”One of the advantages of leaving MMX is that I am finally done with ICANN ... one of the single worst organizations I have come across on this planet."--Fred Krueger1) ICANN65 Recap
Read more below at 2) Regulatory Capture at ICANN?This really is a terrible look for #ICANN and should be noted at #ICANN65. Most ashamed should be ALAC. People with clear conflicts should recuse themselves, not author the comments! *sigh* https://t.co/avBh1HsHbS— elliot noss (@enoss) June 24, 2019
The truth about Kurt Pritz & ICANN? Read this.Read about 2019 Ethos Award Recipient Kurt Pritz in this morning's #ICANN65 Newsletter. https://t.co/M5vuS5OFBQ pic.twitter.com/O25Eg6Yph3— ICANN (@ICANN) June 25, 2019
Next EPDP Phase 2 Meeting July 11, 2019. Jun 27 meeting notes & action items.EPDP mind buggling meeting today: some people believe intellectual property protection outweighs domain name registrants right to data protection. Probably outweighs their freedom and fundamental rights. IP über alles. #ICANN65— Farzaneh Badii (@farzanehbadii) June 25, 2019
ACTO countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.#ICANN65 GAC: Venezuela is the last ACTO country to take the floor on #dotAmazon. Is as unhappy as the previous governments who’ve taken the floor.— Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson) June 25, 2019
Read last week's News Review, and News Review 2)a. 2019-06-02, and note the .AMAZON applications are "on hold" due to Colombia's Request for Reconsideration which raises the same point I raised in News Review 2)b. 2019-05-26: "the .AMAZON applications now violate Specification 13 ..."#ICANN65 GAC, Portugal: #ICANN’s multistakeholder approach to #dotAmazon has served private interests - not public interests.— Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson) June 25, 2019
GAC Communique: "... V. Follow-up on Previous Advice - The following items reflect matters related to previous consensus advice provided to the Board. 1. .AMAZON applications: The GAC asks the Board to explain in writing whether and why it considers that its decision to proceed with the .AMAZON applications, based on a proposal [17 April 2019] that the eight Amazon countries considered did not address their concerns, complies with GAC Advice ...." See also Video of GAC - ICANN Board .AMAZON discussion (1:07:50 - 1:55:00) at ICANN65.#ICANN65 GAC communique drafting ends a couple of minutes before 8 pm Marrakech time. The communique has no new advice, but 3 pieces of follow-up on previous advice:— Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson) June 26, 2019
- 2-letter country codes in 2nd level domains
- #dotAmazon
- EPDP Phase 2
"This is a distraction from the EPDP Team’s work. We were informed that the TSG was a purely technical exercise. Now, we are being told this model is being taken to the DPAs. This has confirmed the fears this Team had regarding the TSG. It is not ICANN org or the TSG’s job to be developing policies - it is the ICANN community’s job."--EPDP feedback to ICANN OrgFirst we were told ICANN's TSG was a purely technical exercise. Now, at #ICANN65 we are told that the @ICANN is taking the TSG model and presenting it to DPAs to "test its basic assumptions and feasibility under the GDPR"— IGP Alert (@IGPAlert) June 27, 2019
Another Reason Why ICANN's New gTLDs Program is Ill-Conceived & Corrupt.The Chair of #ICANN Subsequent Procedures didn't really say this, did he? https://t.co/DyUn0u0oiN #ICANN https://t.co/8iU9SgNTyM— Eye On ICANN (@EyeOnICANN) June 24, 2019
Another Reason Why ICANN's New gTLDs Program is Ill-Conceived & Corrupt.#ICANN65 GAC, Competition, Consumer Trust, & Consumer Choice Review: domains in 5 #newgTLDs were found to be responsible for 57% of all phishing attacks. #newgTLDs had higher proportion of abuse than legacy TLDs due to bad actors taking advantage of low prices for many new gTLDs.— Samantha Dickinson (@sgdickinson) June 27, 2019
CCT and RPM implementation complete?--Next Round of new gTLDs in 2028?In discussion with @ICANN this morning at #ICANN65 ALAC made clear that it would not support moving forward on new gTLDs until CCT and RPM implementation was complete and sought a timeline for completion from GDD— John Laprise, Ph.D. (@JohnLaprise) June 27, 2019
Déjà vu: ICANN 52, Universal Acceptance, New gTLD Domain Names "break stuff"@ICANNAtLarge is pursuing a collaborative communication strategy with @UASGTech on Universal Acceptance #ICANN65— John Laprise, Ph.D. (@JohnLaprise) June 27, 2019
See also ICANN65 | Marrakesh, Morocco, 24-27 June 2019 Post-Meeting Report (when available).
2) Regulatory Capture at ICANN?
