Hi Pierre and all,
To expand McTim's questions, is there any African position on the same
issues? New gTLDs are important, (open new opportunities change internet name space etc) but this will also have significant public policy, legal and marketing implications. While there has not been an "African" position, the GAC works on consensus and so I would say that most of the issues where there is continued disagreements not yet resolved would be issues most governments represented on GAC support. The main issues are *_1. Root Zone Scaling, 2. Market and Economic Impacts, 3. Registry -- Registrar Separation, 4. Protection of Rights Owners, _**5.****_Post-delegation Disputes with governments, 6. Use of geographic names, 7. Legal recourse for applications and 8. Providing opportunities for all stakeholders including those from developing countries. _***Issue 8 is particularly important for Africa. For those who have seen the latest version of DAG, the proposed new round as is currently framed would carry the risk of excluding those with limited financial resources from benefiting due to the fees structure, etc. It also does not live up to ICANN's commitment to act in the "global public interest" consistent with the affirmation of commitments.
On the .XXX, for instance, I recall the Nigerian representative on the
GAC had elaborated on an 'African position' at the last ICANN meeting. Yes Mary did speak up during the Cartagena meeting, but it was not an African position.
= On .xxx/. Gay/. Whatever is that some people find offensive?
Pornography, even though abundant, especially in locally made DVD's and pirated ones, is illegal in Kenya and many other African countries. Homosexuality is also illegal. While other governments have free-speech obligations and so it is legal to distribute and produce pornography with restrictions placed upon it. In countries where it is illegal, it would be difficult to support dot xxx or dot gay.
Will you be supporting the US position that governments get a veto?
http://slatest.slate.com/id/2284157/
Scramble for New Domain Names Begins
For years, most internet addresses have relied on a standard set of Web addresses ending in .com, .net, and .edu. Now, an impending mass expansion of domain names is set to add subject-specific (and potentially controversial) suffixes into the mix. The Washington Post reports that .god, .gay, and .islam are just some of the infinite number of names to be introduced in a move that may make the Internet more intuitive, or just more irritating. Naturally this will throw up the usual set of controversies: Who, for example, gets to control .abortion, .muhammad, and .nazi? The new suffixes will be dolled out by an obscure nonprofit based in California that OKed the expansion in 2008 but still hasn't figured out exactly how it will work. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will come to a decision this spring and then begin considering proposals from companies and government. ICANN has encouraged applicants to "Join the Internet land rush!" on its Web site, although the new suffixes will come at a price. It costs $185,000 just to apply, plus an annual $25,000 fee to operate
Its not so much about supporting US call for government's veto, but perhaps it is time to seriously reflect on how ICANN works/operates. would relate it to a discussion we had on this list sometime last year about internationalizing ICANN as one of the proposals from the President's committee. best Alice -- Cheers, McTim "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how we get there." Jon Postel On Mon, Feb 7, 2011 at 7:28 PM, Alice Munyua <alice@apc.org <mailto:alice@apc.org>> wrote: the new
domain name. Critics say the "landrush" is simply a moneymaking scheme for the group and corporations that own the domains. The chairman of ICANN says the high fees are necessary because the nonprofit anticipates a lot of suffix-related lawsuits.
--
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