more on ICANN's "ex-ex-ex" domains and the slippery slope (fwd)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Synthesis: Law and Technology"  
<synthesis.law.and.technology () gmail com>
Date: June 3, 2005 9:41:19 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] more on ICANN's "ex-ex-ex" domains and the slippery  
slope (fwd)
Reply-To: "Synthesis: Law and Technology"  
<synthesis.law.and.technology () gmail com>


Dave:
It is nice of a board member to participate in this debate and show us
a bit of where ICANN was coming from.  WIth respect I still must
disagree.

No matter what the process they took, if the end result is bad its  
still bad.
What is necessarily implicit in the establishing of an ex ex ex domain
is an attempt to regulate content.   Since the internet is still
basically edge-controlled we all know it wont be a total solution.
Instead it will be a partial solution that will create imbalances and
inequalities.
Second, since it is about content then the real place to adress any
issues is not at the ICANN level.  Not only does this fall outside
their madate of technical management of the internet, they simply
arent in a position to effectively do it.
You want to manage content and access to content?   Go see google.
Google can find content for you no matter where it is stored. It
doesnt have to be in a dot com or dot ex ex ex.  It can be anywhere as
long as the site will let google index it.

Fortunately for us google has been exemplary in their 'hands off'
approach to content.  It is a model ICANN would do well to emulate.

Dan Steinberg

SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
35, du Ravin        phone: (613) 794-5356
Chelsea, Quebec
J9B 1N1

On 6/3/05, David J. Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:

> ===== Forwarded message from Joichi Ito <jito () neoteny com> =====
>
> \From: Joichi Ito <jito () neoteny com>
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] more on ICANN's "ex-ex-ex" domains and the  
> slippery slope
> Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2005 09:05:25 +0900
>
> Dave:
>
> http://joi.ito.com/archives/2005/06/03/
> some_notes_on_the_xxx_top_level_domain.html
>
> Please read the blog entry because it has links. I have included the
> text below for convenience.
>
> ---
>
> Yesterday the ICANN board discussed and approved ICANN staff to enter
> into negotiations with ICM Registry, Inc. for the .XXX Top Level
> Domain (TLD). I'm sure there will be a longer more complete
> presentation from ICANN later about this, but as an individual board
> member I thought I'd post a quick note before people got carried away
> with speculation based on a lack of information.
>
> I realize that the formal documents on the ICANN page are difficult
> to read, but I suggest people take a look at the actual application
> before jumping to conclusions about what the .XXX TLD is. It is
> actually a balanced and well thought out structure that provides a
> balanced approach to an issue with many stake holders.
>
> The .XXX TLD is a sponsored TLD or sTLD with a sponsoring
> organization. Policy will be managed by a non-profit organization
> called the International Foundation for Online Responsibility
> (IFFOR). (Here is the org chart.) IFFOR will have a board of
> directors comprised of members from several supporting organizations.
> These organizations include 1) privacy, security & child advocacy, 2)
> free expression, 3) online adult-entertainment and board members
> selected through a nomination committee system similar to ICANN. No
> one constituency can capture the board and all have a say. There will
> be an Ombudsman. The organization has demonstrated strong support
> from all of the constituencies and also the credit card industry. A
> portion of all of the revenue from domain names will go to a fund
> that a Grant Advisory Committee will use to support child advocacy.
> Credit card companies are working with the legitimate adult sites to
> create incentives for them to switch to .XXX.
>
> ICANN has been mandated with trying to increase the TLD space and
> the .XXX proposal, in my opinion, has met the criteria set out in the
> RFP. Our approval of .XXX is a decision based on whether .XXX met the
> criteria and does not endorse or condone any particular type of
> content or moral belief. This is not the role of ICANN. I realize
> that some will view this as ICANN endorsing pornography on the
> Internet, but this is not the case.
>
> There are people who are concerned about censorship and control.
> These are issues that have been raised, but I think the .XXX proposal
> is more about creating incentives for legitimate adult entertainment
> sites to come together and fight "bad actors" and is not focused on
> forcing people to use the .XXX domain.
>
> Some people have argued that there has not been enough public debate,
> but we have been taking public comments for quite a while. We DO read
> them and have encouraged people to discuss their issues with us
> through the process. I believe we followed a rigorous process. We
> started with an RFP and over the last 15 months, we have had
> independent evaluators, numerous meetings, public discussion and
> public comments.
>
> I think Brett Fausett summarized the situation well on his blog.
>
>
> >     The decision on .XXX may be one of the most difficult ICANN has
> > ever made, and you can expect ICANN to be criticized whatever it
> > decides. I imagine that many of the countries participating in the
> > GAC aren't ready to be part of a decision that will endorse a space
> > for pr0n on the Internet. The fact that .XXX could be a political
> > hook on which the governments of the world could hang Internet
> > zoning laws could make the decision more palatable, but it's still
> > a political minefield for ICANN. Again, I hope the proposal is
> > accepted, but it's going to take a great deal of courage to do that.
>
> I think any decision would have had strong critics. I believe we have
> made the best decision possible considering all of the issues
> involved. Having said that staff are now negotiating the contract. If
> anyone has any thoughts that we should consider in negotiating the
> contract I would be happy to hear them. Staff are working hard to
> produce a contract that ensures that the TLD functions as advertised.
>
>
>
>
> ===== End forwarded message =====
>
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--
Dan Steinberg

SYNTHESIS:Law & Technology
35, du Ravin        phone: (613) 794-5356
Chelsea, Quebec
J9B 1N1


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