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1) ICANN65, Marrakech, Morocco, June 24-27
The ICANN Policy Forum is the second meeting in ICANN's three-meeting annual cycle, duration is four (4) days, and format is focused on SO/AC/SG/C policy work and outreach, and therefore: • no welcome ceremony; • no public forum(s); • no public board meeting.
ICANN65 Schedule (all times local Marrakech), *Schedule Highlights below:
*GAC: New gTLDs Subsequent Procedures Discussion 15:15 - 16:15, Mon, Jun 24 [10:15am EDT in U.S.] "Assess progress of PDP WG deliberations on issues of importance to the GAC. Discuss formation and operation of the GAC Focal Group on Subsequent Rounds of gTLDs."
*GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (1 of 2) 8:30 - 15:00, Tue, Jun 25 --Notes & Action Items
*GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (2 of 2) 8:30 - 15:00, Thu, Jun 27 --Notes & Action Items
EPDP background: CPH comments on Purposes (pdf), SO/AC/SG/C early input, and last week's News Review 2)b. Links to the EPDP meetings' recordings and transcripts (when available) are posted on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP Links: wiki, public mail list, legal memos & mail list, GNSO mail list, worksheets, definitions. Jun 20 meeting notes / action items.
*GAC: DNS Abuse Mitigation and dot Amazon Discussions 8:30 - 10:15, Tue, Jun 25
Editor's note: read Amazon wins ‘.amazon’ domain name, aggravating South American region and undermining digital commons | theconversation.com, excerpt:
*Evolving the Effectiveness of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model 17:00 - 18:30, Tue, Jun 25 (Livestream video below)
*Impacts of EPDP Phase 1 Recommendations on Other ICANN Policies and Procedures 15:15 - 16:45, Thu, Jun 27, 2019 (10:15am EDT) slide deck, Livestrean video below:
ICANN Meeting & Media Resources:
2) Other ICANN News
New gTLD .AFRICA Litigation Update:
DotConnectAfrica Trust, a Mauritius Charitable Trust, Plaintiff, v. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California Corporation; ZA Central Registry, a South African non-profit company; and DOES 1-50, inclusive; Defendants:
May 21, 2019: "On the Court's own motion, the Trial Setting Conference scheduled for 05/21/2019, and NonJury Trial On Phase I (Estoppel) scheduled for 05/21/2019 are continued to 07/11/19 [July 11, 2019] at 10:00 AM in Department 53 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse ..."
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3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Website Security & Malware
a. Largest publicly reported all cash domain name sale in history revealed June 18, 2019, the $30 million sale of Voice.com, more than double the previous record of $13 million paid for Sex.com in 2010.
b. Website Security & Malware: More Than 150,000 Small-Business Websites in the U.S. could be infected with malware at any given moment--in one case, security firm SiteLock (sitelock.com) discovered the hackers had exploited a security hole in a Wordpress plugin--see A Cybersecurity Checklist for the Modern Small Business. Also: FBI warns users to be wary of phishing sites abusing HTTPS.
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4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
The Internet Is Changing Africa: cheap smartphones are flooding Africa, bringing internet access to many for the very first time, but there are problems: gambling, particularly sports betting in Africa's more developed nations, with about 60 million Nigerians aged between 18 and 40 betting daily. China is investing in infrastructure, but with that comes Huawei equipment, e.g., China built the African Union building in Ethiopia, including installation of tapped networking equipment [the building was built in 2012 by the Chinese, the African Union's IT staff later discovered that the entire content of its servers was being transferred to China.]
WeChat Is Watching: WeChat's data centralization has inextricably linked it to all aspects of daily life in China and made it a cornerstone of the government's social-credit system.
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*GAC: New gTLDs Subsequent Procedures Discussion 15:15 - 16:15, Mon, Jun 24 [10:15am EDT in U.S.] "Assess progress of PDP WG deliberations on issues of importance to the GAC. Discuss formation and operation of the GAC Focal Group on Subsequent Rounds of gTLDs."
*GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (1 of 2) 8:30 - 15:00, Tue, Jun 25 --Notes & Action Items
*GNSO-EPDP Phase 2 Meeting (2 of 2) 8:30 - 15:00, Thu, Jun 27 --Notes & Action Items
EPDP background: CPH comments on Purposes (pdf), SO/AC/SG/C early input, and last week's News Review 2)b. Links to the EPDP meetings' recordings and transcripts (when available) are posted on the GNSO calendar. Other EPDP Links: wiki, public mail list, legal memos & mail list, GNSO mail list, worksheets, definitions. Jun 20 meeting notes / action items.
