Re: [bc-gnso] FOR REVIEW: BC comment on Status Update from expert working group on gTLD Directory Services

[Stephane Van Gelder Consulting <svg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to Steve and the drafters for all this work.

I am speaking from memory on the EWG's report, as I have not had time ro
re-read it, so apologies if these have already been raised. However, I do
think there are some points the BC should consider:

Any contractual obligation placed on any part of the domain name supply
chain (be it registries, registrars or registrants) MUST
NOT contravene local law. This is especially true for data privacy issues,
which are a major point of focus in Europe for example. The recent debates
over the latest RAA (as a reminder, some European registrars are finding
themselves unable to sign the RAA, and therefore unable to sell new gTLDs
which pust them at a competitive disadvantage, because it goes against
their local privacy laws: http://blog.blacknight.com/blow-fuse.html) show
that any WHOIS work must also take these obligations into account. I am
worried that the EWG does not seem to have taken more than a passing glance
at ccTLD WHOIS obligations such as those placed on the French registry by
the French national data privacy agency (CNIL). Looking at this more
closely would highlight the need for opt-out clauses for those who'se
national laws would prevent them enacting any EWG recommendations as-is.

In short, I think our message here to ICANN should also be: learn from the
current RAA mistakes!

Another point I have made before is that I believe as representatives of
businesses worldwide, we should continually nudge for this work to
encompass ccTLD WHOIS as well. We have all heard before the many reasons
why the EWG should not be doing so, but as businesses, do we really think
it's OK to have such extensive work be done on gTLD WHOIS only? The level
of confusion this risks generating for businesses that are not domain
savvy, and may not understand that there are different rules for, say, .COM
and .DE, should not be underestimated.

Thanks,

Stéphane Van Gelder
Chairman and Managing Director/Fondateur
SVGC.net

T (FR): +33 (0)6 20 40 55 89
T (UK): +44 (0)7583 457053
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On 18 February 2014 04:22, Steve DelBianco <sdelbianco@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Attached are draft BC comments and questions on the Status Update from
> the expert working group on gTLD Directory Services.
>
>  The EWG status update is 
> here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=http://www.icann.org/en/groups/other/gtld-directory-services/status-update-11nov13-en.pdf&k=ZVNjlDMF0FElm4dQtryO4A%3D%3D%0A&r=cjstkpAuvAi4gqeqX5O18A%3D%3D%0A&m=wJFOU6s054w1azbYfrViPjQwyeWw9OhmeU6Ik0vokA8%3D%0A&s=f6ba989d4315c9c617edc3620ce2274d96f3c98901857bd1683ca7d5b41ae297>,
> and described on this 
> page<http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-11nov13-en.htm>.
>  Comments close 28-Feb, so today begins a 12-day member review period.
>
> Thanks to BC members Jimson Olufuye, Tim Chen, and Susan Kawaguchi for
> this drafting work.
>
>  Jimson is the CEO of Kontemporary, a systems Integration and ICT
> Consultancy firm. Though less than 10% of the company revenue is from
> domain businesses, he has interacted extensively with gTLD and ccTLD WHOIS
> registry systems.
>
>  BC members are familiar with Susan's many years of work to improve
> WHOIS, first with eBay and now with Facebook.   Susan was appointed to the
> WHOIS review team two years ago and is now a member of the EWG on Directory
> Services.
>
>
>  Tim is CEO of DomainTools, whose products partly rely on whois data to
> help users understand who operates a given website or IP address, and to
> also make connections between domain names.  DomainTools' clients include
> law enforcement, trademark attorneys, cybercrime investigators, brand
> protection agents, and a wide variety of professionals in the DNS industry.
>
>    All BC members are invited to REPLY ALL with edits (using TRACK
> CHANGES, please).
>
>    Note that the second half of this draft shows a dialog between Tim and
> Jimson regarding certain aspects of Directory Services.  Based on member
> feedback, we will refine that section into additional points or questions
> for the EWG.
>
>
>    --
>  Steve DelBianco
> Vice chair for policy coordination
>
>
>