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IGP Blog (10 unread)

September 08, 2010
1:04
New Paper: Building a new governance hierarchy: RPKI and the future of Internet routing and addressing
» ‎ IGP Blog

It's likely the most important governance issue you've never heard of. The resource public key infrastructure (RPKI) and efforts to secure the Internet's routing system could have a profound effect on the future of the internet. A new paper by the IGP attempts to broaden awareness of this issue by shedding light on the historical processes and policy issues raised by the RPKI. We explain why the RPKI has important governance implications for: 1) the autonomy of ISPs, 2) the centralization of institutional power and global compatibility, 3) the business models of the RIRs and their relationship to ICANN, and 4) the role of governments in Internet governance.
The paper's release occurs in conjunction with a workshop, Routing and Resource Certification: Self-governance and security at the core of Internet operations, at the IGF-Vilnius next week. The workshop, co-organized by the IGP and LACNIC on behalf of the NRO, will be held on Tuesday, September 14 from 9:00-11:00 EEST (6:00-8:00 UTC) in Room 5 of the LITEXPO facility. According to the Secretariat's website, remote participation options will be available. It will bring together numerous experts from the academia, government, the RIRs and elsewhere to discuss RPKI and other related policy issues that feed into broader discussion on management of critical Internet resources.
September 07, 2010
12:10
Real-name registration required for China mobile users
» ‎ IGP Blog

A real name registration policy for mobile users in China was issued on September 1st, 2010, requiring people to show their national identification card and complete a registration form when purchasing a new SIM card to activate mobile services.
August 30, 2010
23:24
U.S. National Science Foundation funds research on social impact of network surveillance technologies
» ‎ IGP Blog

Syracuse University Professor Milton Mueller was awarded $304,000 by the U.S. NSF for his research on “Deep Packet Inspection and the Governance of the Internet.” The research grant was made by the Science, Technology and Society program of the Social, Economic and Behavioral Science Directorate of NSF. The research will take place over two academic years, 2010-11 and 2011-2012.
Deep packet inspection (DPI) is a new network surveillance and traffic analysis capability that enables network operators to scan the payload of TCP/IP packets in real time and make automated decisions about whether to intercept, block, slow down, speed up or otherwise manipulate traffic streams based on that information. Mueller’s research will investigate whether the use of DPI by Internet service providers is producing major changes in the way users and suppliers of Internet services are governed.
August 15, 2010
2:02
Top Internet engineers get ready for the IANA contract rebid
» ‎ IGP Blog

One of the looming milestones in Internet governance is the impending renewal of ICANN's contract for the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions. The IANA contract is the mechanism through which the US government delegates control of the name and numbers space to ICANN. As such, it is the source of all of ICANN's real authority over domain name industry and IP address policy; take away that contract and ICANN is a shell. In her opening speech at the ICANN meeting in Brussels, European Commission Vice President Nellie Kroes, with some encouragement from various sources (wink), pointedly said, "I am hopeful that the expiry of the IANA contract next year will be turned into an opportunity for more international cooperation serving the global public interest."
Kroes is not the only one eagerly anticipating the rebid. Late last month the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) announced a program related to "IANA evolution." The memo was released July 28.
August 13, 2010
0:47
Domain Names as Second-Class Citizens
» ‎ IGP Blog

A new book by Dr. Konstantinos Komaitis (Lecturer in Law at the University of Strathclyde) provides a passionate yet legalistic and well-researched overview of the legal, institutional and ethical problems caused by the clash between domain names and trademarks. This is really the first decent book-length treatment of what is now a decade and a half of legal and political conflict between domain name registrants and trademark holders. But this is more than a static compilation and description of the subject: Komaitis has an original and fundamentally important argument to make.
August 09, 2010
14:30
Challenges facing the US in global cybersecurity and governance
» ‎ IGP Blog

The US General Accounting Office has released a new report which provides an overview of US government involvement and the challenges it faces in global Internet security and policy. Cataloging the breadth and scope of departmental and agency efforts to engage in multiple issues and institutions, it paints a picture of a government struggling to identify a cohesive strategic approach to Internet governance.
August 07, 2010
23:13
US and Canadian Governments support Chinese-style censorship of DNS in ICANN
» ‎ IGP Blog

