December 2011 - At-Large - lists.icann.org

a non-report on new gTLD
by Izumi AIZU Dec. 15, 2011

Dec. 15, 2011

ICANN seems to be trying to "communicate" the new gTLD introduction, on their website. Not so felt by many or most of us in Japan. Most of us were not aware of the event, held with or after "ICANN Report meeting" within "Internet Week" event, collection of many meetings of mostly techy Internet engineers and Internet business people. Well, if you look at the ICANN website and see the pictures, one from Beijing, and another from Tokyo, you can tell the difference. I don't know how this was organized, but very few potential stakeholders, including end-users with AtLarge were contacted or invited. A pity indeed. izumi

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At-Large in latest ICANN Policy update
by Joly MacFie Dec. 15, 2011

Dec. 15, 2011

Excellent work! http://www.icann.org/en/topics/policy/update-dec11-en.htm#12 12. At-Large Advisory Committee Continues Exceptional Pace of Policy Statements At a Glance *The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) continued its exceptional pace of preparing statements in response to ICANN public comments submitting three during November 2011. The ALAC ratified statements on the Draft 2012-2015 Strategic Plan, the Variant Issues Project case studies and on the Draft Final Report of the Internationalized Registration Data Working Group. With the adoption of these three policy statements during November 2011, the number of ALAC statements for the year to date totals a record 35. The ALAC is preparing several additional statements during December.* Recent Developments The ALAC statements submitted in November are: - ALAC Statement on the Community Input on Draft 2012-2015 Strategic Plan<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/correspondence/correspondence-3-25nov11-en.htm> - ALAC Statement on the Variant Issues Project Case Studies<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/correspondence/correspondence-2-25nov11-en.htm> - ALAC Statement on the Draft Final Report of the Internationalized Registration Data Working Group<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/correspondence/correspondence-25nov11-en.htm> More Information - All ALAC statements may be viewed on the At-Large Correspondence page<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/correspondence> Staff Contact Heidi Ullrich <heidi.ullrich(a)icann.org>, Director for At-Large ------------------------------ 13. At-Large Community Expands to 138 At-Large Structures At a Glance *The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) recently certified two organizations as At-Large Structures (ALSes): Together against Cybercrime (TaC) and the Internet Society Costa Rica Chapter (ISOC – Costa Rica). These two new ALSes expand the regional diversity of the At-Large community, which represents thousands of individual Internet end-users. With the addition of these two new organizations, the number of accredited ALSes now totals 138.* Recent Developments The ALAC has certified Together against Cybercrime and the Internet Society Costa Rica Chapter as ALSes. The certification process included due diligence carried out by ICANN staff and regional advice provided by the European Regional At-Large Organization (EURALO) and the Latin American and Caribbean Islands Regional At-Large Organization (LACRALO). Additional information on the new At-Large Structures: Together against Cybercrime (*Ensemble contre la Cybercriminalité*) is located in Strasbourg, France. The mission of TaC includes informing Internet end-users of the dangers of cybercrime, providing support to end-users for the safe and secure use of new technologies, and serving as a source of information on cybercrime. This organization will be an ALS within EURALO. The Internet Society Costa Rica Chapter (ISOC – Costa Rica) is located in Heredia, Costa Rica. The organization's members are drawn from various sectors including government, academic and private. Areas of interest include Internet governance, IPv6, and DNSSEC. This organization will be an ALS within LACRALO. Background One of the strengths of the At-Large community is that it incorporates the views of a set of globally diverse, Internet end-user organizations, or ALSes, organized within five RALOs. The views of these grassroots organizations are collected through an internal, bottom-up, consensus-driven policy development process and find representation in the official documents of the ALAC. More Information - A complete list of certified and pending ALSes<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/en/applications> - Statistical information on global ALS representation<https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+Structures> - Global map of certified ALSes <http://www.atlarge.icann.org/members> - Information on how to join At-Large<http://www.atlarge.icann.org/correspondence/structures-app.htm> - ICANN At-Large web site <http://www.atlarge.icann.org/> Staff Contact Silvia Vivanco <silvia.vivanco(a)icann.org>, Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Call for Membership of the At-Large Whois WG
by Silvia Vivanco Dec. 12, 2011

Dec. 12, 2011

Dear All, Carlton Samuels, the Chairman of the At-Large Whois Working Group, has requested a call for membership to join this WG. As we are seeking a regionally balanced WG, members from the currently underrepresented RALOs of APRALO, EURALO and NARALO, are particularly encouraged to join. If you are interested in joining, please be so kind to declare your interest, your domicile, and At-Large regional affiliation to At-Large Staff at staff(a)atlarge.icann.org<mailto:staff@atlarge.icann.org> by Friday, 16 December. At-Large Staff will add your name to the list of members. Thank you. Kind regards, Silvia Vivanco Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Telephone: + 1 (202) 570-7119 Fax: +1 (202) 789-0104 Cell/Mobile: +1 (202) 735-7011

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Weekly posting summary for at-large@atlarge-lists.icann.org
by Thomas Narten Dec. 9, 2011

Dec. 9, 2011

Total of 12 messages in the last 7 days. script run at: Fri Dec 9 00:53:03 EST 2011 Messages | Bytes | Who --------+------+--------+----------+------------------------ 16.67% | 2 | 20.98% | 19833 | salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com 16.67% | 2 | 13.57% | 12828 | carlton.samuels at gmail.com 8.33% | 1 | 12.22% | 11553 | pranesh at cis-india.org 8.33% | 1 | 9.70% | 9168 | hongxueipr at gmail.com 8.33% | 1 | 8.64% | 8172 | rudi.vansnick at isoc.be 8.33% | 1 | 7.84% | 7410 | patrick at vande-walle.eu 8.33% | 1 | 7.80% | 7371 | narten at us.ibm.com 8.33% | 1 | 7.22% | 6823 | joly at punkcast.com 8.33% | 1 | 6.66% | 6300 | cintra.sooknanan at gmail.com 8.33% | 1 | 5.39% | 5095 | omar at kaminski.adv.br --------+------+--------+----------+------------------------ 100.00% | 12 |100.00% | 94553 | Total

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Fw: EU Personal Data Protection Framework
by Carlton Samuels Dec. 7, 2011

Dec. 7, 2011

Here's some grist for the mill. These might be useful as part of the knowledge acquisition process as we evaluate the draft WHOIS Review Report and its implications, It's much easier to digest from here than the originals but if you have a mind to, those can be served up from the relevant EU website. http://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2011/12/articles/european-commission-draft… - Carlton a/v Chair, At-Large WHOIS WG ============================== Carlton A Samuels Mobile: 876-818-1799 *Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround* =============================

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Fwd: Censorship Attempts in India
by Carlton Samuels Dec. 6, 2011

Dec. 6, 2011

FWIW, my position is unambiguous and immutable; I denounce and condemn all attempts at censorship, howsoever designed or orchestrated. Here are some excerpts from a thread I wrote elsewhere in context.... - Carlton ============================== ....We must reject any and all 'star chamber' procedures in this regard as inimical to the public interest. Here is one moment where so-called ' sunshine laws' should apply in spades. For in matters of conscience [or cant!], light is and remains the best disinfectant...... ....I am long socialized to notice and understand the hypocrisy that sometimes get cloaked a s good governance in our societies. So I am unanimous that the ALAC ought not to be witting conspirators for hypocrites. Reflect on the many statements of condemnation of the Chinese, North Koreans, Iranians, Cubans, and assorted 'enemies of the people and democracy' for their unpalatable impulse to censorship and thought control from 'western' governments, quondam interests and spokespersons. The fact is the official impulses to censor, to drop the veil secrecy and to basic thought control is not unique to those governments. Recall, for example, how easy it was for the British Prime Minister to suggest censorship and access limitations to Twitter in the recent London riots! Another example, think about the many ways pressure was brought to bear on Wikileaks to heel! The Wikileaks incident saw an immediate conflation of interests to suppress information flows. For example, in its revelations about Jamaica, officialdom was embarrassed by what was told in casual conversations to 'public affair officers' in the US Embassy in KIN. And it is clear that the US State Dept was embarrassed more so on the methods employed for acquiring information; really a concern that the uninitiated would realize how much of 'scuttlebut' and 'verandah talk' constituted 'intelligence'. We should insist that objection to strings finger not just the target but the objector in an open way. Let us know the courage of their convictions. And leave it to each and every one of us to make our own determination as to motive. Trust....but verify. Let them do it in the light of day. - Carlton > >>

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WHOIS Policy Review Team publishes its Draft Report and Recommendations for public comments
by Omar Kaminski Dec. 6, 2011

Dec. 6, 2011

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-05dec11-en.htm Regards, Omar

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Anti-Piracy Group Blackmails ISPs to Censor The Pirate Bay
by Rudi Vansnick Dec. 6, 2011

Dec. 6, 2011

Belgian organisation requested blocking and filtering internet !!! After a court ordered two of the largest Belgian Internet service providers to prevent their users accessing The Pirate Bay, the local anti-piracy outfit is now urging other ISPs to do the same. Internet providers who refuse to give in to this request within 10 days will be taken to court, a threatening letter explains. The blackmailing tactic seems to have worked, as one of the smaller ISPs has already disabled access to The Pirate Bay. Late September the Antwerp Court of Appeal ordered Belgian ISPs Belgacom and Telenet to initiate DNS blockades of 11 domains connected to The Pirate Bay. After a court ordered two of the largest Belgian Internet service providers to prevent their users accessing The Pirate Bay, the local anti-piracy outfit is now urging other ISPs to do the same. Internet providers who refuse to give in to this request within 10 days will be taken to court, a threatening letter explains. The blackmailing tactic seems to have worked, as one of the smaller ISPs has already disabled access to The Pirate Bay. Late September the Antwerp Court of Appeal ordered Belgian ISPs Belgacom and Telenet to initiate DNS blockades of 11 domains connected to The Pirate Bay. The Belgian Anti-Piracy Federation (BAF) applauded the verdict, which they see as a landmark decision opening the door to further censorship attempts. And indeed, without hesitation the group is putting the verdict to work in their favor. NURPA, a Belgian advocacy group which promotes and protects the digital rights of citizens, has learned that BAF has sent a threatening letter to various Belgian ISPs. The group has managed to obtain a copy which they published on their site today. In the letter, BAF mentions the recent verdict against the two Belgian Internet providers, which they say confirms The Pirate Bay is responsible for copyright infringement on a massive scale. To extend the ruling, the anti-piracy group is demanding that other ISPs also begin banning the site’s domains. “To ensure an optimal effect, this measure should be implemented by all Internet service providers, not just by Belgacom and Telenet,” the anti-piracy group writes. The ISPs have ten days to comply, BAF adds, or else the group will take them to court. “Failing a satisfactory response from you within the time limit, the BAF will begin legal proceedings against you,” BAF threatens. Full article on https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-group-blackmails-isps-to-censor-the-pi… Rudi Vansnick President - CEO ——————————————— Internet Society Belgium ————————————————— President - CEO Tel +32/(0)9/329.39.16 rudi.vansnick(a)isoc.be Mobile +32/(0)475/28.16.32 Dendermondesteenweg 143 B-9070 Destelbergen BELGIUM www.internetsociety.be "The Internet is for everyone" ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

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Fwd: [governance] Sibal demands pre-censorship of user-uploaded content
by Pranesh Prakash Dec. 6, 2011

Dec. 6, 2011

This would be of interest to people on this list as well. The Minister (who is an experienced Supreme Court lawyer) just held a press conference an hour ago to justify the below report, saying he is all for freedom of speech, but that there is content online that no one in a democracy won't find objectionable. This is content that he cannot share with the general populace because it is so objectionable that it should not be shown on TV or published in print. - Pranesh -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [governance] Sibal demands pre-censorship of user-uploaded content Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:32:28 +0530 From: Pranesh Prakash <pranesh(a)cis-india.org> Reply-To: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org,Pranesh Prakash <pranesh(a)cis-india.org> Organization: Centre for Internet and Society To: Internet Governance Caucus List <governance(a)lists.cpsr.org>, india-gii(a)lists.cpsr.org In a moment of divine inspiration, the Indian Minister for Communications and Information Technology asks Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to pre-censor user-uploaded content. // Pranesh From the New York Times, which broke the story: <http://goo.gl/BXQHY> DECEMBER 5, 2011, 6:33 AM India Asks Google, Facebook to Screen User Content By HEATHER TIMMONS The Indian government has asked Internet companies and social media sites like Facebook to prescreen user content from India and to remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before it goes online, three executives in the information technology industry say. Top officials from the Indian units of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook are meeting with Kapil Sibal, India’s acting telecommunications minister, on Monday afternoon to discuss the issue, say two executives of Internet companies. The executives asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the media on the issue. Mr. Sibal’s office confirmed that he would meet with Internet service providers Monday but did not provide more information about the content of the meeting. About six weeks ago, Mr. Sibal called legal representatives from the top Internet service providers and Facebook into his New Delhi office, said one of the executives who was briefed on the meeting. At the meeting, Mr. Sibal showed attendees a Facebook page that maligned the Congress Party’s president, Sonia Gandhi. “This is unacceptable,” he told attendees, the executive said, and he asked them to find a way to monitor what is posted on their sites. In the second meeting with the same executives in late November, Mr. Sibal told them that he expected them to use human beings to screen content, not technology, the executive said. The three executives said Mr. Sibal has told these companies that he expects them to set up a proactive prescreening system, with staffers looking for objectionable content and deleting it before it is posted. The executives said representatives from these companies will tell Mr. Sibal at the meeting on Monday that his demand is impossible, given the volume of user-generated content coming from India, and that they cannot be responsible for determining what is and isn’t defamatory or disparaging. “If there’s a law and there’s a court order, we can follow up on it,” said an executive from one of the companies attending the meeting. But these companies can’t be in the business of deciding what is and isn’t legal to post, he said. Yahoo, Facebook and Microsoft did not respond immediately to calls for comment, and a Google spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the issue. Facebook said earlier this year it has more than 25 million users in India. Google has over 100 million Internet users in India. The demand is the Indian government’s latest attempt to monitor and control electronic information. In April, the ministry issued rules demanding Internet service providers delete information posted on Web sites that officials or private citizens deemed disparaging or harassing. Last year, the government battled with Blackberry’s manufacturer, Research In Motion, threatening to shut the company’s service off in India if it did not allow government officials greater access to users’ messages. The Indian government also plans to set up its own unit to monitor information posted on Web sites and social media sites, executives said, which will report to Gulshan Rai, the director general of India’s cyber-security monitor. A man who answered the phone in Mr. Rai’s office said he did not talk to the press and hung up when a reporter asked for a press contact. Some Indian cities like Mumbai have already set up special units to monitor Internet sites like Facebook and Orkut, the social networking site operated by Google, for content considered disparaging or obscene. India has made nearly 70 requests to Google to remove content between January and June of this year, one of the highest request rates of any country though less than the United States’s 92 and Brazil’s 224, according to Google’s transparency report. Vikas Bajaj contributed reporting from Mumbai. -- Pranesh Prakash Programme Manager Centre for Internet and Society W: http://cis-india.org | T: +91 80 40926283

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Webcast: New gTLDs: Help shape the future of Internet? Briefing Session - Wed 12/7 0100 UTC
by Joly MacFie Dec. 5, 2011

Dec. 5, 2011

On Wednesday December 7 2011 the Internet Society Webcasting Channel will carry live a session from ISOC Hong Kong: *New gTLDs: Help shape the future of Internet? Briefing Session <http://bit.ly/isochk-newgtlds> . *A panel of experts will tackle topics such as: - What is New gTLDs Program? - Who can apply? - The Application and Approval Process of New gTLDs - The Impacts and Opportunities of new gTLDs *What*: New gTLDs: Help shape the future of Internet? Briefing Session *Where*: InnoCentre. Kowloon, HK *When*: Wednesday Dec 7 2011 9am – 1pm HKT | 0100-0500 UTC | 8pm-Midnight EST (Tuesday) *Webcast*: http://www.livestream.com/internetsocietychapters *Twitter*: #newgtlds <https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23newgtlds>, @isochk<https://twitter.com/#!/search/isochk> *Info*: http://bit.ly/isochk-newgtlds <http://bit.ly/isochk-newgtlds> -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - <http://bit.ly/isochk-newgtlds>http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- - -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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