Hi all, Next week will be the last news for the year, and it will recommence in the week commencing 8 January. As usual, feel free to get in touch if you've got any suggestions and comments on the news. I'm still thinking about the suggestion to include sub-headings that has been made previously...
Cheers David +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Check out http://auda.org.au/domain-news/ for the most recent edition of the domain news, including an RSS feed - already online! The domain name news is supported by auDA. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The battle for .com http://ciol.com/content/news/2006/106121105.asp CFIT's Complaint Dismissed For A Second Time http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-11dec06.htm Russia's Pro-Kremlin Youth Group Threatens ICANN With Lawsuits If Soviet Era Domain Is Scrapped http://mosnews.com/news/2006/12/11/icann.shtml Where Do Country Code Domain Names Go to Die? by Andrew Allemann http://www.circleid.com/posts/country_code_domain_names_die/ 'Gambits' put at risk Web domain system http://iht.com/articles/2006/10/30/business/net.php us: Sen. McCain Aims to Expand Federal Obscenity Reporting Law http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/FSCView.asp?coid=1013 ***************** GOVERNANCE ***************** Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance Titi Akinsanmi of the Global Teenager Project has just announced the creation of a three-week online forum for young people to learn about Internet governance and why it’s important they become engaged in policy discussions. (Some of you may remember the interview I did with Titi in Geneva in February 2005.) http://www.agoravox.com/article.php3?id_article=5346 eu: EU Council of 25 Telecom Min. meet in Brussels. Viviane Reding, will represent the EU Commission The main subject to be discussed will be the Commission proposal of 12 July to bring down mobile roaming charges in Europe’s internal market by 70%. Other topics will include Internet Governance: summary of recent developments (new ICANN Memorandum of Understanding, first meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Athens). http://www.assodigitale.it/content/view/2463/31/ ********************** DOMAIN NAMES ********************** The battle for .com This article from CIOL asks that with Verisign controlling the .com domain until 2012, is this the end of the battle with critics crying foul over the deal? The article discussed the Site Finder service VeriSign offered, with the resulting agreement that VeriSign would drop all challenges to ICANN "in exchange for the right to increase pricing on .com domains". The proposed settlement, which defined a process for the introduction of new registry services in the .com registry. The settlement was controversial with business alleging the creation of a monopoly and price fixing. In FEbruary 2006 the settlement was revised and limits on price increases were introduced and .com was left with VeriSign till 2012. The Coalition for Icann Transparency filed 2 lawsuits against VeriSign and is targetting ICANN. http://ciol.com/content/news/2006/106121105.asp CFIT's Complaint Dismissed For A Second Time On 8 December 2006, United States' Federal District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte dismissed, for a second time, an antitrust complaint filed by CFIT against ICANN. The strongly worded 22-page Order from Judge Whyte stems from CFIT's allegations challenging ICANN and VeriSign entering into the most recent .NET and .COM Agreements. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-11dec06.htm Russia's Pro-Kremlin Youth Group Threatens ICANN With Lawsuits If Soviet Era Domain Is Scrapped With ICANN announcing last week it was considering eliminating some outdated domain name extensions, Kommersant Daily reports that if the corporation goes ahead with its plan, which includes deleting .su, many Russian companies may suffer losses. Some of them have already threatened ICANN with lawsuits. http://mosnews.com/news/2006/12/11/icann.shtml Where Do Country Code Domain Names Go to Die? by Andrew Allemann What happens to country code domain names that are no longer in use? IANA is reviewing its practices associated with top-level domains which have been revoked from the officially assigned list, including top-level domains which have been replaced by a new country code. IANA is asking for community input on its practices, with IANA asking if domains that are retired should be removed from the DNS root and on what schedule this should be done. http://www.circleid.com/posts/country_code_domain_names_die/ 'Gambits' put at risk Web domain system Vinton Cerf has said he feared the network's addressing system would break down if "political gambits" by international groups or national agencies interfere with plans to expand the languages used in domain names. http://iht.com/articles/2006/10/30/business/net.php ICANN Seeks Public Comments on Proposed Terms of Reference for ICANN is seeking public comments on proposed Terms of Reference, which detail questions that would guide the independent review of ICANN's Nominating Committee. The public comment period will last from 12 December 2006 to 11 January 2007. http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-12dec06.htm Dot-tv gets a second chance at life Back in 2000, the video-specific domain name didn't catch on, but now the time is right for a Web explosion http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/12/technology/pluggedin_lashinsky.fortune/ http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2006-12-13T054240Z_01_N12379343_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-DEMANDMEDIA-VERISIGN.XML Emerging Markets Look to Up Internet Use by Andrew A. Mack About a month ago I was in Athens attending the first annual IGF. Delegates from around the world had come together to discuss the future of the Internet and specifically, how to provide more access to the web in Emerging Markets. ... What I heard from my seat in Athens was that emerging markets delegates are indeed dissatisfied-but not about the Internet domain name system. They are angry that their own governments are not cultivating environments that attract new investment. They are disgusted by the cozy relationships between legacy telecoms and regulators which stifle the growth of new Internet Service Providers. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612120694.html So This Manatee Walks Into the Internet On 4 December's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," there was a skit about an "absurdist college sports mascots that the host and his writers would like to see someday". At the end of the skit O'Brien adlibbed and that the voyeur (a member of the show's band) was watching www.hornymanatee.com. At the end of the show though, no website existed so NBC were presented with a quandry - "If a viewer were somehow to acquire the license to use that Internet domain name, then put something inappropriate on the site, the network could potentially be held liable for appearing to promote it. So as the New York Times reports "In a pre-emptive strike inspired as much by the regulations of the Federal Communications Commission as by the laws of comedy, NBC bought the license to hornymanatee.com, for $159, after the taping of the Dec. 4 show but before it was broadcast." http://iht.com/articles/2006/12/12/yourmoney/manatee.php http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/arts/television/12mana.html us: Sen. McCain Aims to Expand Federal Obscenity Reporting Law Speaking at the close of the 2006 legislative term, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he plans to introduce legislation that would extend federal obscenity reporting guidelines to all forms of Internet communication when the Senate reconvenes in 2007. Domain name registration services, internet content hosting services, search engines, electronic communications services and image and video-sharing services also would fall under the purview of the proposed legislation. http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/FSCView.asp?coid=1013 Time to stake your claim to a .asia domain name From Monday 11 December anyone wanting a .asia domain name will be able to express their interest on www.asiadns.com, following agreement between the EuroDNS registry and DotAsia, the sponsoring organisation behind .asia. According to EuroDNS, "While this service cannot be a pre-registration until the actual .asia rules are finalised, it is an increased chance for any potential domain registration to be considered and will allow DotAsia and EuroDNS to get a better feel of the market." http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/7906/53/ HotelDeals.com sold for $171,250 HotelDeals.com sold for a dazzling $171,250 at SnapNames.com last week. http://dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2006/domainsales12_12_06.htm za: Expert’s domain claims challenged (sub req'd) The Domain Name Authority and UniForum SA, the .co.za administrator, have challenged a legal expert's claims that domain name parking is rampant in SA and that the Alternate Dispute Resolution for .za domains fails to address the issue. http://www.legalbrief.co.za/article.php?story=20061213091435913 Verisign gets control of .com domain until 2012 The American government has approved a controversial deal over the future of the lucrative .com net domain and gives .com administrator Verisign control over the domain until 2012. http://www.enjoyfrance.com/content/view/661/31/ Domain .su to be eliminated ICANN started considering the question of deletion of the first level domain names. Particularly, domain names created for non-existent countries will be eliminated. http://www.russia-ic.com/news/show/3110/ State Official Calls for Flexible Telecommunications Policies ... Another issue discussed at the conference was navigation in multiple languages. Currently, the Internet system may confuse characters that look similar in English and other languages with different alphabets, leading users to the wrong Web sites. However, experts soon may be able to overcome the technical challenges of making the Internet truly compatible with non-English languages. Gross said he was struck by how productive the conference was. http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=November&x=20061121181753lmthceps0.3995783 Icann to revamp domain name system Icann made progress on a project to expand domain names to more languages and alphabets at a meeting in Sao Paolo last week. Icann had a "very, very busy and very productive week," said chairman Vint Cerf during a press conference he led with chief executive officer and president Paul Twomey. http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=7828 http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=6774 http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=5129 ICrystal Launches Internet Domain Name Acquisition Initiative (news release) ICrystal, Inc., a web page publishing company, announced that it has launched its Internet domain name acquisition program. As ICRI intends to be the publisher of thousands of web pages, this initiative is designed to accelerate rapidly the growth of ICRI's web page catalog. For each domain acquired, the company will design and publish a web page, then apply its proprietary Search Engine Optimization strategies to drive traffic to that web page. http://redorbit.com/news/technology/757245/icrystal_launches_internet_domain_name_acquisition_initiative/ ******************* OTHER INTERNET NEWS ******************* China 'crackdown on online games' China is enforcing more monitoring of online games, a state news agency in the country reports. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6173293.stm http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-12-12-china-crackdown_x.htm uk: Reid targets online paedophiles A "kite mark" standard is being planned by the home secretary to help protect children from internet paedophiles. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6166289.stm us: New legislation: sex offenders must register e-mail addresses Last week, MySpace announced a new security system that would prevent registered sex offenders from signing up with the site. Without any legislation requiring sex offenders to keep their e-mail addresses on record with law enforcement, though, we noted that the initiative wasn't going anywhere without some help from the government. That help has begun to arrive. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061211-8399.html us: McCain wants child porn rules for US message boards Social networking sites and message boards face the same regulatory burden as internet service providers (ISPs) in a new bill proposed by ex-US presidential candidate John McCain. McCain wants sites to report all child pornography to authorities. http://www.theregister.com/2006/12/12/message-boards_face_us_regulation/ http://out-law.com/page-7570 The EU takes measures to eradicate high levels of illegal online activity The European Union is slated to review existing legislation to determine the need for additional regulation to protect user privacy and security online. Next year, the European Commission may introduce proposals to force service providers to notify clients of security breaches and facilitate legal action to protect individuals from the consequences of spam, spyware and malicious software. http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=latestnews&id=1628 Study tracks digital convergence in U.K. and elsewhere The Chinese are eagerly watching television clips or shows on their computers. The Germans are reading fewer newspapers. The Italians are watching less television the old-fashioned way, through a box in the living room. Those are just some of the findings of a wide-ranging study by Ofcom, the British telecommunications and media regulator, looking at the effects of the trend toward digital convergence in a number of countries around the world. http://iht.com/articles/2006/12/10/business/ofcom.php SMS to double by 2010 Text messages sent to and from mobile phones will more than double over the next five years to 2.3 trillion messages sent by 2010, a survey said. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,20920371%5e16123%5e%5enbv%5e,00.html us: After CIA rebuff, state department turns to Google Some people may Google to locate lost loves, or check out potential new ones. The state department resorts to the internet search engine when it is trying to penetrate the clandestine world of international nuclear weapons proliferators. http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1969860,00.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/10/AR2006121000959.html 100Gbps Ethernet is coming Technical experts have started to develop a new standard for Ethernet which will run at 100Gbps. http://zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/100Gbps_Ethernet_is_coming/0,130061791,339272672,00.htm us: Online gambling poised to pull $528bn Internet gaming is now the fastest growing segment of internet commerce, according to a report from Gamingpublic.com, an industry trade publication. Revenue in the sector is growing at a rate of 22 per cent per year. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/12/gambling_2015/ ITunes suffers 65% fall in sales Apple Computer's iTunes music store suffered a 65 per cent dive in sales during the first six months of the year http://business.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,9075,00.html http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/11/digital_downloads_flatline/ nz: Cunliffe promises 'all you can eat broadband' with new law As expected, the Telecommunications Amendment Bill introduced by Minister of Communications David Cunliffe was passed in Parliament with overwhelming support. The only dissenting votes were from the two members of right wing party ACT, whose leader Rodney Hide stated that he sees the bill as theft of Telecom's property rights. http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/4B3ED44FEA46FF2BCC257243000EF98E au: Mum denies using kids to make pornography A woman has pleaded not guilty in a Sydney court to charges of producing child pornography using her own children. http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1810102.htm http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1809515.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sources include Quicklinks <http://qlinks.net/> and BNA Internet Law News <http://www.bna.com/ilaw/>. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (c) David Goldstein 2006 --------- David Goldstein address: 4/3 Abbott Street COOGEE NSW 2034 AUSTRALIA email: Goldstein_David @yahoo.com.au phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile); +61 2 9665 5773 (home) "Every time you use fossil fuels, you're adding to the problem. Every time you forgo fossil fuels, you're being part of the solution" - Dr Tim Flannery Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- List policy, unsubscribing and archives => http://dotau.org/
