EC Isn't Trying to Usurp ICANN Work on Whois, Officials Say

The European Commission isn't trying to bypass ICANN governance of the domain name system (DNS) through its proposed digital services act (DSA) and cybersecurity package, EC officials said at an ICANN virtual stakeholder briefing Friday. The EC supports the multistakeholder approach and contributes to ICANN discussions through the Governmental Advisory Committee, said Gemma Carolillo, DG Connect deputy head-next-generation internet unit. The legislation's intent is to create legal certainty for domain name registries and registrars on things like Whois accuracy and access to personal registrant information, she said. If the proposals are adopted, the EC plans to issue guidelines that draw on ICANN's policy development work on access to personal data, she said. The EC is counting on ICANN to adopt rules for access to Whois data and start the discussion on ensuring such data is accurate, said Olivier Bringer, next-generation internet unit head. The briefing was on the potential impact of the DSA and cybersecurity measures on ICANN. The legislation would update the 2000 e-commerce directive governing the exemption from liability for illegal content of internet intermediaries (see 2101290006). That directive applies to specific services such as ISPs that act as conduits. The DSA proposes to leave the liability exemption intact but to add new rules requiring due diligence and set harmonized enforcement rules, said Irene Roche Laguna, EC deputy head-e-commerce and platforms unit. The EC considers registrars and registries to be within the DSA's scope and wants to clarify legally that they fall within the liability exception as mere conduits but also that they will have some light due diligence obligations for illegal content, Laguna said.