'UPDATE 2 July 2019: Mainstream Media 'gets it' re: .ORG - ICANN Captured, Corrupt, Incompetent, Unfit: ICANN Just Threw Away the Multistakeholder Model
Fewer than 0.07 percent of commenters thought it would be a good idea to remove the price cap on .org domains; more than 98 percent opposed the change. But on Sunday, as the old contract was about to expire, ICANN approved a new contract sans price cap. https://t.co/g25XcclmwP— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) July 2, 2019
UPDATE 1 July 2019: CAPTURE Complete--"On 30 June 2019, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and Public Interest Registry, entered into a renewal Registry Agreement (pdf) [removing all price caps on .ORG domain names] under which Public Interest Registry operates the .org top-level domain."--ICANN.org. See also Addendum to .ORG Registry Agreement (pdf). Same result for .info, .biz and .asia.
See also ICANN Fails the Internet Community, allows an unlimited non profit tax | reviewsignal.com: "... The 96 page contract is identical from when it was proposed to [be] signed. The multi stakeholders and bottom up process that is supposed to govern ICANN policy? Ignored. The public outcry was nearly universally against this change. They weren't listened to at all. Did ICANN's board vote on the proposed contract after being briefed about the public outcry? As of [this] writing, I couldn't find any evidence in ICANN's board activity page. No agenda, no minutes, no resolutions, no briefing material, no preliminary report. Did ICANN staff simply push through this contract without a board vote? ..."
----------------ICANN allows for unlimited non profit tax by removing price caps on .ORG https://t.co/Hoe7YAFY0h @icann @PIRegistry @EFF @NPR @wsj @nytimes @washingtonpost #icann #nonprofittax— Review Signal (@ReviewSignal) July 1, 2019
Original entry: The Case for Regulatory Capture at ICANN--https://reviewsignal.com/blog/2019/06/24/the-case-for-regulatory-capture-at-icann/ by Kevin Ohashi--excerpt (Conclusion) below, with an in-depth examination of the conflicts of interest and corruption rampant within ICANN and its processes, specifically in reference to the .ORG price cap issue, with numerous individuals and organizations cited, including Public Interest Registry (PIR), Internet Society, Verisign, Shane Tews, Steve DelBianco, Jonathan Zuck, Greg Shatan, Judith Hellerstein, Maureen Hilyard, and more.they increased them yesterday, quietly on a sunday https://t.co/B0YyColT6M— Review Signal (@ReviewSignal) July 1, 2019
Conclusion
"The public interest is at best being represented, in majority, by people tied up in potential conflicts of interest in the given matter. At worst, it looks like special interest groups for VeriSign and The Internet Society (ISOC) / Public Interest Registry have captured multiple groups at ICANN and are trying to use it to line their organizations' pockets.
"This appears to be a case study in regulatory capture. Beyond public outcry, there appears to be very little stopping ICANN from simply pushing through these contracts despite overwhelming evidence that the average internet user isn't in favor of these changes. There is virtually no meaningful argument in favor of removing price caps, unless you accept that it would be administratively easier for an organization with hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank. There is a bizarre free market argument that falls apart when you realize the cost of lock-ins for using a domain name and creating a web presence on any domain. .ORG is a thirty million dollar subsidy to the Internet Society (via PIR) which outsources, via competitive bid, the actual registry services. And they want the ability to charge more, at the expense of every other non profit. Their interests strongly align with VeriSign, who most likely see .ORG as the last hurdle before getting .COM and .NET to have price caps removed and increase their bottom line even more in their non competitive monopoly contract.
"The only step left before these changes go into effect, that I am aware of, is board approval. I think it probably will go through unless there is a tremendous amount of attention brought to the issue. I'm not only concerned about price caps on .ORG, but structurally the only people who can invest so much time and money participating in ICANN are the organizations which stand to financially gain the most. Who is representing the public interest? Registry groups appear to have a strong voice within the ICANN community. Finally, I also worry about potential conflicts of interest at the board level, which has twenty members. Five ICANN board members were or are connected to ISOC (1,2,3,4,5). One is a former board member of PIR as well. I hope they recognize their responsibility to do what is right for everyone and not the select few registry operators in this instance." (emphasis added)
3) Names, Domains & Trademarks
Editor's note: remember all the lies touting new gTLDs used by incompetent ICANN Org management and staff, the unethical ICANN Board of Directors, and the corrupt "ICANN community" con artists, including their preposterous growth projections?