The Chair of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee has issued a statement on the censorship of top level domain names. We are sad to report that the alleged GAC position is deeply flawed and outrageously wrong-headed. It is a recipe for global censorship, and although at this point it only applies to the DNS it can lead to the erosion of all internet freedom of expression unless it is stoutly resisted.
July 20, 2010
9:22
A new era in domain name economics?
» ‎ IGP Blog

As we enter an era of thousands of new top level domains, how will the industry evolve? The ICANN Working Group on vertical integration was one attempt to answer that question. In the course of its lively and extensive debates, the policy setting group confronted some fundamental issues about the organization of the domain name industry. Back in March the ICANN Board threatened to impose a draconian ban on any and all forms of vertical integration and cross ownership between registries and registrars if the group failed to reach consensus on a new policy. The working group (WG) will complete its work this week.
First, the bad news: the WG was not able to agree on a single, comprehensive new policy. It did, however, manage to reach consensus on one thing....
2:14
Open letter to the U.S. Goverment on domain name censorship
» ‎ IGP Blog

Editor's note: The following letter was initially sent privately to the U.S. government's representatives in ICANN. It asks why they - like all other governmental representatives - are completely absent from an ICANN group discussing the way to handle "sensitive" or "objectionable" top level domain name proposals. So far, I've received no response. The lack of participation by GAC members raises doubts about their commitment to a nongovernmental, multi-stakeholder process in Internet governance. The silence of the US government representatives raises even more serious questions about its commitment to its own Constitutional guarantees of freedom expression, and Secretary of State Clinton's Internet freedom initiatives.
Dear Daniel Weizner, Suzanne Sene and Fiona Alexander:

As you may know the USG's concerns about morality and public order (MAPO) objections to new TLD strings have led to the creation of a discussion list within ICANN. We are trying to come up with an adjustment in the policy; a fairly broad spectrum of ICANN participants are engaged in discussion of this problem. However, we have noticed that no GAC members have joined the list.

The MAPO issue is particularly sensitive and important given the way it converges issues related to freedom of expression, ICANN's legitimacy and the role of the Governmental Advisory Committee in ICANN.

Given GAC's role in this controversy, I see no way that the rest of us can have a productive discussion without the participation of GAC members. Therefore, I am hoping that the US Government will set a good example and join the rest of the community in good-faith discussions of the problems GAC is concerned about and help in the movement toward a solution, and that it will encourage other GAC members to join these discussions.

I am making this request both as a stakeholder within ICANN (Executive Committee member of the Noncommercial Stakeholders Group) and as a U.S. citizen who wishes to see that the U.S. Constitution and U.S. values regarding Internet freedom are protected in this process.

Best wishes Milton Mueller, Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies
July 17, 2010
6:04
IGF USA meets July 21
» ‎ IGP Blog

The U.S. Internet Governance Forum is convening in Washington DC July 21 (Wednesday) to discuss the challenges of Internet governance. It will cover key areas such as privacy, openness, security, critical internet resources and child online safety. Launched in 2009, the IGF USA’s purpose is to engage US-based civil society, government, technologists, research scientists, industry and academia, to cultivate partnerships, build coalitions and facilitate dialogues that demonstrate best practices and facilitate participation of all stakeholders at a national and global level.
The one-day event will focus on the changing Internet and the way forward for the international Internet Governance Forum, an initiative facilitated by the United Nations. Key speakers will include Markus Kummer of the UN Secretariat for IGF, Larry Strickling, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Agency, Andrew McLaughlin, White House Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Internet Policy, Ambassador Phil Verveer, U.S. State Department and key leaders from the technical, business and civil society sectors. Workshops and special sessions cover topics such as cyber security, critical internet resources, cloud computing, global governance of the Internet; the role of users in defining a future for Internet governance, e-crime and malicious conduct in the domain name system, and a best practice forum on child safety challenges in the always-on world that youth and children experience today. For more information, see: http://www.igf-usa.us