Policies and mechanisms for Internet governance have been topics of heated debate between many different Internet stakeholders, some of whom have very different visions for how and indeed whether the Internet should facilitate free communication of ideas and information. The definition of Internet governance has been contested by differing groups across political and ideological lines. One of the key debates centers around the authority and participation of certain actors, such as national governments and corporate entities, to play a role in the Internet's governance. The position of the US Department of Commerce as the controller of the Internet has attracted criticism from those who felt that its control should reflect its international nature. A hands-off approach by the U.S. Departmetn of Commerce helped contain this criticism. Other areas of controversy included the creation and control of generic top-level domains (.com, .org, and possible new ones, such as .biz or .xxx). There were also suggestions that individual governments should have more control, or that the International Telecommunication Union or the United Nations should have a role in Internet governance. Read the full background at Internet Governance Wikipedia
Last month ICANN began soliciting comments on Stuart Lynn's A Plan for Action Regarding New gTLDs, which will be one of the Internet governance organization's primary discussion topics at its December meeting in Amsterdam. more»
On October 28, as ICANN met in Shanghai, China for its regular board meeting, ICANN at Large held a lengthy meeting to address user concerns, particularly the disenfranchisement of the At-Large by ICANN, and the At-Large's self-organizing in response. The meeting was chaired by YJ Park, one of our Executive Panel Members, and was well attended. Attendees included ... more»
In the beginning there was silence; then, silence begat communication, and communication begat more communication and, ultimately, group communication formed and begat a primordial "network" of communication that gradually and inevitably increased in effectiveness and complexity: there were only signal fires at first but, then, there were cave drawings, carrier pigeons, shouting from hill-tops, smoke from fire, lines of cannon fire, the telegraph, Alexander Graham Bell, and, finally, the network of networks known as the Internet. But, is that it? Is there not something more impressive in its impact upon communication than the Internet? What more might one desire than the dynamic wonders of the Internet, you ask? Well, what about ENUM? "E-What!?" more»
The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has recently signed a new contract with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for one more year. ICANN and the DOC are to continue to work together to design an organizational form that is suitable to administer and control the infrastructure of the Internet. That infrastructure includes the IP numbers, which are critical to the functioning of the Internet protocol TCP/IP. These numbers must be unique for the Internet to continue to function. The infrastructure also includes the protocols that make the Internet possible. Protocols involve the conventions or agreements that each network that is part of the Internet accepts in order to make communication possible across the boundaries of the different technical and political and administrative entities that comprise the networks of the Internet. Another component of the Internet's infrastructure is the domain name system (DNS). This system includes the names that identify various sites on the Internet and the translation of those names into IP numbers via the system of computers that make the one to one mapping between names and numbers. more»
When it comes to domain name disputes, no domain name has captured more media attention than sex.com. Of course, disputes about sex often obtain a great deal of attention, and the sex.com domain name dispute can grab its share of headlines because the case involves sex, theft, declared bankruptcy, a once-thriving Internet porn business, and fraud, instead of the typical cybersquatting allegations. Indeed, this case is remarkable for its potential impact on the development of caselaw concerning whether there is a valid basis to assume that trademark interests should overwhelm all non-commercial interests in the use of domain names. The answer is no, but the caselaw to support that answer is in tension with cases that strongly imply a contrary conclusion. more»
As a number of China hands predicted, the Chinese government has postponed its mandate requiring that all computers sold in China must include the Green Dam -Youth Escort censorware by today. Yesterday after the news broke I told the Financial Times: "There's been this impression in the internet industry that when the Chinese government makes a demand, they have to roll over and play dead. The lesson here is that's not necessarily the case." more»
China is to delay a controversial plan requiring all new computers sold in the country to be equipped with an internet filtering software, state media says. The filter, called Green Dam Youth Escort, was to have been required from Wednesday, but the industry ministry said computer makers needed more time. more»
With the Internet's global reach and importance showing exponential growth, pressure on the United States to share control of ICANN is mounting. A number of experts believe that the question is simply how much the United States should give up and how soon. This essay argues that "giving up" can be a win-win solution; i.e., control sharing is not a zero-sum game. more»
Darren Pauli of IDG News Service reports: "The new Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) chief has poured cold water on claims the organization is resisting a break from alleged US oversight. Incoming CEO Rod Beckstrom said at the Sydney ICANN meeting that he does not have a 'fixed form opinion' but is confident that an 'optimistic' resolution will be passed. The comments follow a call last month by European Union society commissioner Viviane Reding for US President Barack Obama to break the country's ties with ICANN..." more»
In follow up to the last ICANN meetings in Mexico City, CircleID in collaboration with the team from Dynamic Network Services, will be bringing you video blogs and updates from the 35th ICANN meetings in Sydney (21-26 Jun 2009). Stay tuned as we keep this page updated through out the meetings. Comments and questions? Please post them below in the comment section of the page. more»
During its board meeting today in Sydney, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced Rod Beckstrom, the former U.S. cybersecurity chief, as the new President and CEO. Beckstrom will be replacing Dr. Paul Twomey who had been serving this position since March 2003 and announced his resignation earlier this year. Dr Twomey has lately been reported as the primary candidate for heading Australian Government's proposed A$43 billion investment in a new National Broadband Network. more»
Voice of America reporting: "U.S. lawmakers say they plan legislation that would fund efforts to help Iranians receive and send information despite government restrictions. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman said Thursday that the bill intends to help the Iranian people stay 'one step ahead of the Iranian regime.'" Also a related report by AFP. more»
The Wall Street Journal's dubious story about Iran's use of Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) for spying, censorship and disinformation appears in a highly charged atmosphere. The US Republican right wing wants the US to talk tougher to Iran, to bomb-bomb-bomb, invade, or commit "regime change." More questions than mine have surfaced about the WSJ's story... more»
Top US trade officials said Wednesday they have written to the Chinese government urging it to drop a new rule requiring all computers to be fitted with Internet filtering software [related]. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said China may be violating its World Trade Organization obligations by requiring all computers sold in the country from July 1 to carry the "Green Dam" program... more»
Maxwell Cooter of the IDG News Service reports: "The world's regional Internet registries (RIRs) have added their weight to call for Internet governance to be privatised. The RIRs have followed the European Union's demand, proposed by European Commissioner Viviane Reding last month, for the ending of the collaboration agreement between ICANN and the US Department of Commerce..." more»
MarkMonitor announced today that Andrew Horton, director of product management, will present at the second annual Trademark, Anti-Counterfeiting and Grey Market Fraud Mitigation Summit. The conference will address the most aggressive "Act Before React" brand protection strategies to thwart counterfeiters from compromising brand integrity. ›››
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has recently released a number of important documents. This post includes brief synopses of these newly released documents. ›››
During the last ICANN meeting in Mexico City, ICANN identified four overarching issues with respect to the new introduction of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). One of the issues identified was the economic impact of new gTLDs... ›››
MarkMonitor has announced AntiFraud Solutions, offering patented technology to enable brand owners to prevent, detect and respond to phishing and malware attacks. MarkMonitor AntiFraud Solutions leverage the extensive MarkMonitor network of relationships and technology designed to thwart phishing attacks in order to combat the rapidly expanding problem of malware targeting brands.
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COCC, a leading provider of next generation technology services for financial institutions, has partnered with MarkMonitor, the global leader in enterprise brand protection, to help mutual clients protect their brands in the face of increasing Internet-based fraud. ›››
Mexico City's ICANN meeting represented an important shift in direction for brand rights holder issues. All the work that the IP Community -- including ICANN's IP Constituency, our customers, concerned companies, organizations and individuals who commented on the draft applicant guidebook as well as MarkMonitor -- paid dividends. ›››
MarkMonitor releases the company's latest Brandjacking Index, which finds that online abuse of many of the world's leading brands rose in 2008; report also reveals that 80% of abusive sites identified in 2007 were still active today, indicating brandholders must take a stronger stance against aggressive fraudsters. ›››
In the wake of our recent news that .ORG has officially registered 7 million domains, some comments made to CNN by Craigslist founder Craig Newmark this week really resonated with me. The article, entitled "Internet Can Strengthen Democracy" discusses many of the same issues we have found to be the driving forces behind .ORG's consistent year-over-year growth -- community building, interaction, and inclusivity. ›››
On July 29, the Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) and Public Interest Registry (PIR) sent out a joint letter to ICANN asking it to consider the interests of the end-users as core to its policies in Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) implementation... As of today's date, August 21, 2008, we have yet to receive even an acknowledgement of receipt of our letter... ›››
The meeting, which runs until June 30th, sees stakeholders from the technical community, business and government and civil society, participate in over 30 meetings and workshops. ›››
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