"I can't find anything online yet and waiting for the office to open to confirm. Going to be a pain in the ass, we have over 500 domains with them and was trying to add more this morning and rejected ... Oracle Dyn is no longer offering Domain Registration, Standard DNS, and Secondary DNS. Customers with existing service should monitor the email associated with their account for further communication."--source: Reddit.com.
a. Oracle laid off sales and marketing staffs at Dyn (n/k/a Oracle Dyn / Oracle America, Inc.), a formerly independent DNS services provider and domain name registrar it acquired in 2016 for $600 million. Dyn users are getting "EOL" or end-of-life notices for products, and Oracle Dyn's landlord has put Dyn's offices in Manchester, N.H., up for lease, leading some to speculate more layoffs are to come.
b. Should I register a domain with GoDaddy?-- Benny from Pasadena. "Benny wants to create a website and wants to know if he should register a domain with GoDaddy. Leo says NO. He hates GoDaddy and their questionable business practices. And there are plenty of other domain registrars out there. Leo recommends HOVER [Tucows]" --techguylabs.com (emphasis added).
b. Should I register a domain with GoDaddy?-- Benny from Pasadena. "Benny wants to create a website and wants to know if he should register a domain with GoDaddy. Leo says NO. He hates GoDaddy and their questionable business practices. And there are plenty of other domain registrars out there. Leo recommends HOVER [Tucows]" --techguylabs.com (emphasis added).
c. Tucows [NASDAQ: TCX]: 3 Terrible Businesses In 1 | SeekingAlpha.com: "Tucows' Domains business is suffering similar stagnation. Industry-wide, growth is abysmal. GoDaddy (NYSE:GDDY) and VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) have been suffering low single-digit growth, while TCX's own revenue CAGR has been 1% over the last 3 years as it's been losing market share. The business is highly commoditized, with little to differentiate any individual firm other than price. TCX has been boosting prices to inflate growth metrics, but this will simply accelerate churn and share loss." (emphasis and links added).
d. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the increased number of new top level domains to register lookalike domains – for example, the letter "m" can be replaced by the letters "r" and "n" to give the appearance of "m" and it's something which many users won't notice at first glance--zdnet.com.
e. "Bargain basement gTLDs and glyph attacks using IDNs are powering phishing attacks, with fraudulent registrations on the rise. Worse yet, phishing sites are increasingly getting security certificates"--techrepublic.com.
f. FUCT: Los Angeles streetwear designer Erik Brunetti, who had been turned down by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office when he sought to register the brand name FUCT (domain: fuct.com) as a trademark, won in the U.S. Supreme Court--Supreme Court allows foul language trademarks in F-word case. [Editor's note: not hard to imagine what's coming next, including as trademarks and .BRAND new gTLDs -- ICANN will have completely FUCT UP the internet and global DNS.]
a. Google: analysis of 150B+ browser-based Google searches in Q1 2019 in the U.S. indicated only 41.45% resulted in organic clicks to non-Google sites, 48.96% ended without a click. Editor's note: confirming the Google Search page is now one of the world's major content and information destinations.
b. What Happens After Amazon’s Domination Is Complete? Its Bookstore Offers Clues: The New York Times looks at some egregious cases of counterfeit books sold on Amazon.
c. Privacy: "... we have lost “ambient privacy,” i.e., daily interactions that should stay unremembered ... Confronted with the reality of a monitored world, people make the rational decision to make the best of it. That is not consent."--idlewords.com.
d. How Ethiopia Controls the Internet-- A one-week internet shutdown ends, but the government has more methods to silence online critics.
e. To pay, or not to pay: U.S. cities wrestle with ransomware | reuters.com.
f. Average Cost of a Domain Name System (DNS) Attack $1,070,000--securitymagazine.com.
5) Most Read this past week on DomainMondo.com:
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo
d. Fraudsters are taking advantage of the increased number of new top level domains to register lookalike domains – for example, the letter "m" can be replaced by the letters "r" and "n" to give the appearance of "m" and it's something which many users won't notice at first glance--zdnet.com.
e. "Bargain basement gTLDs and glyph attacks using IDNs are powering phishing attacks, with fraudulent registrations on the rise. Worse yet, phishing sites are increasingly getting security certificates"--techrepublic.com.
f. FUCT: Los Angeles streetwear designer Erik Brunetti, who had been turned down by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office when he sought to register the brand name FUCT (domain: fuct.com) as a trademark, won in the U.S. Supreme Court--Supreme Court allows foul language trademarks in F-word case. [Editor's note: not hard to imagine what's coming next, including as trademarks and .BRAND new gTLDs -- ICANN will have completely FUCT UP the internet and global DNS.]
4) ICYMI Internet Domain News
b. What Happens After Amazon’s Domination Is Complete? Its Bookstore Offers Clues: The New York Times looks at some egregious cases of counterfeit books sold on Amazon.
c. Privacy: "... we have lost “ambient privacy,” i.e., daily interactions that should stay unremembered ... Confronted with the reality of a monitored world, people make the rational decision to make the best of it. That is not consent."--idlewords.com.
d. How Ethiopia Controls the Internet-- A one-week internet shutdown ends, but the government has more methods to silence online critics.
e. To pay, or not to pay: U.S. cities wrestle with ransomware | reuters.com.
f. Average Cost of a Domain Name System (DNS) Attack $1,070,000--securitymagazine.com.
-- John Poole, Editor • Domain Mondo