*GAC: DNS Abuse Mitigation and dot Amazon Discussions 8:30 - 10:15, Tue, Jun 25
"... At its inception, the internet was a great equaliser. It meant large and small businesses could compete with one another on a level playing field. ICANN has been entrusted with administering the internet and protecting it. That means protecting its broader purpose in society. ICANN appears to have forgotten that part of its role. It now charges costs USD$185,000 for a top-level domain name like “.amazon”. It’s not surprising that a company whose 2018 profits were reportedly USD$11.2 billion – for which it paid no federal taxes – was able to purchase the domain before an indigenous community in Brazil. The implications for the future of the internet are troubling. What was a global commons may become an exclusive field where those who have the most can acquire more. Those who have the least meanwhile lose even the right to use the name of their homeland." (emphasis added) [See also the author's letter to ICANN Board (pdf)]The .AMAZON issues illustrate how ill-conceived and corrupt the entire .BRAND new gTLDs program is--a "brand" a/k/a "trademark" is neither a monopoly nor generic, and therefore all ".BRAND gTLDs" fail as "generic top-level domains" (gTLDs), see RFC 1591. The .BRAND new gTLDs program was a way for incompetent, corrupt, unfit ICANN, and some of its contracted parties, i.e., registry service providers, to make money by extorting trademark holders--"apply for a .BRAND new gTLD or ICANN may sell your .BRAND (trademark) gTLD to someone else"-- e.g., see .PING testimony. Most .BRAND gTLDs are primarily a costly expense in trademark defense (instead, ICANN should have given trademark holders a right to block any gTLD application that infringes a legitimate distinctive trademark, and governmental authorities the right to block any gTLD application that is for a recognized or protected geographic term under applicable law). Unsurprisingly, many .BRAND gTLDs have been abandoned and returned to ICANN, while .BRANDs like .GOOGLE (and .AMAZON), in effect, contribute to the splintering of the internet into a few monopolistic platforms, smothering all competitors, undermining the digital commons and the core internet principle that all TLDs are "global public resources"--see U.S. amicus brief in the Weinstein case.
"... ICANN is a corrupt racketeering organization. It's a crime syndicate that advances interests of a few insiders at the expense of the masses and the general good. They have abused their power and their role ..."The GAC-ICANN Board discussion re: .AMAZON (1:07:50-1:55:00) Wednesday morning via Livestream below:
*Evolving the Effectiveness of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model 17:00 - 18:30, Tue, Jun 25 (Livestream video below)
*Impacts of EPDP Phase 1 Recommendations on Other ICANN Policies and Procedures 15:15 - 16:45, Thu, Jun 27, 2019 (10:15am EDT) slide deck, Livestrean video below:
ICANN Meeting & Media Resources:
- ICANN Org draft memo re: 'Assumptions' --Future Rounds of New gTLDs (pdf) /email.
Conflict of interest when your employee is in charge getting the next round of #newgtlds launched ASAP? Most would think so. But not in #ICANN world https://t.co/Sh2RPYUrfx— thereforeICANN (@thereforeICANN) June 21, 2019
- Twitter: @sgdickinson #ICANN65 @ICANN
- "A simple way to focus your attention is to listen with the intention of summarizing the other person’s point of view. This stops you from using your mental energy to work out your reply, and helps store the other’s words in your memory as well as identify any gaps in your understanding so you can ask questions to clarify."--fs.blog.
2) Other ICANN News
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3) Names, Domains & Trademarks: Website Security & Malware
b. Website Security & Malware: More Than 150,000 Small-Business Websites in the U.S. could be infected with malware at any given moment--in one case, security firm SiteLock (sitelock.com) discovered the hackers had exploited a security hole in a Wordpress plugin--see A Cybersecurity Checklist for the Modern Small Business. Also: FBI warns users to be wary of phishing sites abusing HTTPS.
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4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
WeChat Is Watching: WeChat's data centralization has inextricably linked it to all aspects of daily life in China and made it a cornerstone of the government's social-credit system.
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5) Most Read this past week on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo
#1 News Review 1) Cyber Sovereignty Rising, 2) ICANN Fatally Flawed
#2 Greycroft's Alan Patricof on Big Tech & Antitrust Concerns (video)
#3 How Libra Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Network Will Work (video)
#2 Greycroft's Alan Patricof on Big Tech & Antitrust Concerns (video)
#3 How Libra Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Network Will Work (video)
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo