Re: Nothing like prior constraint. No courts just NetSol!!! Internet company suspends politician's website over Qur'an film

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Karl Auerbach [karl () cavebear com]
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 4:52 PM
To: David Farber
Cc: ip
Subject: Re: [IP] Nothing like prior constraint. No courts just NetSol!!! Internet company suspends politician's 
website over Qur'an film

David Farber wrote:
> From: tariq biziou [tariq.biziou () gmail com]

> Network Solutions announced late Saturday that it had suspended the
> site, www.fitnathemovie.com , as the company assesses whether it
> contravenes its "acceptable use policy."

You will find that many, perhaps most, domain name registrars have
similar policies that allow them to take over a domain name registration
an very subjective criteria.

What NTIA has done via its ICANN is to create, via contracts, a de facto
law of the internet in which registrars can impose their private view of
internet morality and acceptable use.  Given that most registrars are
for-profit companies they will generally take the path that is most
likely to avoid conflicts - which tends to mean a rather puritanical
outlook and a willingness to sacrifice a $10 domain name registrant.

It would completely within the contractual powers of these ICANN
accredited registrars to, for example, yank the domain name
registrations of the campaign websites for McCain, Clinton, or Obamma
and set up a parking webpage in their place that says "we removed this
because we consider it immoral".

I can understand why Network Solutions feels at risk should it register
a domain name that might be used in a URL leading to materials that
might offend certain highly ceertain sensitive and violently reactive
religious zealots.

But the answer is not the kind of private censorship that Network
Solutions and other ICANN accredited are doing.

The answer is this: ICANN should pull its accreditation from any
registrar or registry that engages in any content-related decisions
beyond those clearly required by the laws of the home country of that
registry or registrar.

Will ICANN do this?  Given that ICANN is largely funded by DNS registry
and registrars and that ICANN is structured to give a privileged
position to these business in its decision making processes (while at
the same time locking out the domain name registrants themselves) I
doubt that ICANN will even begin to consider such a policy.

                --karl--




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