course presumes we can come up with a REASONABLE work plan that will not kill us."--Alan Greenberg
"... I think many of us are in the situation which Matt describes. Please, what is the timeline you anticipate? Will there be face to face meetings, and if so is there a budget for travel? Will we be keeping our independent counsel? These are questions whose answers will influence my decision."--Stephanie PerrinRelated--email from GNSO Chair Keith Drazek to GNSO Councilor (and EPDP member) Ayden Férdeline re: Draft - 2019 GNSO Council Strategic Planning Session Report:
"Hi Ayden, Thanks for your work on this. I have asked Steve to incorporate some of your stylistic edits and some additional language, but I don’t think we can include the commentary on the participation of other SO/AC members in the EPDP and suggestions that other groups are sending discredited and disruptive members to engage with the GNSO. That’s not something we should include in our formal report on the SPS. Thanks, Keith" (emphasis added)Search for New EPDP Chair: email Feb 28, 2019, from GNSO Chair Keith Drazek: "Following two Council leadership calls this week, we have finalized the attached Expression of Interest (EOI) [embed below] for the EPDP WG Phase 2 Chair. This will be posted tomorrow and the deadline for responses will be March 22. Our goal is to confirm the new Chair during our April 18 Council meeting. We wanted to be sure to get this posted as soon as possible and certainly in advance of Kobe. The substance of the EOI is the same as the version we used for Phase One. In the interim transition period, while we find a permanent Chair, Rafik [Dammak] will be Acting Chair." [link and emphasis added]
EOI for EPDP WG Phase 2 Chair (reformatted from the original for ease of reading):
EPDP Related: ICANN and GDPR – nowhere near compliance | edri.org 27 Feb 2019: "... while the [EPDP] Initial Report proposes a strong reliance on “legitimate purpose of the controller” as a legal basis for most of the data processing practices, it at no point shows that it has balanced those purposes with the interests of the data subjects. This lack of proportionality was an explicit concern of the WP29 opinion in 2003, and the Initial Report falls far short of the balancing tests as described in WP 29 Opinion 05/2014. Furthermore, the Initial Report doesn’t acknowledge the principle of data minimisation ..."
Editor's note: be sure to read the full thread--Ayden Férdeline (ferdeline.com) is a GNSO Councilor and EPDP member. He is a tech policy fellow with the Mozilla Foundation in Berlin, Germany.Thanks for shining a spotlight on this @EDRi. @ICANN has no intention of meetings its obligations under the GDPR. It is worth highlighting too the actions of @ICANNAtLarge, intellectual property interests and the European Commission in drafting this report https://t.co/Kqrvb4Zisv— Ayden Férdeline (@ferdeline) February 28, 2019
See also:
- Ann Cairns, executive vice chairman of Mastercard, discussing the internet of things, digital identities, and data privacy regulation at the Mobile World Congress 2019, says Europe's approach to data protection will be adopted worldwide--CNBC International | YouTube.com.
- Revealed: Facebook’s global lobbying against data privacy laws--Leaked Facebook memo describes company's lobbying efforts in 2012 and 2013 against a proposed European data directive which later became GDPR--theguardian.com.
2) Other ICANN News
Date and time in Kobe, Japan:
Meeting resources:
- Pre-ICANN64 Policy Report (pdf), and Webinar
- GNSO Policy Briefing ICANN64 Edition (pdf)
- Livestream and YouTube
- Twitter: #ICANN64
b. ICYMI this past week on Domain Mondo:
- ICANN, New gTLDs, Trademarks, RPMs, & Website Content (video) with Rebecca Tushnet, Harvard Law School; Brian Winterfeldt, Winterfeldt IP Group; Mary Wong, ICANN; Becky Burr, ICANN Board & Neustar; Sarah Deutsch, ICANN Board; Kathy Kleiman, Center for Information Technology, Princeton University; Jeff Neuman, Com Laude/Valideus; Mitch Stoltz, EFF; Brian King, MarkMonitor; at a conference at the American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, 2019.
c. ICANN org publishes Charter on Government Engagement Approach--icann.org. See
draft charter (pdf).
d. ICANN CTO David Conrad to oversee IANA Services and Public Technical Identifiers (PTI)--icann.org.
e. 22 Feb 2019 Letter from Verisign (Patrick Kane) to ICANN (Cyrus Namazi) (pdf) embed below re: Request for Thick WHOIS Consensus Policy Extension:
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
a. The .COM Monopoly & ICANN--breakingviews.com: "... ICANN could reject the price hikes. Then again, Verisign may offer to increase the nonprofit’s cut in exchange for agreeing to the increases. A public consultation should help keep both groups honest, but the risk remains that a sweetheart deal gets even sweeter."
b. Tucows $TCX Q4 2018 Q&A Transcript (pdf), excerpt: "With respect to domain portfolio sales, our portfolio of domains that we hold for resale in the aftermarket is something that we consider tactical, not strategic, as an asset. The bulk portfolio sale in Q4 2018 was generated from our non-surname portfolio of names held."
c. Once You’ve Filed a UDRP, There May Be No Going Back--Lexology.com: "1. Do not file frivolous UDRP complaints ..."
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
Antitrust Enforcement Needs to Evolve for the 21st Century--eff.org.
EFF Supporting California’s Privacy For All Bill, Which Puts People, Not Tech Companies, in Control of Personal Data--eff.org.
Authoritarian assault on Internet Freedom is on the move in Russia and India--editorial in the washingtonpost.com..
India presses on with internet regulations--Chinese-style censorship feared after government consults with tech giants--asia.nikkei.com.
f. Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP) and Independent Review Process (IRP) Status Update 25 Feb 2019 (pdf) excerpts:
g. ICANN & ITU--ICANN Submits Application to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for ITU-D Sector membership.
Editor's note: Questions about this at @sgdickinson and CCWG-InternetGovernance.
h. ICANN org recommends gTLD registries and registrars to implement the February-2019 version of the gTLD RDAP profile in their RDAP service. Editor's note: the recommended RDAP profile is already out-of-date per EPDP Phase 1 Final Report. ICANN's gTLD registry operators and registrars are required to implement a RDAP service by 26 August 2019.
i. Public Note (pdf) concerning the case of the gTLD “.AMAZON”
IRP proceeding: Afilias Domains No. 3 Limited re: new gTLD .WEB. IRP commenced on 26 November 2018; two panelists have been appointed; awaiting appointment of remaining panelist. No hearings are currently scheduled.CEP proceedings:
g. ICANN & ITU--ICANN Submits Application to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for ITU-D Sector membership.
h. ICANN org recommends gTLD registries and registrars to implement the February-2019 version of the gTLD RDAP profile in their RDAP service. Editor's note: the recommended RDAP profile is already out-of-date per EPDP Phase 1 Final Report. ICANN's gTLD registry operators and registrars are required to implement a RDAP service by 26 August 2019.
i. Public Note (pdf) concerning the case of the gTLD “.AMAZON”
To: ICANN Board of Directors and GAC re: ICANN Board Resolutions 2019.01.16.02 – 2019.01.16.04
"The Brazilian Internet Steering Committee – CGI.br, exercising the mandate conferred upon it by Decree no. 4.829/2003 ... Endorses the request made by the Brazilian government in its letter to the ICANN Board of Directors, dated February 21, 2019, 'to postpone a final decision on the .AMAZON application to ICANN 65, with a view to allow the eight Amazon countries and Amazon Inc. to find a mutually acceptable solution.'"
b. Tucows $TCX Q4 2018 Q&A Transcript (pdf), excerpt: "With respect to domain portfolio sales, our portfolio of domains that we hold for resale in the aftermarket is something that we consider tactical, not strategic, as an asset. The bulk portfolio sale in Q4 2018 was generated from our non-surname portfolio of names held."
c. Once You’ve Filed a UDRP, There May Be No Going Back--Lexology.com: "1. Do not file frivolous UDRP complaints ..."
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
EFF Supporting California’s Privacy For All Bill, Which Puts People, Not Tech Companies, in Control of Personal Data--eff.org.
Authoritarian assault on Internet Freedom is on the move in Russia and India--editorial in the washingtonpost.com..
India presses on with internet regulations--Chinese-style censorship feared after government consults with tech giants--asia.nikkei.com.
5) Most Read this past week on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo
#1 News Review | ICANN EPDP Chair Quits After Vote on Final Report Delayed
#2 Huawei, China, Trade, Cybersecurity, 5G, & Trump (video)
#3 Tech Review 1) Bank of the Future, 2) How China Created Its Own Internet
#2 Huawei, China, Trade, Cybersecurity, 5G, & Trump (video)
#3 Tech Review 1) Bank of the Future, 2) How China Created Its Own Internet
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo