February 2008 - NA-Discuss - lists.icann.org

Final WebWatchstatement on JPA - READ NOW - HIGH IMPORTANCE
by Thompson, Darlene Feb. 15, 2008

Feb. 15, 2008

Hi all, Your Secretariat is coming to you with her tail betwixt her legs. On Wedneseay, in Delhi, we had a major briefing on the JPA. For those of you as unaccustomed to acronyms as I was, this means the Joint Policy Agreement between the US and ICANN. It is about to end in 2009 and its ICANNs line that they should now be free from the JPA and go it alone (without having to account to any external agency like the US gov). Consumers Watch (Beau's company) put out the below. It is also supported by an excellent document put out by Danny Younger. Both Evan and I support the view of Consumer's Watch but we need to get input by the NARALO. Unfortunately, we need to get this in for tomorrow (Friday) morning. Neither of us realized that the timing was so frigging short - which is why I am so sorry to not have gotten this out to you sooner. PLEASE read the below and let me know what you think of it RIGHT AWAY. I will bring your voice to the talks and it will be incorporated into the documents that NARALO and ALAC will be submitting to the board (two separate documents). The ALAC document has to incorporate the views of all of the regions, which are really quite diverse (from some saying that ICANN should be allowed to fly alone RIGHT NOW, to the Consumer's Watch document) and; therefore, will be pretty middle of the road, IMO. I am thinking that the NARALO document should be more to the point of what OUR region wants. So, please read the below and give me your input by Friday morning, India time. It is now in the middle of the day, Thursday for the NARALO so I am really hoping that some of you can read this and give input immediately. Again, I am so sorry for giving you so little time for this. D Greetings. Here is the finalized WebWatch statement on the Joint Project Agreement. Thanks to all of you for your meaningful feedback. My laptop is officially dead for the duration, so I am writing this from the Taj Palace business center -- so if you have comments, please talk to me in the flesh. Document attached and pasted below. COMMENTS OF CONSUMER REPORTS WEBWATCH, Consumers Union of the U.S., On ICANN Joint Project Agreement with U.S. Commerce Department February 14, 2008 Consumer Reports WebWatch of the Consumers Union, representing 9 million consumers in the United States and Canada, supports ICANN's efforts to evolve and move forward toward an existence apart from the JPA agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, at this mid-term review phase, we do not believe the organization is ready to function without a similar accountability mechanism to the JPA in place. Major changes need to occur within the organization to assure more efficient and meaningful user community representation, with long-term guarantees that such representation would endure unforeseen scenarios in the future. Our justifications for this position are simple: First, we do not believe the structure of ICANN as it exists today sufficiently takes into account the needs and opinions of end-users. Based on a review of operational documents and bylaws, we do not see any sort of language guaranteeing meaningful user participation into the future. To address this issue, Consumers Union believes the at-large community needs multiple seats on the ICANN board; the initial bylaws, in fact, called for fully half the board to be elected by the at-large. We base this opinion on Consumer Reports WebWatch's own 11-month experience as an "at-large structure" recruited by ICANN, and our eight months' experience as an elected representative to the at-large advisory committee. Second, though the outreach work of ICANN at-large staff Nick Ashton-Hart and Kieran McCarthy is commendable, ICANN's staff and public communications budget is insufficient to address a much larger problem of outreach. To elaborate: Currently, the NA-RALO is made up of a scant handful of organizations. While these are valuable partners, in no way could the NA-RALO be characterized as a viable representation of a broad-based user community in the United States and Canada. Further, many consumer organizations in the United States with a mission that includes the intersection of technology and consumer issues, remain skeptical of ICANN's intentions and its viability as an organization that takes consumer views into account. Until something is done to bridge this gap and ICANN demonstrates its good intentions and long-term structural viability to organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and others, we do not believe ICANN can be considered to be acting in accordance with the concerns of the user community in North America. In addition, there are no guarantees beyond mention in the bylaws that the "at-large community," itself currently under review, would remain a part of the ICANN structure 20 or even 10 years from now. The at-large advisory committee is without a vote in any meaningful policy forum. Without direct user community representation on the ICANN board, we do not believe ICANN is truly acting as a "multi-stakeholder" organization. We are concerned, in fact, that ICANN does sees itself as a multi-stakeholder organization, with industry, government, and industry groups as the stakeholders. It does not help matters much that many within the ICANN community view domain name registrants as the Internet's "end-users," and therefore the farthest realm the ICANN needs to reach. Until these issues are addressed we do not believe the organization is ready to progress beyond the JPA, which refers to "the global participation of all stakeholders" and "mechanisms for involvement of those affected by the ICANN policies." As the Internet-using public is a key set of stakeholders affected by ICANN's policies, it is critical, including for Internet security and stability, that the organization be accountable to the public and account effectively for its input. We believe the following three things need to happen in order for ICANN to move forward beyond the JPA: 1. Address lack of meaningful user representation, and assure its long-term viability within the organization, by creating multiple "user community" seats on the ICANN board. 2. Allocate significant budget to get the message that it has done so, out to civil society stakeholder groups in North America and the global user community. 3. Take administrative steps to ensure the long-term structural existence of user community presence and participation in decision-making. We appreciate the opportunity to comment. Beau Brendler, Director, Consumer Reports WebWatch, and member, ICANN at-large advisory committee

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FW: [ALAC-Internal] Danny Younger statement on JPA
by Thompson, Darlene Feb. 14, 2008

Feb. 14, 2008

Hi all, Here is the background document that Danny was kind enough to provide to us to go along with the Consumer's Watch statement that I forwarded earlier. If you wish more info, this is a great place to start... ----------------------------------- Colleagues: After a brief discussion with Cheryl, I am sending the draft comments WebWatch (and Consumers Union as a whole) plans to make on the JPA. I will send along Danny Younger's comments momentarily. While I realize that not everyone on the ALAC will share my views and Danny's, I hope you were as concerned as I was that during Paul Twomey's and Peter Dengate-Thrush's preamble to the public comment period on the JPA, there was not a single mention of ALAC and the user community. This is the second speech I have heard by Paul Twomey that seems to characterize "multi-stakeholder" to mean: industry, government and industry associations. Nonsense! Further, I don't believe it's in the ICANN's best interest to be lobbying the ICANN community, via e-mail and other means, to send in a pre-formatted letter to the NTIA saying that it's ready to spread its wings and fly. I will refine the following statement somewhat, but the gist of what we are going to say during the public comment period here, and then to the NTIA, is this: Though Consumers Union, representing 9 million consumers in the United States and Canada, supports the ICANN's eventual emancipation from U.S. Commerce Department oversight, we do not believe the organization is yet ready to function without a similar accountability mechanism in place. Our justifications are simple and logical: First, we do not believe the current structure of ICANN sufficiently takes into account the needs and opinions of end-users. Based on a half-year's experience as an ALS and a member of the at-large advisory committee itself, Consumers Union believes the at-large community needs at minimum a single voting seat on the ICANN board, at best two seats. Second, ICANN must immediately dedicate a significant budget to outreach and external communications (beyond the allocations to at-large, administered by ICANN staff with the ALAC's input) in order to efficiently engage the user community. To further explain: Currently, the NA-RALO is made up of a scant handful of organizations. In no way could the NA-RALO be characterized as a viable representation of a broad-based user community. Further, many consumer organizations in the United States, with an interest in civil society and technology matters, are skeptical of ICANN's intentions and its viability as an organization that takes consumer views into account. Until something is done to bridge this gap, and ICANN demonstrates otherwise to organizations such as the Center for Democracy and Technology, the EFF and others, and puts in place a sufficient governance mechansism for integrating that voice, ICANN cannot be considered to be acting in accordance with U.S. consumer and user concerns at hand. There are no guarantees beyond mention in the bylaws that the "at-large community," itself currently under review, would remain a part of the ICANN structure 20 or even 10 years from now. Without representation on the ICANN board from the user community, we do not believe ICANN is truly acting as a "multi-stakeholder" organization. Until this issue is addressed we do not believe the organization is ready to be freed from oversight. -----Original Message----- From: alac-internal-bounces(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org on behalf of Nick Ashton-Hart Sent: Mon 2/11/2008 6:32 AM To: carlos aguirre Cc: ALAC internal list Subject: Re: [ALAC-Internal] Meeting with NCUC I can confirm that the Agra Room is available at that time. Due to the notice, unfortunately interpretation and recording of the meeting will not be available - I trust that this is OK. May I ask Members to remember to let me ensure that meeting space is available before confirming meetings in meeting rooms please? On 11 Feb 2008, at 16:14, carlos aguirre wrote: > > Sorry: the meeting with NCUC is already arranged. > Carlos Dionisio Aguirre > > abogado - Sarmiento 71 - 4to. 18 Cordoba - Argentina - > *54-351-424-2123 / 423-5423 > www.sitioderecho.com.ar > www.densi.com.ar > > > > Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:53:24 +0000 > > From: evan(a)telly.org > > To: carlosaguirre62(a)hotmail.com > > CC: iza(a)anr.org; alac-internal(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org > > Subject: Re: [ALAC-Internal] Meeting with NCUC and GAC > > > > carlos aguirre wrote: > > > Evan : go ahead !!!! > > > > I found, when doing this, that the event conflicts with the GAC/ > Board > > meeting scheduled for 16:45. > > > > http://del.icann.org/node/78 > > > > How does this affect the plan? > > > > - Evan > > Ingresá ya a MSN en Concierto y disfrutá los recitales en vivo de > tus artistas favoritos. MSN en Concierto > _______________________________________________ > ALAC-Internal mailing list > ALAC-Internal(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org > http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac-internal_atlarge-lists… > > ALAC Wiki: http://st.icann.org/alac > ALAC Official: http://alac.icann.org <http://alac.icann.org/> > ALAC Independent: http://www.icannalac.org <http://www.icannalac.org/> *** Scanned *** Scanned

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[Fwd: Re: [ALAC-Internal] Proposed ALAC-statement regarding JPA]
by Jacqueline A.Morris Feb. 14, 2008

Feb. 14, 2008

Dear All, Please see the draft below of a proposed At Large statement on the JPA. Time is short - the deadline is tomorrow, but as much participation as possible is the At Large way, so please do what you can re comments. Jacqueline >> Annette Muehlberg wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> i think by replacing the last paragraph we could, wihtout dismissing other >> positions, reach a consensus. please have a look at the last alternative >> paragraph. >> >> warm greetings >> >> annette >> >> >> >> >> >> Proposed ALAC-statement regarding JPA: >> >> As the JPA (between the US Government and ICANN) is under Review, ALAC >> wishes to underline the unique opportunity the occasion offers to realize >> the original goals that led to the formation of ICANN. These include, inter >> alia, acknowledgement of the international nature of ICANN, support of the >> multi-stakeholder bottom-up approach to the management of ICANN, and the >> provision of viable and stable channels for the involvement of individual >> Internet users in the ICANN policy formation process. Measures must be >> implemented to ensure non-discriminatory availability of ICANN/IANA services >> as well as the opportunity for the involvement of global individual users in >> the ICANN process. >> >> In its role as the voice of the individual Internet users, ALAC firmly >> believes that the current multi-stakeholder framework at ICANN should be >> further strengthened to allow more proactive involvement of end-users. The >> process to full participation of individual users through the ALAC/RALO >> (Regional At-Large Organization) mechanism is being undertaken at this >> moment. There is, however, a lack of incentives for the participants, >> especially a lack of direct involvement at the decision-making levels of >> ICANN. Therefore, we think that ICANN should find ways to implement adequate >> representation of individual users at the decision-making levels of ICANN so >> that a real multi-stakeholder framework is achieved. >> >> In addition, we believe that no government should have a pre-eminent role in >> DNS management and exercise power over database changes and root-server >> data. We suggest that an institutional form should be found as soon as >> possible so that ICANN does not lie under the authority of any single >> national legislation. We also strongly advocate transparency and openness in >> the process of making any structural change in the ICANN framework for the >> coming transition. >> >> However, at this mid-term review phase, we do not believe the organization >> is ready to function without a similar accountability mechanism to the JPA >> in place. >> >> >> Alternative replacing the last paragraph: >> >> We are concerned that the successor oversight framework is still not clear >> and ICANN needs to clarify the transitional arrangements with regard to >> accountability and transparency as well as to allow further definition and >> evolution of the multi-stakeholder model of governance under which it >> operates. >> >> >> > > >

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ICANN POLICY UPDATE – 11 February 2008
by Nick Ashton-Hart Feb. 12, 2008

Feb. 12, 2008

Dear All: Attached are brief summaries of a number of Internet policy issues that are being addressed in the ICANN community's bottom-up policy development structure. This update is provided by ICANN's Policy Staff in response to community requests for periodic summaries of ICANN's policy work. Links to additional information are included in the attached document, and we encourage you to go beyond these brief staff summaries and learn more about the ICANN community's work. Our goal is to maximize transparency and broad community participation in ICANN's policy development activities. We continue to investigate more effective and efficient ways to communicate the relevance, importance and status of ongoing issues to the ICANN community. Comments and suggestions on how we can improve these efforts are most welcome and should be sent to policy-staff(a)icann.org. This update will be posted on ICANN's website. Regards, Denise Denise Michel ICANN VP, Policy --------------------------------------------- ICANN POLICY UPDATE – 11 February 2008 CONTENTS: 1. GNSO -- IMPROVEMENTS 2. GNSO -- DOMAIN NAME TASTING 3. GNSO -- WHOIS 4. GNSO -- INTER-REGISTRY TRANSFER POLICY 5. GNSO -- LEADERSHIP/ELECTION 6. MULTIPLE ENTITIES -- IDN ccTLDs 7. CCNSO -- IANA WORKING GROUP 8. CCNSO -- PARTICIPATION WORKING GROUP 9. CCNSO -- WORK PLAN 10. CCNSO -- PHISHING SURVEY 11. SSAC -- REPORTS AND STATEMENTS FOR NEW DELHI 12. AT-LARGE -- APRALO PRIORITIES 13. AT-LARGE -- NEW DELHI POLICY AGENDA 14. AT-LARGE -- PARTICIPATION -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 595 85 44 mobile: +41 (79) 595 54 68 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Consultation on Fast Track IDNs: Initial Draft Report of IDNC Working Group
by Nick Ashton-Hart Feb. 11, 2008

Feb. 11, 2008

Dear All: As promised, there are now versions of the IDNc Initial Draft Report, and accompanying consultation announcements, in seven languages online. Please do forward on to those in the various language communities - remember to do it fast as the consultation closes on 26th February 2008: Public Comments Requested on Initial Draft Fast-Track Mechanism for Introduction of a Limited Number of IDN ccTLDs يُرجى إرسال التعليقات العامة على آلية المسودة المبدئي للتتبع السريع لتقديم عدد محدود من IDN ccTLD 在快速跟踪机制下引入有限数量 IDN ccTLD 的初稿，现公开征求意见 IDN ccTLDs की सीमित संख्या के परिचय के लिए प्रारंभिक ड्राफ़्ट फ़ास्ट-ट्रैक प्रणाली पर अनुरोध की गई सार्वजनिक टिप्पणियाँ 한정된 수의 IDN ccTLD 채택 추진 가속화 방안 초안에 대 한 공개 의견 수렴 ファーストトラックメカニズムに基づく限定数の IDN ccTLD の導入に関する最初のドラフトについて一般からのコメントを募集 Общественные комментарии к первоначальному черновому проекту ускоренного метода для введения ограниченного числа кодов стран доменов высшего уровня (ccTLD) IDN -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 595 85 44 mobile: +41 (79) 595 54 68 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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slides on new gtld recommendations
by Annette Muehlberg Feb. 10, 2008

Feb. 10, 2008

All, you may want to have a look at these slides. I guess, it will be a challenge to get new gtlds through this maze of restrictions. No "subversive propaganda", criticism of religion, etc. etc. in domain names. here is the staff's plan to implement council's new gtld recommendations http://www.gnso.icann.org/correspondence/presentation-gnso-new-gtlds-09feb0… best greetings annette

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Remote Participation in New Delhi At-Large Meetings
by Nick Ashton-Hart Feb. 6, 2008

Feb. 6, 2008

Dear All: Since the 31st International ICANN meeting is now just around the corner - the first At-Large meetings start next Sunday - I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone who will not be there in person of the remote participation options that exist for you. Firstly - At-Large meetings will allow you to hear, and be heard, via telephony as per usual. You can see all the details associated with each meeting from the main At-Large meeting page at: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?new_delhi_meeting There are several ways for you to get connected. We have made a number of improvements to the remote participation services, thanks in large part to a new vendor for teleconference services for At-Large: 1) Use a freephone number local to you - see https://st.icann.org/asiapac/index.cgi/AdigoITFS_112807.jpg?action=attachme… for a current list. 2) If no freephone number is available in your country, you can have the service dial out to you via a simple web form at: http://go.adigo.com/go/outlink.php?sid=7298 . *IMPORTANT NOTE: The dialling system will only work if you preface your country code with 011 instead of 00.* For those who are participating this way, if for some reason you're connection drops, you can use the form above to get re-connected. You can also contact the conference operator at the AOL/AIM ID: d4500. The Access Code for all calls is: 1638. More broadly, ICANN has many other public participation options for remote participation. These include: * Streaming audio for many sessions - it is anticipated that the audio streams will be in multiple languages for the first time as well; * Chat with other remote participants and the meeting participants in New Delhi - including asking questions for panellists which will be brought to the meeting by meeting moderators; * Forums on various hot topics where you can electronically debate with others. The place to start for all of this is at http://public.icann.org. I hope that many of you will join us remotely in New Delhi! -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN Main Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 594-85-44 Mobile: +41 (79) 595 54-68 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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NARALO meeting today, 2000 UTC
by Nick Ashton-Hart Feb. 4, 2008

Feb. 4, 2008

Dear NARALO Members: Since I have not seen an announcement, this is a reminder that there is meant to be a NARALO meeting today at 2000 UTC. The agenda page is currently unedited however - accessible at: https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?4_february_2008 . The teleconference has been scheduled with the operators - if it is meant to cancel this do let me know -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN Main Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 594-85-44 Mobile: +41 (79) 595 54-68 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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SSAC Releases Advice on Fast-Flux Hosting
by Nick Ashton-Hart Feb. 1, 2008

Feb. 1, 2008

Dear All: The Stability and Security Advisory Committee has just released an updated report on Fast-Flux Hosting and the DNS, which can be accessed here: http://www.icann.org/committees/security/sac025.pdf From the introduction of the report: "Fast flux" is an evasion technique that cyber-criminals and Internet miscreants use to evade identification and to frustrate law enforcement and anticrime efforts aimed at locating and shutting down web sites used for illegal purposes. Fast flux hosting is an application of technology that supports a wide variety of cyber-crime activities (fraud, identity theft, online scams) and is considered one of the most serious threats to online activities today. Basic fast flux hosting uses rapid modification of IP addresses associated with a system that hosts a malicious activity to evade detection and take down efforts. This technique is also used to rapidly modify the IP addresses of the name servers that resolve the domain names of the fluxed malicious hosts (this variant is sometimes called NS fast flux). A particularly troublesome variant of fast flux hosting, "double flux", fluxes addresses of both name servers and malicious (web server) hosts. This Advisory describes the technical aspects of fast flux hosting and fast flux service networks. It explains how the DNS is exploited to abet criminal activities that employ fast flux hosting, identifying the impacts of fast flux hosting, and calling particular attention to the way such attacks extend the malicious or profitable lifetime of the illegal activities conducted using these fast flux techniques. It describes current and possible methods of mitigating fast flux hosting at various points in the Internet. The Advisory discusses the pros and cons of these mitigation methods, identifies those methods that SSAC considers practical and sensible, and recommends that appropriate bodies consider policies that would make the practical mitigation methods universally available to registrants, ISPs, registrars and registries (where applicable for each). -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN Main Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +41 (22) 594-85-44 Mobile: +41 (79) 595 54-68 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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