BOOKMARK
PRINTAffirmation of Commitments
Cybersquatting - Not Just for Brands
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 10:42 — Josh Bourne — PermalinkOn January 29, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA), which FairWinds helped found and runs, hosted a policy forum here in Washington, D.C. The forum focused on emerging challenges for the Internet community in 2010, specifically the future of ICANN under the Affirmation of Commitments (AOC) and potential reform to the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Attendees heard from two panels regarding these issues, which featured brand owners, online policy experts and Congressional staff members. The keynote address was given by Senator Stephen Urquhart (R-UT 29th District), the Chairman of the Utah State Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee. Urquhart recently introduced the E-Commerce Integrity Act to the Utah state legislature. This bill is designed to make the state of Utah more business-friendly by creating greater deterrents to prevent cybersquatting: firstly, the bill raises the damages that can be levied on a cybersquatter, and secondly, it holds affiliates of domain name registrants liable if it is found that they benefit from cybersquatting behavior.
In addition to Sen. Urquhart, representatives of Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee spoke on the panels. Cybersquatting is an issue that hits close to home for the Senators they work for: PatrickLeahy.com and JohnDRockefeller.com both point to pay-per-click (PPC) sites. (JayRockefeller.com, however, does lead to the Senator’s Web site.) SteveUrquhart.com also leads to a PPC site.
When discussing the problem of cybersquatting, much of the attention often gets focused on businesses and infringements on brands and trademarks. However, individuals like politicians and celebrities are also frequently the victims of squatting and other malicious conduct online. It’s great to know that Senator Urquhart and Congressional staff members understand this issue, and we’re happy to have them involved in efforts to create a safe, stable and flourishing Internet.
Checking the Box and Checking Out
Tue, 10/06/2009 - 15:17 — Phil Lodico — PermalinkAfter ICANN and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) signed the Affirmation of Commitments (AOC), Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Rick Boucher, Chairman of the Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee spoke out in support of the agreement. Rep. Boucher praised the AOC’s ability to ensure accountability and transparency within ICANN.
Back in June, Rep. Boucher’s committee held a hearing at which the then-CEO of ICANN, Paul Twomey, testified. A pressing issue at that time was the amount of accountability ICANN had, not only to the government but to all of its shareholders. There was a consensus among committee members that ICANN needed to be more transparent in its processes and more accountable to the general public. Later this summer, in August, Rep. Boucher and Rep. Waxman, along with other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote a letter to Secretary Gary Locke of the DOC calling for an extension of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) in some form, as well as permanent ties between ICANN and the U.S. government.
So it would appear that the mission has been accomplished. ICANN and the U.S. government are now linked through the new AOC. There’s just one problem – the AOC doesn’t provide the level of accountability that these Congressmen have called for, never mind the level ICANN needs as an organization. The AOC creates a number of panels that will periodically review ICANN, and the U.S. government only holds a seat on one of them. Yes, it is a positive thing that ICANN is still tied to the U.S. government through this agreement, but ICANN is no more accountable than it was under the JPA.
In reality, the AOC simply does not include the accountability mechanisms that they had been pushing for. It is unlikely that this agreement will solve the problems that have existed within ICANN, and there is a chance that those problems will actually get worse. ICANN cannot fall off Congress’s radar, because there is still work to be done. I hope the AOC is not just a way to check the ICANN issue off their list and check out of the matter without doing more of the important work that needs to be done.
