The U.S. and EU are dealing with similar digital connectivity issues, and have more common ground than reports would lead one to believe, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and others said Wednesday at a webcast Computer & Communications Industry Association trans-Atlantic digital economy dialogue in Brussels. The future of digital connectivity is "extremely bright" given interesting trends in technologies and governments' commitment to reforming regulations, said Carr. CCIA's event preceded Thursday's EU-U.S. information society dialogue.
Dugie Standeford
Dugie Standeford, European Correspondent, Communications Daily and Privacy Daily, is a former lawyer. She joined Warren Communications News in 2000 to report on internet policy and regulation. In 2003 she moved to the U.K. and since then has covered European telecommunications issues. She previously covered the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and intellectual property law matters. She has a degree in psychology from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law.
ICANN plans to choose an interim Whois model that complies with the EU general data protection regulation (GDPR) were delayed to mid-February to allow more discussion time, CEO Gðran Marby blogged. Earlier this month, he proposed three approaches and asked for input. ICANN had intended to settle on one model by the end of this month, but it's clear more time is needed, he said Thursday. NTIA's head also had Whois GDPR concerns (see 1801290041). Meanwhile, responses to an ICANN consultation showed interest in some form of layered access to domain name owners' information.
A unilateral decision by ICANN's board to suspend review of domain name stability and security practices could jeopardize the internet body's transparency and accountability, new NTIA Administrator David Redl said in a Dec. 12 letter. Board members announced the action Oct. 28, saying the review "is a critical input for ICANN in service of its mission," but it's "imperative" the community assure itself the Security, Stability and Resiliency Review "is appropriately composed and structured." NTIA accused ICANN of violating its principles of openness and participation. The suspension "appears to have been done with little notice given and no clear rationale provided," NTIA said. ICANN bylaws provide little role for the board in workings of a review team, it said. The U.S. agency said its "concerns are compounded by the fact that the review teams ... are a critical accountability tool in the post [Internet Assigned Numbers Authority] stewardship transition phase of ICANN, something all stakeholders, particularly those in the United States are watching closely." ICANN hasn't yet responded, a spokesman said this week. NTIA's concerns are shared by many ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee members, and the agency expects the multistakeholder community will act, a spokesman said Tuesday.
ICANN's plans to make registries hold domain name owners' contact information or face data protection problems with a coming EU-wide privacy regime, called general data protection regulation, are sparking blowback from government officials and others. ICANN's "thick Whois consensus policy" requires all new domain name registrations be submitted to the registry as "thick" starting May 1 and all relevant registration data for existing domains be shifted from "thin" to thick by Feb. 1, 2019, the ICANN board said in a resolution adopted Oct. 29. ICANN defines "thin" registrations as those with only technical information such as domain name servers and creation dates, and "thick" as including registrants' contact details. EU privacy chiefs and the Internet Governance Project (here) said the plan will likely run afoul of privacy rules.
It's "very clear" Europe has a long-term commitment to net neutrality even as the U.S. prepares to potentially reverse course, said Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) Chairman Sébastien Soriano Wednesday. On a webcast debriefing of BEREC's Dec. 7-8 plenary meeting, he said one key difference between the U.S. and EU is that institutional setups differ. The U.S. position on net neutrality can change every two years because it's in the hands of a regulator, while in Europe it's set by policymakers, he said. Reopening the discussion about withdrawing the rules "would be totally absurd," said Soriano, who heads French telecom regulator ARCEP (Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques et des postes).
Privacy Shield still has significant problems that, if not quickly fixed, could lead to legal action, said the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (WP29) in its inaugural review. The opinion on efficacy of the trans-Atlantic personal data flow agreement listed unresolved issues for the commercial aspects and access to personal data by U.S. surveillance agencies. The European Commission said it's working with the U.S. administration to address the concerns.
Negotiations on a treaty updating broadcasting protections against signal piracy inched forward at the Nov. 13-17 World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), participants said Monday. Despite expectations of "business as usual" (see 1710240009), the meeting saw "incremental changes" with resolution of some long-pending questions, said WIPO Copyright Law Division Director Michele Woods, in an interview. European Broadcasting Union Head-Intellectual Property Heijo Ruijsenaars told us earlier he hoped key issues such as scope, objectives and rights had been resolved. Woods said there's forward movement, but work remains.
ICANN's decision to study potential impact of name collisions on security and stability of the domain name system is a positive step, said Donuts Vice President Communications Judith McGarry in an interview. Donuts is one of several registries that applied for generic top-level domains .home, .corp and .mail in the last round of applications, but ICANN held up the names over concerns they're at high risk of conflicting with internal or private name spaces such as corporate servers. The problem is caused by ICANN's mistaken belief DNS names are universal, global identifiers, said former board member Karl Auerbach, now InterWorking Labs chief technical officer.
EU privacy rules and the .Amazon feud remained unresolved Thursday as the ICANN Abu Dhabi meeting wound down. The board took no action on either topic, and the debates over how ICANN should comply with the general data protection regulation (GDPR) and whether Amazon should be granted the generic top-level domain (gTLD) .amazon over the protests of the Brazil and Peru continued unabated. The gathering said goodbye to Chairman Stephen Crocker and other directors, and ICANN confirmed it plans its March meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Privacy advocates are monitoring European Commission plans for dealing with encryption in the fight against terrorism. The EC anti-terrorism package, announced Oct. 18, includes measures to support law enforcement and judicial authorities when they encounter encrypted information, including a proposal, due next year, to make it easier to access electronic evidence across borders, and technical tools to support EU governments. The Security Union progress report stressed encryption won't be barred, limited or weakened. Digital rights and privacy experts and tech companies said they will be watching.