IP: Don't let the Feds take over Net names -- Meeks speaks

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

It is important to understand that the NSF programs and policy are not
under the Inspector General and her reports are advisory re conformance to
regs and law.


Moreover, NSF has not proposed anything!


So why the panic at this time Brock!!!!


Dave








Meeks again:


Don=92t let the Feds take over Net names Science foundation=92s
proposal to register domains is bad idea=20






Commentary=20


=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 WASHINGTON =97 The National Science Foundation=92s inspector=
 general is
floating a proposal that would strip the registry of Internet domain names
from the private sector and bring them under the control of the federal
government, MSNBC has learned.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 To be blunt: the foundation wants to nationalize the process=
 by
which people obtain their .com, .org and .net domain names. This includes
the billing and collection process for those domain names, a move that
would add $40 million annually to the federal coffers if the Internet were
to stagnate at today=92s level of registered domain names. <Picture>


=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Currently, the registry of domain names is handled by Networ=
k
Solutions Inc., a privately owned firm that operates under a grant provided
by the science foundation, which is funded with taxpayer dollars. In return
for operating the domain name registry, NSI was granted a monopoly for
registering those names. But NSI soon found itself bleeding red ink =97 the
initial grant money, some $1.1 million, wasn=92t enough to cover the cost of
staffing up to handle the exploding crush of requests for domain names.=20
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Because NSI was losing money, the National Science Foundatio=
n
allowed the company to start charging a fee to register those domains,
which amounts to $100 for two years and then $50 per year after that. NSI
was allowed to keep 70 percent of those fees, while 30 percent was to be
collected in a so-called =93Internet infrastructure development fund.=94 Wit=
h
more than 830,000 registered domain names to date, that comes to $83
million in fees with $58 million going to NSI and the remaining $25 million
going into the development fund.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0=20
WHO COLLECTS THE MONEY? More Meeks
<Picture: *>Show me your cold,
hard cash<Picture: *>Keep the NSA off the Net


=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Small problem: NSI has been unable to collect but about half=
 that
amount, citing various problems, not the least of which is a critical staff
shortage. NSI has said it needs some 200 people to handle the domain name
registry and has taken to outsourcing the billing and collection to keep up
the pace. Sundro=92s proposal would make the National Science Foundation,
in part, a tax collector.=20


=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 The National Science Foundation proposal to take over the do=
main
name registry function from its grantee, NSI, is contained in a report
written by foundation Inspector General Linda Sundro, which hasn=92t yet bee=
n
made public. The report has been circulating among the Commerce Department,
the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Communications
Commission for weeks, according to several sources familiar with the
report. Representatives of these agencies, in fact, are meeting Wednesday
to discuss the report, according to some who will be attending the meeting.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 The policy changes recommended in Sundro=92s report would ra=
dically
change the scope and mission of the foundation and contain potential land
mines for the government. The science foundation has traditionally been a
grant-giving organization, funneling tax dollars to worthy scientific
research ventures. But Sundro=92s proposal would turn the agency, in part,
into a tax collector. Indeed, the foundations=92s charter would have to be
rewritten, allowing it to collect those =93user fees,=94 or whatever they wi=
ll
be called, if and when the government starts collecting $50 a pop from
every domain name holder. In addition, the science foundation would have to
create an entire new office, staffed at a level comparable with that of NSI
=97 150 people or more.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0=20
I THOUGHT WE WANTED COMPETITION=20
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 All this comes at a time when the administration has been pr=
eaching
a =93hands off=94 policy toward the Internet. Indeed, Sundro=92s radical ide=
a
runs counter to a proposal released by the International Ad Hoc Committee,
which suggests that competition be introduced in the area of domain name
registration. That committee recommended that up to 28 organizations,
worldwide, be allowed to register addresses.=20
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 You can imagine the hue-and-cry from those in the private se=
ctor
licking their chops over the prospect of dipping into a nice little revenue
stream derived from registering domain names. This is definitely a growth
market, with no signs of slowdown on the horizon. According to NSI, when it
first started registering domain names in 1993, some 500 applications were
processed each month. That figure has skyrocketed; the current average is
now around 80,000 per month.=20
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Sundro=92s policy proposals are so loony that even the found=
ation=92s
general counsel reportedly wrote an unfavorable opinion of the idea,
according to government sources familiar with the proposal. It=92s not clear
that the National Science Foundation would have to take on the process
itself, however, since =93there are several alternatives being mentioned,=94
said one source familiar with the proposal. One of those is to shove the
entire mess into the hands of the FCC, which does have some experience at
collecting fees, but nothing on a level approaching domain name registry.
And the FCC hardly has the staff for it anyway. Indeed, several in Congress
have been gunning to cut back the agency=92s staffing levels and reduce its
authority.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0=20
AN INSPECTOR GENERAL WRITING POLICY?
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 All this begs the question: what is an inspector general doi=
ng
writing a policy paper in the first place? IG=92s are tasked with
investigating waste, fraud and abuse, according to the Inspector General
Act of 1978, not write policy. Indeed, part of the Act says: =93[N]o
inspector general shall be considered to be an employee who determines
policies to be pursued by the United States in the nationwide
administration of Federal laws...=94
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 With the potential backlash from the U.S. internet=
 community, not
to mention the international community, what motivation does Sundro have
for her actions? I wish I could tell you, but I can=92t figure it out.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Indeed, when I called Sundro to ask where she had the=
 authority to
write policy and what motivated her report, my calls went unreturned. I
then sent Sundro e-mail asking her the same questions. I finally got a call
from someone in her office who would not respond to any of my questions.
When I asked why I was told, =93We=92ll respond via e-mail.=94 When I asked =
when
I might receive a response, now that my deadline was breathing down my
neck, I was told, =93Oh, well, we=92re treating this as a FOIA [Freedom of
Information Act] request.=94 Meaning, =93you=92ll get an answer whenever we =
get
around to it.=94
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Never mind that I never requested this information under the=
 FOIA;
never mind that I never asked to see a copy of the report. I was simply
asking Sundro to explain her motivation and her authority. I was asking
questions, like any reporter would do. And for the first time in all my
years of reporting in Washington, I was told my questions were being
treated as a FOIA request. Sundro didn=92t even give me the courtesy of a =
=93no
comment.=94
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 The government has better things to do than try its hand at =
the
registry of domain names. The revenue stream only adds a fraction to the
general budget and it=92s likely to be more of a headache than it=92s worth.=
 In
addition, the last thing we need is more bloat to the federal government.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 I hope Sundro=92s proposals are roundly hammered by those at=
tending
the meeting Wednesday, but don=92t bank on it. This government loves its
hooks on the Internet and when those hooks also come with tens of millions
of dollars, well, that=92s a combination no Washington bureaucrat is likely
to have the balls to say =93no=94 to.
=A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Meeks out ... =A0 =A9 1997 MSNBC<Picture: MSN>